I Heart Lip Balms

I am one of those Lip Balm obsessives, I have a few in every drawer, handbag and on my desk and I also use a lot, applying and re-applying several times a day. 

The latest release from I Heart makeup, who are the sister company of the Makeup Revolution group, introduced 5 new flavoured balms which are kooky, fun and smell delightful.

Packaged inside a unique capsule style tube which is brightly coloured and works with the given flavour, they fit into your handbag really easily and stand up unaided which is even better. The five falvours are:

• Raspberry Fizz - Pink
• Lemon Sorbet - Light Blue
• Cool Vanilla - White
• Wild Strawberry - Red
• Blueberry Crush - Dark Blue

Whilst they don't contain any SPF, they are really moisturising and hydrating for the lips and .  

The scents are pretty good for their description and you will be in no doubt as to which one is which, picking a favourite is quite a hard choice and I am stuck somewhere between Raspberry Fizz which reminds me of Barrs Cherryade and Lemon Sorbet which reminds me of Lemon Bon Bons.

You can find these lip balms priced at just £2.99, right here and they are an absolute bargain.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise

Makeup Revolution Primark Dupe!

Brush cleaning day, usually Sunday, is one of those chores that I huff and puff about having to do and a few months ago, I did a blog post on The Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette and the Makeup Revolution Pro Cleanse Brush Tool which you can find here.

Anyway, I have found a Makeup Revolution Brush cleaning dupe in Primark for £1.50 and they are so remarkably similar in how they look, how they feel infact looking at them, the only difference is that one is pink (Primark) and one is Purple (Makeup Revolution).

Designed to fit over your fingers, as you can see they have groves and knobbly bits to help clean your brushes. All you need to do is wet your brush, apply your brush shampoo and swipe the brush backwards and forwards along the grooves, as you do so, you can see all the makeup ‘stuff’ that has been lingering on the brushes run off into the sink and within seconds your brush is clean and ready to be left to dry. The Knobbly bits I use for my smaller brushes as I find it helps clean them much better.

So which one works better? The Makeup Revolution material is slightly softer and more pliable when washing the brushes, so instead of being rigid like the Primark one, there is some movement. Other than that, they are absolutely identical - same size, same number of grooves, same number of knobbly bits, same size part for your fingers to fit into. The only difference, other than the colour is that Primark charge £1.50 and Makeup Revolution £4.99.

Makeup Revolution Pro Hygiene Sanitising Solid Brush Cleaner

When the Makeup Revolution Pro Hygiene Sanitising Solid Brush Cleaner popped through my letterbox I was intrigued to find whether or not something that cost £5 would be any good, remember I have mentioned on many occasions that this is not a brand to be judged by its prices.

Described as being the perfect on-the-go solution to instantly sanitise, cleanse and condition your make up brushes with no mess, little effort and something that is easy to use, I gave it a whirl.  Now I hate cleaning my make up brushes, it is boring, laborious and I always chastise myself for leaving it until I have barely none left, before having to clean them all.

In order to give this a try, I found one of my dirtiest brushes (yes I know, minging) and followed the instructions.  You simple wet the brush and gently place into the solid brush cleanser until it starts to foam, which it does after a few seconds, this then works to remove the residue, the swirl the brush into the palm of your (clean) hand and when you do this, all the gunk that has accumulated literally dissolves, running away into the sink.  Once this has been completed and you are happy, simply rinse with the brush and leave to dry.  Having used the solid balm, there is a little dirt left on the top from where I wiped by brush around it, but to remove that, you simply run it under water to keep the balm clean.

As you can see, this solid cleanser does an exceptional job at dissolving the make up from this brush and leaves it looking like new, the once white bristles that had turned orange are now white again and it works for every kind of brush you have from lip brushes to eyebrow brushes. 

For just £5 this is brilliant value for money and it is perfect for cleaning any brush and is the perfect on the go cleaning essential.

This post may contain PR Samples and/or Affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclaimer page.

Makeup Revolution Rose Gold Lipsticks

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the Makeup Revolution 2nd Birthday Party at Cafe De Paris, here in London and what an amazing night it was. What I love about Makeup Revolution is that there is seemingly no end to the creative talents from the team, from which, they are able to offer amazing products at highstreet prices.  These products rival some of the biggest brands out there and have shown that you don't need to spend hundreds of pounds to fill your makeup bag.

I have the full collection of Makeup Revolution Rose Gold Lipsticks to showcase today and they cost just £3 each! Seriously, £3 for a lipstick which not only looks stunning, it has a great pigment to it too and from this range, I am sure everyone will find at least one shade they love. Again, with Rose Gold still being the 'in thing' currently, it might just be that must have item you need in your bag!

