Have you ever gone into Primark for a mooch about only to somehow leave with three bags full of items you never quite knew you needed, didn't intend to purchase and don't even remember buying it? For me, that pretty much sums up my time in Primark most of the time, assuming I am not on a Disney mission for one of my nieces.
The Makeup section in Primark is without question the department I find myself spending ages looking at and every so often there are some products that really stand out and you know you just need to give them a try. Described as a selfie-ready cosmetics range the The InstaGirl Collection has around 17 different products within its collection and they are designed to offer quick fixes for all of your prep and prime needs and you will find everything from powders, sticks and balms to finishing powders and they are priced from £1.50 upwards to around £6. Essentially there is nothing that is going to break the bank here. The base products, I was told, have all been specifically designed with what is refereed to as feature enhancing blue pigments that reflect light and brighten the skin tone but perhaps more importantly for some, they also claim to be ‘flash proof’ and are therefore ideal for those who love to take a selfie and want to avoid the dreaded flashback.
I picked up three products from the PS...Insta Girl Collection and the first is the Insta Girl Perfecting Stick (£2.50). With its white plastic packaging and black lettering, the collection is great for taking photos and it is perfect for just having in your handbag. The Stick itself is a transparent balm and it acts as a pore blurring primer.
Firstly, I like that this is a stick and not a balm, cream or any form of liquid product, it is easy to use and perfect for being on the go (much like Benefits Porefessional License to Blot). On the skin, I hadn't expected to find much for my £2.50 but surprisingly, this balm isn't heavy or greasy, it is really lightweight and soft and actually does a pretty okay job and minimising the appearance of my pores, especially on my nose. I haven't noticed it making my make-up last any longer, but for £2.50 I am pretty impressed.
The second product I picked up was the Insta Girl #SelfieReady Blur Primer (£5). Again the black and white packaging comes into play with the box, but inside the tube is grey. I have, in the past used a few products which call themselves a 'Blur Primer' and there are one or two that I absolutely love and one or two that I liked. Primarks offering is a translucent gel silicone primer which promises to blur fine lines and pores.
Again, this primer isn't heavy on the skin, it is incredibly lightweight and has a similar feeling to Porefessional from Benefit in terms of sitting on the skin to provide that base. I have used this on my t-Zone which is quite oily and have found it does help to keep that oil from creeping in mid-afternoon. At £5, this is again a product which won't break the bank and it is something that is well worth trying before you splash out on other primers, because you just never know.
The third product I grabbed is the Insta Girl Banana Powder (£4). I have tried quite a few different Banana powders now, the most obvious being Ben Nye followed by Makeup Revolution. This Banana Powder comes in a pressed compact and is described as being ideal to set make up and even the complexion as well as being suitable for all skin tones.
I like to use a Banana Powder to set my makeup and I tend to use a big powder brush or powder puff to apply it evenly to my skin to set my foundation and if I am using it to set my concealer, then I will use a much smaller brush. Being pressed into a compact rather than being a loose powder, means I have more control as to how much I am using and is therefore less messy. The Insta Girl Banana Powder has a Beige Hue with a slight yellowing to it and as setting powders go, I expected it to not be any good, infact I thought it would be awful but it wasn't. It actually does a pretty good job where my conceal is concerned and it also works pretty well as a mattifying powder, something I hadn't expected to find. Come mid afternoon when that pesky oil begins to appear, this banana powder helps to absorb it and prevent the need to re-apply makeup and all for £4.
This has been my first using of the Insta Girl Collection and I am quite impressed because it is often not about how much you pay for a product, but what that product does for you which should be important. Have you managed to try anything from this range yet?
*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page here