Make-Up Revolution: First thoughts

There has been a lot of hype and excitement about new budget brand, Make up Revolution. I myself was dazzled by the colours of some of the products and happy to see a more affordable brand offering more daring products, usually reserved for the likes of Urban Decay, Illamasqua and Lime Crime. 
I will do a proper review of these when I get a day at home (weather has been too awful today to take photos after I got home from work), but I was very excited when I opened my package so thought I would share what I got:

Iconic 3 Palette: £4
Like all beauty fans I have been lusting after the Naked 3 palette, but £37?? I don't think so. People were saying this is a dupe (though I don't think these are as rosy-toned) and I'm looking forward to giving it a go

Individual eyeshadows: £1
These are ridiculously bright! Can't wait to try these when I've hit the fake tan.

Velvet Lip Lacquer: £3
These have been compared to Lime Crime's Velvetines. I quickly slapped some on to try, but not owning any Velvetines I can't really comment on whether they are comparable. However this is a highly pigmented, super bright candy pink with serious staying power (I had trouble removing it!)

Blue lipstick: £1

This is the product I was excited about. Rihanna had worn a similar lipstick last year but it was so unique and crazy that I thought only high end brands would do something similar. I didn't want to shell out a lot of money on something I probably won't wear too much so was happy that they've done a similar shade. I've seen some people have issues with it applying streakily but when I gave it a quick try it didn't seem too bad, though I'd recommend a light foundation layer to make the colour pop even more

Here's a brief swatch of the two lip products, I will post some decent photos when we have another brighter day

So this little bundle cost me a whole..£10! I'm looking forward to trying these properly and it wouldn't surprise me if I made another order soon

Models Own Haul inc. Hyper Gel swatches

I've been keeping my eye on the Models Own Facebook page for weeks now,waiting for the elusive 50% off code to drop when they reached 250,000 likes. And it finally happened! I was so happy as some of my favourite Models Own polishes needed replacing, and I wanted to try a couple of the Hyper Gels too. Here's what I got...
All swatches are 2 coats

(top L-R: Hedonist, Beach Party, Ibiza Mix, Sophie's Pink, Red-Black
Bottom L-R: Hypergels White Light, Pink Veneer, Cornflower Gleam, and Scented Blueberry Muffin)

My Hed Kandi collection polishes (Hedonist, Beach Party, Ibiza Mix) had gone thick and gloopy but they're some of my favourites so I wanted to replace them.
Hedonist (left) is a neon red and Beach Party neon orange. They have somewhat of a matte finish and look really good with a tan (which I'm lacking at the moment)

Ibiza Mix is my all time favourite glitter. Below is 2 coats; you can see how good the coverage is. It looks great over so many colours. 

I've always seen Sophie's Pink on the website and been tempted, so when the 50% off deal came around I thought I might as well. It's not as bold as the swatch looked on the website which I'm a bit annoyed about.

Left- Sophie's Pink on the website. Right- Swatch

Img- nailpolishdirect.co.uk

Red Black actually seems more purple-black than anything, which I was a bit disappointed with as I was hoping for more of a 'Chanel Rouge Noir' colour. It was really hard to photograph too, so in the photo below it just looks black.

I didn't indulge in the scented collection when it was first released, as I thought it was more gimmicky than innovative. But I love a blue polish so went for Blueberry Muffin. This applied really well and wasn't streaky which surprised me. Looking ahead to summer I kind of wish I'd got the whole scented collection as I do love the pastel colours.

And finally...the Hypergel polishes. Part of me wanted them all but I restricted myself to three. 

I always find white polishes a chore, as it's so hard to find one that's not streaky and gives solid opaque coverage. The Hypergel shade 'White Light' is completely opaque in two thin coats. 

In hindsight, I didn't really need Cornflower Gleam, as on inspection it is nearly identical to Barry M's Gelly Polish in 'Blueberry'. I'm a sucker for a blue polish though.

