Soap and Glory Love At First Blush

Soap and Glory Love At First Blush Review

 

A couple of weeks ago, my sister came to visit Kuwait all the way from Denmark. She wanted to update her makeup collection, and there's no where better to head to, other than the good old trusty Boots. She really wanted to buy a shimmery blush that she can use as a blush and as a highlighter too (as she doesn't like really blinding highlighters).

 

Description:

The Soap and Glory Love At First Blush is a beautiful multi-shade rosy blush. It claims that it gives a beautiful luminous glow that you can use on your cheeks, eyelids or wherever you want! The blush contains 0.26 oz (approx. 7 grams) of product and comes in a round packaging that actually feels nice and sturdy (not cheap!). You also get a handy mirror inside.  

 

 

 

 

What I like about this blush:

• Gives a beautiful rosy-pinky colour
• Long-lasting
• Pigmented
• Buildable
• Blends easily
• Can be used as a highlighter too (for those that love a subtle glow)

What I don’t like about this blush:

None! Can't think of anything!

Availability:

 

Widely available in all drugstores and online for e.g. at amazon.com (US), Superdrug, Boots (UK). In Kuwait it is available in Boots.

 

Price:

UK: £11

US: $15 (ulta)

Kuwait: around 4.5 KD

Final thoughts:

I think this is a great drugstore blush that really comes close (in terms of quality) to high-end blushes such as the Bobbi Brown ones. It gives a beautiful rosy glow that lasts all day. It has a buildable, yet easily blendable shimmery formula that leaves your skin looking radiant. As I mentioned earlier, you can use it as a highlighter, blush, or place it on your eyelid to give that great subtle shimmery colour. My sister has been really loving it, and I would totally recommend it for my fellow shimmery blush lovers.
 

Thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any comments or questions down below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts! 

Until next time,

xoxo

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Creme Puff

Max Factor Crème Puff Pressed Powder Review

 

I have recently ran out of my Rimmel Stay Matte powder, so I was in the hunt of a new pressed powder that I can use especially for my under eye area. Several beauty influencers have raved about the Max Factor Crème Puff pressed powder, so I said to myself, why not give it a go! It is an affordable option and it has been in the market for SO many years. Ever since I got it, I have been using it weekly and I am confident to say that it is one of my all time favourite powders.

 

 

 

Description:

The Max Factor Crème Puff Pressed Powder comes in 13 shades that you can choose from to match your skin tone. Max Factor claims that this is a lightweight powder that gives you a super matte finish with a subtle glow to it.The pressed powder contains 21 grams of product and comes in a round pan with a lid that you'll need to slide upwards to open. There is also a circular sponge inside that you can use to apply the powder (I didn't use it as I prefer applying it with a brush). The powder that I have is in the "Light N Gay" shade which has a slight pink undertone to it.    

 

 

What I like about this powder:

• Long-lasting
• Lightweight and is not cakey AT ALL!
• Prevents concealer from creasing
• Brightens the under eye area

What I don’t like about this powder:

• Smells like an old womans perfume (but the smell goes away as soon as you put the powder on your face)
• The packaging is not travel-friendly (lid can easily open/break)
• Might need reapplying (for oily skin)

Availability:

 
Widely available in all drugstores and online for e.g. at amazon.com (US), Superdrug, Boots (UK). In Kuwait it is available in Boots and Centrepoint.

 

Price:

UK: £6.99
US: $8.83 (amazon)
Kuwait: around 4 KD

Final thoughts:

I think this is a great drugstore powder that helps keep your concealer still while keeping its lightweight feature. It gives a beautiful matte finish but with a healthy and subtle glow. This has been my go-to powder recently and I would highly recommend it.
 

Thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any comments or questions down below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts! 

Until next time,

xoxo

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Best Lash Glue?

The struggle that I had with finding a decent lash glue was real! I only wear false lashes occasionally (mostly for weddings), but when I do, I can swear that they ALWAYS start to peel in the inner corners of my eyes! I hated that because I'd be in the middle of a wedding, and my lashes are randomly sticking out and I'd look like a total mess. Have you ever experienced the same thing? I used to use the Duo lash glue and I needed to look for an alternative. My friend recommended the Huda Beauty Lash glue as she swore by it. So when I received it (along with some of her lashes etc) I was shocked by how good it is!

 

Description:

It comes in a squeezable small tube. It contains 7 grams of product. This lash glue claims to be water-proof, long-lasting and fast drying. It also has a dark-tone to it so it easily blends with your eyeliner.

