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L'Oréal Infallible More Than ConcealerIt’s been a minute since I sat down a did a proper makeup review. Life got in the way of my creative juices, and people don’t swing around these parts as much as they used to. There’s more of you lovely lot interacting over on Instagram. But I love blogging, so Beautynook isn’t going anywhere, I just guess the content will not be as frequent. Tis’ the way of the online world 🙂 Anyways, enough personal rambling, I am here to talk about the new L’Oréal Infallible More Than Concealer….concealer.

I am overall a big fan of the Infallible range. The 24 Hour Matte foundation is one of my very faves, as is the Fixing Mist. I’ve done many a review over the years, some glowing, some grand and some of them not so grand.beauty blogger ireland

So how did I fare with the new L’Oréal Infallible More Than Concealer? In all honesty it falls into the grand category for me, but do hear me out.L'Oréal Infallible More Than Concealer

I think all concealers that come in a chubby tube with a larger doe foot applicator are always going to be compared to Tarte Shape Tape, case in point the Revolution Conceal & Define and now this. And let’s face it for the most part they can be pretty similar. They’re all more full coverage and have a matte finish.top irish beauty blogger

It comes in 25 shades and L’Oréal say they called it ‘More Than Concealer’, because you can use it to brighten, correct, contour and highlight. Very clever!

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For me, It definitely has decent coverage. I have the shade Ivory, which is a little lighter than my natural skin tone so does brighten under the eyes for me. As you can see in these screenshots from the video I did.

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Here it is in actual action:

So I like the coverage and the colour range, what don’t I like? Now remember this is complete personal opinion as I know there’s a lot of people who love this concealer. It dries down quickly so you have to work fast, thats nor a major problem for me. It’s normal with a thicker, more coverage formula. For me, it takes a lot of blending, I find a fluffy synthetic brush works best for me to do that with. I also find that even though I set it, it creases on me! This very rarely happens for me with under eye concealer, so have to mark it down for that. It also catches on any dryness you might have, which can make it even harder to blend out. These reasons tend to make me want to reach for something more trustworthy day to day. Final verdict? I like it, but I don’t love it.

I am actually giving one of these concealers away along with a whole host of other beauty goodies over on my Instagram at the time this post is published, so be sure to check that out 🙂

You can buy the L’Oréal Infallible More Than Concealer concealer now. I got mine in Boots, but actually Littlewoods seem to have the better deal on it here.

Have you tried it?

xxx

 

I’ve seen this comparison being made a few times online, so I had to investigate it myself! Today I am comparing (and contrasting) the cult beauty product that is the YSL Touche Eclat to the purse friendly W7 Light Diffusing Concealer.

ysl touch eclat

I will say, when it comes to the word ‘dupe’, I am very reluctant to ever use it, and in this comparison it will not be muttered again, because in my humble opinion, these products are not the same!

 

Just in case, you haven’t encountered either of these products throughout your makeup journey yet, I’ll give you a quick synopsis of both.

We’ll start by talking about the YSL Touche Eclat. It comes in encased it the well known sleek metal plated gold packaging.

ysl vs w7

Mine says ‘no need to sleep’ on it. They brought out some slogan collectors edition ones not too long ago. They’ve also since released colour correction variations of the YSL Touche Eclat. What I have here is just the original highlighter in number 1.

You click the top to release the product into the brush.

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The YSL Touche Eclat is a skin highlighter. It’s not a concealer, although I know alot of people use it for this purpose, as it does have some coverage to it. It does have a salmon hue to it aswell so can work to help brighten under the eyes. It has a creamy really blend-able texture. For me and my skin tone, it doesn’t do much highlighting unfortunately, I can get away with it a little under my eyes. Overall, it’s a really unnecessary purchase (that I’ve made about 5 times in my lifetime) because everyone loves it so much, I want to aswell 🙂

On to the W7 Light Diffusing Concealer.

under eye concealer review

This product does claim to be a concealer.It comes is a similar looking to the YSL Touche Eclat (from afar) plastic pen.

You twist the top of the pen to get the product out onto the brush, again similar to the YSL.

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For me, this is where the comparison ends. The product itself,to me, is just crap. It doesn’t have any major coverage, doesn’t really conceal and can come out of the pen in little hardened balls which makes it hard to blend into the skin.

Here’s both pens swatched side by side. The YSL Touche Eclat is on the left and the W7 Light Diffusing Concealer is on the right. The YSL is more peachy toned and the W7 pen is definitely a more suited colour for highlighting for lighter skinned people like myself.

ysl touche eclat swatchHere’s both products in action.

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My eyes with nothing underneath

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real techniques

I buffed both of them in with the same Real Techniques Brush

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The W7 concealer is here on my right eye

 

Close up, I can’t seen any major difference between either eye, except there is a build up of product on the side of nose where I applied the concealer.

Onto the YSL Touche Eclat.

YSL Touche Eclat

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I applied it in the same way

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The W7 Concealer is on my right and the YSL Touche Eclat on my left.

 

I personally think the YSL Touche Eclat does a better job at concealing even though it’s not actually formulated as a concealer. The W7 Light Diffusing Concealer just doesn’t nothing really.

