Make up Revolution Haul Review Collab!

   Hi Pretty people!


  I'm back today with a review collaboration! I have really been looking forward to this as I am collaborating with my wonderful friend Charlotte (aka lottes_beauty on instagram) of the blog http://www.ifyoufeedpeanutsyougetmonkeys.blogspot.ie. This was the first time myself or Charlotte had bought items from this range, MakeupRevolution, and all items we are reviewing were purchased  by ourselves. 

  So on to the review! I decided to have a look at this brand as their prices are fantastic, they do white and very pale foundations and at the time there was an offer on free shipping if you spent €24! I live in Ireland so normally shipping would be £4.95 for standard or £11.95 and if you spend over £40 you will get tracked shipping for the same price as standard. 

  First of all, there was one thing that got my back up. There is a feature on the site where you can transfer the prices, which are in British Pounds, to your own currency, which is great because you know exactly what you are spending. However,  when you go to pay by Paypal, Paypal uses their own conversation rate on how much you have in British Pounds. So I bought €24.55 worth, but wound up paying €26 when Paypal converted it. I wasn't on a strict budget but I don't like that you can't find out how much you are spending until you get to the Paypal stage. Otherwise the website is user friendly and they have good pictures with a zoom feature on their pictures.

 So here's a picture of my haul!

So as you can see I got a whopping nine items for my money.  I was very impressed with the packaging, especially the pressed powder, which comes out on a hinge, rather than having a lid that will inevitably get broke and then the powder cant be used! 

Awesome Eyeliner Felt and Kohl €4.19: Ok, I'll be honest I only really bought this as I needed something to add to my basket. I'm not a fan of felt liners but there is nothing wrong with this one, maybe its a little long to get close to the mirror to do the line. The Kohl end is good but doesn't smudge very well. It is very good value though, I think I'm just more a gel liner girl. The top line in the picture is the kohl smudged and the bottom lines are the felt.

Without Flash:
Concealer on Bottom

With Flash:
Concealer on bottom

Focus and Fix Liquid Concealer €2.40: I purchased this in 01 Fairest, which is the lightest colour. As you can see from the above pictures it is a very pale colour. This doesn't have a thick consistency, which makes it great for under the eyes, but I wouldn't recommend this for very bad blemishes. This could possibly be used under another concealer to reduce redness on very pale skin. It's liquidy consistency makes it very easy to apply to under the eyes and it doesn't sit in the lines as some thicker concealers can. Definitely will be repurchasing this. 

 

Amazing Lipstick €1.20: I purchased the shades 'Depraved', a blue toned purple and 'Bliss', which is sort of a neon coral. These lipsticks remind me of M.A.C's creme sheen lipsticks, in that you need to have exfoliated the lips before you use it, as it amplifies any dryness on the lips. However, they don't dry out the lip and the colour pigmentation is very good. Depraved has blue undertones and is by far my favourite of the two, it goes on very smoothly and the colour is amazing.  Bliss however, is not one I will be wearing! I thought this would be a bright coral, but instead it is an neon orange colour and looks cheap. In the pictures I have the Amazing lipsticks in Depraved swatches on top with M.A.C's Heroine below to compare. I also have the 'I <3 Makeup' lipstick swatches on the same hand which I will review after the pictures. I would definitely try more shades in this range as at this price you could afford to!

                                        

Top To Bottom:
Depraved
Heroine
Rising pulse
Japanese Maple

                                                             

Top To Bottom:
Depraved
Heroine
Risong pulse
Japanese Maple

'Bliss' Lipstick No flash



 I <3 Makeup Lipstick €2.98: I got this in the shade 'Rising Pulse'. It reminds me of M.A.C's 'Japanese Maple', but slightly browner as you can see from the swatches above. The bullet is in the shape of a heart and it definitely has a creamier constancy. This would be lovely as a nude lip with smokey eyes. All the lipsticks also have a little clear section in the packaging with the lip colour in it, which is a help to know which lipstick is which. I would definitely recommend this lipstick, and the colour itself is such a useful colour to have in your collection.

