Beauty Bar: Glossier Review

Ever since Glossier products became available to order from the UK, there have been a few products that I've had my eyes on. I waited this long because I'm always more tempted by make up products that I can actually test out in store - try before you buy - but I thought it was about time I gave in and gave these guys a go!
The items I wanted to try the most were Boy Brow, Generation G and Cloud Paint.

Boy Brow - Blond
I'd heard so many good things about Boy Brow! This brow pomade really seems to have quickly become a cult classic, so I wanted to see if I'd love it as much as everyone else does.
My eyebrows are a really light blonde and are basically invisible when left to their own devices, so a certain amount of eyebrow product is always needed. This shade has actually turned out to be a bit lighter than I’m used to, so when I tested it out I used a bit of eyebrow pencil with it to bring some definition. I guess its closer to my natural hair colour!
I really like the pomade formula of Boy Brow, which isn’t clumpy at all and applies really easily, defining each of the hairs. I'll definitely keep using it, but may order a darker shade next time.

Generation G - Zip
This lipstick is sheer and matte. It’s advertised as giving a ‘just blotted’ level of colour, going with Glossier’s ‘no make up-make up’ ethos. This is what actually drew me to this lipstick in the poppy red Zip shade, as I’ve been looking for a red lipstick that’s very wearable and everyday.
After wearing it a couple of times, I’m pretty impressed. It’s not quite the shade of red I was after, as it’s actually quite a pink-red, rather than the poppy red it’s advertised as, which I’d thought would have more of an orange base than a pink. But the colour is easily built up to more of a red tone, and the formula isn’t at all drying, which is a total bug bear of mine!
Overall, I’d say I really like this lipstick but time will tell if it makes it to the coveted position of my handbag.

Cloud Paint - Dusk
Cloud Paint is a liquid blush formula, which you dab onto your cheeks using your finger tips. I have to admit that I didn’t actually purchase this one myself, but borrowed my sister’s to try! However, I may well invest in my own as I was really impressed with it.
Once again it’s a very sheer colour pay off but can be built up to achieve your desired amount of pigment. The Dusk shade is a really flattering vintage rose colour, which I think would be versatile for lots of different make up looks.

Overall I really liked these products and am now feeling the urge to make some more Glossier purchases very soon!

Have you tried Glossier before? If so, do you have any favourites I should try?

Lisa xx

Beauty Bar: Crayola Beauty Review

The other day, an email dropped into my inbox that really caught my attention. It was from ASOS, telling me that they'd partnered with Crayola (yes, the crayon company!) to create a limited edition make up range. Massively excited by this, I obviously went straight onto the site and made an order!

Crayola Beauty do a whole variety of products, from blusher to mascara, but the thing that caught my eye was the lip and cheek crayons. I bought one of the sets; partially because it comes in the cutest box, just like the wax crayons did - so much gimmicky nostalgia!

The shades in my set are Strawberry (a bright red shade), Mango Tango (a bright peach with a little bit of shimmer) and Very Cherry (a deep, rich berry red).
I was a little concerned that they might have the consistency of a wax crayon, as well as the look, but thankfully I needn't have worried.
I've found that their formula is really creamy, non-drying and smooth to apply. I also really like the crayon style for application, as I'm always rushing out the door when I do my lipstick, and this just makes it so quick and easy to do.

Something that could be a draw back, is that they are a very creamy formula and do wipe off extremely easily, so I don't know how long-wearing they would be, which could make the brighter shades pretty high maintenance.
The Mango Tango shade is also a lot more sheer than the other two, and I had to apply a lot of the product to make it particularly visible. This makes it much more wearable for an everyday Spring/Summer look, but doesn't really follow through on the 'rich and powerful pay off' promise we're given on the box.

Overall, I'm so impressed with these crayons. I love that there is actual substance to them, rather than just stylised packaging. They aren't just a gimmick, and could really compete with the quality of other beauty brands. I am genuinely tempted to try out some more of their shades now!

Have you tried any of the Crayola Beauty products?

Lisa xx

Beauty Bar: Urban Decay Naked Petite Heat Review

A few weeks ago I heard that Urban Decay were bringing out a travel-size version of their infamous Naked Heat eye shadow palette. I was immediately intrigued by it as I’d resisted buying the full size palette last Summer because of the cost - I just couldn’t spend £40 on eye shadow, no matter who it was made by or who endorsed it!

This smaller version was ⅔ the price and I had a Feel Unique discount code which gave me that little extra push to make the purchase. I was so intrigued to see how these hyped, high-end eye shadows would compare to the drugstore products I’ve only ever used before. I didn’t know if the warm shades would suit my skin tone, but I’d seen so many photos of such a variety of people wearing them, that I hoped they would work for me too. 