 

There is a pretty huge price difference between both of these products. The YSL Touche Eclat will set you back €35, you can get it from Debenhams online here And the the W7 Light Diffusing Concealer will set you back around 5/6 euro depending on where you pick it up. I can’t find a direct Irish stockist link to it, but here it is on the W7 website.

What do you think, would you pick up either? Are you a YSL Touche Eclat advocate?

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first time I’ve picked something up because I was asked so many times had I tried it before and what did I think about it. It’s a nice feeling 🙂 So we are talking here about the new (here in Ireland) Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette.

Maybelline The Blushed Nudes PaletteI’ve been talking about Maybelline alot of late, just because they’re really consistent with releases at the moment. Some of the releases I am liking, some are a little meh!

Within the Maybelline The Blush Nudes Palette you get 12 eyeshadows with the palettes total weight at 9.6 grams.

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Without Flash

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With Flash

The packaging is alright, just your basic plastic encasing. The colour does compliment the name and the shades. It has a clear lid so you see the shadows within it, and you get a dual ended applicator too.

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Maybelline say of the palette: ‘This 12-shade eye shadow palette features dazzling colors infused with rose gold pigments. From bold beiges and sultry sands to brazen bronzes and tempting taupes, this makeup palette is perfect for creating versatile eye makeup looks‘.

The colours within are what you would imagine, complimenting blushed tones. All of them but one is shimmery. It is being compared to the Urban Decay Naked 3 online alot and I can understand why looking at it in the pan, although the one that was launched in America seems a little different to the palette we’ve finally gotten across the pond here.

Onto the swatching 🙂

maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette

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Top Layer

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Bottom Layer

The colours swatched well on my arm, but for me the shades don’t really vary alot when it comes to applying them on your eyes. I think any look you do with this palette is going to look very similar. For me, I would have to incorporate another, maybe brown tone palette (with a couple of mattes) into the look.

I can’t say I would call it a dupe for the Naked 3 really either. The shadow quality is definitely not as good as Urban Decay and you have to work harder with them to build up the intensity of the colour. What I will say though, if you want to get the same tonal eyeshadow look without forking out for the Naked 3, you can do so with The Blushed Nudes, it just might take a little longer.

I used the lightest shade here on my brow bone and inner corner, the matte shade in the crease, the last colour on the top row on my lid (and on the lower lash line),with a bit of the golden shade (the first on the bottom row) on top of it here, to show you some of them in action. The colours do blend and they are pigmented, although there is alot of fallout. However, you can probably see for yourself here, there is no real differentiation of colour after you blend them into each other.

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You can pick up the Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette in-store from Boots or online here. It costs €14.99.

xxx

 

 

 

I am here today comparing and contrasting the two beauties that are Rimmel’s Exaggerate lipliner in ‘Eastend Snob’ and Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Cheat in ‘Pillow Talk’.

Eastend Snob versus Pillow Talk

I am sure you have heard of at least one of these bad boys at some stage?

Eastend Snob has been around a long time, I don’t think everyone realised the magic of this lip liner though up until recently.

Rimmel Exaggerate Eastend Snob

Eastend Snob by Rimmel is a retractable lip pencil. That can be a con as the pencil is so soft it tends to break regularly. Also, I have found the mechanism can sometimes stop working and you can’t get all of it out. I say con very lightly because the product itself is great. And at €5.49 from Boots it’s not a whole lot to spend. I would rather a soft pencil all day everyday over a hard one!

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Eastend Snob is what I would describe as a dusty pink colour. It can even out your lip line, add definition or even be used to over draw the lips, just don’t go nuts and it can look really natural.

Eastend Snob Lip Liner SwatchRimmel Eastend Snob swatched lips

You can use it under pretty much any shade of lipstick or it is lovely on it’s own or with a slick of gloss on top.Overall, a really lovely and affordable product.

I wanted to speak about Eastend Snob first because I had this in my possession a few times before I went and made the splurge on Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk. But the splurge I did make and sadly (or happily) whichever way you look at it I can see what all the fuss is about.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Pillow Talk

Pillow Talk is a darker pink than Rimmel’s Eastend Snob. It has a bit more brown in it. It is a standard pencil, although has the look of decadence that we have become accustomed to with Charlotte Tilbury. Pillow Talk looks more natural on the lips than Eastend Snob, you could probably apply it really lightly and people wouldn’t even know you were wearing it.

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It is smooth and creamy, and oh so pigmented, perhaps a bit more so than Eastend Snob but you would kind of hope it would be with it being €22 from Brown Thomas.

Pillow Talk Lip liner Swatch

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Swatch Lips

 

It is more of a neutral colour too so would probably bode well for more skin colours than the Rimmel offering. Again it is fab for fixing your lip line, as a neutral colour on it’s own, under any lipstick and of course overdrawing if you wish. In fact calling it a Lip Cheat is making that pretty obvious. 🙂

Eastend Snob Pillow Talk

Rimmel Eastend Snob                                   Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk

In conclusion.

Rimmel’s Eastend Snob is a quarter of the price, if your budget won’t stretch and you are in the market, get the Rimmel one. It does nearly the same thing, not quite as longlasting as Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk but well enough that you won’t feel like you’re missing out if you can’t splurge.

