Thanks to Youtube, Instagram and the countless bloggers I follow I have a never ending list of beauty products that I want to try or NEED to buy. We all know what that’s like when you don’t have a steady income and you also want to socialise, you gotta make those priorities!
I tend to buy a few makeup and skincare bits every few weeks, whenever I really love something or I have a spare bit of money lying around, yup student life (I probably can’t use this as an excuse anymore can I?) When I buy new products I tend to use the life out of them and forget any other products that I own, who can relate? The beauty goodies I am about to tell you about are all very affordable hence why I can buy them and they are also amazing, because who’s going to talk wonders about a product that’s a pile of rubbish?
I will try and give my honest opinion of each item and I will list each in order of when I bought them. *These opinions are all my own and I am in no way affiliated with any of the mentioned companies*
Pixi by Petra Brow Powder Palette – Shade of Brows
I have to admit I bought this powder palette a good few months ago but I completely neglected it until I fancied a change from my usual Freedom Brow Pomade. I used to use powder on my eyebrows all the time but pomades have been hugely raved about on social media so I usually stick to that. I shied away from powders for my brows because I always used to use completely the wrong colour (we’ve all been there) and looking back at some photos I swear they are 3 shades darker than my hair – what was I thinking!? Anyway, I think I bought this palette as a bit of a whim because there was a lot of colour choice and I thought I couldn’t really go wrong with the application.
The palette is a fairly big product and I’m not a fan of the way it opens because it took me ages to figure it out and I ended up chipping my nails (I know I know) it opens from the side rather than the top of the palette, see the photos below. It comes with a brush which I don’t use because most of the time brushes that come in products by any brand aren’t very good, sorry Pixi!
On to the product itself, the pigmentation is fairly good. When I first tried it I think I went a little too light with the shade choice because of my previous bad experiences, but once a used a slightly darker shade I loved the way it looked! Once set with a brow gel it lasts a good amount of time, I have used it on nights out and it has lasted but by the end of the night the colour does fade a little.
I definitely would recommend the Pixi Brow Palette because of the range of shades and you can go as heavy or as subtle with your brows on you want, I tend to go somewhere in between.
Packaging – 6.5/10
Longevity – 7/10
Makeup Revolution Pro Illuminate Highlighter
You can never have enough highlighter, I honestly don’t know what I did when I didn’t wear it because my make up is never complete without it. Again this something else I saw on Youtube, can you sense a theme here? Makeup Revolution is a great brand they have so many products and their eyeshadow palettes are ah-mazing! The highlighters are just as good, as I found out.
The size of the highlight is absolutely massive so I think it’s going to take me a while to get through it, let alone hit pan. The packaging is fairly simple which doesn’t really bother me because the highlighter itself is the centre stage. The only issue I had was I found it hard to open but once I got a but of practice, it was a doddle!
Okay so to the wonder itself, the glow on this highlight is insane, you barely need to swipe your brush through it and it literally takes over your face (in a good way of course). I use this on night’s out a lot because it lasts and you can count me on that!
Packaging 6.5/10
Longevity – 9/10
Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Foundation in shade 02 Ivory
I have always sworn by the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, it lasts all day and it’s so affordable so when I saw that they had released a foundation alongside it I was all for testing it out. Collection is a great company for those who want cruelty free products but don’t have much of a budget, the same goes for Natural Collection because they are really good quality products (bar a few, sorry) and they don’t break the bank.
The foundation is sold in a glass bottle with a pump and it somehow manages to look so much more expensive which is a bonus. I’m not sure if it was the particular store I shopped in but it didn’t look like there was much of a choice of shades, I think there were only shades 02 or 03 – I could be wrong so go have a look for yourselves. You don’t need much product to give a medium coverage, I would say it is buildable but you still need to apply concealer to any blemishes and/or dark patches.
When it comes to the product lasting it claims it lasts for 16 hours which is a big promise to make and unfortunately I don’t agree that it lasts that long. I would say it lasts around the same time as your average good foundation (around 8 hours before it starts to show imperfections,) but I mean who is going to wear make up for 16 hours anyway?
However there are some other benefits to this foundation with it stating it contains SPF20, it’s oil free, it minmises imperfections and has ‘flawless coverage.’ With all that being said it depends on what type of skin you have, I have combination skin (oily t-zone and some dry patches) so it works well for me and I use it as an everyday foundation.
