Makeup Revolution Shimmer Bricks Review - Radiant and Rose Gold

If you have the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks on your wishlist, but they are too expensive, then these are the perfect substitute. It was only a matter of time before Makeup Revolution brought out their own version of the shimmer brick. As you know, Bobbi Brown is the queen of the shimmer brick product and a lot of other company's have tried too match this standard of quality and most of the time, they do not get anywhere close. Make-up Revolution launched their version of the shimmer bricks earlier this year bringing out two of them. Radiant and Rose Gold are perfect for this time of year if you want to add a bit of bronzer and highlighter to your skin. If you have seen or own shimmer bricks before, then you will know that the product can be used as a separate highlighter/bronzer or can be swirled together for a beautiful light bronzer with lots of shimmer.

The shimmer bricks are cased in a slim black plastic box with a clear lid that makes it easy to see what shade you have without opening it. I think the packaging seems sturdy enough which is good, especially if you are planning to travel with these bricks as they will hopefully not break in your make-up bag. 

Make-up Revolution claims the shimmer bricks 'Combine the warmth from a bronzer with highlighters to give gorgeous definition to all skin tones. Either use each shade from the shimmer brick on its own, or swirl your brush round to pick up all the colours'. 

 Radiant is perfect for me as I am very pale and this gives me a healthy glow without looking too much. This is very much a cool toned palette with a lot of pale pinks and golden shimmers. I believe this is a dupe for the Bobbi Brown Shimmer brick in Beige as it has the same kind of colours. 

The first strip in the palette looks like a white shimmer but once applied to your cheekbones, it has a yellow gold tone to it which is just beautiful. The second strip looks pink in the palette, but once applied, it is a peachy pink with gold shimmer. The third strip is a brown with gold shimmer. Strip four is a beige/champagne that is lighter than strip 2. Lastly, strip five is a golden brown. When swirled together, it produces a champagne/golden bronze shade which looks perfect on paler skin.

Rose Gold  is definitely a lot darker in colour, but do not let that put you off using it. When using this shimmer brick, use a light hand and blend especially if you are pale like me as this can look too much if you use it heavily. This is a lot warmer in tone and is a dupe for the Bobbi Brown shimmer brick in bronze. 

Strip one is a yellow toned white just like the one in Radiant. Strip two is a darker pink and in comparison to strip two from radiant, it is a lot darker. Strip three is a bright copper with golden shimmer. Strip four is a red bronze and strip five is a dark taupe brown. When swirled together, it produces a darker/warmer bronze colour which would look great on darker skin tones. For me, I found it too much and I would have to use the tiniest bit and blend it out. 

 These shimmer bricks are just a dream to work with as the formulation is very smooth and soft to touch. As I have mentioned previously, they are very pigmented so use a light hand when applying to the cheeks especially the rose gold brick. The shimmer bricks are a multi-purpose product, so you can use it on the cheeks, eyes and body. When trying this product out, I applied the shimmer brick at 9am and removed my make-up at 10pm and I can confirm that it lasted all day without completely fading into nothing. 

Overall the Make-up Revolution shimmer bricks are a brilliant and affordable dupe for the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks. I think these are just as pigmented and soft in texture as the Bobbi Brown ones. I love these shimmer bricks and they are perfect for the summer to either add a glow or a bronze glow. 


The Make-up Revolution shimmer bricks are sold online and in Superdrug at a price of £3 each.

Gosh Lip Oils Review

I have never tried lip oils before because one, there are not that many around that are affordable and two, I was happy with my old trusty vaseline aloe vera lip balm whenever my lips were chapped and dry. So when Gosh came out with their version of a lip oil, I was intrigued to try it out for the first time.  These are a great dupe for the Clarins instant light lip oils and I think they do give the Clarins oils a run for their money. When I bought these lip oils, my lips were dry and very chapped. I was using the Maybelline baby lips dr rescue and it was not doing anything to make my lips better. I just needed something to help my lips out and this is where these lip oils come into play...

 Firstly, these lip oils are part of the spring/summer 2016 collection 'Copenhagen' and they are not limited edition. These are very much part of the permanent line from Gosh which I am super happy about as they are just lovely. I believe this is the first lip oil within the UK drugstore that is not highly expensive but a more affordable alternative.

The lip oils come in a clear plastic tube with a matte black top. I like how the packaging is clear so I can see if I am running out of product. The name of each lip oil is on a sticker at the top of the packaging. Once you twist the product open, the doe foot applicator is unusual. I have never seen a doe foot applicator which is flat and long. I don't really get the concept of this, but I am assuming it is to get a lot of product on the applicator without having to re-dip. When I tried the oil out, I used one side of the applicator for my bottom lip and the other side for my top lip. I found this gave me enough product on my lips without putting too much or too little but just right.