These are the shades in the Petite palette. They're brand new to the Heat collection and come in full palette pan sizes. Inhale, Hot Spell and Wild Thing are the ones that I've used the most, as you'll see below. What I love about Hot Spell, is that it looks like a muted beige in the pan, but once its on your brush and skin this warm orange tone appears. I don't know how it does it, but its such a versatile, build-able shade.

My first impression of the shades was that they were SO pigmented. You hardly need any powder on your brush at all to get a strong sweep of bold colour, and once it’s on - it’s on and there’s no budging. Even without using a primer underneath it, the shades don’t need a lot of building up and they blend together really well.

The bold colours leave little room for error - and I’ve made plenty of errors experimenting with this palette, including one memorable occasion where I managed to make it look like I had a black eye! Career change to be a movie make up artist maybe?!

I almost wish my eye shadow brushes were smaller to give my application more precision, because a flick in the wrong direction and it can be tricky to fix. The best solution I’ve come up with is to either blend it out using the lightest shade, Inhale, or to use concealer and start again. 

This is the daytime look I’ve created. I used Inhale to start with, all over the eyelid. Then, starting at the outer corner of my eye, I used Hot Spell, so that it was darker at the outside, growing lighter across the lid. I finished off with Wild Thing in the outer corners, to really bring that fiery warmth. I then completed the look with brown mascara, which I think looks so pretty with these warm tones.

To pare this back even more, I’ve also been loving just giving Inhale and Hot Spell a light sweep over my whole eyelids, before finishing with the brown mascara.

To create more of an evening look, I’d start in a similar way to my first daytime look, but would then bring in the darker shades, Heist and Strike, into the crease and outer corners of my eyes. I’d then finish off with some black mascara.

Have you tried these Urban Decay eye shadows? If so, what did you think? Worth all the hype?

Lisa xx

Beauty Bar: My Year Of Drugstore Foundations

For me, putting on my foundation in the morning is one of the key steps to preparing for the day. It has the power to even out skin tone, cover blemishes, brighten the appearance of skin and generally make my pale complexion look more alive.
I've tried out countless foundations over the last decade, some to much more success than others, but here's a run down of the products I've tried in the last 12 months, how I'd rate them and how likely I'd be to repurchase.

Bourjois Paris - City Radiance
My Shade: 01 Rose Ivory
Rating: 8/10
Claims: To protect skin from pollution, give a brightening effect and give SPF30 skin protection.
My Thoughts: I really liked using this foundation. It's a light formula that I found to give around a medium coverage. It gave my skin a bit of a glow, without looking shiny. I really liked the protection that it gave too, as wearing SPF daily is so important.
The only thing I would like to see added to this foundation would be a UVA protection rating of 4 or above, particularly as skin protection is one of its main claims.
Would I Repurchase? Yes, I'd definitely repurchase this foundation to create everyday makeup looks.
Try It Here

Garnier - BB Cream / Tinted Moisturiser
My Shade: Extra-Light
Rating: 7
Claims: Miracle Skin Perfector that has 24hr hydration, evens skin tone, smoothes lines and imperfections, boosts healthy glow, contains SPF 15 protection and has Vitamin C.
My Thoughts: I know that this is technically a BB cream, rather than a foundation, but I did use it in place of a foundation for several months so thought it was worth a mention.
This BB cream is really brightening and does have a pigment to it to even out skin tone. It can leave the skin looking a little shiny though, so when I used it I always followed with a matte powder.
Would I Repurchase? Yes I would. I'd use this during the summer months when I don't want anything too heavy on my skin.
Try It Here

Bourjois - Healthy Mix
My Shade: No. 52, Vanilla
Rating: 3/10
Claims: To be an anti-fatigue foundation, that brightens skin and enriches it with Vitamins C, E and B5.
My Thoughts: I had heard amazing things about this foundation and it was recommended to me many times by friends and other bloggers. However, I was so disappointed with it!
I found it to be really heavy, and could both feel and see the foundation on my skin.
I think this might be more for you if you like a heavier coverage, but to me it didn't look natural enough and left me with dreaded Oompa Loompa vibes.
Would I Repurchase? Never.
Try It Here

L'Oreal Paris - True Match
My Shade: Rose Ivory
Rating: 9/10
Claims: Micro-Match Technology creates a true to skin feel and perfectly captures skin tone and undertone. Contains SPF17, 24hr hydration and is 'super blendable'.
My Thoughts: I love this foundation! It provides a medium coverage that is brightening, and doesn't look cakey. The range has a real variety of shades, which means that I've been able to find one that looks very natural on my skin. I also love that it contains SPF protection.
The thing that has impressed me most about this foundation though is it's longevity. I apply it at 8am, and its still giving great coverage at 6pm! I have never used a foundation before that has been that good, including designer products that cost triple the price.
Would I Repurchase? Definitely! This foundation is so good that I'd use it for any occasion, day or night. The only things that could put me off buying it again, would be that it isn't vegan and doesn't contain any UVA protection (although this can easily be remedied by my morning moisturiser and sun tan lotion).
Try It Here

Overall, I think the winner has to be the L'Oreal Paris True Match foundation. I think this will be a firm staple in my make up bag for years to come.
And for days when I want a more dewy look, I've started to mix with it a drop of the Bourjois Paris Sculpt Light highlighter - just a little extra tip there if you're after a bit more of a glow!