Packaging – 8.5/10
Longevity – 7/10
KIKO Less is Better Fluid Highlighter in shade 02
(unfortunately, this is no longer listed on the website because it was limited edition)
I have to confess I’ve only really known about the brand KIKO for about a year, people seem to be hyping over it much more now and I can see why. They have definitely improved since I first starting buying their products and the ranges they bring out are always perfect. I have never bought a liquid highlighter before but it wasn’t until I watched sophdoesnails and Sophie Foster (both Youtubers) recommend their new ‘Less is Better’ range I had to buy it! I don’t live near any of the KIKO stores so when I went on a trip to Cardiff recently (blog post coming on that soon) I bought the highlighter because it was on sale.
I have plenty of powder highlighters but the idea of a liquid one scared me a little, however when I tried it I was not disappointed! You can mix it in with your normal foundation or if you want to look glowy af then you can use it as a base alone. First impressions of the packaging – it actually looks much more expensive than it actually is, I believe I bought it on sale for around £5? I used it on the day of my graduation mixed with my collection foundation and it stayed so well! It wasn’t until around 8 in the evening did it look like it needed to be reapplied. 10/10 would recommend.
Packaging – 9/10
Longevity – 9/10
KIKO nail polish in 355 Canary Yellow
I have been trying to find a new yellow nail polish since the one I used to use wasn’t cruelty-free and it was getting old and dried out anyway. I own a lot of Barry M nail polishes and even though they are great I wanted to see what other brand have to offer. I purchased this polish when I bought the highlighter because it was near the till and it was also on sale so I couldn’t resist, also I blame my mum because she told me to buy it! I mean it was a bargain as well, only £1!!
As packaging goes, again it’s simple but it doesn’t really need to be fancy when it’s only a nail polish. The colour in the bottle looked like a bright enough colour but not over the top. It lasted for around 3 days before it started chipping, not the best lasting nail polish ever but for £1 you can’t complain.
Packaging – 7/10
Longevity – 6/10
I decided to buy a new blusher because I am nearly running out of my trust Collection one, I think it was from the Little Mix collaboration a few years ago, so yeah I was in need of a new one. I don’t really own many NYX products and I know people can pick and choose which companies they buy from (NYX’s parent company tests on animals) but the brand itself doesn’t, and think that is fair game.
The blush comes in a small little compact which is a decent size considering you don’t need to swirl your brush around too much to get a good amount of product to apply. I love the colour and it applies really well, you only need a dusting to give you some colour. I love how the blush itself has little-pointed cubes that are slightly raised from the pan rather than the usual pressed powder.
It lasts well but I found I had to reapply a later on in the day but the colour was still noticeable.
Packaging – 7/10
Longevity – 6.5/10
Until next time,
Neneh x
My Social Media
Twitter – https://twitter.com/nenehjb
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/nenehjb/?hl=en
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/nenehbuswell/
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Pixi’s Social Media
Website – https://pixibeauty.co.uk/
Blog – http://blog.pixibeauty.co.uk/petrapersonally/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/pixibeauty
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PixiBeauty?sk=wall
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/pixibeautyuk/
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pixibeauty/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/PixiBeauty
Makeup Revolution’s Social Media
Where to buy – https://www.superdrug.com/brandshop/makeup-revolution / https://www.tambeauty.com/en/gb/Makeup-Revolution/cc-15.aspx
Twitter – https://twitter.com/makeuprvltn?lang=en
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/makeuprevolution1/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/makeuprevolution/?hl=en
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/makeuprevolution1
Collection’s Social Media
Website – http://www.collectioncosmetics.co.uk/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/collectionlove
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CollectionCosmetics
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/collectionlove/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/mycollection2000
KIKO’s Social Media
Website – http://www.kikocosmetics.com/en-gb/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/KikoMilanoUK
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KikoMilanoUK
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/kikomilano/
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.co.uk/CosmeticsKIKO/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/KIKOCOSMETICS?sub_confirmation=1
NYX’s Social Media
Website – http://www.nyxcosmetics.co.uk/en_GB/homepage
Twitter – https://twitter.com/NYXCosmetics_UK
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NYXCosmeticsUK/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/nyxcosmetics_uk/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6OAd__80Cp0ciW5ceUFGUw
Neneh J Bee 