Fenty Cream Bronzer Vs Huda Tantour - Who Wins?

Hello!

Today we have a comparison between the Huda Beauty Tantour in Fair and the Fenty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Butta Biscuit. Both of these are the palest cream bronzer products in each brand, although Fenty also brought out their iconic contour shade Amber out in this formula too (from the original Match Stix formula)

Now then, the first point to make is that the Huda product is meant to be a contour and bronzer whereas the Fenty one is advertised more as just a cream bronzer. The difference being that the Huda Tantour "combines a balance of shadow and warmth" according to their website. 

Left: Huda Beauty Tantour in Fair.

Right: Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Butta Biscuit.

I found that the consistencies were pretty similar but the Huda Tantour is heavily pigmented! This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it means a little goes a long way, however it does mean that anyone not used to cream products might have a bit of an issue with it. The Fenty bronzer is a little lighter in colour but also a bit warmer for sure. 

Swatches as above.

When blended with my finger you can see that the Fenty one blends out smoother and this is mainly because the Huda one is SO pigmented that the amount I had swatched was way too much to spread easily in a small area.

Packaging wise......I much prefer the Fenty one. The Huda one has a twist off top and EVERY time I manage to catch myself on it. One day it's going to cause me an injury!! The Huda one does come with an insert over the cream though which I guess should stop it from drying out so easily but I've not had an issue with this happening to either of them so far.

With Flash.

With flash both of them look fairly similar in colour. I have tried both with fingers and a brush and they apply easily with both. i found using a sponge picked up too much of the Huda product but was fine with the Fenty one. You could use a sponge to blend out the Huda one once on your face though with no issue.

Without flash you can see that the Huda one is much darker in reality to the Fenty one. I am really quite pale so I find the Huda one quite difficult to use as it took more effort in terms of being awake enough to use it (fine when I'm on a late but on an early....well....I'm not usually able to function until after lunch really!) I think the fact that you can use the Huda one for both contour and bronzer is a handy thing if someone just wants one product but if you build the product up, I can't see why you couldn't do that with the Fenty one? 

Final thoughts:

Huda Tantour in Fair:

Pros - 

• Very pigmented so will last a long time.
• Cheaper than Fenty at £26 for 11g currently.
• Can be used as a multitasking product.

Cons - 

• Packaging is very annoying/mildly dangerous to those of us who are accident prone!
• Not super easy to use if you are a first timer for cream bronzer due to it being very pigmented.
• Only comes in 5 Shades and the palest is still quite dark. There is quite a jump between light and medium as well.

Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Butta Biscuit:

Pros - 

• Not as pigmented so easy for first time users or people who would rather build a product up.
• They have 8 different shades, 3 of which are designed to be more of a contour shade. Fenty are also known for adding to their shades if they need too.
• Packaging comes with a mirror which is handy if you do your makeup on the go at all.

Cons - 

• More expensive than Huda at £28 for 6.23g.
• You would need to buy two if you wanted a dedicated contour and bronzer shade. 
• Packaging looks messy inside very quickly as the product is flat the the white inside plastic.

Both formulas are cruelty free which is always a bonus as well!

Who wins? - 

All in all, I personally prefer the Fenty one just because the Huda one is VERY pigmented and I find that frustrating if I'm in a rush. Plus the packaging on the Huda one just stresses me out! Both are available easily at their own websites (linked above), Cult Beauty and Boots.com along with other retailers. 

Until next time,

xoxo

Swatches and Review - Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Ghost

Hello!

Yesterday I caved and ordered the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit - Ghost from SpaceNK* despite resisting it when it was first released at Christmas as I had recently given away my Hourglass blush palette to a friend because I found the blushers too shimmery. So why did I buy this you ask? I wanted to try a bronzer by them. Why didn't I just buy a travel size one for £24? I have absolutely no idea. Honestly, quarantine has been so so bad for my bank balance because my mental health basically goes "you're depressed....buy something....that'll cheer you up!" which...you know...it does.....for 5 minutes....and then I buy something else to cheer me up again and its a vicious cycle that ends up with me owning a new palette that cost me £75.......bugger. (I did have £5 of N.Dulge points to use though.....so there's that at least................right?....) Anyway, enough self judgement......

Left to right - Top Row - Finishing Powder in Dim Light, Finishing Powder in Diffused Light and Strobe Powder in Iridescent Strobe Light.

Bottom Row - Bronzer in Eternal Bronze Light, Strobe Blush in Iridescent Rose and Blush in Sublime Flush.

Now then, I cant deny that this is a damn pretty palette. My main issue with hourglass palettes is how they basically bring out the same palette each year with just SLIGHT differences which makes people like me think "oh....but its different to last years...." and then we buy them all because "THEY ARE DIFFERENT!" and we are weak. No judgement on the people who do buy all these palettes of course....I'm one of you, just not with Hourglass palettes (well....not yet anyway...)

