Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water// Review

 

Say hello to my new obsession. Since qualifying as a beauty therapist 3 weeks ago I decided to go out and treat myself to some high end makeup to mark the occasion. One thing that has always caught my eye is the Photo Finish Primer Water from Smashbox. This product stole the show on everyone's blogs and YouTube channels for months on end, but silly me chose to ignore the whole hype purely because number 1, it's £20 and as a student money doesn't come easily and 2, I had never heard of a primer mist. I had only ever heard of setting sprays so in the back of my mind I thought this product was a gimmick.

Eventually I bit the bullet and popped into my local boots and spoke to an extremely lovely lady on the Smashbox counter. Personally, I often find going to makeup counters intimidating because I often feel as if the staff are judging my makeup and overall appearance. Is that daft or completely normal?! But this time I couldn't have felt any more comfortable and the lady couldn't have been any more helpful or friendly.

I purchased the primer and I honestly think it was love at first spritz. I am always reluctant to spend money on a primer because I can get so lazy and skip the step all together, I can feel the makeup professionals cringing already. This miracle water makes priming so easy. Just 4 sprays of product sprayed evenly around your face will pretty much guarantee your face makeup lasting ALL day. My skin type is combination but since it's summer I'm leaning more to the oily side so I use my Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation and I set with the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. normally, I would apply this makeup at around 10AM set for a busy day and I start to notice it sliding off at around 2-3PM. When I use this primer my face makeup still looks 'flawless' at 8PM! For a risky buy I can already tell this will be a stable in my makeup collection. I feel as if I can now join the "Not to primer is a crime" squad.

The only flaw I have been able to find with the product is that its a little harsh to spray, for example the Mac Fix+ sprays easily so it's more accurate. With Fix+ you have the option of a half spray so application is more accurate but this water it takes more practice to get it on your face evenly. However the fact that it's in a clear bottle makes it so much easier to tell how much product is left.

Onto the technical stuff, the Primer is Silicone, Alcohol and Oil free. It is designed to hydrate the skin for hours and revitalise the skins radiance to boost the skins complexion. The spray feels very refreshing on the skin but it does have a slight fragrance. I can't quite put my finger on the smell but it's fresh and pleasant. Even though the scent is slight it may have a reaction on skin that is more sensitive so I would advise going to a Smashbox counter and trying it out first. 

This product is a real winner and you will not be disappointed with the lasting power it has in your makeup.

Where- Boots
How much?- £20

Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette// Review

 

Contouring has been THE makeup trend for a fair few years now and with a little help from celebrities such as the Kardashian's it has become a craze no one can avoid. If you don't know what contouring is then A.), WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! and B.) it's a clever makeup trick that makes your face appear slimmer and sculpts your face to define your cheekbones. In simpler terms, it's a way of taking your face go from a pop tart to a pop star. It can pretty much shape any part of you physically but not emotionally. As wonderful as contouring is, it will not structure your life and give you 10/10 grades, but who needs grades when you can have pretty sharp cheekbones?

One of my favourite drugstore brands, Makeup Revolution offers the perfect product to create such sharp cheekbones you may cut yourself but on a budget! This is the Ultra Contour Powder Palette and it retails at only £8. I am a huge fan of drugstore/high street brands but contouring products from them can often be a hit/miss situation as they often look too orange to define your shape or they have shimmer running through them making them act as more of a bronzer. Personally, I am insanely pale and this only makes it harder to find that perfect contour shade on the cheap side. I almost gave up with my hunt for cheekbones until one day, the makeup Gods directed me towards to Ultra Contour Palette. The Palette is made up of 3 Matte contour shades and 3 highlighters with 2 baked highlighters along the side. It also has a large mirror which makes it perfect for travelling and to admire your newly found cheek bones.

As far as the highlighters go, I am insanely impressed. The yellow toned powder is perfect for the under eye area as it helps to prevent creasing but also brightens the area up and cancel out dark circles. I feel as if the palette itself is worth buying just for this shade. The pink toned highlighter adds just the right amount of shimmer to your cheekbones to make them pop. However I do feel as if the baked highlighter is slightly too white and shimmery to do an awful lot with but if you are on the paler side and struggle to find a highlighter that impacts then maybe this is the shade for you. Nevertheless, you will still shine brighter than my future as the pigmentation is absolutely insane!

Onto the actual contour shades themselves, I am pretty sure there is something here to suit every skin tone. The middle shade which is cool toned is my perfect shade. They have an impressive level of pigmentation but it's not over the top and its easily built up. I prefer this because I can use a heavier hand it doesn't look silly and mistakes are easily corrected. I was also extremely impressed by the lasting power. It lasts all day and does not go patchy. Nor does it look orange a few hours down the line. The other two shades are slightly too warm for me personally but its nice to have the choice! They also blend very easily which is another reason why this is hands down my favourite drugstore product. This palette is often compared to the Anastasia Beverly Hills palette and I can understand why. The main difference is that by buying the MUR palette you are saving £30 and gaining 2 extra highlighters! WINNER! I am insanely pleased with this product and I have gone through two of them and go back to it every single time! It's such a staple to every makeup bag, whether you are a only just starting out on makeup or have been on the scene for a while. You really wont regret investing in this life saver.

Where?- Makeup Revolution and Superdrug
How Much?- £8

            

Makeup Revolution Fortune Favours The Brave Palette // Review

Over the past two weeks I placed a rather large order off the Makeup Revolution website. As some of you may know I am a HUGE fan of Makeup Revolution. Their products are always of a high standard and they compete with many high end brands. As a rule I would prefer to spend £30 in Makeup Revolution and purchase 3-4 palettes instead of 1 from a more expensive brand. Especially when a lot of their goodies are dupes for high end products. One item I purchased was the Fortune Favours The Brave palette which was designed by BritishBeautyBlogger and that is what I will be reviewing today.

