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Benefit Cosmetics! New Products!

I received a very cute package in the post this week from Benefit Cosmetics.

Seriously, they do the cutest packaging in the business! The Hoola family has expanded and there is also a new box highlighter in the mix too. I thought I would give a closer look at them, and of course swatch all the products here too.

I am a big fan of the original Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer.

It’s just a really good, build-able matte bronzer. You can find it on the Debenhams website here. At €34, it is pricey, but they do last a really long time.

They’ve now released a new version, Hoola Lite.

As the name would suggest, it’s Hoola, but lighter 🙂 It is matte and slightly cool toned. Definitely more suited to paler skin tones.

It is in the same box format, containing 8 grams of products. You can find it on Cloud 10 Beauty here.

The second new product being welcomed into the Benefit Cosmetics Hoola family is their Quickie Contour Stick.

This is a cream stick version of Hoola.

It’s super creamy and easy to blend. I think I would personally use this for warming up the face or for layering colour to help with longevity.

You can buy it online from the Debenhams website here.

The last newbie on the scene is Dandelion Twinkle Highlighting Powder. Packaged the same as any of the boxed products. You get 3 grams of product within.

Benefit describe it as as, ‘delicate strobing powder’. It is a really soft light pink shade with a silvered sparkle running through it. It gives a very subtle highlight to the skin.

Dandelion Twinkle is available from for €34 from the Debenhams website here.

And now, you’re up to date with the all the Benefit Cosmetics Hoola news 🙂

Any of the products tickle your fancy? Have you picked up any of them yourself?

xxx

*******PR SAMPLE*******

June 14, 2017/by Gem

Makeup

Max Factor Creme Bronzer Review

I came across the Max Factor Creme Bronzer completely by chance while having a nose around my local Boots.

I am a bit fan of the Creme Blushes, so it was a no brainer to pick one up to try. There are two shades. Bronze is the darker or the two. Me being the pale Irish girl that I am, I went with the lighter shade Light Gold.

The packaging on the Max Factor Creme Bronzer doesn’t really wow me too much. To be honest the blush packaging didn’t either. It’s kinda bulky. They are really similar only the bronzer packaging is obviously square and a little bigger.

I kinda wish the pan was bigger, just because I generally use a bigger brush to apply my bronzer.

The Max Factor Creme Bronzer is a baked mineral bronzer with a lighter base, with a darker colour swirled within it. It looks more cool in the pan, but when you apply it to the skin it definitely has a warm tone to it, but just enough in my opinion. No orange in sight. I sweep it into the ‘hollows’ of my cheeks too and it gives a subtle contour. I put hollows in inverted commas because let’s be real, there is nothing really hollow about my face 🙂

The powder is soft to the touch and applies smoothly and blends nicely onto the skin. The payoff is more sheer as you apply it. I prefer this as you can build up the colour on the skin to your liking. It has a satin finish, but there’s no sparkle or shimmer to it.

It lasts well on my skin and does a great job at warming up my complexion.

Overall, I a big fan! To be fair I knew I would be, it’s the blush in bronzer form 🙂

The Max Factor Creme Puff Bronzer is available from Boots in store or online now here. It costs €12.99.

xxx

May 14, 2017/by Gem

Makeup

Clarins Face Contour Palette

Clarins are releasing some awesome products at the moment. You know how enamored I am with their 4 Colour All In One Pen. I did a post on it here a little while ago. Another one of their limited edition releases is a Face Contour Palette. This is their first one.

It contains 3 shades. A highlight, a contour and a blush colour.

The packaging is beautiful. The powders are packaged in a very swish gold palette.

And a large mirror is always welcome too.

It also comes with it’s own mini contouring brush.

The natural hair brush is super soft and actually super functional. It works really well at applying the product. The angled shape makes it great for applying contour, but it’s wide enough that you can blend out with it too.

Here are all three colours swatched side by side on my arm, just to give an idea of the finish and the pigmentation. They are enriched with plant extracts that are supposed to help nourish the skin. As well as Clarins own Anti-Pollution Complex.

All the powders are soft and pigmented. The highlighter is not what you would expect. It’s matte for a start! Clarins say use to enhance the face rather than add glow. Like under your eyes, the chin and the middle of the forehead.

The contour powder is quite warm toned.

