A little DIY: Custom Concealer Palette & Swatches

I wanted to quickly show you all this concealer palette I put together. Recently MAC came out with their 'Conceal & Correct' palettes incorporating six different shades of their Studio Finish Concealer in order to brighten, correct and conceal areas of the face or even use as a foundation by sheering out the consistency. I loved the idea, especially because they is one for every skin tone. What deterred me was the hole it would burn in my pocket. £35 for a total of 6 grams of product - meaning each section holds 1g of product when a single pot of Studio Finish Concealer contains 7g for £14.50. The sleek magnetic closure packaging similar to MAC's Lipstick Palettes or eyeshadow quads almost won me over but when I popped my daydream bubble I knew I would regret my purchase soon enough. So I created an alternative. 

 The pillbox is from Muji (£1.25) and because it has moving dividers I superglued them into place to avoid overspill of product. After sanitising the tools I was using including the box, I scooped out different concealers that I use around the face/under the eyes. In order for the product to be a little more even I placed it in the microwave for 20 seconds. If you plan on doing this, I suggest you put less product in the middle compartments since there is a dip in the dividers making it easy for product to spill into either section. Note: if you use any heat in the process, like I did with the microwave - move the pill box as little as possible afterwards. I just left the box in the microwave while it was off until it completely solidified (approx. 30mins), or you could carefully put it into the fridge/cold surface (leave the lid open whilst it solidifies!)

I know it looks messy - but the functionality wins me over. In any case when is any sort of cream product palette look perfect? For size reference the pillbox fits in the palm of my hand and each well fits a ton of product - in the top left corner is an entire pot of MAC Studio Finish Concealer with space to spare.

The concealers are as follows: (left to right)

Top Row: MAC Studio Finish NC35, MAC Studio Sculpt NC30, Benefit Erase Paste

Bottom Row: Revlon Photoready 'Light Medium' 003, Cinema Secrets Foundation #301-63A, Illamasqua Emerge Cream Pigment

I placed a label on the back, which I just realised isn't written properly (the left and right column should be switched) but it still works.

Swatches (Left to Right)

MAC Studio Finish NC35, MAC Studio Sculpt NC30, Benefit Erase Paste #2 Medium, Revlon Photoready Light Medium 003, Cinema Secrets #301-63A, Illamasqua Cream Pigment 'Emerge'

I typically mix and match but if you are wondering - I use Benefit's Erase Paste and Illamasqua's Emerge to brighten up underneath the eyes as they are correcting shades to disguise darkness. If you have a yellow undertone I implore you to try Emerge under the eyes - it is simply THE BEST colour (similar to Armani's correctors in cream form) to brighten and gives great coverage too! If you have a pinky undertone to your skin I think Erase Paste would work better.

Hope you enjoyed my little project - please leave your recommendations of concealer in the comments! (In case I'm missing out on something great).

xxx

Rimmel Apocalips: Review & Swatches

Everyone and their mother has been 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the liquid lipstick phenomenon that has revolutionised the beauty world. It started with the YSL Glossy Stains and then high end brands Guerlain, Hourglass, Shisiedo etc all had a stab at it. Credit must be given to Chanel though, as their Rouge Allure Laque line established itself many moons before most. I'm sure there are takes on this product that I don't know about but I was waiting for the day when more affordable versions were going to become available. I mean I don't think I'm the only one who wants a whole range of liquid lipsticks but I'm not to keen on selling a kidney to fulfil my superficial desires. 

 So naturally I wanted to 'ooh' and 'ahh' as well, bringing us onto the Apocolips line (£5.99) by Rimmel - I had a bunch of points to spend on my Boots card and by taking advantage of the 3 for 2 on Rimmel, not only did I manage to get these for free but save on my points as well!

For a change, I'll start with the only negative point I have to make. 

- The Colour Range

There are only 8 shades in to choose from:

- Nude Eclipse: A light beige nude 

- Luna: A pale peach (a little on the sheer side)

- Celestial: A mid tone cool toned neutral pink 

- Nova: A bright bluish pink 

- Galaxy: A darkish mauve with shimmer

- Apocaliptic: A bright fuchsia pink reminiscent of MAC's Girl About Town

- Big Bang: A bright true red (the most amazing shade of the bunch in my opinion - leans warm or cool toned depending on who wears it).

