Danielle's Beauty Blog

Monday, 11 July 2016

Geeking out over Makeup: Updated Makeup Geek Palette

makeup geek collection eyeshadow extra large z palette neutral shades

I think we all know by now that I am a huge fan of Makeup Geek shadows so when BeautyBay recently had 50% off, I couldn’t resist! I picked up some shades I had been meaning to for a while as well as some crowd favourites that people had recommended and I saw constantly popping up in other’s collections! My collection has grown considerably since my Makeup Geek Palette of Neutral Dreams post so this is a mixture of what I picked up in the sale and what I had picked up since that post!

I actually only put all the shadows in my extra-large palette for the purpose of this post, in reality I still have my small palette which I use day to day then a large palette which has the rest of the pans! The majority of my shadows are in the standard formula but I also have two foiled shadows in Starry Eyed and Mesmerised and one duo chrome shade in Steampunk. All the shadows are highly pigmented, easily blended and long-lasting, in the six months since I discovered them they have quickly become my favourite formulation!

makeup geek collection eyeshadow pan extra large z palette neutral shades

So onto the swatches! I’m never overly happy with swatch pictures I take and these don’t do the shadows enough justice but I hope someone finds them helpful!

Row 1: Vanilla Bean, Sand Dollar, Shimma Shimma, Starry Eyed, Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Latte

Row 1

Vanilla Bean – light shimmer with beige undertone, I use this as a base or sometimes as a brow highlight (doesn’t really show up on the swatch as my skin is so pale!)

Sand Dollar – a matte light greyish shade, I use this as a base or near my inner corner to lighten before transitioning to a darker shade (again not showing up on my skin in the swatch!)

Shimma Shimma – a metallic champagne shade I used as an inner corner highlight

Starry Eyed – this is one of the foiled formulations and is described as a champagne shade too but obviously it has a lot more shimmer than Starry Eyed! I use this over the lid

Peach Smoothie – a matte peach beige I have been trying to embrace as a transition shade through the crease

Crème Brulee – a matte warm sand colour

Latte – a matte medium brown it looks a lot warmer on my eyelids than it does in the swatch

Row 2: Prom Night, Homecoming, Taupe Notch, Pretentious, Brownie Points, Friend Zone, Hipster

Row 2

Prom Night – a light purple grey shimmer though it always looks more bronze when I swatch it!

Homecoming – a medium brown shade with gold shimmer

Taupe Notch – a taupe shimmer

Pretentious – a bronzey gold metallic shade I like to wear all over the lid at night, swatches almost the same as Homecoming on me but looks different on the lid

Brownie Points – a cool milk chocolate matte, not as pigmented as some other matte shades I have

Friend Zone – a purple/grey/brown matte again not as pigmented as others

Hipster – slightly shimmery light taupe colour, I love this all over the lid, the shimmer is so subtle it’s gorgeous!

Row 3: Barcelona Beach, Frappe, Cocoa Bear, Wild West, Mocha, Mesmerised, Steampunk

Row 3

Barcelona Beach – medium brown cool toned matte, another one of my favourites!

Frappe – medium brown warm toned matte

Cocoa Bear – a matte red brown

Wild West – another red brown matte, I need to give these three more love!

Mocha – a deep matte brown, love this for the darkening my outer crease or as a liner

Mesmerised – another foiled formulation this is a medium brown with hints of purple, no fallout and it looks gorgeous on!

Steampunk – my only duo chrome finish, this is a dark copper shade that I haven’t had the chance to wear yet!

Row 4: Moondust, High Tea, Twilight, Unexpected, Vintage, Bedrock, Concrete Jungle

Row 4

Moondust – a silver taupe

High Tea – a greenish/grey/brown matte

Twilight – a mute purple shimmer

Unexpected – a matte purple taupe

Vintage – a purple mauve

Bedrock – a medium matte grey with brown undertones

Concrete Jungle – a deep matte grey

This entire row has been neglected by me! I used to wear grey shades all the time, Vintage and Unexpected always stood out to me whenever I saw them swatched and the other three will be great lid shades!

Row 5: Stealth, Taboo, Americano, Bada Bing, Peacock, Drama Queen, Corrupt

Row 5

Stealth – a medium slate grey matte with blue undertones

Taboo – a deep purple matte

Americano – a dark brown matte with burgundy undertones that I love for my outer crease

Bada Bing – a deep brown with flecks of gold, this works great as a liner

Peacock – this is my one out of my comfort zone shade and I haven’t worn it yet! It’s described as a matte deep teal blue

Drama Queen - a dark purple shimmer

Corrupt – a black almost matte with a bit of sparkle, this is super pigmented and one of the blacked shadows I have, it really gets into my upper lash line and defines it!