For me, although the powder is lovely and blends really nicely. It doesn’t work as a contour. I much prefer using as a matte bronzer around the perimeter of my face to warm up my complexion.

The blush is pink toned with a satin finish. It’s a nice universal colour, that I think would work on a lot of skin tones.

Overall, I think the Clarins Face Contour Palette is nice. It is always nice to have multi functioning products under a pretty roof. The powders are really good quality, they are packaged beautifully and the brush is really functional. The highlight shade for me, works better as a setting powder and the contour shade as a bronzer. If you are looking to use it for their stated purposes however, it might not be the palette for you.

It is available in all stockists now. You can buy it from Boots online here. It will set you back €47 for 13.8 grams of product, along with the accompanying brush.

xxx ****PR SAMPLE****

February 20, 2017/1 Comment/by Gem

Haul, Makeup

Colourpop Haul!

I had to do it at least once! When Colourpop announced they are now shipping internationally, my heart skipped,skipped a beat 🙂

My heart then proceeded to drop when I saw what they were charging to ship internationally. $25! And that doesn’t include custom clearance! But like the good little makeup fiend that I am, I couldn’t stop thinking about ordering. They give you $5 off if you sign up to their newsletter so I thought, feck it! I’ll even just do it the once and take the hit. Then, I proceeded to go over the Irish customs limit too (I think anything over $25 puts you in the danger zone of having to pay tax. I just couldn’t justify all of that money to ship it over and only getting a couple of things. I wanted to get my monies worth. I risked it and it paid off. I did not have to pay customs on the package. But that doesn’t happen all the time, I think it really is just the luck of the draw. If you fancy fancy seeing what I got. Here’s my first ever Colourpop haul.

Colourpop really know how to package a…package! The box is so pretty.

The packaging on the products themselves is really nice too.

I picked up two of their Super Shock eyeshadows.

‘Game Face’ which is a penny bronzed metallic colour.

And ‘LALA’, which is a rose gold metallic shadow.

They both cost $5 each.

I picked up one of the Supershock Cheek Highlighters.

This is in the shade ‘Lunchmoney’.

Colourpop describe it as a soft light gold with a reflective duo chrome finish.

These cost $8 each.

The powder products feel like nothing I have ever used before. They’re nearly wet to the touch and have a gel like consistency when you apply them to the skin. Colourpop tell you that the formula is best applied with the fingertips.

I chose one of their Crème Gel Colour Liners to try.

This is in the colour ‘Show Me’.

I thought it would be complimentary to the shadows. These are $6 each.

And one of their Crème Gel Liner Pencils too that will hopefully go with the other eye products.

This is in the shade ‘Stomper’. These are $5 each.

Onto to lip products. I ended up getting three.

One of their sheer Lippie Stix.

This is in the shade ‘Tiger’.

It’s $5 each for these.

And then, two Ultra Matte Lips.

‘Beeper’.

‘Bumble’.

The Ultra Matte Lips are $6.

Colourpop haul dunzo 🙂

I placed my order with Colourpop on the 12th of July. They did give me a USPS tracking number and I could track my package up until it went on to the international flight. Then, I couldn’t get an update on it. I received my order from my regular postman, on the 26th of July. My total bill was $66 with the $5 discount. That worked out at €61.31 and I paid with Paypal. As I mentioned already though, I was lucky customs let the package through and I didn’t have to pay an extra penalty.

What do you think? Are you tempted? The products themselves are really reasonable priced, I think. If they brought down the shipping, I think I would be more than happy to shop with Colourpop again. First impressions are really good, I like the products I got, alot 🙂

xxx

July 27, 2016/7 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

L’Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil

This is a follow on from my last post all about the L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation. I went into more detail there about cushion foundations and how they work and gave a review and demo on it, so if you want to know about that just click on the link here, and you can have a read. This post is going to be about L’Oreal’s second cushion offering though, the L’Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil.

This is pretty much (as I am sure you guessed) a liquid bronzer in cushion form.

It comes packed in the same way as the foundation.

You get a applicator sponge on the top layer, and then there’s an airtight cover over the actual product to help keep out bacteria and so it won’t dry out.

Also like the foundation, the L’Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil is a water based product and deemed a ‘fresh glow bronzer’ by L’Oreal.