Within the collection, there are four shades to choose from; Clear, Sea Buckthorn (Golden yellow), Rose (Red) and Raspberry (Pink). In the tube, they look quite pigmented but actually on the lips, it gives a very sheer hint of colour. On my lips, they all look the same because my lips are quite pigmented and strong in colour, so you definitely do not need all four shades.

Once I applied the oil to my lips, it felt very smooth and hydrating and no sign of any stickiness. It just felt very nice and easy to apply without too much trouble. The oil lasted on my lips for about 2 hours before fading, but it definitely made my lips super smooth for the rest of the day. I use the lip oil mostly at night before I go to bed and it lasts all night till I wake up in the morning. The oil lasts longer due to not talking and smacking lips together.

After a couple of days using the oils, my lips were transformed from chapped to hydrated, good looking lips. It worked a treat and made my lips go back to normal. Within the oil, there are four nordic super active ingredients to make your lips better. Sea Buckthorn protects and nourishes, Moringa, Argan and Macadamia oils moisturises the lips and Vitaskin E repairs, constructs and recovers the lips. I love how there are other benefits to this product as well as being a great lip oil.

Overall, I am in love with these lip oils because they have made my lips look and feel much better than a normal lip balm and they are so nice to use. They might not last long, but the lips will thank you for the benefits inside the oils.

Gosh lip oils are available from Superdrug instore and online at £7.49 each.

Lush Secret Garden Bath Bomb - Mother's Day 2015

When I searched on the Lush website to look at the products coming out for Mother's day 2015, I came across Secret Garden. This bath bomb is a limited edition product especially for Mother's day. However I have been told that the secret garden did come out in 2013, so I believe it has been coming out every Mother's Day since 201. I have seen some reviews and they say this could be a part of the Easter collection as well. Secret garden is a bath bomb which means it can be dropped straight into the bath and fizzles up right before your eyes and will not make bubbles.

Secret Garden is a grassy green colour ball with a pink flower embedded into the bomb which reminds me of spring. Personally I have never bought anything in lush which is green so when  I saw this bomb with the nice pink flower on top, I had to buy it. I would say this is a medium sized bath bomb because it is not as big as Dragon Egg but not as small as Think Pink. The scent is not too overpowering since it is a floral smell. So if you do not like floral smells, then Secret Garden is not for you. When I got out of the bath, I could smell the floral smell on my skin which did not bother me in the slightest. It has been four hours now since I stepped out of the bath and I can just about smell secret garden.

When I dropped Secret Garden into the bath, straight away it fizzed up and spun round and round whilst it pumped out colours of green, orange, white and pink foam into the bath. I have never seen a bath bomb go round and round as fast as this one. After two minutes, the bomb was throwing out yellow foam along with flower petals.The water at first turned a dirty green/grey colour but by the end, it turned into a nice Victorian green.

I think this has to be one of the best bath product in this years Mother's Day range due to the different colours and the petals it produced. You can buy Secret Garden in Lush now for £2.95 and as I said at the begin, this is a limited edition product, so get it while you can!

Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser Review

Biore released this cleanser a few years back I believe but I only saw this in Boots a couple of months ago. I picked this product up due to the product apparently being new to Boots and I wanted to try another product which helped me to get rid of any blemishes that appear on my face. I have tried so many skincare products which are meant to either reduce or get rid of any blemishes on my face. 

They claim that the 'ice cleanser helps stop blemishes before they start by removing over 99% of dirt and oil that can cause them, so you're left with clear skin'. Keep reading to see if I agree with their claim to better skin...

Firstly, the packaging for this product is a bottle with a pump. You might say that is a good concept? However for some reason rather than turning the pump and it locks, Biore wants you to push down the pump (which releases a lot of product) and then turn it to one side to lock it. Either you have to waste the product or try and lock it with the one hand. I love products that locks after use because it stops product from escaping into a cosmetic/skincare bag on travel and covering every product in goo. I would say that is the only downfall for this whole product.

The product itself is a clear gel type formula and the consistency is quite runny so it is easy to use less product than other products which are thick in consistency. The smell is quite strong on the nose to start of with but the more you use it, the less strong it will be.

When I first washed my face with the ice cleanser, I noticed how strong the smell was, it was pretty powerful stuff. Also I used one to two pumps to cover my whole face and when I applied it, it wasn't very thick, so it was pretty easy to apply. I know this is a ice cleanser rather than the normal cleanser they have, I didn't notice the cooling sensation on my skin. Is it just me who doesn't get the 'ice' part? This product does lather up a bit when rubbing into the skin which I quite like. When I had enough of rubbing the product into my skin, I washed it off with cold water which was easy enough to do. The only thing I would warn you about is if you get product in your eyes, it will sting like crazy.