My favourite shadows are definitely Barcelona Beach, Mocha, Hipster, Shimma Shimma, Americano, Mesmerised, Bada Bing and Corrupt but all the shades are so smooth, pigmented and long-lasting!

I’m currently on holiday at the minute and will be back at the end of the week so I might be a bit quiet on the comments to then! I’ll probably do a few Instagram posts of what makeup and skincare I’ll be taking if you want to have a look there!

Do you love Makeup Geek just as much as me? What are your favourite shades?

Danielle xx

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A Working Week in Lipstick #1

week in lipsticks chartlotte tilbury colourpop urban decay revlon nars nyx kevyn aucoin

I’ve seen posts like this crop up on a few blogs now so thought I’d join in and show you what lipstick I’ve been wearing to work this week! Changing my lipstick and blush is something I try and do consciously everyday as they are what I have most of in my makeup collection. I don’t tend to take lipstick with me for touch-ups so I look for something comfortable and that will last me until tea time then I will just apply whatever lip balm I have in my handbag throughout the day!

Monday

I went with my ColourPop Lippie Stix in Crunch today as I realised I hadn’t used it in far too long! I actually got put off this because I wore it to an interview I had last year and when I got back into my car I realised I had talked that much it had gathered in the middle of my lips! Not a good look! Happy to report this didn’t happen today and I’ve fallen back in love with the sheer but buildable bright coral colour it gives! See the haul this was included in here!

charlotte tilbury lip cheat in pillowtalk urban decay gwen stefani ex-girlfriend

Tuesday

I used my Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani lipstick in Ex-Girlfriend over the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk for today. I’ve become a little obsessed with this lip liner since I got it, I absolutely love the colour! It comes up as a light dusty mauve on me and is so creamy and easy to fill my lips in with as it doesn’t drag at all. I went over the top with Ex-Girlfriend as I love the neutral colour and shine it gives to the lips! This was limited edition but Urban Decay have brought out Ex-Girlfriend as part of their new Vice lipstick collection though I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same shade!

Wednesday

Revlon Ultra HD lipstick in Rose was my pick for today! The packaging of this range of lipsticks is a bit controversial as the bullet is very easily messed up if you hit the side of the lid putting it back in. I haven’t had any major disasters but I’m always careful with this one! The range seems to have a lot of very bright colours but this is the only shade I have and I really like it, it’s creamy, pigmented, feels moisturising and wears off evenly – exactly what I look for in a lipstick!

swatches colourpop lippie stix crunch charlotte tilbury lip cheat pillowtalk urban decay ex girlfriend revlon ultra hd rose

Swatches L-R: ColourPop Lippie Stix in Crunch, Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk, Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Ex-Girlfriend, Revlon Ultra HD lipstick in Rose

kevyn aucoin flesh tone lip pencil medium nyx soft matte lip stockholm

Thursday

I went with the Kevyn Aucoin Flesh Tone lip pencil in Medium today with NYX Soft Matte Lip in Stockholm over the top. I got the Kevyn Aucoin lip pencil as a deluxe free gift with a Beauty Bay order a few weeks ago and I love it! It’s so soft and pigmented despite being more of a traditional pencil and though the colour isn’t something I would have picked myself, it matches perfectly with the NYX Soft Matte lip. I am a lip balm addict so don’t wear matte lipsticks often but I love this formula! It dries quickly and evenly and feels so comfortable on the lips! I do find the lines on my lips become more pronounced when I have this on though the product doesn’t settle in them at all! When I got to work I did put a bit of clear balm over the top to inject a little moisture! This did make it a bit more susceptible to transfer but it’s a price I’m willing to pay!

Friday

I used my NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien today which I got in the Modern Minimalist box I splurged on recently! I love the formula of the satin lip pencils as they glide on so easily and Rikugien has a bit more sheen to it that the other shades I have but is a lovely rose colour that’s very ‘my lips but better’!

swatches kevyn aucoin flesh tone lip pencil medium nyx soft matte lip stockholm nars satin lip rikugien

Swatches L-R: Kevyn Aucoin Flesh Tone lip pencil in Medium, NYX Soft Matte Lip in Stockholm, NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien

I’m heading on holidays for a week on Thursday so might be a little behind on comments! Do you have any of these lipsticks? Let me know if there are any others I might like!

Danielle xx

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Face Off

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue Light Medium review

Anyone else have a thing for do it all face palettes? Here are two new ones to my collection and a rundown of my thoughts on them!