Pros:

I'll keep it simple, this glue is amazing! Reasons?

•  Very long lasting (lives up to its claim)-it stays on all day and the corners never start to peel!
• It is waterproof! So regardless of the weather outside,  your lashes will stay in place.
• It dries really fast, give it approx. 10 secs and voila...your lashes will stick easily!
• I like how dark the glue is because when I stick the lashes on, I don't have to go over the lash line to hide any white residue from the glue.

Cons:

• You need to be VERY careful when squeezing the tube, as the packaging makes it very easy to release way too much product. I always end up squeezing a lot of product regardless of gentle I was. I would really recommend they change the packaging and make it slightly easier to use.
• The glue being dark-toned definitely has advantages (as mentioned earlier), however, it can also get messy as sometimes when I place the lashes on my eyes the glue can go on my eyelids and it can slightly mess up my eyeshadow. I would also prefer if it was colourless rather than dark-toned.

 

Availability:

 It can be found on shophudabeauty.com (they ship worldwide), sephora.com (US), cultbeauty.co.uk (UK) etc. In Kuwait it is available in all Sephora stores.

 

Price:

UK: £14
US: $13
On shophudabeauty.com it is for $23 (for shipping to Kuwait)

 

Final thoughts:

This is the best lash glue that I have tried to date. It is extremely long lasting, doesn't start to peel in the middle of the day, and dries really fast. I would highly recommend it for those that want their lashes to stay on ALL day long. There definitely are some cons when it comes to the packaging (in my opinion) but that doesn't degrade anything from the formula.

Thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any comments or questions down below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts! 
Until next time,
xoxo

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Grand Entrance Mascara Review

About 2 months ago, I bought the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour skin protectant (full review here) and the sales lady was nice enough to give me a sample of the Elizabeth Arden Grand Entrance mascara. Those that know me, definitely know that I am a total mascara junkie. It is my absolute makeup necessity when I go out. I have tried SO many mascaras and some of my all-time favourite mascaras can be found here. I was super excited to try the EA mascara, however, I have never heard any beauty guru rave about it, so I didn't have high expectations that it'll perform so well. When I tried it, I was absolutely shocked at home amazing it is! 

Description:

The Elizabeth Arden Grand Entrance mascara comes in 2 shades, the Stunning black and Stunning Brown. This mascara claims to be long-wearing and that it does not clump, smudge or flake.
It comes in an edgy red and black packaging, and has a silicone curved wand with tiny bristles all around it. 

What I like about this mascara:

I'll keep it simple, this mascara is absolutely amazing! Reasons?

•  Doesn't flake or smudge (lives up to its claim)!
• Gives your lashes massive length and Curl
• Long-wearing 
• The stunning black shade is super dark so gives a dramatic lash effect
• It is buildable

What I don’t like about this mascara:

It can possible clump if you apply more than 2 layers (but it really doesn't need >2 layers to give amazing results).

Availability:

 It can be found on elizabetharden.com (US), Ulta.com (US), lookfantastic.com (UK) etc. In Kuwait it is available in Faces (Avenues).

Price:

UK: £22 (but currently for £14 on lookfantastic.com)
US: $24

Final thoughts:

I absolutely love this mascara. It gives me lots of length, curl and volume. I personally would highly recommend it for those that want big dramatic lashes (and that don't mind the price tag).

Thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any comments or questions down below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts! 

Until next time,

xoxo

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Carli Bybel Deluxe Palette

Carli Bybel Palette Review

The new BH cosmeticsxCarli Bybel Deluxe Edition palette has been taking over the beauty world and today I will be testing whether it really is worth the hype! For those that don't already know, Carli is  a very popular beauty and fashion guru on YouTube with over 5 million subscribers. Last year, she collaborated with BH cosmetics and created the Limited edition Carli Bybel 14 Color Eyeshadow & Highlighter Palette which was a huge hit. This year, they decided to keep the palette for longer by introducing a Deluxe edition, which included 11 repeated shades from her original palette while adding 10 new shades. I did not own the original palette so I can't really compare the deluxe edition with the original formula, however, I have been playing around with it for a couple of days and below is a thorough review on this palette. 

   


The Carli Bybel Deluxe Edition palette
Note: 2 highlighters and 2 eyeshadows arrived broken, so I have put
them back together hence why some shades don't look too neat!

