Sleek Precious Metals Highlighting Palette Review

My original desire to buy this palette came from a review that Tati on Youtube posted on Sleek make up, unfortunately when I went to Boots to buy it I accidentally picked up the Precious metals palette instead of the Solstice palette. I had no idea until I got home and realised that three of the highlights in this palette are creams. Now as a girl with what may be the oiliest skin in the world, I was immediately convinced that I had wasted my money and that the formula would either cause them to slip off my face by noon or look cakey and gross due to the amount of powder I have to use on my face. Nevertheless, I gave them a fair go and was actually rather impressed!

The packaging of this palette is really nice, the palette is a bronze colour and quite sturdy, my only bug bear is that the plastic shows fingerprints and so will always look a bit grubby (Unless you polish it after every use but who has time for that?). Both top shades of this palette are creams (Platinum and Royal gold), along with the bottom shade on the left (Renaissance gold). 'Platinum' is a pale shade that leaves a sheen on the skin with tiny flecks of pink reflex, this would be the perfect highlight for super pale people with cool-toned skin. 'Royal gold' is my least favourite shade of the palette, when it is applied to the skin it leaves chunky flecks of glitter that are pretty noticeable. This shade might be good for something like a festival, but for everyday it is a bit disco-ballish for me. The next shade in the palette is my absolute favourite, 'Renaissance gold' is a super smooth gold that just looks amazing on the skin, it gives a beautiful healthy glow and doesn't contain any flecks of glitter or sparkle. The final shade is a powder highlight called 'Antique bronze', this shade has a lovely glow to it without having chunks of glitter, however it is quite pigmented. To wear 'Antique bronze I have to have a decent amount of bronzer on my cheeks, otherwise this translates as a sparkly orangy-bronze streak on my face, which isn't ideal.

Left to right: 'Platinum', 'Royal gold', 'Renaissance gold' and 'Antique bronze'

The formula of these highlighters is very nice, the creams are a nice slippery consistency which is easy to blend. Personally I applied the creams with the tips of my fingers onto my (non-existent) cheekbones and tapped to blend them in. I haven't tried applying them with a beauty blender or Real techniques miracle complexion sponge but I'm sure that would be an even faster way of blending them out. The powder shade is also easy to apply and blend, but also very pigmented, you have been warned!

Overall I think this is an amazing palette, I'm not usually one to try cream products but these stayed on and didn't appear cakey, even over powder. I may be converted. Let me know if you have tried this palette and how you liked it!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer Review

The Bourjois healthy mix concealer is one of my favorite concealers of all time, the formula is creamy, moisturizing and it blends so nicely. I got mine from Boots for £7.99 and I use it all the time! I have the lightest shade and I use it to brighten my under eyes and on spots (Its not too different from my foundation shade), the formula is great for both as long as you remember to set it with a powder as it is so creamy.

On days when my cheeks are super red (thanks rosacea!) I will dab a bit of this on my cheeks and blend it with the Real techniques miracle complexion sponge to help cover the redness. Basically its a great all-rounder concealer, I would definitely recommend you pick it up.

Let me know what you thought of this if you have tried it? Is there anything you would really like a review on?

Fleur De Force Lip Gloss Review

Fleur De Force is one of my personal favorite beauty Youtubers, I've always loved her personality in her videos and found that we liked a lot of similar products when it came to beauty. When Fleur posted a video on her channel announcing that she had released a her own make up line, I couldn't contain my excitement. Fleur's make up range includes a selection of lip glosses and eye-shadow palettes. Since my addiction is lip products I ordered two of her lip glosses, from Feel Unique, in the shades 'Seeing stars' (above on top) and 'Written in the stars' (above on the bottom). All of Fleur's products have star related names as she has such a love of stars, I can definitely relate.

These lip glosses are priced at £6.99 and come in 6 shades, ranging from nude to dark purple. I chose two of the more nude shades as I prefer my darker lip shades to be matte. 'Written in the stars' is a lovely mauvy-pink shade, perfect for an everyday gloss, They are very pigmented for glosses, you can build them up for a complete lip, or wear a thinner layer as more of a hint of colour. The second shade I purchased, 'Seeing stars', seemed like more of a peachy shade on Fleur, however on me it is very orange. I still like the shade, but I don't think I will be wearing it everyday.

'Written in the stars' and 'Seeing stars'

These glosses have a small doe-foot applicator, which works well for application, however it picks up hardly any product. This isn't a huge problem, it just makes it a tad annoying that you have to dip the wand into product and apply 2-3 times to get a decent amount of gloss. The formula of the glosses is really lovely, it is thick enough to be long wearing but isn't sticky. I also found these super moisturizing, similar to Tanya's lip glosses, sometimes I just apply these instead of lip balm as I've found they moisturize more than most of the lip balms I've tried! Overall these are great lip glosses, I am definitely going to be adding a few shades to my Christmas list, the red looks like it would be amazing for Christmas parties! Fleur definitely did a great job and she should be proud!