So that is my index finger for reference as to how small the palette it (and I have the hands of a twelve year old so the palette is really small!) For £75 you would want something a little bigger I think? When trying it out properly, I couldn't actually get my brush (bareMinerals seamless shaping and finishing brush for reference) into the individual pans that easily. Yes I could use a smaller brush but for bronzer and blush and a setting powder I need a fluffier brush so it's more diffused.....so that leaves one product in this palette to use a smaller brush with (which I did.) I do think the size of this palette makes it really good for travelling though....you know....when we can again!

Close up of Dim Light.

Dim Light is the first of the two finishing powders. It has a slight pinky undertone which doesn't show up too much on my skin tone (pretty pale and pinky anyway) when dusted over with a fluffy brush. If used with a smaller brush it shows up with a bit of colour. I will say that it does give me skin a nice sheen but wouldn't replace my actual setting powder as it does nothing for my open pores at all...

Close up of Diffused Light and Iridescent Strobe Light.

Diffused Light is a paler and more yellow finishing powder compared to Dim Light. Out of the two I prefer this one as there is no risk of me putting too much on and feeling a bit too tanned. Again, it is a pretty powder giving a nice luminosity but does nothing for my open pores up close. I do think this one gives me a more soft focus look from a distance though, which is always a good thing! Iridescent Strobe Light is a real winner for me! It's got a more apricot undertone and is good for my pale skin. It gives a really good wet look highlight to the skin, however it also quite glittery which picks up quite a bit in the sun. I can imagine I will use this as a great lazy day eyeshadow as well as its intended use. 

 

One swirl swatches - left to right - Dim Light, Diffused Light and Iridescent Strobe Light.

Not the best products to show one swirl swatches of but I do think you an see how pinky Dim Light is in this picture.

Swatches as above from a different angle...

You can see how much bright Iridescent Strobe Light is in this picture compared to the setting powders.

Close up of Eternal Bronze Light.

This is the one product that I was most interested in trying and boy it did not disappoint!! It's a really nice glowy bronzer that just made me look sunkissed and not muddy at all! It was very pigmented so I only had to use a tiny bit and could build it up easily too. I would definitely re-purchase this if I ever actually used it up. But I won't because I work in the beauty industry and own far too much make for one human. 

Close up of Iridescent Rose and Sublime Flush.

The thing I think everyone loves when looking at Hourglass are how pretty the veined blushers are. Even if you don't like a glowy blush, you're still drawn to these. Iridescent Rose is exactly what it says....its a rose colour with an iridescent sheen to it. It's quite warm toned so a tiny bit goes a long way. Sublime Flush is a lighter and slightly cooler toned pink. This is my favourite of the two because it just looks better on my skin tone. Not to say I won't use Iridescent Rose, but I have to be more careful with it so I don't end up looking like I've put my redness back on after covering it up with foundation! Both have a sheen to them but Sublime Flush is more subtle for sure.

One swirl swatches - left to Right - Eternal Bronze Light, Iridescent  Rose and Sublime Flush.

Here you can see that Eternal Bronze has a nice sunkissed warmth to it and also the difference in the sheen of Rose and Sublime.

Swatches as above with more light on them.

Overall, I think this is a lovely palette if you enjoy the really glowy look. Hourglass is a brand that I want to explore more but their price point is just a bit mental really. I mean a palette that fits in my hand (remember...hands of a twelve year old....) for £75? The packaging is also made of plastic so it doesn't even FEEL expensive? Handy for travel, but for the price I'd just want something a bit more weighty. Would I recommend this palette? If you want to spend £75 on a boujee glowy palette, then absolutely. Do you need it in your life? Probably not. Am I sad I spent £70 (£5 N.Dulge reward remember!) on this? I feel like I should be but......I'm just not at all!!

Price: £75

Limited Edition: Yes for as long as they have stock I guess?

Weight: 6x1.4g

Price of each pan: £12.50 - The travel size bronzers and blushers are £24 for 1.3g each so I guess you could say this palette is a bargain? If you got the minis of each of these (they don't do minis of all these shade though) you would spend £144.....which is almost double the amount of this palette! (This is exactly how I justify my purchases FYI......)

Best for which Skin Tone: Definitely fair to medium. I can't imagine any of these shades working on tan to dark skin tones - the downside of pre-made palettes a lot of the time still.

What do you think? A waste of money or a boujee 'bargain'?

Until next time,

xoxo

Product paid for by me!


*Affiliate link

Review: bareMinerals Lash Domination Ink Liner

Hello!

