So the plan to write about beauty more regularly this year has not exactly worked out, since this is *sigh* only the second beauty post of 2018. It actually feels like a miracle that I’m finally writing it – I bought most of these products months ago and I’ve had the title of this post in my head for months! I even took some photos a while back, but wasn’t happy with them and reshot them a few days ago. Hence why, apart from the Nars blusher (I bought it in September and forced myself to not use it until I got a photograph of it), these pictures won’t be your typical pristine, unused beauty product shots – they’ve been well and truly loved over the past few months, which is ultimately better as I’ve formed a more valid opinion about them.
My initial plan with this post was simple, I’ve been wanting to write about five new beauty products that have come into my life over the past few months and offer mini reviews on them – I’m sticking to that plan, only now it’s six beauty products…
IT Cosmetics® Your Skin But Better™ CC+™ Cream with SPF 50+, £30.00
The lowdown: I could (and might) write a whole separate post about this product, which I bought because of all the hype surrounding this brand and specifically this product on social media. After having used a heavyweight foundation for a year and wanting to find something lighter that still offered a reasonably good coverage, I set my heart on this cream – I mean, a foundation that is actually good for your skin? I don’t know if I can believe such a thing exists, but I was really, really curious about giving it a go.
Happy with it? Overall, yes. I started using it a few months ago and it doesn’t seem to have disagreed with my at times sensitive skin in the slightest. In general, my skin hasn’t been looking too bad over the past year, but I don’t know if I can go as far as saying that this is thanks to this foundation.
The main issue I have with it is the shade – I did get help from the shop assistant when purchasing it and she said the other tones would probably be too grey on my skin. However, I feel this shade looks too orangey on me – I’m very unsure as to how I would classify my skin tone, people tend to think I have very dark skin but that’s probably due to my dark features. I’m far from light but I’m not quite olive either, so I describe myself as ‘light olive’. Yes this does make me cringe, but I can’t think of a better way to put it! Also, being sold orangey shades has happened to me before too – people can be very quick to assume that a particular shade will suit you, which goes to show how daunting foundation shopping can be. Shop it here.
Too Faced Natural Face Palette, £35.00
The lowdown: Too Faced is one of those brands that I would love to have more of, probably because it’s so damn cute and easy on the eye. The first Too Faced product I ever bought was a blusher – and despite the shade of it probably not being quite right for me, I love how pigmented it is. So I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be disappointed with another powder product by Too Faced. This was a from me to me, “Let me spoil myself” gift, and probably the most luxurious beauty treat I will have bought in 2018. It was an impulse buy as I’d never heard of it before and didn’t need a new face palette, but…
Happy with it? Overall yes – I’ve been using it super regularly ever since I got it. I looove the smell (I know this puts a lot of people off) and how pigmented these powders are. I do find I have to be careful when putting them on because just one stroke can carry so much intensity, especially when it comes to the two bronzing shades. I prefer the lighter one over the darker one, as I think the darker one will look better during the summer when I am hopefully a little more tanned. What I’m not convinced by is both highlighters, the shades are very pigmented and a little too golden and pink. I think I prefer a more neutral, champagne-like tone when it comes to highlighter – however, I still use these, I just try to keep it as subtle as a highlighter freak like me can try to. Shop it here.
NARS Limited Edition Orgasm Blush, £30.00
The lowdown: It pains me how easily I fall for a beauty hype. My absolute kryptonite? Tag any item as ‘Limited Edition’ and I’ll be 100 times more interested. So when Nars brought out its Limited Edition Orgasm blusher in this gorgeous size, I was gone. I own two Nars blushers and love them, so I thought “Why not treat myself to Nars’ most iconic blusher“? Did I need another blusher? No. Did I deserve another blusher? Hmmm… maybe?
Happy with it? I got my other Nars blushers years ago and have always loved them in terms of pigmentation, so I wasn’t expecting Orgasm to be any different. However, I was concerned that the shade of this blusher would be too light for my skin complexion. I needn’t have worried, as I *finally* put it on yesterday for the first time ever and loved how it looked. Having said that, I did take a few pictures of myself yesterday and couldn’t really spot the blusher on my cheeks – but it’s not like you really want blusher to stand out in pictures, right? As for the durability, I can’t say much as blusher just doesn’t tend to last long on me – regardless of its price tag. But I think Nars blushers are probably one of the better options in terms of duration. So yes, happy with it. Shop it here.
