I seem to be talking about Makeup Revolution alot lately. Not intentionally, I assure you, I just happened to pick up some bits from them and have been using them over the last while 🙂
This is the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette.
Budget brands are finally warming up to the idea of giving up all our contour and highlight needs under one lid. My first experience of powder contour palettes was a few years back when I picked up the Anastasia Beverley Hills Contour Kit from Cult Beauty. I reviewed this so long ago here (the pictures are brutal, I apologise), but it’s still one of my most viewed posts to this day.
Makeup Revolution as a brand, for me can be hit or miss, but I think overall their Ultra Contour Palette, in my humble opinion is a hit! I have been reaching for it pretty much daily over the past couple of months.
In the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette, you get eight shades, and a large mirror which is always handy.
On top:
You have a beige toned matte.
A yellow toned matte.
A sheeny beige highlight shade.
And then a full on icy shimmery white baked highlight which didn’t take too kindly to me taking pictures of it some reason :p
On the bottom:
A matte mid toned brown.
A cool toned contour shade.
A more warm matte brown.
And finally a champagne shimmery baked highlight shade.
Here they all are together too.
All of the powders are pigmented and soft to the touch.
They blend onto the skin easily and I have had no problem with lasting power either. I use the yellow tone under my eyes to help counteract darkness, and the beige toned matte powder over the top to neutralise the colour. This is a great shade for cleaning up your contour too, or just as a general all over setting powder. I use the cool toned brown shade in the middle to contour and then for me, the others brown colours are more for warming up my skin, although I actually tend to use these more on my eyes as eyeshadows. I love using the highlights in the palette as eyeshadows as well as using them for highlighting the face.
Overall, the Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette gets a big thumbs up from me. I get so much use from it.
I got mine from Superdrug here in Dublin and it cost me €9.99, but you can also buy it online from the Makeup Revolution website here or from the Superdrug website here.
Now I just need to pick up the Nyx version to compare them 😛
I am on a bit of a budget roll at the minute, I don’t know what has gotten into me…maybe the post Christmas poorness 🙂 This post is going to be about budget contour palettes, that I have and use in my makeup collection. Contouring has come such a long way in the makeup world, it used to be a drag industry secret and now most of us do some form of it on a daily basis. I know it’s not for everyone, but personally I love a bit of chiselling, anything to make my chubby chops look more defined 🙂
I chose 3 contour palettes to showcase in this post:
First up is the newest of the bunch, the Catrice Prime And Fine Professional Contouring palette.
This comes in different shades which is very handy, I have the colour 010 Ashy Radiance.
Ashy is the important word here, especially for paler skin. A powder with a grey undertone, creates more of a shadow so in theory looks more natural. I really like this palette. The highlighter is more on the subtle side, so good if you just want to add a hint of a glow to the cheekbones. The contour side is soft, pigmented and blends well in the skin.
This is a little different as both of the shades in this contour palette are matte.
I like this take on it because the ‘highlight’ shade can double up as a setting powder for lighter skinned gals and then works as a subtle more brightening shade maybe under the eyes for darker skinned lovelies.
The contour shade is a little more on the warm side, so this would double up as an all over matte bronzer shade as well as getting away with being a contouring colour.
You can buy the Seventeen Define & Conquer palette in Boots and it costs €8.49, but they are always on special.
My last choice I think is my favourite and is the most pocket friendly of them all. The W7 Hollywood Bronze & Glow.
It bares a bit of a resemblance to a much more expensive contour palette, right? 🙂
This little duo resides in my handbag and it gets so much use. The contour shade does have a sheen and a warm undertone to it, but it’s soft and blends out really well on the skin so you can still get away with it for contouring. I adore the highlight shade. It’s a really pretty golden shimmer, not at all bitty or glittery. I use it on my cheekbones, on my lids even and it’s a lovely inner corner highlight too.
And the best part? It’s €3.75. Cara Pharmacy sell them online here
Three contour palettes for three decent prices. What do you think? Are you a contouring queen or not really into it? I’d love to know your thoughts.
I think neutral eyeshadows rock everyone’s boat. Whether you’re a hardcore makeup lover or someone who just likes to do the bare minimum, we all have at least one (if not more) neutral palette in our makeup stash. Here are 5 eyeshadow palettes picked ripe from my stash. All neutral, all packing a punch and all really affordable.
Budget beauty brands have really stepped up their eyeshadow palettes game of late and thankfully so many of them are doing a good job of it. If you don’t have the money or frankly just don’t want to fork out the money on Mac and the likes, you don’t have to. And you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out on anything either.
First up in one of my very favourites the Sleek Au Natural Palette. This palette will get you through any nude emergency matte or shimmery 🙂 I actually did a look with this not too long ago here, if you fancy seeing it in action on the eyes. Sleek iDivine palettes will set you back 10-11 euro depending on where you buy.