So today I have the joy of bringing you a review of the brand new, not out yet bareMinerals Ink Liner!! This is bareMinerals first liquid eyeliner to hit stores and it's all very exciting! There was a QVC exclusive "smoke and define" liner which I think was liquid but it was never released in stores. Now then, I've not used a liquid eyeliner in years. Gel, yes. Pencil, yes. But liquid? I think the last time I used it was for my birthday night out about 2 years ago... I was a bit wary of having to use one on counter as well as I've not needed to put liquid eye liner on somebody else in about 4 years. Basically, it's been a while since using liquid eyeliner on anyone at all!

The packaging is nice and sleek. As you can see this liner is tied into the Lash Domination range which includes the Lash Domination mascara, and the new Petite Lash Domination mascara (same formula, smaller wand!) I think the thinking behind it is that they are all a bit more dramatic so all go together.

The ingredients list for those who are interested. Having just done a bit of research on some other top selling liquid liners, the bareMinerals ingredients list is much much smaller than others. I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, but I'm all for less ingredients near my eyes!

The actual eyeliner. I love this packaging as it's sleek but feels nice to hold as it's not too thick or thin, almost the size of a typical Bic pen. The lid has a spring in it, so when you click it back into place it seems pretty impossible to damage the nib (fingers crossed anyway!) It has a more upmarket feel to it than some of the old bareMinerals packaging. They're really focusing on making the packaging as good as the products now, which is great in my opinion! (Spoiler alert: the new skincare packaging is beautiful!!)

As all of our makeup artists say "shake it to wake it!" Can't say I'm going to be able to say that on counter without feeling like a cheesy fool, but it's true. You have to give this eyeliner a good few shakes to get it working. When you shake it you can hear something inside that is designed to keep the liquid mixed but also to stop it from all coming out the nib at once (hello goth phase eyeliner....!) 

Now the important bit....the nib! It's a very thin tipped nib that can give you a very thin, tight line or you can use it on it's side to give you a thicker line. I'm personally a big fan of pen style liners, but I know this won't be for everyone. It's water resistant, so although it will dry in seconds and stay on all day, it's also very easier to take off. I've tried it over the last 3 days and had zero issues with it smudging or flaking, which I'm very pleased with. I'm a glasses and contact lenses wearer so I have sensitive eyes but I also tend to touch my eyes a lot too and I didn't have an issues with it. It was a bit strange putting liquid liner on for the first time in ages, but it was so easy to do and I didn't feel like I was dragging it across my eyelid either. It was super easy to fix any mistakes too (let's face it, there were always going to be mistakes the first time I used it!!) It has an almost slightly wet look finish I think as well. It doesn't dry down matte but it doesn't stay super shiny either. As I'd been used to pencil liner, I was wary about using it and also how quickly it might transfer onto the top of my eyelid (near the brow bone) I was pleasantly surprised that it was just as easy to use as a pencil and that there was absolutely no transfer at all as it dries almost instantly and stays put. Win, win, win for me! 

Now then, considering I'm terrible at calligraphy, I'm impressed by how easy it was to write my name in a semi-fancy way with this eyeliner! Below my own vanity is a selection of lines for you to see. All were done with the same liner and are to show you how easy it is to vary between a thick and thin line. The third line down was when the liner needed a shake, so it's slightly drier than the others. I will say that if you have any lines on your eyelid you will need to stretch your eye a bit to get a fluid line that doesn't miss the gaps, but I think this is true with all liners really.

The main points that I love about this liner are:

• Easy to use for beginners and experts alike.
• Thin and thick lines achievable
• Dries super quick
• Stays all day, but easy to remove
• No transfer
• Solid black colour
• Pen is easy to grip
• Packaging is shiny!Haha!

The main points I don't like about this liner:

• Only comes in black (at the moment....I guess it could come in more colours in the future)

That's literally it for my cons list for this liner. I've had a bunch of compliments when I've worn this liner and it was incredibly easy to do cat eye flicks, despite thinking I could never do them with my eye shape. I messed up a few times the first time I tried it, but it was very easy to remove and start again without messing up all my eye makeup. All in all, this is an absolute win for me and I now understand people who wear liquid eyeliner every day!!

I was lucky enough to be gifted this by bareMinerals at my latest training session but it is currently available as a duo set on QVC for £27 (with £2.95 postage) and will be available on counters in May for £17 each. 

Until next time,

xoxo

Whilst I may work for bareMinerals, all opinions are my own and I have not been asked to supply this review at all.

Review: Dior IT Lash

Hello!

So it's been a little while since I had the blogging bug....I really am going to make more of an effort for sure. I just find that when my depression takes hold, it can be difficult to do, well....anything really. It's very annoying and I'm going to try and break the habit by making up a little diary of stuff to do for my blog so I always have something to focus on and make me get up and feel productive!