Topshop Glow Pot in Gleam
The lowdown: Speaking of kryptonite, highlighter of any sort makes me go weak in the knees. It was the last step added to my beauty regime (I only started wearing it about two years ago) and now I feel like I can’t live without it. Hence why I’ve collected highlighter like marbles and have a pretty fab collection if I may so myself. It’s fabulous alright, albeit a little too big – I’m currently on a highlighter ban. Not sure how long that ban has been going for though, because I did treat myself to this little pot from Topshop a few months ago… I *think* the reason I justified it was because it was reduced, but either way Topshop makeup doesn’t break the bank and is pretty damn good.
Happy with it? Yes, this is such a lovely highlighter! It’s actually my third (I know, WTF) highlighter from Topshop – the brand’s glow pots have been very iconic pretty much from when they were launched, and the very first pot I bought was ‘Polished’ (I also have a powder highlighter that’s gorgeous). However, I much prefer this shade shown here, ‘Gleam’, as I now feel ‘Polished’ is just too ‘white’ and ‘frosty’ for my complexion. This shade is like a warm champagne, and is personally for me such a good ‘on-the-go’ product because it’s pretty easy to put on with one’s fingers (and, um, looks cute in and won’t ruin or die in a bag). One of my little goals in life is to learn how to blend highlighter properly and stop it from looking like a weird line on my face – and this pot always makes me feel closer to that goal.
Topshop recently relaunched its beauty range, and sadly ‘Gleam’ doesn’t seem to be available anymore – however, the shade ‘Affinity‘ looks pretty similar. Shop Topshop highlighters here.
Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick in Spanked, £16.00
The lowdown: I’m a red lip girl through and through – BUT, I love a good nude lip. Well, let me be more specific – I love nude lips on other people, and would love to love nude lips on me. Because there’s a very fine line between nude lips and corpse lips for me. I want nothing more than to find the perfect nude look, but damn, it’s hard for us light-olive, olive and brown girls, am I right? However, this lipstick by RiRi comes very, very close to making me feel like my search is over.
Happy with it? Yes, definitely. I bought it after seeing it on vlogger/blogger Samantha Maria, and I have to say it’s a very nice lipstick, colour wise and texture wise. I love that it doesn’t dry out my lips nor my complexion. I mean, it’s very, very close to my lip colour, and I’m very insecure about having lighter colours on my lips, but despite my insecurities I know it works. However, I really like wearing it with Huda Beauty in Icon just to give it a little more warmth and saturation.
Nude lipstick options for darker girls is another subject that I could write not only a separate post about, but a big fat dissertation. For now, I’ll say this lipstick is high on the list of good nude options for us. Shop it here.
Tangle Teezer x Skinnydip flamingo print Tangle Teezer
The lowdown: I’m LOL-ing about sharing this last piece not only because I feel like I’m a decade late to the party, but because it’s a completely different product from the others… Then again, for a lot of us hair is 100% part of our beauty regimes – a slightly different ball game that still plays a big part in our relationship with our appearance.
My history with Tangle Teezer is a slightly complicated one. A friend of mine (who has beautiful jet back and poker straight hair) had one and forced me to try hers – I wasn’t the least bit impressed and didn’t go near one in years. So what made me go for it a few months ago? The flamingos did help, but I was getting tired of using my ‘normal’ comb after washing my hair and decided to give this funny brush (as my mum baptised it) another chance.
Happy with it? I think so? I’ve come to like it – and I’m not sure if Tangle Teezer is supposed to help with the actual texture of hair other as well as detangling naughts, but I feel like ever since I started using it my hair is feeling a lot nicer, sleeker, softer and less greasy? Am I trippin’? Probably. But yes, I do like it, and probably won’t be going back to other combing/brushing devices. And I love the shape of it – I do love a bit of practicality in beauty products and this is the kind of brush that’s perfect for carrying in one’s bag. Shop Tangle Teezers here.
I really wanted to keep this post quick and catchy, but it turns out I have a lot to say about beauty products – especially when I like them. I’m aiming to write another beauty post within the next month, so stay tuned to find out what else is going on in my beauty cupboard.
xxx