Charlotte Tilbury Instant look in a palette review

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette (£49)

I finally caved and bought my first Charlotte Tilbury products about a month ago after seeing this palette online. I had held off buying any CT products up until now because the prices are extortionate but I love palettes like this as they give you the chance to try a few products from the brand in one go so I bit the bullet and ordered it! First things first this, the palette is small, smaller than it looks! It is split into different steps so steps 1, 2 and 3 are for brightening, enhancing and smoking out the eye, step 4 is for bronzing, steps 5 and 6 are for a swish and pop of blush and step 7 is highlight.

charlotte tilbury instant look in a palette eyeshadow swatches

I have to say that I am disappointed by the eyeshadows – they barely show up on my fair skin and the first two aren’t different enough in colour for me. They are super finely milled though, blend well and don’t crease – you just can’t see much of a contrast between the shades!

charlotte tilbury instant look in a palette blush swatches

As well as this, the blushes are not as pigmented as I would like them to be and the size of the pans is disappointing – they are the same size as the eyeshadow pans and I would have preferred smaller eyeshadow pans if there was a way to make the blush pans bigger. Again the formula feels lovely and they do always say it’s easier to add than take away which is definitely something to stick to when it comes to blush!

charlotte tilbury instant look in a palette bronze and glow swatches

Onto the positives - I LOVE the bronzer and highlighter. Way more than I thought I would! These are meant to be the same shades as the infamous Bronze and Glow which I don’t have to compare but I do know that I absolutely love this combo! I’ve been using the bronzer under my cheekbone to contour as well as over the high points on my face for a bit of an all over colour and it’s so subtle but noticeable if that makes sense? It looks very warm toned in the swatch but on my face it looks so natural, I love it!

I’ve then been using my Morphe fan brush to very lightly highlight my cheekbones and I love the effect, super subtle as I use a light hand but I’m sure you could go heavy handed and still look amazing!

This is more than I would usually spend on a palette this size considering pan size but the quality of the products is lovely. I do wish there was more variation in the eyeshadow shades though and this palette might not be an option for those with darker skin as you do have to build up quite a lot of product to see a result but it does hit the natural beauty term it’s aiming for on the head.

I ummed and ahhed for weeks before splurging and it is limited edition so not available at the minute but who knows, it could make a reappearance in the future – and hopefully with some new darker shades!

Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue palette review

Stila Perfect Me, Perfect Hue in Light/Medium (£28)

Unlike the CT palette, this is one that does come with different shade variations! The one I have is Light/Medium and you might have seen it featured in my last wishlist post. I wasn’t actually planning on buying it, however, Cult Beauty had a GWP (I’m a sucker for offers and the last 2 have been amazing!) so even though basically everything I ~~needed~~ wanted was out of stock I still found my basket full and this was in it!

Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue palette review close up

Now I’m not a massive fan of the Stila products I have tried in the past – the lip glazes and In the Light palette being massive disappointments for me - but when I saw these Perfect Me/Perfect Hue palettes I got heart eye emoji’s.

Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue palette review eyeshadow swatches

l-r: Artistic (base), Dazzling (highlight), Ambitious (lid), Spontaneous (crease), Mischievous (liner)

Five eyeshadows and 2 blushers for £28 seemed like a decent price point and once I had a swatch I could feel the quality! The shadows are silky soft with good pigmentation although again I wish there was more of a mid-tone shade option instead of two very light shades. The shimmer colour (Ambitious) is not as warm toned/orange in real life as the swatch and I don’t normally wear shimmer during the day but this is nice and subtle and quite golden.

Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue palette review blush swatches

l-r: Charming, Angelic

Again, this palette is smaller than I was expecting and the packaging was plastic so it feels a bit cheap, I was expecting it to be metal for some reason, I think because of the colour of the casing, but I can’t fault the formulation! The blushers are lovely and pigmented too and I love that they are both matte shades.

Overall, I really like both palettes for different reasons but I find that with the Charlotte Tilbury palette, I am reaching for mainly the bronzer and highlighter and passing on the eyeshadows in particular. The Stila palette is much more affordable and I love the fact they have thought through a range that caters to more than one skin tone.

So those are the two newest face palettes to my collection, have you tried either? What did you think?

Danielle xx

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New to Me #2 ft. Nivea, Khairpep and Bondi Sands

nivea daily essentials cleansing wipes facial cleansing lotion khairpep hair repair masque serum bondi sands liquid gold self tan oil review

Hi everyone, I'm talking about a few new products I've been trying out recently today!