Description:

Let me first start by talking about the packaging! This honestly has got to be the most beautiful palette I have ever seen! The interior of the palette has a marble print which is so gorgeous.The Carli Bybel Deluxe Edition palette includes 15 eyeshadows (7 shimmery and 8 matte shades) and 6 highlighters.Two of the highlighter pans are rectangular in shape and slightly bigger than the remaining 4. The bottom row of highlighters cater ALL skin tones, from icy white to metallic dark-brown highlighters. The palette includes a big mirror and the packaging is made of cardboard. It is important to mention that the packaging doesn't seem cheap at all, in the contrary it felt really well made and luxurious when I held it. The total net weight of the palette is 1.28 oz/36 grams which is a great amount of product that you get. The palette mostly includes warm toned shades with some cool toned mauves. The palette is also Vegan and Cruelty-free.

15 eye shadows and 6 highlighters

Swatches:

Below are swatches of the eyeshadows and the highlighters.

Eyeshadows:

All 15 eye shadows swatched

Highlighters:

Highlighters swatches (no flash)
From left to right: Rose-gold highlighter, Golden-champagne highlighter, Icy-white highlighter, Metallic-purple highlighter, Gold highlighter, Metallic-brown highlighter

Highlighters swatches (with flash)
From left to right: Rose-gold highlighter, Golden-champagne highlighter, Icy-white highlighter, Metallic-purple highlighter, Gold highlighter, Metallic-brown highlighter

 

What I like about the Carli Bybel palette:

Eyeshadows: 

The eyeshadows in this palette are very smooth and easy to blend.The matte shades  pick up nicely using a brush and the pigment is also great. The matte eyeshadows have minimal fallout, whereas the shimmery shades do have slightly more fallout, so I would suggest doing your base after applying your eyeshadow. The shimmery shades also pick up nicely with a brush but they do need more building up, whereas if you use your fingers to apply them they will definitely pop more. I also like how there are base matte shades and good transition shades so you have a well rounded  palette that you can take with you without the need to include colours from other palettes. 

Highlighters:

The highlighters are insanely pigmented. They have a foiled-like finish and show up so well using a brush. As I mentioned earlier, there is a highlight shade for all skin tones, so I really like how well thought-of the shades in this palette are. They are so smooth and buttery and blend very easily. They can also be used on your eyes, so rest assured, you can make use of all the highlighters in this palette!

What I don't like about the Carli Bybel palette:

The highlighters and the shimmery shades do have some glitter chunks in them.They  also have some fallout, so you can end up getting glitter particles on your face. So to avoid doing that, make sure to tap the excess off (especially with the highlighters). If you tap the excess, you won't have a problem with the glitter.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, the packaging is made of cardboard, so it is not very travel friendly as the product can be easily broken. 

Availability:

Kuwait: It is not available in Kuwait, so I had to order it from the bhcosmetics.com (delivers to many countries worldwide) and had it shipped all the way to Kuwait. They deliver using standard post which means that it took more than a month to arrive to Kuwait (and several shades arrived broken, as you can tell from the images).

USA: available in ulta.com, bhcosmetics.com and pranavabeauty.com

UK: you can order the palette from bhcosmetics.com and get it shipped to the UK. 

Price:

US: $22.50 (on bhcosmetics.com)

Final thoughts:

I love the pigmentation, formula and blendability of the Carli Bybel deluxe palette. There are however some downsides such as the fallout for the shimmery  and highlighter shades,and the glitter particles that can be found in them. However, for the price, you really cannot go wrong. Overall, it is a stunning palette with beautiful everyday warm and neutral shades. So if you are into neutral shades, you will absolutely love this palette! 

That is it for today, thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any questions below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts!

Until next time

xoxo

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Loreal Infallible Sculpt

L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Contouring Palette Review

Hello lovelies and welcome back to my blog! The other day I had a massive beauty shopping spree in which I splurged on several products from both L'Oreal and Maybelline. For the past week or so, I have been trying the L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Contouring palette. This is a very pleasing product to look at, and as usual, a full review, including the price, availability etc can be found below.  

 L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Contouring palette

Description:

The L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Contouring palette comes in 2 shades, the 01-Light and the 03-Medium/Dark. The most profound difference between those 2 shades are the undertones of the contouring shade (the light being a cool toned contour, while the Medium/Dark having  a warm toned contour). This contouring palette (as shown in the picture) comes with a highlighting shade and a contouring shade. It also comes with an instructions sheet that can be quite helpful for those that are new into contouring and highlighting. The L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Contouring palette has a creamy formula that almost feels powdery when blended out. This contouring palette claims that it is super blendable and leaves your skin with a flawless matte finish.  Each palette contains 10g of product in it. The packaging is also nice as it is housed in an iPod sized palette. The palette includes a mirror too.

