Anastasia Cream Contour Kit : Fair

I had been thinking about purchasing this kit for a little while, but my make up artist for my wedding mentioned that she thought that the 'light' palette would be too dark for me, so I decided to hold of buying.

Then, a month or so ago, Anastasia released her newest Contour Cream Kit in Fair. As soon as I saw it,  I knew these colours would be so much better suited to my pale complexion. Like the other 3 palettes on the market, the Fair kit has 6 shades of contouring and highlighting creams. 

The top row has the 3 lighter shades which are : Soft Light, Lustre and Fair which will be our highlight colours and the bottom row has our 3 dark shades for contouring which are Fawn, Shadow and Mink. 

I was a little apprehensive about buying this kit at first because I had read some beauty reviews saying that the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Cream Kit's were more for advanced users. As a beginner, I was a little worried that I would spend a lot of money and be disappointed. In the UK, you can pick this set up from Amazon for £49.99 (Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Cream Kit (Fair) NEW 2015) each and I believe they are $40 in the states. 

The colours 

Soft Light

Lustre

Fair

Fawn

Shadow

Mink

First thoughts

The first time I used this palette, I thought 'oh my god, the reviews were right, this is not for beginners'. I found that the formula was a little bit more 'dry' to apply than I originally anticipated and I wasn't able to get the look I wanted. However, given the price tag, I wasn't going to give up on my goal of using this product and having amazing cheek bones ;)

So, I tried again. This time, I was more prepared for the formula and I didn't feel like I was out of my depth. I used a mix of Mink and Shadow for my contour and Soft Light and Fair for my highlight.

For application of my highlight I used the Real Techniques Essential Foundation Brush (which is part of their core collection)  and for the contour I used the Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush. 

I then used a Beauty Blender to blend everything in. It's important to make sure you 'dab' instead of rub as you don't want the dark bits where the light bits should be and visa versa!

As you can see, I have a pretty large forehead and jaw line, so I wanted to and make these look smaller than they actually are.

The finished result?

Some people like to apply a thin layer of foundation either before or after the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Cream Kit, but I decided instead to just use Benefit's Hoola and Dandelion to set the cream kit.

Final Thoughts?

This is the first cream contour kit that I have ever used, so I am not in a position to compare it to others. This kit can be a little tricky to master at first, but what new product isn't? I remember the first time I tried Gel Eye Liner and thinking, 'nope not for me'! But would I live without my Gel Eye Liner now? Hell no! A little practise makes perfect and I am still far from perfect, but I think I'll get there.

Manny recommends using a little bit of Tarte Maracuja Oil to make these a little bit more creamy and 'blend-able'  in this video (https://youtu.be/ZAqQjJanxNY). The oil that he recommends is pricey even by my standards. I've never heard of it before this video, so it may be worth it's weight in gold, so I need to do my research here. But if it works and price is not an issue, then maybe give this a go if you are finding the formula a little dry.

Would I buy this again? So far, I have only used this product four times and each time I am finding it easier and easier to use. I'm pretty sure that by the time I run out (which will be a little while off I'm sure) I will be more than happy with this kit and will buy it again. Even based on my limited experience with the palette, I would recommend it to other people.

The colours are perfect for my skin tone, they look amazing (after a few practise sessions) and you do get quite a lot of product for your money.

DLJ
Xoxo

Benefit : They're Real vs Roller Lash

The only way you could possibly not know about Benefit's new Roller Lash mascara would be if you had been living under a rock for the past few months!

Their new lash loving mascara previewed in January's Elle magazine, and if Instrgram is anything to go by, it’s been a pretty successful start!

 According to their website:

Curl Power!

97% said it visibly lifts lashes* 

87% said it gives long-lasting curl* 

94% said eyes look more wide open* 

*consumer panel survey on 31 women after 4 weeks

(https://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/product/view/roller-lash)

Which isn't bad going by anyone’s standards. I have had a bit of a love / hate relationship with Benefit Mascara. I first used their ‘BadGal’ mascara what feels like a decade ago and was so disappointed. Then came along ‘They’re Real’ and oh my! What a game changer. It had to be my favourite mascara on the market.

So it is fair to say I was a little dubious when they launched their new ‘Roller Lash’ mascara. How could anything be BETTER than They’re Real? Was it possible to actually create a mascara and could give you even more volume and oh la la?

Clinging to my copy of Elle Magazine in the shop, I wondered if I should just let this new mascara pass me by and not ruin the wonderfulness that is They’re Real. And after the flop of the They’re Real Eye Liner, I couldn’t cope with anymore heartbreak from Benefit. But alas, I had to have it.

And boy am I glad I did! As you can see from my photo, Roller Lash makes your lashes even more beautiful. The incredible new brush clings to your lashes making sure to coat every last little tinie tiny bit. 