Next up is the Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Palette. This is a great little find. The packaging is cardboard but surprisingly sturdy. It contains 6 neutral shades going from a light shimmery vanilla shade to a dark charcoal brown. It will set you back €5.49.
My third neutral eyeshadow palette pick is an oldie but a goodie. The Wet n Wild trio in ‘Walking On Eggshells’. This is a bit of a cult buy. It contains 3 perfect neutral shadow shades. It will cost you €4.49.
A Flormar nude choice is next, their eyeshadow palette in Nude Dudes specifically. All the shadows in this palette are matte, and it costs €9.95. SimplyFoxy sell Flormar online here
The last one I think is the most budget friendly of them all considering how many shadows you get for €4.99. My last nude choice from my stash is the Essence All About Nudes Eyeshadow Palette.I think the name of the palette really speaks for itself, right? 🙂
There you have it. Five budget friendly, but also practical and decent neutral eyeshadow palettes. These are all in my makeup stash and all of them get used day to day.
Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading 🙂
I am always on the lookout for brilliant budget beauty buys. (yes I love that all of the words begin with b, not gonna lie :)) Rather than do monthly faves, I think I might do posts like this so often for budget and non budget beauty. Let me know what you think?
First up in my budget beauty list is:
My very beloved Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude Foundation.
I won’t bore you with the details. I waffle about this foundation all the time and have a full review here. This stuff just does it for me. I love the finish, the longevity, it wears really well on my oily skin and the coverage. It will set you back €9.99 in Boots so at a smidgen under a tenner, not a bad price point at all.
Next up on budget friendly rambles are these Catrice Liquid Metal Eyeshadows.
I think Catrice have nine colours to choose from in the Liquid Metal range. I have three of them and they get alot of use from me.
090 Nougat it right
070 Gold leaf me
100 What do you see?
These little pots are really pigmented, go on without any fuss and when dampened pack even more punch. I love shadows like this because you can create a really cool eye look without any effort. Not sure of the exact price on the Liquid Metal Shadows but I know they cost less than 4 euro a piece.
Another Catrice fave in my budget beauty stash is their Liquid Camouflage concealer.
I go into more detail and demo this here. It’s such a fab purse friendly full coverage concealer that works well under the eyes and around the face. A must have in your makeup drawer in my opinion, and with it being €3.99, I don’t feel guilty saying that 🙂
These Penneys lashes need no introduction, they have taken on a life of their own in the beauty world it seems.
They are so handy to have around when you are looking to add a little something more to a look. They would be described as individual lashes, unlike other individual lashes they have three clusters on one band, which for me takes way less faffing about.
You can add just one of these to your outer lashes and be good to go. And the best part it? They cost €1.50! You wouldn’t even get a coffee for that nowadays (in Dublin at least) and you get glue included for that price too. Score!
The Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof mascara is a rediscovery for me.
I got it a while back and loved it, even gave it a full review here. Then, I started having a thing with the Catrice Glam & Doll mascara (full review here) and I forgot about it for a while. I pulled it out the other week more to see if it was time to bin it or not and gave it one last whirl. I swear it’s an even better mascara now after drying out in the drawer for a couple of months! Might buy another one and just leave it in the dark for a while 🙂 I picked this up in Boots for €11.99. Not the cheapest mascara in the world, but still a decent price I reckon, and they’re always doing offers on it.
I have been loving this Essence No Makeup Look Nail Polish in Powdery Nude so much of late.
If you just be couldn’t be bothered doing your nails, but want them to look decent, this is such a great little find. I put a base coat on, add two layers of this and I’m done.
It dries really quickly and has a cool powdery finish to it so adding a top coat would take away from that. And it lasts really well on the nails. I can get around four days out of it before it starts to move, that’s not bad at all. I picked this up in Penneys and it cost me less than €3.
I have an oldie but a goodie next. The Sleek Face Form Contouring And Blush Palette.
I brought this to Oslo with me and it’s made me fall in love with it all over again. This is the light version of the palette and you get a contour shade, a highlighter and a blush, all for €9.99.
Not a bad deal whatsoever. Sleek is such a great brand! The shades double up as eyeshadows as well which is great for travelling.
This Flormar Bronzing Powder is huge and this is one of the reasons what I love it. It will last you a life time.
It’s also a really nice soft bronzer though. It has a really faint glitter running through it, but it doesn’t translate too much when on the skin.
The fact it’s so big means you can use a huge brush to apply it so it’s quick, easy and great for bronzing up the body too. A firm budget beauty fave in my collection. You can actually buy Flormar online here from Simplyfoxy. It will set you back €9.99.
My last favourite of the minute is Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover.
I am a waterproof mascara junkie, and this does a fab job of removing every scrap of it without irritating or dragging my eyes. It’s an oil in water solution, so you just have to give it a good shake before you use it to ensure the liquid is fully mixed. I apply it with a couple of cotton rounds, leave them on each eye for a couple of seconds and then wipe. It even remove Inglot Gel liner and doesn’t leave you with panda eyes the next morning. That’s impressive! At full price this will set you back €5.99 from Boots, it’s always on special though so just keep a look out. I am a huge fan of the Botanics range, they do some brilliant skincare and haircare products, that are really reasonably priced.