What I like about this contouring palette:

Both the highlight and contour shades are very smooth to apply. They are so creamy and blend like a dream. This means that you can easily achieve a natural contour and highlight. At the same time, you can easily build the shades up for a more dramatic look. It does indeed have a creamy formula that blends out to a matte powder finish. I love how pigmented yet super blendable the formula is. I am sure that this palette would be GREAT for beginners as it has useful step-by-step instructions on how to contour and highlight (the leaflet is housed inside the palette). As I mentioned earlier, the formula itself is very easy to work with regardless of using a brush, beauty sponge, or even using your fingers.

Swatches of the highlighting (left) and contouring (right) shades

What I don’t like about this contouring palette:

I don't have anything to say in this section that is related to the formula, but I think that they could have better utilized the size of the palette. For instance instead of adding the guide sheet (which took around 25% of the palette's interior), they could have either increased the size of the product, or they could have included a brush/mini sponge.

Availability:

Available in all drugstores. It can be found on amazon.com, Ulta (US), Boots & Superdrug (UK) etc. In Kuwait it is available in Boots, Centrepoint, Carrefour etc.

Price:

UK: £9.99
US: $12.99
Kuwait: 7.4 KD

Final thoughts:

I love the pigmentation, formula, blendability, and ease of use of the L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Contouring palette. I personally would highly recommend it for beginners and to anyone that wants an easy on-the-go contouring palette.

That is it for today, thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any questions below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts! 

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Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid

Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick Review

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today I will be reviewing the Maybelline Vivid Matte liquid lipstick. A couple of days ago, I was trying to find a new drugstore liquid lipstick, and when I was looking at the Maybelline counter, I couldn't help but notice the Vivid Matte lipstick line. They had a very wide variety of shades, but as a nude lover, I had to get my hands on the "Nude Thrill" shade. I have been wearing it every single day for the past  week so that I can give you my honest opinion on this liquid lipstick!   

Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick

Description:

The Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid lipstick branches from Maybelline's popular Color Sensational line. This liquid lipstick has a creamy formula that leaves your lips with a velvety, cushion-like feel. The finish is supposed to be a creamy, velvety matte finish. It also claims that it is very pigmented. The Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid lipstick come in 20 different shades (which offers a wide range of colours! From Nudes to bold shades). Each tube contains 0.26 oz (around 8 ml of product), which is the typical amount of product you would get in a liquid lipstick. The packaging is very simple, and the product is housed in a transparent glass, so you can easily see the shade through the tube.  

What I like about this lip cream:

This lipstick is very pigmented. Each swipe gives so much colour to the lips. I don't need to dip in twice to completely coat my lips. I also love the Nude Thrill shade a LOT. It is a very flattering pinky-rosy nude that would suit many skin tones. I found that it is very comfortable to wear. It doesn't dry my lips, even if I keep it on for several hours. This lipstick smells like rose water to me (not sure if that is the intended smell) but I actually really like the smell of it, and I don't find it overpowering at all.

Lip swatch of the Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid lipstick in the shade "Nude Thrill" 

What I don’t like about this lip cream:

Unfortunately this section will be slightly long! First, let me start about the name of this lipstick line. This liquid lipstick is by no means "Matte", so I am not sure how it was marketed as one. It has a cream formula and it never completely dries down. It will look like you've got a creamy lipstick on your lips (kinda similar to the finish of the new KyliexKKW crème lipstick line). Second, I have noticed that when I leave it on for 2+ hours, it will start to crumble a lot, which will look very unflattering on the lips. Third, it wears off so quickly, so if you eat or drink it will easily come off (just like a regular gloss etc). So the expected lasting power of a "matte" lipstick is not there (but then again, they did not claim that it has a great lasting power).

Availability:

Available in all drugstores. It can be found on amazon.com, Maybelline.com (US), Ulta (US), Boots & Superdrug (UK) etc. In Kuwait it is available in Boots and Centrepoint.

Price:

UK: £6.99
US: $7.99
Kuwait: 3.7 KD

Final thoughts:

I love the pigmentation and colour selection of the Maybelline Vivid Matte liquid lipstick line, but I do not think that it is worth the price. It easily comes off, crumbles after a few hours, and is not a "matte" liquid lipstick. If you like a comfortable and affordable liquid lipstick (and you don't mind reapplying every now and then) then you might actually like this. I personally would not recommend it just because at the price point, there are better drugstore options when it comes to liquid lipsticks that you can go for.

That is it for today, thank you so much for reading, and as always, leave any questions below. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to be updated with the latest posts! 

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