Have you tried these? Let me know in the comments! Also if there are any other products you would like to see reviewed then don't hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email,  I'll see what I can do!

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush Review

When I saw these blushes I was immediately taken by how similar they looked to the popular Milani baked blushes available in the US. I have had my eye on the Milani blushes for months now but the only way you can get your hands on them in the UK is by buying on Amazon and I was always too worried that they would arrive smashed. The Max Factor Creme Puff blushes have the same gorgeous marbling and shimmer to Milani ones, although the range of colours of the Milani blushes is more diverse. There are 6 shades to choose from of the Max Factor blushes, where as Milani have 9 different shades. I picked up the shades 'Lovely pink' and 'Gorgeous berries' for £8.99 each at Boots.

'Lovely pink' and 'Gorgeous berries'

I love these blushes, 'Lovely pink' is such a nice subtle everyday shade and I have been wearing it almost everyday. The formula of these blushes is really soft and blendable, whilst still being super pigmented. The shade 'Gorgeous berries' is beautiful but definitely requires a light hand, I use my dual fibre brush from Real Techniques for this and you still only need to dip your brush in the powder once to get a nice hint of plum colour to your cheeks. Personally I think these blushes are great as a highlight and blush in one, they leave a subtle shimmer and make you look fresh and healthy (even when you've been up all night writing assignments! The uni struggle is real!).

I can't definitively say that these are a dupe for the Milani blushes as I don't own any, but from hearing what the Milani blushes are like, I would say they sound pretty similar. Either way I would definitely recommend that you give these a go, there are a few more shades that I might just have to pick up.

Have you tried these out? Let me know in the comments.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara

I bought this mascara a while back to try out from Boots because of its lash-boosting claims, This mascara is infused with a 'grow-lash complex' that 'stengthens, renews and nourishes lashes, promoting natural lash growth'. The idea is that you use your mascara everyday and after a month you will have Beyonce lashes, or at least notice a difference. I used this everyday to university for about 2 months and, personally, I didn't notice that my lashes were any longer or fuller than before I started using this. Saying that however, I do really like this mascara.

The narrow wand on this lets you get right down to the root and the formula is super lengthening. I especially love this for doing my lower lashes, with big chunky brushes I always end up dotting mascara under my eyes or accidentally poking myself in the eye. With this brush I can really get in there and build up product on the lower lashes, which is great for balancing out a smokey upper lid.

I would recommend this for ladies (or men!) who struggle with short lashes that are hard to build up product on to. The wand makes getting every lash much easier and the formula is amazing for lengthening. For those of you who prefer a volumising mascara, I would still recommend Maybelline's 'The falsies' mascara, you can find my review for that here.

Let me know if you have tried this mascara and if so, what you thought of it.

Soap and Glory Glow All Out Luminizing Face Powder

 This product isn't a new thing by any means, the Glow all out luminizing face powder by Soap and Glory (9g). I picked this up from Boots a few months back for £11 and have been using it a lot lately. The packaging of mine is a thick cardboard material with a magnetized closure and a decent sized mirror, however they have since changed the packaging into a sturdy plastic compact (which I much prefer). As with all Soap and Glory products, the title is a play on words.

The actual product is a smooth shimmery powder that is a light cool-toned pink shade. It provides a subtle shimmer over the cheekbones and really goes well with pale skin. If you are quite dark in skin tone however, this may not be the highlighter for you. As the powder is pinky and cool toned, I think it would look ashy on darker skin tones, a bronze highlighter tends to look better. If you have cool toned skin and are looking for an affordable highlighter, I would really recommend this. It gives the cheek bones a nice subtle shimmer and lasts really well throughout the day.

Have you tried this product?

Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick Review in 'Pink Bronze'

I picked up this shimmer brick from Boots recently after hearing that is was very similar to the new Bobbi Brown shimmer brick in 'Beige', which is priced at £32.50. The idea of a shimmer brick is that there are 4-5 shimmery shades lined up together in one pan, the shades can be used individually or swirled together as highlighter, blusher, bronzer or even an eye shadow.The Seventeen shimmer bricks are priced at £4.99 and come in 2 shades, 'Pink bronze' and 'Gold bronze'. I went for the peachier 'Pink bronze', since 'Gold bronze' seemed a bit too dark and coppery for my skin tone.

'Pink bronze'

The packaging of this is impressive for an affordable brand, sturdy and sleek looking. There are 4 shades ranging from a light beige 'highlight' shade to a coppery bronze.