There are five shades within this collection and I really like the formula. Not only are they so creamy that they glide onto the lips, they are also incredibly pigmented and they don't stick to dry bits on your lips! Each lipstick has a brilliant name, to work with its colour and they are:

Red Carpet: Now red lipsticks scare me, I have very pale skin and I am convinced it is not a shade that I can pull off.  This is a stunning shade of red and I am yet to give it a try, but from the swatch, shown below both with and without a flash, you can see how amazing it is. 

Diamond Life: This is an amazing shade and one I have worn on many occasions.  It looks as though it is going to be a really deep purple shade, but in comparison to Private Members Club, it is much lighter. 

Chauffeur: This is a very wearable browny nude shade which is perfect for those days when you want a bit of colour but nothing to bright.  It is quite a cool toned shade, so it works well with my lips, it doesn't give me that foundation lip look that other nudes have given. 

Girls Best Friend: This shade is the perfect pink for those who like their bright pink lipsticks.  Though it does absolutely nothing for me and isn't a shade I can pull off, it is just beautiful and I am sad I have to love it from afar.

The final shade is Private Members Club and this is another stunning shade and for me is a favourite alongside Diamond Life.  When I took it out of the bullet, I actually thought it was going to be black until I swatched it, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a very dark purple shade. 

So there you have five stunning, Rose Gold designed lipsticks in five very different shades.  Do you have a favourite?

Makeup Revolution V Real Techniques - Brush Cleaning Tools

Brush cleaning day, usually Sunday, is one of those chores that I huff and puff about having to do. It is one that only I have created and therefore only right I clean the brushes. Having read some horror stories in the media about infections from dirty brushes, I have embraced this chore much more regularly than I used to, but I still dislike doing it intensely and as soon as someone invents a self-cleaning brush, the happier I will be. In the meantime, anything that I can use to make this chore a bit more exciting will capture my attention and currently there are two items that have done just that. The Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette and the Makeup Revolution Pro Cleanse Brush Tool. 

The Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette, which you can find in Superdrug for £12.99, look a bit like a soap dish, maybe that was the intention, who knows but it is beautifully bright pink so you can’t miss it and it makes the task of cleaning brushes so quick and easy it is much less of a chore. Using it is really simple, you just need to wet your brush, add some brush shampoo, whichever one you use and then rub the brush along and around the little knobbly bits a few times and you are done. Inside the dish there are some different sized knobbly bits (I am sure they have a proper name) and they are for different sized brushes, so no brush is left unclean. 

Makeup Revolution, not one to be without something funky have their Pro Cleanse Brush Tool, which again you can buy online or via Superdrug for just £4.99 and this little gadget works similarly to the Real Techniques dish. Bright purple in colour this time, it is designed to fit over your fingers this time and instead of having knobbly bits, it has groves and they work in the same way and are different sizes are different brushes. Again you need to wet your brush, apply your brush shampoo and swipe the brush backwards and forwards along the grooves, as you do so, you can see all the makeup ‘stuff’ that has been lingering on there run off into the sink and within seconds your brush is clean and ready to be left to dry.

So there you have two tools to help you clean your brushes and they both have plus points and both have minus points.  The dish for Real Techniques is pink so that is always going to be a hit, but... tend to find myself cleaning the dish as much as the brushes, given the amount of dirt and grime and stuff that comes off the brushes, I don't want it lurking in the dish when I grab my next brush, so I wipe the dish clean with an anti-bac wipe after cleaning each brush and start again. The Makeup Revolution Tool fits over your fingers and doesn't get the chance to grab onto any gubbings off the brushes, it has long since run off into the sink.  The knobbly bits for Real Techniques are brilliant and do help with the cleaning of brushes and it does speed up the job, the same for Makeup Revolution, but with Makeup Revolution, i'd have liked a few more smaller grooves for my smaller brushes please.

All in all, both tools help make the job of cleaning brushes quicker, easier, less of a chore and worthy of owning and whilst I am a fan of both, Makeup Revolution is a third of the price and is worthy of purchasing for a hassle free, faff free brush cleaning tool.

Unicorns Unite Lipstick Collection by Makeup Revolution

If ever there was a brand who would create something that was not only quirky and kooky but also has that 'OMG' factor, it would be Makeup Revolution, who have, right now, some amazing products soon to hit the shelves.

The Unicorns Unite Lipstick Collection is literally quite something and I am pretty convinced there will be something for everyone within it.  Consisting of five shades Magical, Myth, Throne, Legend and Magic.  If you are looking for some new lipsticks, want something a little bit different or just want to be every bit daring, then look no further!