Anyway, you're hear for a review of the Dior IT Lash mascara so that's what I'm going to get on with!

IT lash came out about a month ago roughly and as I work next to a Dior counter I got to have a play around with it! Now then, I'm not one to have ever been particularly "wow-ed" by a mascara but as it's Summer now, I'm starting to go quite minimal on my days off so a good mascara is something I've been looking for as I think this is something that can make huge difference with your eyes. You don't have to do fancy eye makeup...just a quick slick of a good mascara and it makes you look more wide eyed and awake! The Dior IT lash, it turned out, was my "wow!" mascara! I got to try a small sample first and decided after 2 uses that I would need the full size in my life!

The sleek packaging makes this mascara fit right in to the Dior Addict family! It looks like a bigger version of the Addict Extreme Lipsticks...

I like that the wand in the same size as the tube so you won't lose loads of mascara at the end.

The brush is what drew me to this mascara the most. I love comb wand brushes as my eyelashes need separation and as I use bareMinerals Flawless Definition for work, I'm really used to...well...flawless definition! Haha! I wanted something similar for days off but I wanted something different to my "work makeup" if that makes any sense to you guys?! Anyway, this wand is a 360 comb wand so it's perfect for wiggling through lashes or twisting through depending on what kind of mascara applier you are!

Here are my eyes sans mascara. My lashes are there but not very defined. 

Well hello lashes!!! This is with one coat and no curling with any device at all. This mascara is bulidable too, which I like. My bottom lashes haven't clumped together like they do with some other mascaras that I've tried.

This shows how much thicker my lashes look with one coat of IT Lash. I've been very impressed with this mascara and have actually had people compliment me on it when I've worn it!

Here's a lovely full face look (with added boobs at the bottom of the picture...oops!) This is with two coats of mascara to show how insane it can make lashes look!! I love two coats when I'm having a more natural makeup day and one coat when I'm going a bit more hardcore with my makeup!

Overall I highly recommend this mascara if you're after something that separates, lengthens and defines your lashes. I do still curl my lashes before application now though as it doesn't really curl my lashes. It's very easy to apply and equally easy to take off without dropping during the day. IT Lash costs £22.....or if you enter my competition below you could be in with a chance to win one of your very own!! That's right, I'm offering one of you the chance to win an IT Lash in Black just by filling out the rafflecopter widgit below! Winner will be chosen at random after the closing date. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Good Luck!! (This competition is open internationally as I don't think there are restrictions on sending mascaras in the post....)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time,

xoxox

Review: bareMinerals 4.0 Eyeshadow in The A-List

Hello!

So today I bring you another review of something from my ridiculous stash of beauty items.... Today it's the turn of the bareMinerals 4.0 Eyeshadow palette in The A-List. I've had this eyeshadow palette for about a year now and I've never really reviewed it, which seems a bit odd as I use it an awful lot!

What bareMinerals say: "bareMinerals READY® Eyeshadow provides exceptionally vivid, long-wearing colour in an ultra smooth, silky texture for effortless application and seamless blendability with two complementary shades. Powered by our proprietary SeaNutritive Mineral^TM Complex along with powerful antioxidants, cold-pressed borage oil, caffeine and cucumber-ingredients known to reduce the visible signs of ageing, including reduced look of puffiness and antioxidant defence for a softer, smoother, revitalised eye area.

No parabens, no binders, no fillers, no harsh chemicals, no kidding."

So the first thing to note is that I don't actually have the box for this eyeshadow palette...nooooo!! It got crushed one day and there was no saving it. This makes me quite sad but I'm so aware of the fact that this is such a first world problem that I will move on and say no more about it! 

Without the box the sort of rubbery outer packaging gets dirty quite quickly. I do love the feel of this kind of packaging but it's SUCH a nightmare to keep looking shiny and new.

The palette contains my favourite 4 colours to wear....which is probably why it was my first choice out of all the eyeshadows to buy! 

As you can see....this palette is a little messy from usuage!! I've had this for about a year and a half and it's still going strong. It's definitely my most used eyeshadow palette as it's actually quite versitile. I like to mix it up ever time I use it! The white shade of Icebreaker is my favourite base colour as it's a soft white but has a bit of sparkle to it and is quite unique compared to other colours I have that are kind of, maybe, slightly the same-ish....oops. The pink can be used as a sheer wash or built up for a more intense colour. The purple actually has a gold shimmer to it that adds some dimension to it and the black is a pure matte black which is great for a soft powder eyeliner. I love using the purple as an eyeliner tooas it's quite intense but with the bit of shimmer it's different to a pure black liner. I have been able to create soft everyday looks with this palette and some intense smokey eye looks too. The only downside to this palette is that I know I'll run out of the white shade quicker than the others....a problem I think everyone has with every palette ever made!! It does come with a double ended sponge applicator but I do have a bad tendancy of just throwing those out ni frustration after them falling out every time I open the palette up for weeks after I've first brought it! I just don't like the sponge applicators!