Myself personally, I think I actually prefer the colour of Eastend Snob as I’m more of a pinks girl than a neutrals one. I love Pillow Talk too though 🙂

That’s my two cents. What do you think? 🙂

xxx

 

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bourjois Bronzing Primer

The bit of sunshine in Ireland is making me slightly obsessed with bronzer and bronzing at the minute, I haven’t really shut up about them in the last while so apologies if you’re not a fan 🙂

I’ve owned both the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel and the Bourjois Bronzing Primer for a long time now and they always tend to get pulled out more around this time of year. What are they you might ask? They are bronzing bases, that you can use to warm up your face under foundation, or just on their own if you are lucky and have lovely skin.

I personally use them as you would a cream bronzer. I to use them after I have applied my foundation and hit the parts of my face I would normally contour. I use them on their own if I am just going for a more subtle look or I apply powder on top for more definition, really depends on the day or the situation.

They are both two very different price points. Do they do the same thing?

The Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel.

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanelel

The Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel is a cream product with a dense formula, that in my opinion is best applied with a dense synthetic brush.

Close up Soleil Tan De Chanel

As you would expect from Chanel, it is really pigmented and easy to blend into the skin.You can build it up quite quickly. It does have a slightly orange undertone so a light hand and alot of buffing is needed if you are lighter skinned like myself. It has a lovely light florally scent that is familiar to Chanel.

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel swatch

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Swatched

 

The Bourjois Bronzing Primer.

Bourjois Bronzing Primer

The Bourjois Bronzing Primer has a whipped, creamy formula. It is mousse like to the touch.

Close Up Bourjois Bronzing Primer

It applies much more liberally that the Soleil Tan De Chanel as it is more of a wet consistency. I prefer to apply this with a small synthetic duo fibre brush as you can control your application that way. This is a pigmented product, so apply a little at a time, but it does blend out quite sheer. You need to build it up if you want a more intense bronzing effect. It smells like coconut and chocolate, nice if you like a sweet holiday scent.

Bourjois Bronzing Primer swatch

Bourjois Bronzing Primer Swatched

These products compare pretty closely. In the pan they look different, obviously the packaging is a bit more swish and fancy on the Chanel offering. They both have the same amount of product in the tub. They both bronze your face and do it nicely. They are both a matte finish. The Soleil Tan De Chanel does pack more of a punch in the pigment stakes and you don’t need as much of it as you do the Bourjois one, and it sets quicker on the skin, it’s also €38.50 though! The bronzing primer from Bourjois is not as elegant but it is a hell of alot cheaper at €12.99!!

I love having the Chanel one, it was a treat from the bf and owning anything Chanel makes me feel ladylike. I think when I run out of both and decide I still want a cream bronzer I would be more inclined to pick up the Bourjois Bronzing Primer, it just makes better mathematical sense (you won’t hear me say that very often).

Do you have either of them? What’s you take on it? I would love to know?

xxx

Hourglass Mood Exposure Max Factor Nude MauveThe blogsphere has been alight ever since Max Factor brought out their Creme Puff Blushes. Instantly they were being compared to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes…they look really really similar in the pan so there is no surprise there! As the proud owner of 4 Hourglass blushes I thought it was my duty as a blogger and makeup obsessed person to buy a couple of the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes and compare. All in the name of research I swear 🙂

So today I am comparing Hourglass’s ‘Mood Exposure’ (which I have in palette form)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Mood Exposure

 

Hourglass Mood Exposure

 

to Max Factor’s ’10 Nude Mauve’.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush 10 Nude Mauve

Max Factor 10 Nude Mauve

They look pretty similar in the pan don’t they? The marbling effect in ‘Mood Exposure’ is more prominent than in Nude Mauve, and ‘Nude Mauve’ looks a tad more shimmery when you look at them both up close.

When they are swatched on the skin, they look like this.

Swatch Mood Exposure Nude Mauve

Mood Exposure                                                                   Nude Mauve

Hourglass’s ‘Mood Exposure’ is a slightly more muted peach shade when swatched whereas Max Factor’s ‘Nude Mauve’ is true to it’s name and a little darker and more nude in colour.

Both blushes blend really well on the skin and can be worn as a light flush of colour or can be built up for a more noticeable application. They both have a very subtle sheen to them, with just a smattering of shimmer nothing too drastic or over powering at all. They both also have a light fragrance to them, different but it really won’t affect you when you are wearing either of them.

Rather than talking about them separately it just felt natural for me to talk about them together because they really are such similar products. Except of course when it comes to the price tag. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes will set you back close to 40 quid where as the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes are a much more budget friendly 11.50, there’s a big difference there.

Both of these blushes are the perfect neutral blush colour, for less makeup days or when you are having a day of focus on your eyes or your lips, both of them would tie your look together without trying to steal the show. It’s just down to which one you want to buy. As a makeup ‘collector’ yep that’s what I’m calling myself! I like having both of them at my disposal but in reality the Max Factor offering is cheaper, more readily available and does the exact same thing!

The decision is yours 🙂

xxx