Each and every one of these five lipsticks are not only really pigmented, much more than I expected them to be considering they cost just £1 each but the shades, I mean look at them, they are just crazy brilliant.

Horn of Magic is a fabulous light yet bright blue shade which in the sunshine looks to be almost ice blue in colour but it is actually mint green.  It glides effortlessly onto the lips and looks every bit cool. 

Legend is my favourite shade of all the lipsticks within the Unicorn Unite range because it is every bit the mythical shade I expect to be associated with a Unicorn.  It is a bright yet sparkly shade which glimmers in the sunshine.

If ever there was a shade to excite me, it is Pink Myth.  I absolutely love the colour pink and this lipstick is bright, sassy and bold.  A beautiful shade which again glides on effortlessly and looks fantastic.

Throne is a stunning shade of purple, quite dark and mooding but it looks fabulous on the lips. This is the kind of shade I wish suited me because it is so pretty.

Finally we have Magical which looks blue in the sunshine but on my skin it is a brilliant bright purple that shimmers in direct sunlight so you can see how purple it is, but when not in the sunlight it is a brooding dark shade, almost blue.

I think these lipsticks are a lot of fun, they are totally different to anything else I own and I sincerely believe there is something for everyone.  Not only that but if you are bored with your pinky nude shade, then these are perfect for trying something new and they cost £1 each, which is amazing value for money!

What is the most 'out there' Lipstick shade you own?

Makeup Revolution Ultra Base Corrector

I am a big fan of Makeup Revolution, they have literally set the world of Makeup on fire and whenever there is a new product on the horizon, the hype and excitement is just amazing and I am yet to hear or read about a disappointing product.

On Friday morning, this surprise delivery of the Makeup Revolution Ultra Base Corrector Palette landed on my doorstep and having seen a few sneak previews of it during the week, knew it was something I wanted to try. Every shade on this palette has a job to do, whether that is to balance out discolouration, neutralise redness or just brighten, it is one of those products everyone will want and need to try.

The palette itself is actually really well made. Inside an accompanying cardboard box, which duly tells you what is inside and gives a sneak preview of the contents, the palette is black, sleek and super shiny with the brand name and product name clearly visible. Each of the 8 pans are really large, so there is enough room to swish that brush around or even your fingers, depending on your preference and perhaps most helpful of all is the mirror which fills the entire top section of the palette.

Described as being a corrector palette containing 8 creamy, blendable colour correction creams, they are designed for use under foundation. Now the eight shades, as I have said, all have a job to do and this is what they are:

Pink - Brightens
Lavender - neutralises yellow tones
Green - neutralises redness
Orange - neutralises blue tones
Peach - helps to balance out slight discolouration
White - adds natural highlight and brightens
Cream - neutralises purple and covers dark areas
Brown - balances ashiness in medium to dark tones

When it comes to their texture, they are smooth and they are creamy and my one piece of advice is to not get too brush happy because you only need a small amount which you can build on should the coverage not be quite what you had hoped for, it is always better to remember that sometime less is more in that it is easier to add more, but harder to remove that which you do not want.

So my skin has a slight redness to it, so I am always going to opt for the green to start with as it should neutralise it and unsurprisingly it does do just that. The other shades I have used are the pink, white and cream for under my eyes and in the tear duct and also on my cheek bones too. The brown which is for medium to dark tones I didn't expect to have much use for, but it works really well as a light bronzer for me and ive been using it very slightly as I like a light cover.

As you can see from the photo above, to the left is without any product on my face at all, so there is some slight redness on my cheek. The photo to the right shows my Makeup Revolution Face Base Primer which I reviewed HERE and then using just the green shade and my Eco tools foundation brush, I have applied just one covering and the redness is almost entirely disappeared. So you can just imagine how impressed I am right now with this palette! To purchase, it costs just £6 and it is available right now!

What do you think?

Makeup Revolution Ultra Face Base Primer

The Makeup Revolution Ultra Face Base Primer is a product I picked up on a whim having forgotten to take primer with me to work, I ha toyed with just repurchasing one of my regular primers, but decided to give this a try. 

I am a huge fan of using a primer and tend to use Max Factor Facefinity or POREfessional by Benefit, my two favourites. I use them because I love the smooth base they create when it comes to applying make up especially liquid foundation. As someone with combination skin, I hate it when a product clings to the tiniest flake of dry skin, a primer solves this problem for me, plus they can reduce the appearance of pores and my make up lasts much longer.