This shows you one finger swipe swatches of each of the colours. They are incredibly pigmented so a lighter hand is needed if you don't want a really intense look. All in all though, I absolutely love this palette and am always drawn to it for my everyday look as I find it easy to use and I prefer a slightly different colour look to just the neutral colours personally!

What do you guys think of this palette? Do you have any bareMinerals eyeshadows?

Until next time,

xoxo

Review: White Rabbit Skincare!

Hello!

So some of you may know, I'm a big fan of skincare. I like to know what I'm putting on my face and try to use products that are as natural as possible as my skin is quite sensitive and can flare up at the smallest thing added to skincare (Estee Lauder and Lancome I'm looking at you!!) So most of you know that I work for bareMinerals and I love love LOVE their skincare but when my friend Melanie asked me if I wanted to be a guinea pig for her new skincare range, I couldn't turn down the offer!! Her concept is to keep her skincare as natural as possible and to keep the ingredients list simple and easy to read. I've had this stuff for a while now to really test it out properly so I can give an honest review rather than a first impressions review.

First up is a set of questions that I sent Melanie in order to give you guys a bit more information on her range and basically give you a FAQ for when I buy skincare:

What made you decide to make your own skincare?

I aim for my life to be as cruelty-free (towards animals) as possible, and I was finding it increasingly hard to determine what skincare brands tested on animals - it is an area that is very 'muddy' and confusing, and can be somewhat dishonest: a brand might claim to be cruelty free (such as MAC, for example), but if they sell in China, they HAVE to test on animals by chinese law, therefore that brand is not indeed cruelty free! So this was a big factor, but also I suffer from psoriasis, which is mostly stress related, but I imagined that ladling my skin with chemicals wasn't helping, and I wanted to "feed" my skin with as many natural ingredients as possible. So what better way to know exactly what is going into my skincare and who it's been trialled on than making it myself?!

What are your brands ethos? 

That skincare should be as natural and skin-friendly as possible - and NEVER tested on our furry friends! :)

Do you test on animals? 

Never. I test all products that I make, even those not necessarily suited to my particular skin type. Why would I give something to someone that I wasn't willing to try myself?

Do you use preservatives?

I use Sodium Benzoate & Potassium Sorbate in any of my products containing water such as toners or cleansing water (products without water can have an average natural shelf life of over a year, depending on the oils/butters/waxes used), as without this the shelf life of such products would only be a matter of weeks before mould, bacteria and yeast would start growing. Sodium Benzoate & Potassium Sorbate is a skin-friendly preservative derived from from coconut, and is accepted by the Soil Association. 

Do I need to use your products within a certain time? 

The vast majority of the products will be perfect for many, many months (even over a year  in most cases), especially if they contain cocoa butter or Vitamin E, which have very long shelf lives, but I always ensure I label the product with a use-by date, so you know exactly how long you have to enjoy your product! :)

Do you cater for all skin types? 

YES! 

Where can I get your skincare? 

You can see/read about the products on the Facebook page and purchase them through our Etsy shop. If you live in the south-west of scotland, Bee Hair and Beauty Salon, Irvine, are also going to be stocking the products soon - very exciting! 

What if I'm not sure what to go for? 

Don't be afraid to ask! I love talking about skin care and find it genuinely interesting, and I'm always willing to suggest products or ingredients that might suit your particular skin type or needs.

What if I have an allergic reaction to any of your products? 

Please stop using the product immediately, and if the reaction persists, please contact your doctor. To avoid such situations:

- Carry out a patch test before you use any product for the first time if you have particularly sensitive skin. place a small amount of product on the inside of your elbow and wait 48-72 hours. If there is any redness, swelling, itching etc of the skin in that time, do not use the product - simply send us it back and we will provide you with a full refund.

- We make products with very few ingredients, which makes the chance of reactions less likely, and reduces the chance of cross-reactions caused by multiple exposures. We also ensure to list our ingredients in plain and simple english (i.e. Cocoa butter and shea butter, rather than "heobroma cacao" and "Butyrospermum parkii") so you know exactly what is in the product you are using. 

Where do you source your ingredients from? 

I try to use small, independent businesses for as many of my ingredients as possible, and have also sourced a fabulous online wholesaler (who coincidentally started out in his parent's garage in 2000!) for my packaging and carrier oils etc.