To start with the packaging is absolutely beautiful. It moves away from the traditional black case and into a classy gold case which makes the product look that bit more professional. To look at this I would expect to pay £20-£30. The only flaw I can find with the packaging is that when it is opened up, the shade names are on a thin sheet of plastic which is not very practical as there are so many shades to remember and these sheets are SO easy to lose. other than that I cannot fault it. The big mirror on the inside makes it very handy for travelling.

Onto the actual product itself, inside the palette there are 30 eye shadow shades that hold incredible pigmentation. There is a mixture of Mattes, Shimmery and marble shades and each of them apply like a dream. There are also several transition shades in the palette which I was more than impressed with as I am all about the transition shade life. My particular favourite transition shades are 'Creme' and 'Buffer.'

The main reason this palette has been such a hit for me is because you can create any look with it. it's perfect for a natural day to day eye but you can also be daring with it and create all sorts of smoky looks. It's extremely versatile and I can understand why this has sold out across all Superdrug stores and on the website too. The majority of the shades are warm tones but there are also a few cool tones to make your eyes pop but the mixture of shades add variety. Ever since I purchased this product I have not been able to stop playing with it. There is something here to suit all eye colours as the colour variation is so large. The palette is perfect for makeup beginners who do not want to delve straight into the darkest of colours. After all, smoky eyes can be intimidating when you do not fully know what it is you are doing.

I would go as far as saying that this is the best palette that Makeup Revolution have launched. it retails at only £9.99 and I would honestly pay a lot for a palette of this quality. The price is one of many reasons Makeup Revolution is one of my favourite drugstore brand. The fallout is at a minimum. Some of the shades have more fallout than others but that does not make this a bad product, it just means the shades are heavily pigmented. considering this was just another palette that I "did not need" it has now become my go to palette and I cannot recommend this enough.

Where?- Makeup Revolution and Superdrug
How much?- £9.99

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation // Review

When it comes to my makeup routine foundation is one of, if not the most important step. I find that if I can leave the house with my blemishes covered and have an even skin tone then I find I am 1oo% happier within myself. The most I used to spend on foundation was a maximum of £12 because lets face it, the drugstore really have upped their game over the years by providing high coverage foundation for the half the price. That was until I tried this Double Wear Foundation by Estee Lauder.

After spending hours watching first impressions and reading endless reviews on this unbeatable product, I thought it was time I tried it for myself. So I popped down to my local Boots with my best friend to get my skin matched to a shade because after all, there was no way £30 was going to be spent on a random shade. The foundations are separated into groups of C, N or W which stand for Cool, Warm or Neutral. My specific shade is 1W1 Bone, which is the lightest warm shade. This shade is ideal for fake tan lovers as it is more yellow toned. On first impressions I was very fond of the packaging. Once I had overcome the shock of how small the bottle is for the money you pay I was able to move onto how much I like the packaging. The square glass bottle makes it look worth the money. The only flaw I have for the packaging is that it has no pump which means more wastage, (HACK: the MAC foundation pump fits perfectly!). I feel as if a pump is an essential and if a company is going to charge silly amounts for a product they should provide something as simple as a pump. After all, it isn't as if they can't afford it. But as for the product itself I absolutely cannot fault it.

The bottle contains 30mls of goodness which lasted me a good 3-4 months. The consistency is rather thin which I thought was strange for such a high coverage foundation. You need a very small amount to cover your entire face which is why the bottle lasts longer than your average foundation. The coverage is the main reason this foundation is so popular, it is very intense and you need to blend it fast otherwise it sets and makes it harder to work with. The lasting power is incredible. Estes Lauder claim it lasts 15 hours and even though I do not leave my makeup on for that long I can thoroughly believe it. When I apply my foundation first thing in the morning and then check up on it 7-8 hours later my blemishes do not make an appearance, it still looks bright and any slight cracks can be easily fixed with powder. My favourite part of this is that the shade is a perfect match. It does not oxidise on my face so I do not resemble a tangerine 3 hours after application which is a winner considering how pale I am!

This is my absolute favourite foundation I have tried and I have already repurchased as it is an essential to my makeup collection. In my opinion it is worth every single penny and I'm yet to find a dupe half as good as the real thing. It is understandable why this has been voted Britain's number 1 foundation!

Where- Boots or Debenhams
How much- £30

      

Nivea Men Post Shave Balm As A Primer?!

Preparing my skin before applying makeup is an essential step to my routine, and using a primer is vital to make sure my makeup lasts all day.

 I am a massive fan of Manny MUA and in one of his recent videos I heard him talk about the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm as a primer. At first I completely dismissed the idea and refused to be believe it worked and passed it off as a hype that would be forgotten about within a few weeks. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I made a trip to Boots to try it out myself.

 To cut a long story short, the Post Shave balm contains an ingredient called Glycerin which is tacky so anything that goes over the top of it will stick. In this case that means your makeup will stick to the Post Shave Balm and therefor, the Balm acts as a primer making your makeup last all day. 

 Obviously the product helps give the skin moisture after shaving so I find this keeps my skin moisturised and feeling soft. I have also noticed it's helped clear my skin up since I've started using it and it has definitely reduced redness. 

 One of my favourite things about this product is the smell. It has that masculine smell which I adore but it only lasts a few seconds and then it goes away. After using this product for over a month, I have learnt to keep rubbing the primer on my face until I feel it go tacky. This way my makeup lasts that bit longer and you get the full value for your money.

 This is one of my favourite products at the moment and I would recommend it to everybody. At £5.35 it is most definitely worth trying out. The bottle contains 100ml of product and you only need a small amount so it'll last you a very long time. A lot longer than any regular primer.  

Where- Boots

 Price- £5.35