I Heart Make up - I am Naked Palette Review

The size of the I Am Naked palette is great for travel, since it can fit into one hand. It also has a mirror and is really compact containing 6 eye shadows and a lipstick. I love the design of the palette it's both sophisticated and fun and I like the way the lipstick fits snugly into the palette. The I am Naked refers to the neutral shadows and nude lipstick- for the natural look. Though I'd still be a little hesitant to whip this out on a commuter train with I am Naked emblazoned across the front!

There's a nice neutral selection of beige, brown and gold shades. There are three shimmer shades  (2,4,5), two matte (1, 3) and one satin shade (6, which has slightly less shimmer than the others but it's not quite matte.) The two palest shades, a matte cream shade and a shimmery champagne are a little chalky. The other shades are fine. I wore the second, third and fourth shades (in the swatch picture above) without primer and they started to fade after 8 hours, which is pretty good. The third browny taupe is good for a crease or transition shade and my favourites are the fourth and sixth shimmery brown shades.

The lipstick is nude peach shade that makes my lips look lighter in colour. It's very moisturising but has light coverage. The lipstick has a faint waxy smell and a slight vanilla taste. It does transfer but will last through a drink but not through eating. I was disappointed that the lipstick packaging feels very cheap even though it looks luxurious when placed in the palette.

All in all this is a nice little neutral palette that looks more expensive than it is and is good value for money for all 6 shadows and a lipstick, especially as it's currently on sale at just £2.99  here.

Make up Revolution Blushers Review -Vivid Blush Lacquar and The One Fluid Blusher

These two blushers from Makeup Revolution are so pigmented they really do pack a punch.
The first is Makeup Revolution's Vivid Blush Lacquar in O'Boy which is a bright pink.  The consistency is a thick and slightly creamy liquid which blends really easily. While I sometimes use a bright pink powder blusher, in a blush lacquer form the colour has much more impact and is easy to overdo. I always have a foundation brush or sponge to go over areas if it's too much. This would suit most skin tones. The blusher is is packaged in an air tight pump dispenser and while it looks on the small size you really don't need much just a third of a pea size. Just be careful when pressing the nozzle too hard so it doesn't dispense too much. Also if the blush hasn't been used in a while, dried product can block the nozzle so you may need a clean pin to unblock it. These packaging issues aside I really like these. I've tried various brushes to apply these the best were Bobbi Brown's foundation brush and the Zoeva 122 petit stippling brush.  This blush dries fairly quickly (if you use a small amount) but with enough time to blend them. Once sets the blush is long wearing and lasts all day . It dries to a matte finish but once blended it looks pretty natural on the face. I really recommend these vivid blush lacquers, they're pigmented, longwearing and extremely good value for money, I just wish they'd expand the colour range as currently there are only 4 shades in the range. For swatches of Desire and Heart see here. These are on sale for £1 at Makeup Revolution grab it while you can!

The One Fluid Blusher in Desire is a raspberry colour with subtle gold shimmer through it, though the shimmer isn't very noticeable once it's on the skin. It's actually brighter than I expected but gives a surprisingly natural look- a snow white blush, at least on medium skin tones. These liquid blushes also contain vitamin E and Jojoba, both of which are good for the skin. Make up Revolution say that this doesn't clog pores which is true, I've had no issues. The smell is very neutral and there's no artificial, heavy chemical scent some products have. The One Fluid Blusher has to be shaken before use to mix the silicon and pigment together. Then apply a drop on the back of your hand, dip a finger in and rub and blend on your cheek. Because of the bottle design and because I'm not used to using liquid blushes, I often pour out too much and it drips off my fingers, so I recommend applying this over a sink. Using a brush would be better but I haven't found the right one. I reckon if you have Daniel Sandler's Watercolour blush brush in your arsenal to use that. Also as long as the bottle is shaken before use this can be used on bare skin as well. This does tend to fade towards the end of the day after 7 hours or so, I didn't find it as  longwearing as the Vivid blush lacquers. However I love the colour and it's cheaper and better value for money than Benefit Benetint in my opinion. It's currently on sale for £1.50 at Makeup Revolution online!

The Summer Body Jewellery Trend From ASOS

Body jewellery is this year's summer trend and it definitely adds glamour to the holiday vibes. Whether you want to go all out on a body harness or a more subtle hand or foot chain there's something for everyone without breaking the bank. My favourites are the Disney Cinderella Butterfly hand chain and the Asos pretty beach foot chain, although the River Island front disc body chain is seriously rocking the Rhianna look. What are you favourites?

 ASOS Triangle Hand Harness £8

Disney Cinderella Butterfly Hand Chain £15

Love Rocks Circle Detail Hand Chain £22

Love Rocks Bright Embellished Hand Chain £21

River Island Coin Hand Chain £12

Pilgrim Silver Plated Feather Hand Chain £24.99

ASOS Fine Filigree Body Harness £10

River Island Statement Front Disc Body Chain £28

River Island Delicate Semi Precious Stone Body Harness £15

River Island Drape Multi row Arm Cuff £15

ASOS Feather Chip Arm Cuff £12

Aldo Glysien Arm Cuff  £12



ASOS Filigree Foot Harness £8 

Johnny Loves Rosie Jasmin Stone Drop Anklet £16

ASOS Pretty Beach Foot Chain £12

This post is not sponsored by ASOS or any other company and I was not compensated in any way for this post.

