Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Fetish

Remember when I had my love in with cream blushers?  It all came to a head when this baby came into my life.

If I recall correctly, it was so pretty that I daren't use it for fear of spoiling a perfect looking product.  It's alright though, I satiated my cream blusher lust (try saying that quickly) with a NYX cream blusher until I was brave enough to pull this out of storage.

This is the perfect cream blusher for you if you're scared of using too much and looking like a fool.  That is something I have an issue with so I was glad that this came to my aid.

The colour is very subtle but I feel that's what you'd want from something that is a cheek tint.  There's also a glow about this when you apply it, your cheeks look like you've put a highlighter on over the tint.  The visible chunks of glitter in the pan aren't noticeable at all one you've buffed the colour in.  The colour lasts all day and gives the perfect flush of colour.

It also features a very useful mirror in the lid which I forgot to photograph..

Anyway, the swatches!

I've blended it in a bit too well here but that's how I tend to wear it on my cheeks and it perks them right up.  You can obviously blend it in less.

They cost £18 and are available from House of Fraser.

My first foray into mineral blusher..featuring ELF.

This wasn't originally going to feature on here..which brings me to something that someone said to me the other day.  I got an email from someone (some seems to be quite a popular word in this paragraph) who asked me if I blogged about everything I owned.  In short, I don't..I don't think anybody does because that would bore the pants off of me.  I have a lot of makeup that never makes it onto here.

This beauty however, was deemed worthy enough. 

I've always wanted to order items from ELF but my one "justification" product was never in stock.  It still isn't. 

This blusher is really nice..although a bit fiddly. I figured out a way to use it which results in minimal mess.  I turn it upside down, give it a tap and then turn it the right way up.  Open the lid and there is enough on there for me to squizz my brush around a bit.  My Revlon blush brush is a perfect fit.

The photo above was taken on an overcast day but the colour is true to life.  It is highly pigmented which is nice for such a budget buy and it works well against my skin colour.  I find it perks my skin up on days when I should have known better and exfoliated the night before.  I categorise blushes into two categories, the first being blushers that are obvious..colours that let people KNOW you're wearing a blush..then you get these, the not-so-obvious natural cheek enhancers.  On a day to day basis, you can't tell I have it on but people notice when I'm not wearing it.

I can't recommend this blusher enough, I really want to try Coral and Rose but they're out of stock so I'll have to wait until they come back into stock.  The ease of application, durability during the day (I touch my face a lot and it stays put) and pigmentation alone make it more than worthy of the £3.50 you spend on it.

My favourites so far this year..

Here they are:

Holy over saturation of colours, Batman!

I use all these products on either a daily or weekly basis which is pretty rare for me as I have so much crap.

MAC 239 brush: I really don't know how I managed to get my eye makeup looking decent before I had this (I probably didn't).  With regards to brush hair density, it does very well.  They're tightly packed but you can get away with laying down and blending too.  It's not my blending brush, simply because it's not meant for blending.  If you're lazy/doing a look with bright colours, get this brush and you won't be sorry.  You can use it for crease work too, I switch it up between the 239 and the Revlon brush.

Maybelline Colossal mascara: This is probably my all time favourite High Street mascara.  I use this every day and it has been going strong for a long long time.  I love this and my Prestige mascara but I think this slightly has the edge as it's foolproof and I get the same results regardless of how I apply it.  Thick, long, black lashes.

YSL Teint Parfait: I blab on about this foundation a lot.  It was the first thing I ever reviewed on my blog but I'll give you a quick review of it now.  It's an oil free "foundation".  I say " " because you can use it as a primer if your skin is not behaving.  I like the fact that it has a dual personality like that because once I put it on, it doesn't come off unless you take it off.  If you have oily/combo skin and want a foundation which makes you look dewy, buy this and you won't be sorry.  The single best thing about this foundation is being photographed..you look airbrushed.

I've got a swatch for you and it's clear it doesn't match the skin on my hand but it blends in seamlessly on my face.

Dove Therapy Heat Defence spray: I really like this.  I feel that it does protect my hair from heat and it leaves my hair looking shiny after I've straightened it and it smells quite nice.  It makes my hair feel softer too so I've started using it even when I keep my hair curly.  The best thing about it is that you can be heavy handed and it won't grease your hair up which is brilliant.

The Body Shop Facial Massager: I was intrigued with this when I first saw it online and decided to buy it when I saw it in store.  I use this on a weekly basis.  It smoothes my skin out a treat.  I also find that after using it, my skin absorbs moisturiser a lot better and it feels clean, like it's been drained of toxins.  It leaves my skin nice and pink after using it so I can feel that there is some massagey benefit there.  There's a full review here.