 I have used this product in 3 different ways, as a highlighter (keeping my brush in the lighter section of the brick), a blush and an eye shadow. I think this product is best suited for highlighting as it is very shimmery and can be quite overpowering as a bronzer. As a highlight, this looks beautiful, it creates a lovely light bronze shimmer to the high points of the cheek that looks amazing with a tan. It is important, however, that you use a light hand when applying this, otherwise it is less 'glowing from within' and more 'disco ball disaster'. The shimmer brick also makes a lovely bronze blush (applied sparingly to the apples of the cheeks) and the darker copper shades look great as eye shadow (copper-toned eye shadows will make blue and green eye colours really stand out).

Overall I would really recommend these shimmer bricks, they are super cheap and can be used for a variety of different things, meaning they would be great for anyone starting out in make up or who is on a budget. Although I cannot compare this with the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks, the products look very similar and I have heard that they are amazing dupes for one another. Regardless, they are definitely worth trying for the price and if you would prefer a more pink-toned affordable shimmer brick, Revlon have a similar product in 'Rose glow' which also looks lovely.

Have you tried these out? How did you like them? Let me know in the comments.

Maybelline New York BROWdrama Sculpting Brow Mascara Review

Like most women, I hate my brows. They are sparse, patchy and hard to manage in general. Not to mention the fact that, because I have blonde hair, it is impossible to find a brow product that doesn't make it look like I've filled them in with an orange crayon. For this reason, I am always sceptical when trying anything new for the brows, nothing ever seems to match right with my hair colour or look natural. 

This new brow mascara from Maybelline is said to be a highstreet/drugstore dupe for the popular Benefit 'Gimme brow' gel, which is a coloured gel fibre brow mascara priced at £17.50. The Maybelline version is coloured, however does not contain fibres to thicken the brows. 

The Maybelline brow mascara is available from Boots and Superdrug for £4.99 in the UK. If you do not live in the UK, Feel Unique stock Maybelline and ship worldwide. The Maybelline brow mascara comes in 3 shades, 'dark blonde', 'medium brown' and 'dark brown'.

The packaging of this is slightly lacking in my opinion, the tube isn't very sleek looking or sophisticated, however it isn't the worst packaging considering the price. The wand is topped with an odd, ball shaped applicator which I found quite difficult to manoeuvre through the brow. It is easy enough to comb through the front and middle section of the brow, however it is tricky to coat the hairs towards the end without getting product on the skin. Any mess is easily cleaned up with a cotton bud however, and I'm sure I will get more familiar with the brush after a few more uses. 

In terms of formula, I was very impressed. The colour isn't too warm toned and so looks natural in the brows. The formula is also very long lasting and doesn't leave the brow hairs crunchy (unless you really pile it on). I use this either in combination with brow powder to hold the brow in place and add a bit more colour (if I can be bothered), or on its own on 'natural make-up' days. The product can also be layered for a darker, fuller brow.

Overall I am very happy with the brow mascara, it creates a lovely natural looking brow, perfect for everyday. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who struggles with their brows, even just to use over brow powder or pencil. It holds the hairs in place all day and gives a subtle hint of colour to help frame the face.

Let me know if you've tried this product, did you get along with it? 
Also, don't hesitate to request any reviews you'd like to see!

NYX Butter Gloss Review

NYX is a brand that has only recently been available in the UK, so I was happy when I could get my hands on these. Usually sold in the US, you can now buy NYX products online here or find them in NEXT stores. Although NYX products are much cheaper in the US, the brand is still affordable in the UK and so I thought I'd make a small order and see how I liked them. I bought 2 butter glosses from Cherry Culture, along with some other NYX goodies, and when they arrived I fell in love at first swatch. I put another order in straight away for 3 more shades, but this time from www.nyxcosmetics.co.uk so that delivery would be quicker (yes, I was that keen). These butter glosses are available in the US for $5.00 and £5.00 in the UK. 

(L-R) Peaches and Cream, Maple Blondie, Creme Brulee, Vanilla Cream Pie, and Eclair

Peaches and Cream

Maple Blondie

Creme Brulee

Vanilla Cream Pie

Eclair

These glosses feel extremely smooth and buttery on the lips, not sticky at all. In terms of pigment I would liken them more to a medium to sheer lipstick than to a gloss, some shades have more pigment than others. They are also very moisturising so there is no need to wear a balm underneath. My favourite shade would have to be 'Peaches and Cream', a lovely bright pink shade which is perfect for summer. These would be ideal for girls who don't like the consistency of lipstick, but want a nice subtle pop of colour on the lips with a slight sheen. There are 22 shades available in the US, meaning a great variety of colours for all different skin tones. So far these are the best glosses I have found for highstreet/drugstore prices, amazing pigmentation, texture, shade selection and they last a decent few hours on the lips too. I would definitely recommend these and I can see why they are so popular.

Have you tried these yet? Let me know you're thoughts down in the comments and don't hesitate to make any requests!