Below is a comparison between the two, Models Own 'Cornflower Gleam' on the left and Barry M's 'Blueberry' on the right. The formulas are also really similar, in that they are quite sheer and require a few coats for full coverage. I was hoping this wouldn't be the case with the Models Own one, as that's part of the reason I don't use the Barry M one as much. You can see how much shinier the Model's Own polish is though.

Pink Veneer is a pretty cool toned baby pink which I didn't think would look right against my skin tone (a lot of pink polishes just don't look right on me) but I really like it on. It applies well and non-streakily which is a bonus in such a pale colour.

First foray into...Body Shop make up

I've never really shopped at Body Shop, but I keep hearing good things so on a whim went in on my last shopping trip. As usual,I was drawn to the lipsticks and found this baby:

Though I usually prefer a matte finish, and this is rather glossy, as soon as I swiped it on my hand I had to have it. The shade is 'Colour Crush', a bright gorgeous blue-toned pink. It is so comfortable to wear, which I'm not too used to as a matte lip-lover and still lasts a good couple of hours if you do the ol' apply-blot-reapply. The shade is pretty similar to my recently purchased Revlon Matte Balm, Unapologetic, but slightly bluer-based in tone and with a high shine finish (yes, that is me attempting to justify the purchase!)

Alongside this lipstick I also got an 'invisible' lip liner. I've been on the look out for a clear lip liner for ages, as when wearing lipstick I really feel it makes such a difference if liner is worn, but didn't want to go and buy one for every lipstick in my expanding collection.
I also got sucked into signing up for their loyalty card scheme, which I hadn't heard about before. It cost £5 for the year, but had loads of benefits like 10% off every purchase, £5 off on your birthday, other exclusive vouchers and discounts and free gifts worth £5 and £10 on your fourth and eighth purchase.

They've finally landed- Revlon Matte balms

These have been reviewed and swatched to death, but I love them so much I had to share! Revlon was also on 3 for 2 in Boots so I had to indulge. I went for 'Unapologetic', a punchy pink, and 'Audacious',an orange toned coral, and got a top coat as my third item. 

Here they are against a white background so you can see the shades better:

(top- Unapologetic, bottom- Audacious)


Unapologetic (pink)

Audacious (Orange-Coral)

(Sorry for the extreme close up but this shot shows the colour better!)

The colour pay off was better for Unapologetic than Audacious, but this may just be down to my skin tone. Audacious also showed up more imperfections on the lips for some reason. However, I'm a big fan and these definitely live up to the hype- they apply so easily and precisely due to the crayon-like design, they aren't awfully drying for a matte product and they last on the lips for ages.
 Unfortunately my Boots already had a half empty stand so half the colours weren't available, but I will definitely be adding more to my collection.

P.S- Apologies for all the random photo locations: I have been moving around the house trying to find some half-decent natural lighting, which is proving ridiculously hard in this dire weather! 

Bits and bobs

When I picked up the OPI dupes from Primark (see this post) I also treated myself to a few other bits and pieces

4x Primark Nail polishes, £2: probably didn't really need these, but I thought the purple was a really interesting colour that I don't have in my collection, and the true orange on the end is also one missing from my stash.

All the colours were really bright and opaque in 2 coats...perfect summer nails.


2x Barry M Gelly Nails, 2 for £6 in Superdrug: Though these have been around a little while, none of the previous colours appealed to me at all. So it was only with the new releases that I decided to invest in a couple. I've seen the turquoise (Green berry) on a few blogs and loved it, and I always love a good neutral shade (Lychee).

Frilly socks, £1.50, and scrunchies, £1: a 90s revival at Primark! I have exactly the same socks from Top Shop, which cost £3.50 (booo!) so I picked up two black pairs in Primark. They also had white ones and grey with cream lace, which I'm regretting not buying now... Not sure if the scrunchies will be a bit too hipster for me, but as they were only a pound for three won't be the end of the world if they don't get worn.