Korres Zea Mays blusher: This has fast become my "brown girl's can blush too" blush.  When I wear it, it actually looks like I'm blushing which is brilliant.  It does contain glitter but use a light hand and you're good to go.  It looks practically untouched but I've been using it more often than not..  You can buy it here and read my review here.

YSL Palette Pop: I have had this for a long long time and it's a tester. I don't know why I'm always saying that..but it is.  I think it's because I'm in shock that a tester lasts so long.  I use this on a daily basis, it's my "no effort" blush.  It looks so natural on me that you can't even tell that I'm wearing it most of the time.  People only notice that I don't look so perky when I don't have it on.

See? You wouldn't think that was WOC friendly but it is brilliant for my skintone.  It also looks pretty chalky but applies like a dream.

I haven't had these brushes for too long but they have found their way into my makeup bag.

Revlon Foundation brush: There's a full review here.  It's all good.  The brush is totally foolproof and works brilliant when the operator is functioning on around 5 hours sleep.  It costs about a tenner from Superdrug.

Revlon Blusher brush: I'm sure this brush was made just for me.  It fits the cheek area perfectly, stays soft and yet is dense enough to pick up just enough product.  The full review is here.  I think this comes in at around a fiver or so..it's less than a tenner!

What have your favourites been so far this year?

The Swatch Files: L'oreal Glam Bronze Bronzer and Blusher for Brunettes

I love the fact that L'oreal have made a range of products which have shades depending on your hair colour because I think that usually ties in with the colour of your skin..

Anyway, now that it's summer time, I feel it adequate to finally post this!

It works perfectly on my skin both as a blusher on its own and swirled together.  I seldom use it as a bronzer because I'm not au fait with bronzer usage.

Review: Korres Zea Mays Blusher (Shade 18 Peach)

Blusher.  This has always been something which I've struggled to get right.  I never really wore blusher until about two years ago when I got a sample of a YSL one..one which is still going strong now.  I was never too adventurous with it because I didn't want to look silly but Yinka (once again!) is a great enabler.  She has practically every blusher ever made by NARS and she's nice enough to blend her swatches so you can see how they look applied.  I'm getting a lot more adventurous (and less clown like) thanks to her.

First, the packaging:

 Ingredients:

Blusher:

Swatches:

When looking at swatches online, I usually assume that the swatch shows the colour of the product in the pan and not how it looks when you apply it.  The swatches on the Korres site are more representative of the colour once it has been applied and blended.  I wanted a peachy shade and was a bit disheartened when the product looked dusky pink in the pan.  However, once it has been applied, it is actually a nice peachy shade.

What do Korres say?
"Velvety blush with Corn starch powder particles, for a luminous effect and a smooth finish."

What did I think?
Even a rudimentary swatch will tell you that it's soft.  It's one of the softest blushers I've ever used. I loved this, it's glittery but not overly so.  Blending was a charm as well, no chalkiness.  I have to agree with all the claims that Korres make, it really is really soft and it does perk your skin up when you wear it.

I also found that it worked very well as a contour.  I just dashed it on as a blusher but quite a few people asked me if I'd lost a bit of weight and even the Mr said that I looked different.  I took a photo of my face and realised that my face did look more angular when I was wearing the blusher.

Purchase?
Yes indeedy.  Application was easy, the amount of glitter was perfect and the added bonus of contour mean that I'd buy this.

You can buy this blusher from here.

The Swatch Files: L'oreal Paris Star Secrets Kit Penélope Cruz

I use this one a lot, it's my day to night palette, I whack the shadows on in the morning and if I'm going out I whack the blush and lipstick on.

I've labelled the eyeshadows incorrectly, in the palette 1 is the colour at the bottom and 3 is the colour at the top.

Review: Revlon Matte Blush

I was sent this by Revlon along with the makeup remover pen which I love.

This was originally just going to a swatch in The Swatch Files but I felt the need to give it a proper review.

I have had this just as long as I've had the makeup pen but have kept this in my makeup drawer as it looked too nice to use.

I decided to get over myself and use the thing and this is what I found.

First, here's what the blusher looks like:
Flash off:

Flash on:

The colour looks like a nice light dusky pink colour and I have blushers which look the same in the pan so I thought this would work well with me.