How many people make the skincare at the moment? 

Just me at the moment, occasionally assisted by my Fiancé Lee (who is the Chief pot/jar/bottle filler-upper!)

What plans do you have for the future? Eg what new stuff are you hoping to come out with? 

I'm coming up with new products all the time (often at really random times - the other morning I developed a foot balm at 6:30 in the morning!), but I want to expand the Buck Rabbit Range (Men's Skincare), and possibly make some hair/scalp treatments (a mask for itchy/irritated scalps, for example) in the future. I've also dreamed about making my own range of Soy wax candles! 

Right, now we all know a little bit more about the company.....on to my review of the products Melanie sent me!

So these are the bits that I was sent: a Massage melt, face oil for combination skin, beauty balm and a comfort cleansing balm (plus flannel but I'd used it and popped it in the wash at this point! Silly me!!)

The Liquid Luxury Facial Oil for Combination Skin unfortunately leaked on it's way to me. Melanie was very apologetic and offered to send me a new one, but there was still loads left in there so I was fine with it! (But it was nice to know that she would've been happy to send a new one out anyway!) I'm not going to lie, I ended up taking the dropper bit out as it seemed to have clogged up on it's way to me so it was difficult to get the product out, but I think this is just something that happened to mine due to the leakage problem. I've not really used facial oils and tend to use this one at night mainly because, working for bareMinerals, means that i use a powder foundation and simply don't have time to let this lovely oil do it's magic when I'm in a rush in the morning! I like the way it feels so nice on my skin in the evening though. The word luxury is definitely something I would use to describe this oil. Having only really put one oil to the test before, I found it sat on my skin and made my face feel sticky, which is not something I've experienced with this at all! I like the way I wake up the next day and my skin feels very soft and smooth after application and it's nice to have something different for my night routine now! 

This retails for £6.50.

The Comfort Cleansing Balm comes with a free flannel too, which was a bonus! I'm fairly lazy with my makeup removal at night...I'm a big fan of one step cleansers! This one is definitely a cleanser for nights when I'm not so tired or have done a heavy makeup look. The idea for this one is to take a small amount of cleanser (it's a bit solid in the pot and Melanie recommended warming it before trying to scoop some out, but I found using the back of my nail was fine for me!), warm it in your hands and massage into dry skin. You then take a damp flannel (I personally use hot water on my flannel as I know it helps really cleanse deep into your pores this way) and you gently remove the cleanser. Now then, I was so sure this would leave a weird waxy residue on my face after cleansing but I was completely wrong! It's a really lovely cleanser that left my skin feeling so soft and clean without feeling tight or dry. I was so impressed and would definitely buy this again when it runs out! (which won't be soon as you get so much in there!!)

This retails for £6 for 100g.

The next product I received was a massage melt. Now then, I'm not going to lie, this was the one product that I wasn't quite so sold on. It was really nice after a bath as I was still all warm and it glided on easily and left my skin feeling very soft and hydrated.....but after a quick shower in the morning this was just simply too much of a faff for me! I found that my skin wasn't warm enough to get it to melt quick enough for me when I was in a rush to be honest. I have seen on the etsy store that White Rabbit Skincare now do ones with different scents and I would be more interested in the Twinkle Massage Melt as it has lavender in it and after a relaxing bath in the evening, a nice lavender scented melt would be so relaxing before bed! I think I'll stick to body butters for the morning though as I like to have an extra few minutes in bed rather than bother with fancy body care routines! Haha!

Massage Melts range from £4 to £4.50.

The final product was an all purpose Beauty Balm. I really like the idea of these as they are easy to pop in your handbag as they can be used for so much! I have used this as an over night lip treatment when my lips were horrendously chapped, a dry skin rememdy for my shins when they mysteriously decided to dry out randomly and my Mum has used this on her psoriasis on her elbows. Overall I enjoyed how hydrated my skin felt after using this and will be keeping it in my bedside table as a night essential but I'm not sure it'd become an everyday item or not. Again, you get a lot of product in a small tin which is always nice! If anyone has any other ways I can use a beauty balm I'd welcome the suggestions so I can try them out and see if this becomes a daily essential!

So overall, I genuinely enjoyed using most of the White Rabbit Skincare and really loved the fact that I knew what was in everything, that the labels were easy to read and that you get so much product for your money! I'm really interested in a few other products on their Etsy store (the cleansing waters being the next product I'm going to invest in!)

Have any of you guys tried White Rabbit Skincare? What are your thoughts on natural skincare?

Until next time,

xoxo

All products were sent to me for consideration by White Rabbit Skincare, but as always all opinions are my own and are 100% honest!

Review: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade

Hello!

