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

Vero: My First Impressions

Over the past couple of days, as I've been browsing through Instagram Stories, one app has been mentioned again and again: Vero.
What is it and where has it come from? Do we really need another social media platform to keep up with?
Here's my first impressions after researching, downloading the app, setting up an account and attempting to 'socialise'.

What Is Vero?

Although it suddenly seems to be popping up everywhere, Vero has actually been around for quite a while. It was created a couple of years ago, with a view to being a more transparent and honest (Vero means 'truth') social media platform.

Included in the manifesto on their website is the statement:

"In real life, people are never presented with a one size fits all audience. We share different things with different people. 

Most social networks reduce everyone to a friend or a follower. This encourages us to only share the parts of our lives we think are the most interesting.

When you can control who sees what, you can behave in a way that is more natural, which we believe ends up being better for you."

Vero aims to provide a natural and authentic way of connecting with others online.

So, Why Is It Different?

As the manifesto above states, a lot of Vero's focus is to be a better way for us to facilitate our varying social networks online, rather than having a one size fits all approach.

When you come across someone's Vero profile you have the option to either follow them (meant for people you just know online) or connect with them (if you know them in RL). If you select 'Connect' you're then given the options to categorise them as 'Close Friends', 'Friends' or 'Acquaintances'. This means that when you post something, you can select which category of people is able to see it.

One way that I can imagine this working for me, is that I'm always careful to never give away precisely where I live (e.g. photos of the outside of my house) when I post on Instagram, for obvious security reasons. But with this option on Vero, I could post a photo of my door number if I wanted to, but then only make it available for my close friends, who already know where I live, to see.

The bonus of this feature, is that no one can see where you've categorised them; so you don't need to worry about offending anyone.

As I mentioned above, one of the great things about Vero is that it won't fill our feeds with adverts, however, as it isn't making money through advertising, Vero has said that it will start charging people a small fee to use it, after the first million people have signed up.
The first million will be able to use it for free for life; so I would advise signing up asap, even if you're not sure whether or not you'll keep up using it long term.

Vero also enables you to not just share your photos, but to share links (great for bloggers) and recommendations for things like movies and books.

My First Impressions

Well, after 30 minutes of the server failing and retrying, my first photo has finally uploaded!
So far, I've found the app to be pretty slow and have been greeted with messages like 'Server side service timeout' whenever I've attempted to upload a photo or search for a hashtag.
Apparently, due to the sudden surge of people joining, the server is struggling, but we've been assured that this will soon sort itself out.

I actually hardly ever use Facebook or Twitter anymore, and Instagram is so saturated with users and content (although I do love it a lot), so its been fun to start connecting with the relatively small number of people on Vero, and to do things like start hashtags!

Overall, I'd say I'm enjoying discovering something new. I love their manifesto and their lack of using our data to advertise to us, or giving us infuriating algorithms like Instagram does.
I think time will tell as to whether or not Vero joins the big 3 social media platforms; but for the moment it's so fun to be part of something that's still in its relative infancy.

What do you think? Will you be giving it a go? Or if you've already started using it, what are your first impressions?

Lisa xx