I can't believe it's time to share another Makeup Lately with you guys! January was more of a high end makeup month for me with some hits and misses. But here's the makeup I've been reaching for...
NYX Honey Dew Me Up Primer | £14
I recently found this hiding in the back of my primer collection so I thought I'd put it back into rotation and I'm so glad I did. This a really nice, hydrating primer! It has a weird slimy consistency that blends well into the skin. It also has Gold flecs suspended in it that gives a subtle luminosity to the skin. It smooths over the skin leaving a nice base for foundation. This is a great primer for dehydrated skin!
It Cosmetics CC Cream | $38 | POST
I do have a whole review post on this here. And despite me not loving this, don't get me wrong I don't hate it, there is just so much hype around this I had high hopes. Sadly this didn't live up to expectations. It's an ok base. It has a medium coverage and a nice glowy finish. The shade Medium isn't a great match for me. And with only 5 shades in the range it left me disappointed. The wear time isn't great either. But despite my negative thoughts, this is an ok foundation. This is currently out of stock from QVC but I have linked Beautylish
Seventeen Skin Wow concealer | £4.99 | POST
I completely forgot how much I loved this concealer until I found it in my collection! It has a good coverage and really brightens up the under eye area. The formula is creamy, easy to blend and sits beautifully under the eyes without creasing. Because this is so brightening I don't think this would be great for blemishes but under the eyes it works a treat. This is a great drugstore gem!
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores | £21
When I brought the CC cream it came in a set with powder so I've been giving it a test. And sadly I don't love this. Pores are not really an issue for me so I don't know how well it works to disguise them but this didn't make my skin look any smoother. It did help my makeup last a bit longer but all over my face this was too drying. It works well to set my under eyes though.
Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow kit | £34 | POST
Another hyped up product ( I talked about it here) that I've been testing and that didn't live up to the hype for me. The bronzer is far too pale for my skin tone ( I'm a mac NC30-35) so if your any darker than me I can't imagine this working. The blush and highlighter are ok. The highlighter lacks the real glow factor I like, but if you like something more subtle you might like this. The blush is nice, the best powder of the set! It's a nice Peachy, Coral shade that would be perfect for spring summer. While the highlighter and bronzer lack the pigmentation I like, all the powders are really soft and finely milled.
Urban Decay Beach Bronzer | £22 | POST
As the bronzer in the Too Faced palette wasn't great for me I've been reaching for this. Normally, I like a bit of a shimmer and glow to my bronzers but I've been really enjoying a matte look. The shade Bronzed is perfect for adding warmth to the face. It's finely milled, pigmented, applies evenly and also blends easily.
Too Faced Sweet Peach Eyeshadow | £39 | POST
Foe eyeshadow I've been reaching for this. Despite the glow kit being a bit of a let down I love this! It contains 18 eyeshadows that are all inspired by Peach, with a range of mattes and shimmers. Most of them are warmed toned, which I love. The formula is incredible - so soft, pigmented and easy to work. My favourite shades are Puree and Summer Yum. But I've got good use out of the shades. See this post for swatches.
L'oreal Sculpt Mascara | £9.99 | POST
I've been reaching for this mascara so much I've actually re brought it. It has a comb wand that catches and coats every lash. It adds a good amount of volume and length, without being too clumpy and it holds the curl all the day.
Lottie London Slay all day Lip Kit | £8.95 | POST
If you follow me on Instagram I've been raving and raving about this! Lottie London have realised a line of lip kits which come with Liquid Lipstick and matching lip pencil. I have the shade Fleek, which is a warm toned Brown. The lip pencil is creamy and applies so easily to the lips, without tugging or pulling. The Liquid lipstick is one of the best drugstore liquid lipsticks I've come across. It reminds me a lot of the NYX Soft Matte creams but more pigmented. They aren't drying at all and so easy to touch up during the day.
Crown Brushes*
I also have a few brushes I've been really enjoying to apply my makeup. Which are all from Crown Brushes. These have all washed really well and held their shape. The brushes are:
C320 Pointed Powder Brush* | £18.81
This is a great multi purpose brush. It works well to apply powder all over the face, as a setting brush, or for bronzer, blush and highlighter. I really like to apply highlighter. Because it's pointed it can apply highlighter precisely to the cheek bones but because it's fluffy it blends the highlighter out, so I don't get that stripe effect. It has natural bristles so it doesn't pick as much product, but this prevents powder products from looking cakey. I washed this and it's held its shape well. It shed a bit when I did wash it but that's not uncommon for new makeup brushes.
C403 Chisel Brush* | £19.99
I think this is designed for contouring. Which it does an excellent job at. It's sort of a flat shape which makes it ideal for fitting into the cheek bones. But it's fluffy enough to blend the powder out, for a natural seemless effect. I also really like to use this with a setting powder to set my under eye concealer. Like the pointed powder brush it has natural bristles so it's ideal for powder. The shape makes it perfect for that too!
SS036 Small Cheek Contour Brush* | £5.99
This is a small domed brush that's designed for contouring. Although I don't find this works well with powder contour products, it's just too small and dense. It works brilliant with cream products though. I also really like this as a concealer brush. The dense, soft. bristles blend out concealer brilliantly without compromising the coverage! It works well under the eyes and on other areas of the face.
C456 Pointed Blender Brush* | £6.99
The Pointed Blender Brush is ideal for concealer. Like the Small Cheek Contour brush it has super soft, dense bristles. The point also makes it really easy to blend concealer into hard to reach areas like the nose. And it works well at packing concealer on to blemishes.
C510 Pro Oval Brush* | £5.99
I love this eyeshadow brush. It's small and flat which makes it perfect for packing on eyeshadow or a pigmented all over the lid. It transfers the eyeshadow really well.
C509 Pro Detail Concealer Brush* | £5.99
Another concealer brush, but the flat shape means makes this great for concealer around the eye brows. I really like this when I want a defined brow look. Its synthetic bristles pack on concealer and blend it out seemlessly.
C514 Pro Detail Liner* | £3.99
This is one of my favourite brushes of the bunch! This is the perfect liquid liner brush. The tip is so small and fine, making it super easy to draw on liner and create a neat crisp wing. There's not much else I can say about this but it's just brilliant.
So that's all the makeup and makeup brushes I've been reaching for lately.
Have you tried any of these? What are your thoughts?
Until next time...
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