So I know its been a few months since I last posted anything on here and certainly longer than that since I last posted anything beauty related, but I had a little downturn with my depression and had to sort that out before being able to cope with anything other than normal life! Hopefully that's fairly sorted now so I'm going to make a real effort with blogging as I bloomin' love waffling about beauty and skincare!!! So, lets get on with the reason I'm blogging day...the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade...

Is this not the most beautiful piece of makeup you have ever seen?? It literally made me squee with delight when I finally decided to go ahead and buy it! Now then, I'm not a MAC junkie who has to own everything by them, but you've gotta admit, they do know how to make products that are to drool over sometimes and for me, this is one of them! I love highlighters anyway but this just really is beautiful! One of the lovely ladies who used to work on Estée Lauder did buy me a highlighter as a gift that was called "Pink Buttercream" which is equally as pretty, but this one isn't limited edition so I don't feel quite so bad using it!

As always it's in that lovely MAC packaging that has a little button to press to open it. I like this because I always live in fear of breaking a nail on packaging that doesnt open easily (I'm SUCH a cliche girl when it comes to that aspect!!Haha!) I love the soft colours of the blues, peaches, pinks etc. It just looks so freaking pretty!! 

Swatches of it on my fingers for you all. Its got a slight silvery gold look to it almost which lends itself to being a great highlighter for all skintones I think. I think you're actually suppose to pop this on all over your face but I personally prefer it as a highlighter as it's subtle but noticable.

So as you can see in this swatch, the colours blend nicely to create that subtle glow rather than being too over the top. For me personally this has got to be my favourite highlighter I've ever purchased (although I'm sure I'll be saying that about another highlighter in the furture! I just love them so much!! Haha!)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade is normally £22* and can be brought online on the MAC store or in various different department stores.

So what do you guys think? Can you recommend other highlighters for me to drool over??

Until next time,

xoxo

*brought on discount for £7.70 (would totally pay £22 for this though!!haha!)

Review: Illamasqua Reflection Palette

Hello!

So today I'm bringing you a review on the Illamasqua Reflection Palette from their Sacred Hour Collection. (Side note: I'm also writing this on my brand new and super shiny iPad Air, which is very exciting for me but possibly not as exciting for you guys!) I went to the launch of this collection up in Selfridges London last July and had a whale of a time (side note: where does that phrase come from??) and met some lovely people, one of which I ended up going to dinner with and making good friends with! I did buy a few items (which my new friend totally told me off for - this is why we ended up being good friends I think as her telling me off was just like my friends would! Haha!) including the eyelashes and some nail polish. This was the most exciting purchase for me personally as it was the first makeup item I had brought from Illamasqua! I'd been wanting to try their stuff for ages but didn't want to order online incase I didn't like it. So, on to the palette....

So the Illamasqua packaging is very simply but classy I think. The only downside being that the shiny shiny case gets lots of fingerprint marks on it very quickly!! I like the case and it's easy to open even if you don't have nails (you know the kind of cases I mean where you need to have nails to be able to flip the lid open right? Ugh.)

The internal packaging is lovely too. My only complaint here is that there is a lot of packaging for a small palette. The packaging probably could have been reduced by about a third really. But it does look lovely, so there's that! The eyeshadows themselves are of the same formula as the Paranormal Palette so are kind of a bouncy feel with a cream to powder sort of texture. The guy who put this on me at the event a) was really lovely b) totally convinced me I needed this in my life for freshening up tired eyes and c) smelt really good which may or may not have helped sell the product to me.... He explained how the lemon/cream colour really helps to open up tired eyes (which it does) and that the others can be used in various different ways. I've used the darker brown colour as an eyeliner several times and a tiny bit goes a really long way. Now then, I don't own a lot of neutral palettes as I do love experimenting with lots of colours on my eyes, but this is one of the best neutral mini palettes I've seen. It can be used for day and night and is easy enough to pop in your bag if you take your eyeshadow out with you. I did find the cream formula creased on my eyes a bit but a tiny bit of primer underneath sorted this out!

These are the colours with one swirl of the shade and a swipe onto my hand. I like the way you can create a dramatic smokey eye with the dark gunmetal grey colour if you want or keep it fairly natural if you prefer. The colours are all very pigmented and I like the fact that there's no fallout with this formula as I do get frustrated with losing a lot of product round the packaging! 