- Stellar: An almost neon orangey coral shade that reminds me of YSL Rouge Volupte #27 Rose Paris

If you have a fair complexion - you can jump for joy as all of these colours will look stunning on you. But for the rest of us, well..we need to be a little more selective - that is in the nude category. Nude Eclipse is extremely light and at least on my medium olive skin tone makes me look dead. 

Swatches (Top to bottom): Big Bang (Red), Celestial (Pink), Luna (Peach)

Luna 

I did however pick up Luna which is also fairly light, but because its one of the shades that can be sheered out one can facilitate the use of a darker lipliner and a bit of blending to make it work for them. Here I just blended it into my lips with the sponge tip applicator.

I have done some research and it looks like the colour range differs slightly in the rest of Europe. Apparently in Italy more universal nudes are available so I really hope Rimmel decides to bring out more colours. 

Celestial 

I'll leave the best for last so that leads to me the shade I decided on to achieve the 3 for 2: Celestial. This shade bored me a little - but because its a little on the cool side I decided to try it. It just so happens this is the only shade I don't have to think about which is something I really appreciate. Nonetheless on my lips this colour differs from the swatch - I also see some of MAC's Snob in it.

Big Bang

And…..drum roll please… BIG BANG - excuse the use of capitals but it needs to be done. I mean… Chanel Dragon who?.. Yes you read correct. Once I learned about the hype over Dragon I bought it just before it was discontinued. but turns out it reads extremely dark on me, and I need to extremely precise when applying due to its thick texture.
On the other hand, Big Bang stays to true to colour and whilst leaning a little warm on me, it's the most rich and mesmerising shade I've seen in a while. Don't even pay attention to the swatch - try it out if you can and if you can't then just buy it and trust me you won't be disappointed!

And finally, the formula is wonderfully smooth, creamy and glides on effortlessly. The glossy texture disappears within 3 hours and dries to down to satiny finish and stays true to colour as well as comfortable for up to 5 hours depending on whether you're eating/drinking or not - the stain left behind is stronger with the darker shades. The doe foot applicator captures enough pigment and product on it where one doesn't need to put it back in the tube so another tick for packaging. It's great that you can use the sponge tip applicator to outline as well as blend the colour into your lips. I also appreciate the clear tube so you can see how much product you have left. Another thing to note is the scent - I might be crazy, but it to me it smells like banana, or some sort of banana fruit cocktail. I'm not too affected by fragranced products but I know for it can be a turning point so.. smell before you buy!

All in all, a fantastic launch from Rimmel - I'm really looking forward to if they expand the colour range and I highly recommend them especially with the 3 for 2 offer in Boots or www.boots.com at the moment!

What do you all think? Thanks as always for stopping by and taking the time out to comment.

Have a great weekend.
xxx

Loving at the moment...

Swatches MaqPro Morag Ross Foundation Palette (Top to Bottom): C.R, TL3, 124, 14, C.I, 117

Le Maquillage Professionnel (MAQPro) Foundation & Lip/Cheek Palette & Make Up Mixer: I've been delaying this review for so long - I bought this back in August! These are wax based products that can be used anywhere on the face and body and are extremely popular in showbiz. The finish is unlike I've ever seen before and they are so reasonable! The make up mixer is a brilliant multi use product as it works as a moisturiser, primer, makeup remover and foundation base meaning you can mix it with any foundation from powder to cream as well as controlling the coverage of the product! I'm working on a full review soon. 

MaqPro Classic Lip/Cheek Palette Top Row (Top to Bottom): 252, 2207, 2216, 256, 2208

MaqPro Classic Lip/Cheek Palette Bottom Row (Top to Bottom): 216, 226, 253, 2262, 268

Swatches (Top to Bottom): NYX Taupe, Shu Uemura Nobara Compact Foundation #754, Benefit Erase Paste: Medium, Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer: 53 'Dark Radiance'

- Shu Uemura 18R Goat Foundation Brush: It is fearful that this brush has made all my other face brushes obsolete, I'm glad I saved up for it. Review coming up soon!
- Benefit Erase Paste + Bourjois Concealer: I was so disappointed when I purchased Benefit's erase paste in 'Medium' as the colour didn't work for me at all and I think I would have been better off purchasing the darker colour as this looks very ashy on me. Just as I was about to get rid of it I tested it with another concealer I hardly every use: Bourjois' Healthy Mix concealer - hey presto! A great combination. I lay down the Bourjois under my eyes and then brighten with Erase Paste.