I am been really enjoying using this. Again, l am a rebel and don’t really use the sponge applicator that comes with to apply. The sponge works fine and is great for on the go, it also has rubber backing so the product doesn’t soak right through.

The bronzer is matte and warm in colour. It only comes in one shade as of yet, which is a bit of a bummer. Hopefully L’Oreal will bring out some more shades to suit darker skin tones.

The formula is really smooth and it blends really lovely into the skin. It also layers up really nicely if you are looking for a more sun kissed look.

Here it is applied to my skin over the L’Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation.

I apply it with my foundation brush (or sponge) onto the high points of my face.

So, my ginormous forehead.

Across my nose.

And then, I apply a little under my jawline too to create a little bit of shadow. I like to think it helps a bit with the roundness of my face….I don’t know if it really does though…but sure look 🙂

I usually apply two layers of the L’Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil to my skin. This warms up my complexion a little, but still leaves it looking somewhat natural. It gives a warmth but doesn’t look orange in my opinion at all and it dries down to a satin finish that’s very similar to the foundation. They work really well together.

My Skin With Just Foundation On

After Applying Bronzer

It doesn’t contain SPF like the foundation though, I think that’s worth mentioning! I find myself using the cushion bronzer on a daily basis of late and skipping the powder bronzer. I am just really enjoying the natural finish it gives and how easy it is to apply. You can’t really go overboard with it unless you really keep layering product up.

Do I think it will change your makeup life? No, not at all. It’s a lovely product and a bit novel in the fact that it’s in a cushion formula, but I don’t think you necessarily have to go out and pay €22 for it. That of course, like everything is just my opinion 🙂

You can pick up the L’Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil in store from Boots or from their website here.

Let me know what you think.

xxx

June 19, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Makeup

Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream

On my weekly trip to Boots (no judgment, it’s all for research purposes,right?) :). I came across these new Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream Sticks.

Stobing is such a buzz word in the beauty industry at the moment. I like to just think of it as good oul highlighting myself.

Anyways the new Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream Sticks are bascially cream highlighters in twist-able chubby stick form.

They come in two shades and are part of Barry M’s new Summer collection.

The first one is aptly named 1 and is in the colour Frosty Pink.

The second one is 2 Iced Bronze.

The Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream have a really light texture to them. It nearly feels oil like on your fingers, but then when you apply them to the skin they dry and blend in really nicely to give the skin a really subtle sheen. If you are looking for your highlight to be seen from space, I don’t think these will work for you 🙂 Although, there is two colours, I think they both have a really similar colour effect when blended in.

For someone like who is on the oilier side (skin wise), I can’t get away with the ‘healthy’ skin look, sure my skin does that to itself after a little while as it eats up all my lovingly applied makeup 🙂

So I would use the Barry M Illuminating Strob Cream as more of a base for a powder highlighter.

Here’s Frosty Pink with theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer applied on top (I have a review of this on it’s here).

And then here’s 2 Iced Bronze with Becca Champagne Pop applied over top. (There’s a review of this here too, if you’re interested).

You can pick up the Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream from Boots in store or online here. They will set you back €6.49, but Barry M are currently on buy one get one half price. Do they float your strobing boat? Let me know 🙂

xxx

May 29, 2016/2 Comments/by Gem

Posts

I received a very cute package in the post this week from Benefit Cosmetics.

I came across the Max Factor Creme Bronzer completely by chance while having a nose around my local Boots.

Clarins are releasing some awesome products at the moment. You know how enamored I am with their 4 Colour All In One Pen. I did a post on it here a little while ago. Another one of their limited edition releases is a Face Contour Palette. This is their first one.

Here are all three colours swatched side by side on my arm, just to give an idea of the finish and the pigmentation. They are enriched with plant extracts that are supposed to help nourish the skin. As well as Clarins own Anti-Pollution Complex.

I had to do it at least once! When Colourpop announced they are now shipping internationally, my heart skipped,skipped a beat 🙂

What do you think? Are you tempted? The products themselves are really reasonable priced, I think. If they brought down the shipping, I think I would be more than happy to shop with Colourpop again. First impressions are really good, I like the products I got, alot 🙂

On my weekly trip to Boots (no judgment, it’s all for research purposes,right?) :). I came across these new Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream Sticks.