  Vivid Baked Highlighter €3.59: I purchased this in 'Pink lights' which is kind of confusing as it's more lilac than pink! I bought this to try brighten up my skin as lilac is recommended to combat dullness in the skin. It has a silver pink tone to it when applied and catches the light beautifully. This powder is very effective, and because of this you're better to apply lightly and build up if needed. I'm looking forward to trying out the other two colours in the range and at this price you can have all three! 

       

                                           

Swatch by natural light

 Cream Blusher €1.80: I have wanted to try a cream blusher for a while now and when I saw them at this price I decided to try it! I picked up 'Caramel Shake' which looked a little browner than my normal peach tone I'd go for, but in reality is a really nice peachy shade. After trying this I have to say, as well as it being a brilliant product for next to nothing, it has me hooked on cream blushers! Only the smallest amount is needed to give that healthy glow and it blends beautifully. I use a brush to apply and blend this but you can easily use your fingers also. 

                                                 

With flash

Without flash

    Pressed Powder €2.40: I bought this in 'Porcelain' which is the lightest shade. This powder has great packaging as it swings out on a hinge rather than having a lid which always falls off in your bag and breaks! It also has a mirror at the back which is the full size of the compact. It also came with a sponge, but I never use them. It sets the make up very well without being too powdery and is a good colour. I don't know if I would go out of my way to repurchase this, but I will definitely use it.  I could't get a swatch of this as it was too light to show up, sorry about that!

  The One Foundation €4.79:  I bought this in Shade 1, which is white. Pure white. It is very liquidy, which makes it very easy to mix with other foundations, which I will be doing when I get paler in the winter. Its very easy to apply and doesn't require any blending, while adapting to skin tone as it claims; it worked for both my mother and I, whom are completely different skin tones, albeit paler than either of our usual foundation. It needs a very good shake before every use. It has a beautiful matte finish without being too dead looking, which really surprised me, but I don't think this gives full coverage, as I could still see my freckles underneath! This is a small bottle 29mls, but because you need so little this will last and is excellent value for money. I will be purchasing the next shade up when I put in my next order. 

                                             

With Flash

Without Flash

 So all in all I'm pretty happy with my order, everything was very reasonably priced. I would like to see the company do more products, such a lip liners to go with their lipsticks as they have some very unusual lip colours, and liners would be a help. Their Instagram is very good for swatches and details, and they also have a face book page. I would like to see them sort out the conversion issue, and I am looking forward to trying out more lipsticks and their eye shadows.  I also really like the fact they cater for very pale skinned people.

 Has anyone else tried out this brand? What did people think?  Is there a much better selection on the stands in the U.K then there is on the website? 

Much love as always!xxx

http://www.makeuprevolutionstore.com/index.php/ 

www.ifyoufeedpeanutsyougetmonkeys.blogspot.ie : Charlotte's blog

  

Real Techniques Review

   Hey Pretty people!


   I hope everyone's having a lovely weekend! Its pouring rain outside, so I decided it was perfect weather to write a review I'd promised on instgram, while having Dispicable Me2 playing in the background. Yes, it's very tragic, I love minions. There I said it! They are they funniest little yellow things on the face of this earth! I may even have a little minion collection, I may not.I'm saying nothing. Hehe bottom!


                                                         

Complimentary minion pic!

   Moving swiftly onwards! The products I'm reviewing today are Real Techniques brushes and their beauty blender. These brushes are made by the YouTube beauty gurus Sam and Nic Chapmen, whom I'm pretty sure need no real introduction due to their insane popularity. The girls also created videos to go with their products in order to help you get the best results. I really like this principal, as for many people, the makeup artist makes it look so simple in the store and then when you get home you're looking at the product with not a freaking clue how to make the best of what you've just bought! Also these brushes are quite reasonably priced and I think the most expensive in the range is €16.99. They're available in larger Boots stores and online. I'll leave both links below.