There you have it, a run through of some of my budget beauty favourites of the moment. What’s your favourite purse friendly product? I’d love to know 🙂
Ok, you’re going to have to forgive me, because it’s time for another mascara rave 🙂
This is the Catrice Glamour Doll Volume Waterproof Mascara, and I am in love! I saw the lovely Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup talking about this a while ago. I kinda feel like I have similar mascara needs to her. She always goes for a waterproof formula as do I, she wants the curl to last and wants some length…so do I, we’re practically lash sisters right?
Obviously when I saw her talk about it, the Catrice Glamour Doll Volume Waterproof Mascara went on my to buy list. And as we know here in Ireland Catrice is readily available in pharmacies and Penneys around these parts and it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg, so even a better reason to give it a try. To be fair myself and Catrice have been getting on like a house on fire of late and I am thoroughly enjoying the brand.
I think the easiest way to review a mascara is to just show you in action. I have blabbed on about my lashes being pretty lame many times so I won’t bore you with the details, but my lashes need a bit of oomph and curl to look semi decent. Mascara would definitely be one of my desert island products.
Here they are with no product on them at all.
Here they are curled with an eyelash curlers, I have straight lashes and no mascara really gives me the full curl I want so this is a necessary step in my routine. It just gives them an extra lift, which I don’t have naturally.
Here, I have added a few coats of the Catrice Glamour Doll to one of my eyes.
You can see it makes a pretty significant difference to my lashes right?
The Glamour Doll Volume Waterproof mascara has a small plastic wand, with small spikes tips to it, I think it makes for really easy application, and you can get right into the root of the lashes with it. I layer it too and it doesn’t become overly clumpy and leave you with spider lashes either.
So here’s the mascara added to both eyes top and bottom.
I’m even happy to add a slick of the Glamour Eyes to my bottom lashes, and it lasts quite well. Usually I can be a bit of a mascara ponce and tend to stick to a tubing mascara on my bottom lashes, but the wand on this one isn’t too large so it applies pretty easy to the lower lashes and has yet to smudge on me either.
If you struggle with a curl lasting in your lashes like me and you want some extra length, with a bit of added volume too, I really recommend giving the Catrice Glamour Doll Volume Waterproof Mascara a go.
And the best part, it will set you back €4.99, not bad right?
I gave first impressions on both of these products that were new to me together over on Snapchat (I’m ‘Beautynook’ over there) a couple of weeks ago and I’ve used them that way everyday since.
They are the Flormar Perfect Coverage Concealer and the Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer. Both of these concealers were under a fiver individually. I bought them both respectively to try but realised I really like using them together, so that’s why they are getting a joint review.
Now I know you’re thinking Gemma, why are using two products to conceal your lovely under circles? That’s a great question thanks for asking 🙂 Let me show you.
When using the two of these for concealing I use the Flormar Perfect Coverage first.
I picked up the shade 01 Fair Ivory and it works well for my Mac NC20 skintone.
I like the applicator on this product too. It has like a paddle shaped doe-foot applicator, that works really easily under the eyes.
My under eyes without any concealer on (I do have foundation on though) looks a bit like this.
You can see I definitely have some blue tones under there as well some pigmentation.
I use the Flormar Perfect Coverage first because it has a salmon tone to it.
And then I blend it in using whatever synthetic brush I have to hand.
It’s really lightweight and easy to blend.
You can see the finished result here, it does it jobs well and conceals, without caking or looking too obvious.
Then, I pull out the Catrice Liquid Camouflage High Coverage Concealer.
I got this in the shade 010 Porcelain, it is a pretty light shade, this is good for under the eyes as you want to highlight that area just a touch.
I pop a layer (or two) of this over top. It has a lightweight formula that blends easily into the skin, but still manages to do it’s job of concealing and brightening really well.
You can see this has more of a skin coloured tone to it. And I do the same, just blend it down in a triangle motion and then up across the tops of my cheeks with a synthetic brush.
By all means you can just use the Flormar Perfect Coverage on it’s own or even the Catrice Liquid Camouflage and be good to go. Separately they conceal well and do not crease under my eyes, as well as not settling into any fine lines or making any dry patches more apparent. I think alot of the cheaper brands struggle with concealer, so to have found two really good ones at the same time is a revelation!
I like using both these products together because, the Flormar works great for the pigmentation and darkness and then the Catrice really brightens the under eye area. Together they make me look more awake…and alive :p
It’s really love at first swipe for me with these 🙂 You can buy the Flormar Perfect Coverage from SimplyFoxy here or in any stockists around the country. The Catrice Liquid Camouflage is online here from Sam McCauley’s or again you can pick it up from stands nationwide including Penneys.
Here they all are together too.