As for the results, I reviewed the progress of this after a week and it made me break out even more. However after using it for a few months now, I can say that this has not given me anymore breakouts and it has reduced the amount of blemishes I get on my face but I still get blemishes so it hasn't completely solved my problem. I would say that you will need a moisturiser after just because it can be quite drying on the skin.

Pros

• Easy to apply and blend
• Foams up when massaged into the skin
• Has reduced the amount of blemishes I get
• Cheap and affordable
• Available in local shops and drugstores

Cons

• The badly designed lock design
• Stings like crazy if you get it in your eyes
• Made me break out at first

 Overall I would rate this product 7 out of 10 just because it did help my skin clear up a tiny bit. But the lock system is a big downfall in my eyes. The Biore blemish fighting ice cleanser is available in Boots and Superdrug now at a price of £4.99.

Seventeen on the spot foundation review

A little while ago, Seventeen launched their on the spot foundation and this was really hyped up by bloggers and youtubers at the time. I had to buy this foundation when it came out due to the claims it made. Apparently it will reduce spots in four weeks which is pretty good for a blemish foundation. I have never used a blemish foundation before and I do have quite a few blemishes, so this was a must buy.

I have been using this foundation for the past month to two months, so I would know if it has actually worked or not. The shade I have is Porcelain which is the second lightest in the colour range and the foundation also has spf 15.

At first I thought the foundation was a screw top but no, it was a pump and this I love because I find I can control how much product I get out by using a pump. Plus using a pump makes it more hygienic and saves on wasting product. The foundation is a thick consistency and I really do not need a lot of product to cover my whole face. I use one pump to cover my whole face and I still have a bit of product left over which I use on my neck to blend out any foundation lines.

Seventeen claim it is a full coverage foundation but I have to say I think it is a medium coverage foundation due to not covering up any scars, blemishes or dark circles. This is a bad point because full coverage is meant to cover all these areas and not to use a concealer over the top. However with this foundation I still have to use a concealer on any blemishes that still show up through the foundation. My dark circles still  show up and it seems that this foundation does not cover up dark circles at all.

This foundation has a spot fighting ingredient called salicylic acid and this is the main ingredient to try and combat breakouts and blemishes. It doesn't say what the percentage of salicylic acid is in the foundation but it will not be that much compared to a facial wash.

Even though it doesn't cover up anything, I still like this foundation because it blends easily with my skin and it doesn't take too long to blend. I usually apply two small layers to make sure I have the best coverage I can get out of this foundation.

I find that this foundation lasts all day with a setting powder such as the Rimmel stay matte powder. It lasts most of the day which is what I like in a foundation as well.

Over all I quite like this foundation despite the lack of coverage on blemishes and dark circles. I quite like how thick the foundation is and there are about six shades in total and I am the second to lightest which is pretty amazing since sometimes I am the lightest shade it is still looks too dark but the colour on this one is nearly my skin tone and doesn't look too light or dark, its just right.

I have heard some reviews saying its not a good foundation but I think it depends on your skin tone and if you have problem skin.

Have your tried this foundation? If so what is your opinion whether you like it or not?

Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover Review

I never really tried eye makeup removers until I tried this and this did not let me down. Clinique take the day off makeup remover has been in my makeup bag for a couple of years and has got to be a staple in my collection. Finding a new eye makeup remover will be hard since this remover is pretty good and has set the standard for other removers.

The Clinique take the day off makeup remover is a bi phase formula which basically means there is an oil within the formula which gets rid of the makeup and then water section to clean up the oil. When shaken, these two sections meet and create the actual remover and that is when it is fine to use.

I first tried it from a sample in Glamour magazine a few years back and it was quite a big sample and it lasted for a while. At first I didn't like it because it felt quite oily but I finished the bottle and bought a 50ml size from Boots which is nearly empty.

 I love this remover because it literally removes every single particle of makeup and its brilliant for contact wearers. I wear contacts so its highly important to find a product which wont sting or irritate with my contacts. This remover was perfect because I sometimes got a bit of the product in my eye which is not on purpose but it made my eyes a bit blurry for a while but it never irritated or stung my eyes. After a while the blurry vision went back to normal. I feel like I am not going to worry if I get any of this into my eyes since it doesn't cause a reaction.

Also the take the day off makeup remover helped to remove all my makeup without any hassle. However it felt quite oily because of all the oils removing the makeup. To get rid of this oil, I just used a clean tissue and wiped away the remover which left my skin feeling fine and the makeup gone.

The top on the bottle is a screw top which helps to stop the bottle from leaking and it is a child safety lock to prevent children from opening the bottle. Its 100% fragrance free and doesnt have a strong overpowering smell.