I've been calling this my James Bond makeup simply because when you press the a button, the mirror pops out with the quickness.  I really like the sleek, black packaging that Revlon are going for with this matte range.  The mirror is both a blessing and a curse.  When I dabbed my brush in the product, it flew everywhere.  If you were to tilt the mirror up to see your cheek (as you would when on the Tube/in the car), you'd get blusher over your outfit or places of your face where you don't want blusher).

Revlon claim that it "brushes onto cheeks smoothly and effortlessly for a soft matte look and a smooth, even finish.  Perfectly defines and contours the cheekbones.  Face-flattering range of shades from nude to berry with a soft-matte finish."

What did I think?
I didn't like the blusher because it had poor pigmentation pay off and it was pretty chalky to apply.  I didn't use the brush which came with it because I never get on with those kind of brushes.  Smooth seems to be the key thing which this blush is touted as giving you but I didn't find that to be the case at all and the swatches will show you why.

I feel I should explain a bit about the poor pigmentation.  I am Indian, therefore lighter colours find it hard to show themselves on my skin.  I thought this may have been the case here but I went to Boots and swatched the darker shades and they were just as hard to convert.

I have a YSL blush which is matte but you get a smoother colour from it.  Also, I had greasy cheeks when I used it and it was still chalky. 

I used my kabuki brush to pick up colour and then my fingers and this is all the colour I got:
No flash:

Flash on:

The colour with the flash off is the most accurate shade.  I'm quite disappointed by this product because I love the matte blushes but I can see I will have to look elsewhere to find a High Street equivalent of my YSL blush.

Purchase?
I wouldn't purchase this as the colour payoff isn't as good as expected and it's chalky.  I really wanted this to work for me as I dislike blushers with glitter in them.  Don't let the poor performance of this product put you off other Revlon things because I love the pen and the mousse foundation.

What the hell is that?!

Has anyone ever thought about why certain products are packaged in certain ways? Especially those which you find hard to use in their current state?  Ever wondered why some companies are hit and miss with their packaging?

I'm talking mainly about three products.

The first product is mascara.  I never know when my mascara is finished, no matter how much I use it, it never finishes.  I used a Rimmel mascara for a year and it was still going strong.  Now, seeing as you're meant to chuck your mascaras away every three months and you get a lot of product in each tube, I think that "someone" should come up with a way to make the shelf life of mascara longer.  Obviously that's not top of the agenda for many scientists out there who are trying to find cures for far more pressing issues but maybe some cosmetologists should look into that?

I think mascara tubes should be clear so that you can see how much you're using and how much you have left so you're not caught short.  I can't see how having a clear mascara tube can be more expensive than having one which is plastic, coated in colour and then coated with text? Is it because manufacturers are scared that we won't like what mascara looks like? I think we're adult enough to realise it's just black stuff.  Lipglosses and clear mascara comes in clear tubes so I don't know why mascara gets special treatment? You could still print all the needed info onto the casing of the mascara so all laws would be complied with.

My second gripe is UDPP.  EVERYONE hates the packaging on this and those who don't are lying.  I don't know why UD haven't taken more notice of customers who dislike the packaging.  They took a slight bit of notice and changed the shape of the wand which doesn't really help matters because what do you do when you come into the bottleneck? I assume it gets stuck.

The shape of the bottle would mean (in my mind) that it can't be the easiest shape in the world to produce and that you'd need some nifty machine to carve out the exact same shape.  I'm sure it would be cheaper to just put the product into a squeezy tube a la Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I know UDPP goes off quickly when exposed to air but TFSI comes with a screw on lid which UDPP could mimic.

It kinda seems to me that UD KNOW how good their product is and can rely on the fact that people keep buying it and depotting it themselves so that THEY don't have to change the design of the product themselves.  Surely there are cheaper ways for them to make the packaging which would result in lowered costs of production for them and ease of use for the customer.  I personally wouldn't mind paying the same price for it if they changed to cheaper packaging as it is a really good product.

My last product is the Barry M blusher that everyone has been raving about recently.  Questions were asked as to why the Natural Dazzle packaging looked so nice whereas the blusher packaging made it look cheap.  Barry M's people stated that they made the choice to provide an affordable product over how the packaging looked.  That confused me a bit, if that truly was the reason then why did the Natural Dazzle come looking like the younger sister of NARS? Surely both would have been packaged the same?

At the end of that long rant, I ask you guys the following:

• Which products do you detest the packaging of?
• How would you improve packaging on certain products?
• How much of a role does packaging play when you're deciding to buy a product? e,g. are you put off by cheap looking products and more drawn in by expensive looking ones or is the actual performance the sole factor you judge a product by?