The Face Base Primer which cost just £5 is a really lightweight but fairly thick transparent gel, similar in texture to Baby Face my Maybelliene with that silicon like feel. On the skin it blends in really easily and smooths incredibly well so that you cannot see or tell that there is any product on the skin whatsoever, it is as though it disappears and behind it leaves soft, smooth skin.  I tend to use my fingers to apply my primer and with this it is a case of a little goes a long way.  One applied the effects for me on the skin are really similar to POREfessional especially if I have give it time to settle on my skin it works so much better, the only difference is that POREfessional isn't clear.

I tend to swap and change my foundation depending on my mood, so I either use my Boots No.7 Stay Perfect Foundation or MAC C1 currently and Face Base works well with both of them.  I also sometimes just opt for powder foundation over a BB Cream or tinted moisturiser and again, Face Base worked really well and ensuring my coverage was not only even, but there was no clinging to my dry skin on either cheek and my make up lasted for the entire working day, which is a lot more than I had expected and hoped for, when you consider it costs just £5 for 25ml.

The tube itself is a pink pearlesque shade which is really quite plain but also very pretty at the same time.  The twist off lid is also easy to remove and replace and the part I like the most is the long nozzle which dispenses the primer because one quick squeeze gives enough to cover your entire face.

If like me you have combination skin with an oily t-zone with a slight dryness of the cheeks, this primer is very much worth trialing, not only is it a cheaper alternative for other primers, but it is amazing value for money and is one of those products you shouldn't dismiss just because of the £5 price tag!  It does make a great primer, it doesn't cling to imperfections, it does reduce the look of your pores and it does allow my make up to last 8-9 hours without the need to re-apply.  For me this was a great find and one I have since repurchased.

Have you tried this Primer from Makeup Revolution?

This post may contain PR Samples and/or Affiliate Links - please see my disclaimer page for more info.

Makeup Revolution Oil Control Fixing Spray

Like most people, I am enjoying the journey that Makeup Revolution are on right now.  To see all these amazing products being released one after another is nothing short of amazing and I am sure for the people behind these amazing products it is very much like having their very own Chocolate Factory like Willy Wonka.

I was very kindly sent the Oil Control Fixing Spray to try and as I have had quite a lot of social events both work related, blogging related and family related, it has been really good to have something to put to the test and in all kinds of weather too!

I have combination skin which can be an absolute nightmare, make-up can either cling to my dry bits or slip off the oily bits, even with a primer.  Before this Makeup Revolution spray, I was using my trusty faithful setting powder from GOSH, which has been mentioned many times on my blog because it does help alleviate my problem slightly when it comes to keeping things in place on my face much longer, but that is a powder and not a spray, so switching from one to the other was no mean feat, especially when you have become quite used to and quite comfortable with it.       

Stop the shine & matte finish all day! New Oil Control Fixing Spray! Screams the product description with this Pro Fix Oil "New sister product for our PRO FIX, fixing spray.. Our Oil Control Fixing Spray is a lightweight setting spray that helps deflect surface shine for a natural matte finish. High Tech ingredients keep foundation and eye makeup in place, with NO smudging and NO fading. That ‘Just-Applied’ look for up to 12 hours". 

Amazing claims for a product that costs just £5 when it will not only prevent smudging but also reduce the oily shine, prolong your make up and maintain a natural matte finish - wow!  The packaging isn't too over the top or fancy, what you see if what you get and I like that.  A white plastic bottle with some gold finishing to add a really nice finishing touch.  But what you really want to know is, does it work?

Having used this now for a few weeks, I have to say I am impressed. Once sprayed, the spray itself is really light weight, in so much as it doesn't feel like you have just spritzed some hairspray. Once you have sprayed Pro Fix, it literally dries in a matter of seconds, so you can spray and go essentially, no having to wait around for it to dry and it is also unscented which I am really pleased about because I am not a fan of chemically scented sprays for anything.

What has really impressed me though is that it does help to reduce my oiliness, especially on and around my nose and my forehead, which are my oiliest areas and is always the first place I use blotting paper when I feel the need. Does it keep my make-up matte? Yes I think it does and I also find that my make-up doesn't disappear mid-morning or even mid-afternoon, it stays all day I am at work, though naturally I touch up my lipstick because it is just something I do, but everything else remains in place and if I have an evening function, I actually don't need to re-apply a single thing, I am comfortable enough knowing that my make-up looks absolutely fine.  Add to that, it somehow manages to keep my skin feeling hydrated, soft and smooth.

So Pro Fix gets the big thumbs up from me, it does as it says it will do, lasts an average of 8-9 hours and keeps my shine at bay with one quick spritz as I am running out of the door and all for just £5 here it is an absolute bargain.

This post may contain PR Samples and/or Affiliate Links