Overall I think this is a really nice eyeshadow palette to start off with if you haven't tried Illamasqua before. I like the way it's quite natural colours as Illamasqua are quite well known for their "out there" colours and products (I brought the Paranormal Palette for this reason alone!) It's a nice way to try out different formulas of eyeshadows too and the sort of bounce that comes with these eyeshadows just makes it feel like a really nice highend purchase! I'm pleased that I invested in this and will be buying other bits from the Illamasqua website soon (I say soon...I've got a lipstick from the sale on it's way now!!) The only thing that puts me off a bit is the price. This palette is £34 which could be considered pricey when you can get one of Urban Decay's various Naked Palette's for £37 that contain more eyeshadows of fairly similar pigmentation. however, it's the formula of these that I liked so much that I was willing to pay that price for to be honest. I'm not sure if I'd want to pay that price for a neutral palette with only 4 shades in in a powder form if the Naked Palette's were a choice too as I'm a value for money kind of girl most of the time! (She says typing on her iPad.....) 

Have you guys tried anything buy Illamasqua? Any products you'd recommend? What do you think of the Reflection Palette?

You can buy the Reflection Palette at your nearest Illamasqua counter or online (where you can get 10% off if you've made 3 or more orders from them!)

Until next time,

xoxo

Review: Sleek Blush By 3 in Lace

Hello!

So I've decided to do a few reviews on stuff in my stash of cosmetics. I figured I've got a lot of stuff in there that I've never reviewed and I'm a big fan of searching blogs for reviews of various items before actually buying (it's saved me from a lot of bad purchases in the past I think!!)

So first up is a review on the Sleek Blush By 3 in Lace. I brought this a while back when Sleek had 20% off on their website. Everyone seems to rate them a lot and I had some other bits by them that were good quality for the price, so I decided to pick up a few bits on discount.....this being one of those bits! Now then, Sleek do some amazingly pretty blushers and I found it really difficult to choose! I so wanted to get some more pink blushers but I have so many that I did the whole "I'll get something different and then regret it later..." thing. I do regret not getting a pink toned Blush By 3 as they have so many pretty ones to choose from, but I picked this one because it was more for natural looks as sometimes my pink blushers just don't look right with a nude lip etc. The one i picked up is called lace and contains the shades Crochet, Guipure and Chantilly. It's a very different blush palette for me and all the shades would work very well for a natural look.

The outer packaging is simple but effective. It stands out from other highstreet brands and looks a bit more highend I think.

The Sleek packaging is...well....sleek! It's simple but looks good. And it's not rubbery like some highend brands so doesn't end up with thousands of finger prints visible on it!

From Left to Right:

Chantilly, Guipure and Crochet.

When I first opened it up, I was very impressed with how much product you get in there. There each the size of a normal blush for a lot of brands. They were a tad brighter than I was expecting but still good colours for a more natural look I think.

Swatches (reversed order from above...)

This is a swatch from one stroke of my finger on each blush! They are SO pigmented! I actually find them a tiny bit difficult to work with as I'm so used to a more pinky toned blush, which I don't mind a slightly heavier coverage from, that working with one that is orange toned is a bit of a learning curve! I like the way you get two matte shades and one shimmer shade in this so you get to have a play about with different looks. Also the shimmer shade works really well as a matching highlighter with the other two shades if you're light handed enough!

One finger swatches of Chantilly, Guipure and Crochet.

One of my most hated ingredients in cosmetics is Talc. It really annoys me when it's used as a filler as it makes things so chalky/drying on your skin. You can see with Crochet that the talc makes this one look a tad chalky on my arm. It's not so bad in blushers generally (in foundations it makes me so angry as it can make your face look so cakey!) but in stronger colours it can be a bit noticeable. As long as I didn't go too heavy with this colour it was ok. Any build up and it looked a bit heavy/cakey on my cheeks....also it looked SO ridiculous/funny on my as that colour is SO not what I normally use and made me look like Aunt Sally (google her) I really love the other two colours. Chantilly is a really natural toned blush on me and, again, as long as it isn't built up it looks like a really lovely colour...built up it looks a bit garish personally! Guipure is a beautiful rose gold kind of colour and really works as a highlighter for me but as a blush it's almost too pigmented for me to be comfortable to go out the house with it on. I felt a bit OTT when I wore this by itself. It works really nicely over the top of other blushers though as a highlight/accent shade. 

Overall - I liked the packaging and general quality of the blushers but the colours were very intense for me personally. I should've stuck to "safe" colours. I can see me using Chantilly and Guipure but I'm not sold on Crochet at all! They lasted a long time on my face but would've need a touch up if I had worn them all day and was then going out in the evening. You have to be very light handed when using these as brushes pick up a huge amount of product if you aren't careful....not one for a quick grab and go for me!

What do you guys think? Have you brought any Sleek blushers (or other products)? Which Blush By 3 would you have recommended for me?? 

You can buy Sleek in some Superdrug and Boots stores and online at Sleek's website. The Blush By 3 is £9.99 and available in lots of different shades (I have my eye on Pink Lemonade personally....)

Until next time,

xoxo