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 Colour Tattoo Cream Gel Eyeshadow Review

Cream eyeshadows are extremely popular at the minute, either as an 'all over the lid' wash of colour for on the go, or as a base for powder eyeshadows. I picked these up after hearing great things about them from YouTube beauty gurus. Some of the colours looked a bit bright for my personal taste however there were a few nice neutral shades, I picked up 'On and on Bronze', 'Permanent Taupe' and 'Eternal Gold'. These eyeshadows can be bought at Superdrugs and Boots for £4.99, in the UK there are 11 shades available however I have heard there is more selection in the US.

The packaging of the eyeshadows is impressive for a high street brand, the pot is thick glass with a black plastic lid. They are quite heavy and expensive-feeling, which is a nice touch seeing as they are quite cheap. From the first time I used these I was hooked, all 3 shades are extremely pigmented, creamy and easy to apply. I apply these with a clean fingertip however they apply just as easily with an eyeshadow brush. Once applied you need to blend them quite quickly as they set within a few minutes, once they have set they are hard to budge which means they stay on all day. I can wear these for around 6 hours by themselves without creasing, however they do last longer with an eyeshadow over top. I struggle to find eyeshadows (cream or powder) that won't crease on my eyelids as they are quite oily, I am yet to find an effective eyeshadow primer that isn't super expensive.

From left to right are 'On and on Bronze', 'Permanent Taupe' and 'Eternal Gold'. My favourite from the shades I picked up is 'On and on Bronze', which is a lovely bronze-copper shade with some shimmer running through it, it looks great on its own with lots of mascara as a neutral daytime look. My least favourite would have to be 'Eternal Gold', for some reason when I bought this I imagined it being a nice champagne shade that I could use all over the lid with some liner. It is a very vibrant yellow-gold, it's a nice shade but just a bit too 'gold' for me. Overall I would definitely recommend these, they have amazing staying power and a nice selection of shades, I will definitely be picking up some more shades. 

Let me know if you have tried these, what shades are you loving?