- Shu Uemura Nobara Foundation: I picked this up in the Space NK sale as it was cut down to £10 with free delivery from £28. I thought it would be their stick foundation and not this discontinued compact version. Nonetheless, it's got amazing pigmentation and coverage - you only need a tiny bit! It's creamy and sits really well on my dry skin so I'm thinking the stick version is similar.
- NYX Taupe: Another all time favourite as you can see from how much I've used. Before I bought it I thought it wouldn't show up on my NC30/35 skin tone as everyone said it was a great contour for fairer complexions - but Taupe is uber pigmented and would even work if you were darker than me even though it hasn't swatched well above.

Swatches (Top to Bottom): MAC's Smut, Brown Script, Tempting, Tan Pigment, Illamasqua Solstice

- MAC Tan Pigment, Tempting, Smut & Brown Script: This quad is my essential colours to go from day to night for the moment. Lots of combinations and still exciting.
- Illamasqua Solstice: This shade is has been replaced with Electrum which is supposed to be extremely similar. Even though these metals do crease I find the way to show off these true gold beauty is to place it in the inner V of your eye and it adds that something special to your everyday neutral eye.

Swatches (Top to Bottom): Sleek Makeup 'Cherry' Lipstick, BarryM 'Toffee' Lipgloss, Urban Decay Stardust 'Midnight Cowboy' Lipgloss

- Urban Decay 'Midnight Cowboy' Stardust Lipgloss: I'm not into glittery lipgloss, or lipgloss in general but during the holidays I wanted something to make my reds/berries look extra special and this really did the trick. It smells and feels minty. It's slightly thick but not sticky or tacky and has wonderful fine gold sparkle which isn't gritty. I'm now enjoying this over any colour as it makes the lips look luscious and plump! The swatch doesn't do the sparkle justice.

- Barry M 'Toffee' Lipgloss: I have 2 of these glosses and they have such a great moisturising texture and don't settle into lip lines. Definitely worth a look!
- Sleek Cherry: I try and wear this every chance I get at the moment. The colour is rich, sultry and warm dark cherry red. I pair it with MAC's Currant lipliner around the outer corners to add some dimension.

- Loreal Telescopic: A fantastic mascara! I don't even need to curl my lashes and I've been getting so many compliments with this.

- Guerlain Powder: It's widely known Guerlain makes the best powders and this is no exception! It gives a great soft focus finish that's undetectable on the skin. Any meteorite powder is amazing - this just happens to be from a collection a couple years ago that I was lucky enough to pick up cheaply from Ebay a while ago!

- Romwe Shoes: Bought these guys a couple of months ago and them misplaced them! Found them and been wearing nonstop! They're surprisingly comfortable and are such an easy way to edge up a casual outfit.

I'd love to know what you guys can't get your hands off these days?

xxx

Makeup Forever Aqua Creams Review & Swatches: #1 Anthracite, #11 Gold, #15 Taupe

I really love the way a cream colour looks on the eye - but more often than not, creams tends to crease when not set with a powder. So when I heard good things about these Makeup Forever Aqua Creams and the fact that they are waterproof I knew I needed to check them out.

Texture: Creamy & smooth and dries quickly.
Colour: Very Pigmented! Very large shade range
Longevity: Seems like forever!
Price: £18 for 6 grams
Packaging: Containers are light and made out of plastic.
Fragrance: One can smell the product when in the jar - a sort of cosmetic/alcohol scent.

#1 Anthracite: A dark charcoal silver grey with a brown base.

#11 Gold: A true yellow molten gold.

#15 Taupe: A browny taupe with a bronze base and sheen.

All the colours I have are metallic and look great sheered out as a wash (great for day time) or as an intense colour.

Left to Right: #1 Anthracite, #11 Gold, #15 Taupe

(The picture on the right (swatches blended a little) is after running my hand under warm water for a couple of minutes!)

The are colours in this line that can be used on cheeks and lips too but you'll have to check whether colours and lip/eye safe. I don't tend to react with these sorts of products so I would use them everywhere really but do so at your own will, although it does seem like they would dry out your lips.

As a base/primer these work extremely well and will ensure your eye makeup stays flawless all day. The colour sets very quickly so I suggest working on one eye at a time or apply and blend out quickly!

I'm excited to get a couple more shades because I know these ones won't be leaving my daily makeup bag! I will keep you posted on whether these dry out in the jar.

Available in the UK:
www.preciousaboutmakeup.com
www.gurumakeupemporium.com

Have you tried any? If not which cream shadows are your favourites?

xxx