Primark OPI Minnie Mouse dupes

Picked up a few bits from Primark the other day but thought these deserved a post. I saw this four pack of nail polish and thought no, I really don't need any more polish. But then, I couldn't remember the last time I bought a new one so I just went for it! Especially when I took a closer look and the colours and realised 'OMG OPI Minnie Mouse dupes!'

Primark vs OPI (OPI picture from shefindsit.com )

Obviously for £2 they're not gonna be on par with OPI, but after swatching them I was quite impressed.

From left to right:

Polish One: This was a deep pink polish with a shimmer to it. I don't usually go for shimmer or pearl finish polishes, preferring opaque block colours, but because of the hot pink colour I think this would look great on some talon-like nails. It did take three coats for full coverage but the drying time was surprisingly quick

Polish Two: This was the worst out of the bunch. It had barely any colour, a mere hint of golden-pink shimmer, and was very difficult to pick up any of the hearts with the polish brush as they just kept sinking through the polish. Though I think the golden shimmer could look nice layered up over one of the other polishes. I've heard various complaints about the real OPI one too with regard to getting the hearts out, so maybe this isn't just Primark's fault but a general problem with larger glitter shapes.

Polish Three: Loved this one- a bright almost neon pinky-red. Again this went on quite sheer, but once three coats were layered up it was a lovely bright pink, again one that'd look great on some serious nails (and with a tan)

Polish Four: I've been after a baby pink polish for a while, but could never find one that was quite right (as in opaque, pink but not pastel and girly, one that packed a punch). I loved this one from the four, as it was more opaque in colour, only needing two coats and was the perfect shade of pink. 

So out of the four, two I loved, one I was surprised I liked and one was a du. For £2, I don't think that's bad at all! :)

Bourjois Rouge edition lipsticks

As with most new releases, these have been doing the rounds on the blogosphere and thought I'd add my two cents to the mix.

I picked up two shades- Rouge buzz (orange-red) and Rose Neon (pink) after falling in love with the colours when I swatched them instore. And with a buy one, get one half price deal in Boots...why not, eh? :)

Rouge Buzz

I was a bit annoyed when I first got this out at home, as in store I thought it was more orange toned (which is what I wanted),but at home just looked pretty red.  However, once I'd  applied it and looked at it in different lights I really am starting to love this shade. It has intense colour in one swipe, and doesn't look too glossy 

Rose Neon

I loved this when swatched, but when I applied it at home I realised this really isn't the colour for me! It's too cool toned and 'Barbie' pink, which can be a good look, but I think the glossy finish on this put me off a lot. The colour was a lot sheerer than Rouge Buzz, meaning more coats had to be applied and resulting in a really glossy finish, as you can see in the close up shot. I haven't had much luck with pink lipsticks at all [see this post on Models Own Pink Hawaiian], maybe I should stick to reds! 

You can see how glossy this one is here

As a recent convert to lipstick, for me it's really important that a lipstick is easy to apply and doesn't smear too easily, as I'm still not so used to wearing it and don't wanna end up with it all over my face! Found it a bit strange that these two seemed quite different in their application. Though they both glided with ease, I found Rouge Buzz much more wearable as one coat resulted in great colour, whereas with Rose Neon i felt like I had to keep applying to get a good level of colour. This meant it felt quite heavy and almost sticky on my lips due to the number of coats.

 I definitely prefer the look of matte lipsticks, but Rouge Buzz did not have too much of a high shine finish and meant the lips felt hydrated rather than dry and cakey like matte lipsticks can leave your lips feeling. They both faded pretty evenly too so you are left with a light colour staining the lips rather than patches of colour all over.

I'm not sure about the 'groupings' of the lipsticks into colour families (I just went for the colours my eye was drawn to), but there seems to be variety in that there some neutral shades, brights like these two, and deeper colours for evening glamour. So there's something for everyone :)

Have you tried these yet?