                                             

Shading Brush: This brush was €10.49 in Boots. Ok, straight off, I don't really use this brush. I wasn't hugely impressed by it as I felt it didn't apply as much colour as I wanted on the lids. It can also be used to apply the crease colour but again I felt it just didn't apply the colour to the level of intensity I wanted. I did use this recently to apply a cream eye shadow base, and it did a really good job, so I think I may start reaching for it again, but only for this purpose. It is a very soft brush and doesn't drag the eye lids, and for some reason I really like the fact the brush is thin and not as long as other makeup brushes. I think it's because it allows you to get up close to the mirror with out smacking the brush off it, and then into your eye. Or maybe thats just me. I would recommend this for someone who simply wants a wash of colour, or for someone who uses cream based eye products.

                                           

                                                                 

Expert Face Brush: This brush was €13.29 in Boots. Its quite firm, as in when you push down on the bristles they don't splay out everywhere, but they are soo soft! This is designed for application of and blending liquid and cream foundation. I wasn't too impressed with this for applying and blending liquid foundation, but recently I purchased Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse to use as a contour product, and it works so well with this! It applies and blends the mousse so easily and effectively. I always get a bit worried about applying contour colour as I'm so pale and dread that 'dirty face streak' but this brush blends it seamlessly into my skin. Use a light hand with this brush as because it's firm, you could end up dragging the skin if you're too heavy handed.You could possible even use this to gently press powder onto the face, though not around the eyes. I would absolutely recommend this brush to anyone who uses mousse, cream or even wax based products. 


                                               

Blush Brush: This was €12.99 in Boots. Ok, this brush in my opinion is way too big for a blush brush. It's about twice the size of a normal blush brush and closer in size M.A.C.s 150 which is a big brush! In it's favour however this brush is soooo soft and the shape of it reminds me of a blender brush as its cut in a dome shape. I personally use this brush to apply colour all over my face as the shape is perfect for going around the eye and nose area and again, it's so soft on the face!This applies powder without causing a lot of fall out or leaving you with the over powdered look. I'd definitely recommend this brush to anyone and everyone:)

                                               

Miracle Complexion Sponge: This is €5.89 in Boots.(There were all bought in Boots in case you've not cottoned on to that yet!-_-) Oh wow...I just love this sponge. I'd marry it and have it's little sponge babies if I could! This is the Real Techniques take on the original Beauty Blender. I have to admit I was late to this whole beauty blender phenomena. I used a sponge when I was much younger to apply makeup, and I just thought sponges were so 90's! But when I saw this for under €6 and I was looking for a new way to apply my foundation I thought why not? I'm delighted I did! I don't know the science of how this sponge works, but when you run this under water it swells to about three times its regular size. You squeeze it out and then use it to apply foundation, cream blush, liquid highlighter, concealer, pretty much anything that isn't powder based really! It can be used for blending as well as application and is flawless at both. I recently bought a second sponge for applying and blending my liquid highlight, and my mother who was so impressed with the results also decided to buy one, and is so far a huge fan!

                               

 
So. Is there anything I don't like about the range over all? Well, just silly things. I keep all my brushes in a jar like container and because the ends of the face brushes are larger they do take up a lot of room. My only complaint about the sponge is it does seem to stain easily and this can make it look like you've not been bothered to wash it. Not major things really and I still would have no problems recommending this range to anyone!:)

    I hope this post was helpful and answered any questions people may have had about these products. Has anyone else had experience, either positive or negative, with Real Techniques?  Also has anyone tried out their new make up pallets? It feels like eeeveryones got a palette on the market these days! Think I'll look into releasing one myself.....

Thanks so much for reading !:)
xx


Boots Link: http://www.boots.ie/en/Real-Techniques/

Real Techniques Site: http://realtechniques.com

All images Google Images