Have you tried any of these products before? If so, how did you find them and do you have any other staple foundations?

Lisa xx

Beauty Bar: Lip Balm Gold

Introducing Nivea's Hydro Care lip balm - unless you've used it before, it's not actually new or anything...
This is my absolute favourite lip product. Ever. Of all time.
I've repurchased it at least 3/4 times (which for me constitutes a life-long fave) and am coming to the end of my current one so will be buying another very soon!
I am always absolutely plagued by dry lips in Winter, which is a bit of a nightmare when you love lipsticks as much as I do, so finding a good, reliable lip balm has been key for me.

Reasons why I'm the number one fan of this lip balm:

1. It's a twist-up stick, which means that I don't have to worry about cleanliness when I apply it, and it doesn't gunk up my hand either. Super practical.

2. It is actually moisturising. This might sound obvious but I have used some pretty drying lip balms in my time; the worst culprits of all being lip butters from The Body Shop.
There was such a craze for those lip butters when I was in high school and I remember excitedly buying the coconut one because it smelt SO good and because I really like their body butters.
I wanted to like the lip butter so much that I just kept using it and pretending it was good, even when it was actually just worsening and worsening the dry lip situation... Never. Again.

3. It has SPF 15! As you'll know if you've read my blog about the importance of SPF and UVA ratings in skincare and beauty products; I am a massive fan of anything with this sort of skin protection. I mean, if you can put it into a product, why wouldn't you?

Do you have a beauty/skincare staple that you repurchase again and again?

Lisa xx

Beauty Bar: Brows

Over the last few years, bold brows have shown up everywhere. Gone are the days of over-plucking for the thinnest brows possible; now a much more natural look is favoured, and the search has been on to find a product that can make our brows thicker and bolder.

For this post I've tried out a few different products to compare them to one another. There are lots of different brow needs out there; for me, I naturally have full brows but the hairs are blonde so they're often almost invisible.
I first noticed this when I saw a photo of myself where sunlight was shining on one side of my face and made it look like I only had one eyebrow! Since then, I've been trying to achieve a fairly natural looking brow that's a few shades darker than my own.
Here's what I've found:

1. Benefit Gimme Brow
Shade:1
Rating: 3.5/5
I find this product to be very hit and miss. Some days it's really quick to use, other days it tends to clump up and I end up with more product on my skin than on the actual hairs themselves. I think this might be easier to use on brows that are already pretty full and bold, and that just need a little something extra.

2. L'Oréal Paris Eyebrow Pencil
Shade: 02 Blonde
Rating: 4.5/5
For me, this eyebrow pencil is perhaps the most reliable and consistent of all the brow products I've tried. This is the one that I reach for if I'm in a rush and need a product that will get me good results fast. The only negative thing that I find with using an eyebrow pencil is that it can be easy to be too enthusiastic and create a 'drawn on' look that isn't very natural.
I love that it's double ended, with wax for keeping hairs in place, and a little brush for achieving a more natural look.

3. L'Oréal Paris Micro Tattoo Brow Artist
Shade: 103 Dark Blond
Rating: 3.5/5
When I originally bought this product I really liked it and filmed my first impressions on my Instagram Stories (@lisaerinwoodson). However, I've since used it daily for a couple of weeks and sadly my rating of it has gone down slightly.
The idea behind this eyebrow pen is that it is a semi-permanent version of microblading. In terms of it being semi-permanent I have been pleasantly surprised that even after I've taken off my make up and done my entire skincare routine, my brows are still slightly more visible than they would naturally be. The bold colour is gone, leaving a much more subtle colour that suits a no-make up look.
The pen nib is split into three fine points, which when I first used the pen worked really well without having to apply a lot of pressure. It was highly pigmented and the three point nib gave a much more natural look than the single nib alternatives. However, the second time I used it the pen was much less pigmented, meaning that I needed to apply way more pressure, which was trickier to use and gave less natural looking results.

4. NYX Micro Brow Pencil
Shade: Taupe
Rating: 4.5/5
One of the things that I love most about this product is that it comes in a cool blonde tone! So many products only have one blonde shade, which is usually a warm yellow colour and doesn't look right with my skin tone, meaning I have to go for a light brown, which is a bit too dark for me.
I also love how thin this pencil is - great for creating a natural look - and it's wind-up so it's always precise and never needs sharpening.

I think for me, the winner has to be the L'Oréal eyebrow pencil, which I occasionally use in combination with the L'Oréal Brow Tattoo pen.
How about you? Have you tried these products before? Or do you have a favourite that isn't on this list?

Lisa x