Bondi Sands Self Tan Oil Liquid Gold (£14.99)

I have been absolutely loving this since I got it a couple of months ago! I tan most weeks but I usually favour lotion formulas (I have the Bondi Sands Dark Lotion too and really like it!) however I saw Lily Pebbles using this and loved the colour it gave her so decided to pick it up! It’s a lot messier than the tans I’m used to as it’s a spray and I find I have to lay a towel in the bathroom to make sure I don’t spray it everywhere. It also has no guide colour so I have to be careful that I spray it evenly then buff in with my tan mitt. I leave it to develop overnight and I am left with the most gorgeous golden glow! I would say it’s a medium colour but then I would say that even if I was using something that said it was very dark! I do have to be careful round the sides of my hands as I tend to miss a few spots there but they are easily covered and blended in! I am so impressed with how this wears off too! It lasts around 5 days on me before I feel the need to scrub and reapply and where I usually have to top up the tan on the back of my hands throughout the week when using other brands, this wears off so evenly I don’t feel I need to!

nivea daily essentials cleansing wipes facial cleansing lotion review

Nivea Daily Essentials Crème Care Facial Cleansing Wipes* (RRP £2.99)

Skincare snob that I am, wipes don’t register too highly on my radar and I generally much prefer a cotton pad with a cream cleanser followed by a balm/oil and muslin cloth makeup removal routine. Wipes do however come in handy and I always tend to have a pack for when I am too tired, drunk or lazy to do my full routine and these work perfectly to remove my layers of makeup effectively. They are well soaked but I like to store them upside down so the moisture gets to the top wipe ready for use and these ones smell amazing! You all know I love the Nivea scent and these are scented with the recognisable, clean, fresh fragrance. I have very temperamental skin that can play up when I switch products but I haven’t found any increased sensitivity since using these!

Nivea Daily Essentials Crème Care Cleansing Lotion* (RRP £3.29)

I was also sent the new Nivea cleansing lotion to try and being a huge fan of the original I was excited to see how this one compared. I am happy to say that it works just as well as the older version I talked about in this post! This is my absolute favourite product to use as a first cleanse every evening as it does such a good job of removing the bulk of my makeup while feeling hydrating and not pulling on my skin. It doesn’t remove eye makeup for me as I wear waterproof mascara so I find I need to use an oil based makeup remover for my eyes but for skin this is amazing! Again it is scented with Nivea’s recognisable fragrance and again it doesn’t irritate my skin! Both products are available from most leading retailers!

khairpep hair repair masque serum review

Khairpep Hair Repair Serum* and Khairpep Hair Repair Masque*

I was recently offered the chance to try these leave in hair treatments by Khairpep and although my hair isn’t damaged by colouring, I straighten it every day and have my fair share of dry and split ends. I also have a horrid habit of picking these split ends when I’m bored/procrastinating/stressed so jumped at the chance to try some new products! So first for the science bit - Khairpep was developed by a team of European scientists who discovered a long chain peptide – K18Peptide. This peptide is so small it can penetrate and bind to the inner cortex of a hair strand returning strength and elasticity to it. Both products in the range are leave in treatments and this is the only range of products to contain this ingredient that claims to repair hair damage permanently.

The serum (although it is more of a spray I would say) is recommended for those with fine hair while the masque is for thicker, drier hair and damaged ends. I have found both to be super lightweight and they have a lovely subtle fresh scent. To apply, I shampoo my hair and DO NOT use conditioner then towel dry as normal. I’ll split (no pun intended!) my hair in two then spray the serum evenly through the ends of both sections or work the masque in through the ends depending on which product I’m using. I then leave the product on for about 5 minutes and style my hair as normal.

Since using these products I've noticed a massive reduction in breakage! I used to get those little white dots at the ends of my hair that break off so easily and these are virtually gone now. I still have split ends but we all know the only thing that gets rid of those is a haircut! My ends look much healthier and thicker since using these two and I love how lightweight both products feel especially since the masque is targeted towards those with thicker hair. I can imagine these would be perfect throughout the summer when people are generally causing more damage to their hair whether it be through colouring their hair, chemical treatments, sun exposure, chlorine or just heat styling! The only negative is the price – I have the sample sizes but the full size 50 ml products are £47.50 – you don’t need much product though so definitely an investment if you are struggling with hair damage and want a long lasting solution!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.

Danielle xx

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Danielle's Beauty Blog

Monday, 11 July 2016

Geeking out over Makeup: Updated Makeup Geek Palette

Monday, 4 July 2016

A Working Week in Lipstick #1

Monday, 27 June 2016

Face Off

Monday, 20 June 2016

New to Me #2 ft. Nivea, Khairpep and Bondi Sands