What a beauty to behold. As you can see from my photo comparing They’re Real and Roller Lash, it’s like the new formula adds that bit more oomph compared to They’re Real.

But let’s take it back a step. Was They’re Real ever a ‘bad’ mascara? Of course not! And would I still happily buy it? YES! So what does that mean for my lashes going forward? Well, it simply means I’ll just have to have both!

DLJ

Xoxo

Eyeko Fat Liquid Liner : Black

The Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner in Black was a full size feature in this months BirchBoxUK. Being a lover of gel liner I was intrigued to see if this eyeliner would convert me back to liquids over gels.

This liner claims to offer 'big and bold dramatic eyes' in an 'easy to hold chubby pen'. So lets get down to it…

The application of this product takes a little getting used to. If, like me, you have been using gel liners with a thin application brush, the 'chubby' style of this liner takes a few attempts to get right. Although, once you have tried 2 or 3 times, I managed to pick up the application style. As you can see below, the tip of the liner looks like a felt tip pen so this is why it takes some practise.

I do admit, that I still find it a little difficult to get a perfect cat eye unless its rather thick. But that is all down to person preference. As you can see, you can create quite a few different effects with the tip of the liner.

            

Once I managed to get my liner on and looking pretty much how I wanted to it, it was time to test the durability. Here is where I find this product falls down a little bit. My normal working day is around 8/9 hours and much of this I am coming in and out of buildings, which means I am faced with lots of different temperatures and seasons!

I found that this liner didn't hold up quite as well as my normal gel during the working day. However, when I wore it at the weekend, when I was doing less, I did get a longer lasting effect.

Saying that though, the colour is very pigmented. My issue was with smudging rather than the colour fading.

Price

On their website, it RRP is £12 (however I think you can find it a little cheaper on Amazon at the moment, link at the top of the page).

Do I think this is worth £12? I like the fact that you can easily create thicker lines without having to really build up the product. The colour is also good and does last well. My only down fall was that I found it smudged more than my normal gel liner. I think if you don't have time to faf around with gel liner and the brush or you want to have something to throw in your bag for a night out, this product is really good.

They chubby style means its easy to hold and not too fiddly. This means that you can get a very smooth finish to your liner.

So all in all, would I buy this product again? Yes I think I would! The pros far out way the one issue I had. I would be interested to see if they also do this product in any other colours...

DLJ
Xoxo

MUA Cosmetics A/W Collection : Velvet Lip Lacquer and Metallic Liquid Lips (SWATCHES)

A few weeks ago I won a little selection of th MUA Cosmetics A/W collection. Unfortunately (we'll sort of unfortunately) I was away when my parcel was delivered, so I had to wait a few weeks to open up my prize. But I can honestly say that it was so worth the wait!

You may have already seen my YouTube video ( http://youtu.be/lxuDu18PK9k ) but I wanted to pull together a little blog with some swatches for you! I wanted to first start by looking at the Metallic Liquid Lips and the Velvet Lip Lacquer. 

The Metallic Liquid Lips, as you may guess from their name, have a more metallic look to them. They are quite shimmery and the darker shades have a more obvious glitter in the formula. 

The Velvet Lip Lacquer on the other hand is quite the opposite. These glosses dry matte after a few seconds and are more a lip stain to be honest. They last a long time and even hold up pretty well against food and drink. 

So who wants to see some swatches!? Let's start with the Metallic Liquid Lips! 

Colours from left to right :

Twinkle

Glint

Blaze

Bedazzle

Flash

Flare

Luster

Packaging 

Velvet Lip Lacquer 

Colours from left to right :

Potency

Symphonic

Vivacity

Zest

Tranquility

Packaging 

First Impressions

Metallic Liquid Lips - The formula is also quite 'wet' so you really have to build up the product with this so get a nice opaque colour. The glitter is a nightmare to get off. Some may say this is good because it lasts longer, but I find it's a little too much. However, they do look really pretty on and that is their main purpose! They do smell really good though and I found that after wearing them my lips felt really smooth and soft. 

Velvet Lip Lacquers - I have used some of the Velvet Lip Lacquers in the past and the formula dried out really quickly and made your lips feel really dry. They have updated the formula on these new shades are they are really nice. They don't flake like the old ones did and they are much smoother. They have reignited my love for these products. 

I think the packaging on both of these products is really pretty, but my favourite is the Metallic Liquid Lips. It's quite different to most other lip glosses and just stands out nicely. 

You can buy these products directly from MUA Cosmetics (http://www.muastore.co.uk) or you can buy them from SuperDrug (www.superdrug.com)

Metallic Liquid Lips RRP £4 

Velvet Lip Lacquers RRP £3

At those prices, I suggest you grab a hand full and head to your nearest till!

DLJ

Xoxo