Pros
*Takes off every bit of makeup
*Lasts a long time
*Screw top lid to secure the product
*Available in different sizes
*Brilliant for contact wearers

Cons
*Expensive
*Feels oily on the eyelids

Overall I love this makeup remover and perfect for me because I wear contacts, a bit expensive but worth the money.

You can get this in large Boots stores and online, basically any shop which sells Clinique products and it costs £17.00.

http://www.boots.com/en/Clinique-Take-The-Day-Off-Make-Up-Remover-for-Lids-Lashes-Lips-all-Skin-Types-125ml_4012/

Very.co.uk Haul - Summer 2013

I never really had a positive experience with an online shop because everytime I ordered something, something got lost, didn't turn up or the wrong colour. Every single time I have ordered clothes from very.co.uk or boohoo something went wrong. When I looked on very.co.uk website, I saw some tops that I actually liked and I thought to myself should I risk something going wrong again? Well I took the risk.

I originally ordered four tops which I liked a lot and I payed for it and it came within a day which was pretty amazing. When I opened the package up, I saw the three t - shirts which I ordered and one which was actually a guys shirt. I do not know how that got mixed up since I didn't order it. I wrapped it up again and sent it back to very to either get a refund or get my original t-shirt I ordered.

After weeks of waiting, I contacted customer service to find out what was going on. Basically they some how lost my package and couldn't find it. They did give me a full refund for the missing t-shirt but I actually wanted the t-shirt.

If you would like to see what I got from very.co.uk in a video, then please see the video below.

Thank You

Lauren

Urban Decay Ammo Pallet Tutorial - Blue, Brown and Pink

The last time I did a makeup tutorial was October last year which is a pretty long time. I decided to do a makeup tutorial since I know a lot of people have requested a makeup tutorial when I posted a giveaway on my youtube channel. I never really thought about a makeup tutorial since last October because firstly, I am crap and not a professional and secondly, what tutorial would people be interesting in.

I used the Urban decay ammo pallete which I have had for a few years and done a few looks from it but I have never done a bright eye tutorial.  One day I was just playing around with the eyeshadows ready to film videos for my channel and I came across this look. I used Shattered(Blue) all across the eyelid, then I used chopper(Brown) for the crease and outer V. To darken the outer V, I used Smog(Dark Brown) and then Grifter (Light Pink) in the inner part of the eyelid. This is a very simple and easy look to do and looks really pretty.

Please see the video below for the tutorial for this Urban Decay Ammo pallete look.

July Faves 2013

Hello everyone, so this post is going to be my favourite beauty products for the month of July. I haven't done a favourites for a few months now because I usually stick to the same products if I like them but I have decided to try out a few new product.

If you like to watch the video version of the July favourites, then please click on the below video which will take you to my youtube channel.

So I only have 5 favourite products for the month of July, some new and some old.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer - This is a lovely concealer because the texture is sooo creamy and soft to touch which makes it a pleasure to apply. Fit me covers most problem areas such as blemishes, spots, redness, acne scars apart from dark circles. I would use another concealer to cover up dark circles since this does cover the darkness to some extent but it doesn't completely cover and get rid of dark circles. This is a brilliant concealer for £5.99 and I have mine in 15 fair.

Collection (2000) Fix Me Up - The Collection fix me up is a spray which should hold makeup in place in hot weather. When the UK had hot weather, I tried it out and sprayed it on my face. It felt really cooling and smelled amazing. My face did feel quite wet from the spray but after five minutes, the wetness went and was left with normal looking makeup. I felt like this helped my makeup to stay in place whilst I was at work all day and was still left with makeup in the evening.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner - I have never really been into liquid eyeliners because I am never good at liquid eyeliners and I was a bit scared of trying it out. However this has completely changed my mind. The eyeliner was a felt tip which makes it a lot more precise and easy to draw a line onto the top of the lashes. Very easy to use and easy to take off with a makeup remover, loved it.

Urban Decay Cream Highlighter Sin - The Urban Decay cream highlighter in Sin I have had for a couple of years now. When I first got it, I loved it but after a while, I found new products which took over and this got forgotten about. One day, I looked through my makeup drawers and found this out again. It is a lovely champagne shimmery colour which I think will look lovely on all skin tones. The colour is brilliant for the summer and highlights the areas well.

Benefit Coralista - Benefit Coralista is probably one of the best blushers I own because it smells amazing and the colour is a lovely coral with a slight shimmer. Since it is a coral colour, it is perfect for the summer which is why I chose it again but it looks lovely on all skin tones especially fair like me. The shimmer isn't overpowering which is good because its nice and subtle and the colour is noticed a lot more than the shimmer.

So those were my favourites for July and I know there wasn't a lot but I promise next time I do a favourites there will be more.