Street Art in South London Croydon Arts Quarter

 

Rise Gallery owner Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison is on a mission to turn the dilapidated outdoor shopping centre St Georges Walk into a cultural asset by transforming it into Croydon's Arts Quarter. With over 100 street art murals the Arts Quarter extends to the surrounding streets of  Park Street,  Katherine street and Park Lane. The murals are painted onto shop shutters, brick or rendered walls and wooden holdings.  Zuchowski-Morrison aims to change the murals every 3 months to keep up the interest and vibrancy of the area. The art works below are all located in St George's Walk in Croydon's city centre. There is a great variety of street art from realistic jellyfish to the  bright bold letters of  Lovepusher and Bonzai and abstract pieces from Soma, Eska and Morgazmik.

 

Gnasher Jellyfish 

David Nash or "Gnasher" became involved in the graffiti scene around 1985 when he started seeing well known graffiti artists in his hometown of Harlow in Essex. Initially he concentrated on letters and words but then became inspired by graffiti that had characters with the words and developed his hyper real style of spray can art. He later went on to study art and graphic design, and this became his focus as he abandoned graffiti in favour of graphic design and travelling the world Djing. Then one fateful day in 2009 a friend bought some spray cans and invited him out for the day which reignited  his love of graffiti art. You can see more of his work on his website.

 

Rest of the Second Shutter

 Soma

Soma aka Tony Driver is based in Surrey in the UK.  He started out as a graffiti writer after discovering the book 'Subway Art' alongside the documentary 'Style Wars' in 1984. Initially influenced by Dondi and Futura 2000 he later found his own style. The techniques he learnt from' straight letter graffiti would lead to a more abstract style with overlapping shapes and forms. You can see more of his work over at Saatchi Art.

Data

Data aka Rob Wass is a London based mixed media artist. His art ranges from pen and paper inked pictures of cityscapes and flocks of birds to spray painted bright abstract work such as this stained glass effect mural below. His work is amazing- check out his website and facebook .

VanDali

Kriss Vandali is a graffiti writer from Poland. He began aged 12 taking inspiration from artwork around the world. He describes his work as " a surreal vision of Universal Consciousness. My artistic expression is created from images in my mind. I draw universe speaking to humanity 'unleash , uncover your true potential !!!" He has commissioned work for Barclays, Fashion Finest and Seven Stars Agency. You can see more of his work on VanDali's flickr page  and facebook.. Unfortunately someone tagged one of the pieces. The black, brown and green piece is painted on the doorway of an old office block next to the shopping centre of St Geroges Walk.

Synce83 : Lovely Bug

and the IC Shop

Love Pusher: Jesus

Love Pusher is a graffiti artist from London and he specialises in large scale 3D work with a Christian message. He got into graffiti after seeing a large New York style mural near his school. Later on in life while he was on a path of self destruction  he managed to turn his life around in a short space of time. He credits God with having helped him during this time. So to thank God and to give back he decided to use his "graffiti talents to spread a positive message in the form of 'Remember Jesus.'  "He decided on a new tag- Love Pusher  "‘Love’ represented Jesus and the love I have for Him in my life and the word ‘pusher’ represented me as an individual, pushing (spreading) the Love (Word)." His 3D style was influenced by London graffiti artist Insa. Since 2007 his works include a 'lovepusher glow' or an angelic highlight. You can see this on  his website and  find out more about him in his interview for  Source Synesthesia.

Bonzai

Dave Bonzai is from the south coast of the UK but is now based in London. He was introduced to  graffiti with the first wave of hip hop that hit the UK, but it wasn't until he was 14 or 15 and saw the photos in the classic book 'Subway Art' that he picked up a spray can and began to paint. Catch more of his work on instagram and facebook . Below are his amazing 3D letters that I could imagine being on the walls of a swanky club.

     

Morgazmik & Eska Collaboration



 

Morgazmik

Morgazmik aka Morgan Davy is a painter, printer and poet from south London. His style combines geometric shapes with "techno-organic free flowing formations of . He has worked with Espirit clothing, guitar company Fender, the Troxy theatre, T4 on the beach, LDN Youth games, as well as Leeds festival.  Go and check out his colourful art on his website Morgan Davy and on instagram.

 

 

                                                                                Eska

Eska is a 3D graffiti artist who is based in London, UK. Originally he is from South Poland. He got into graffiti art when he was 13 by reading Polish and Foreign graffiti magazines and has been spray painting since 1994. He is now known worldwide for his curved but sharp 3D graffiti. He admits  that he "was drawing 3d on paper for about 5 years before I decided I was good enough to move on to walls."  If you want to see more of his art go to his flickr page and  instagram.



Decolife

Andre Ruiz De Freitas aka DecoLife is a street and fine artist from a small city in Brazil's San palo countryside. As a child he would paint on rocks and stones, graduating to skate parks as a teenager. When he was 13 years old he started painting under the name Decolife. Raised in a Christian monastery, his faith is still important to him and he describes himself as a missionary keen to brighten places with his colourful pieces and his travels enable him to learn about different religions, culture and folklore. He is inspired by dreams, the imaginary world, nature, places, the different culture acquired from his travels and Brazilian popular culture. He admits that many of his paintings are self portraits of his experiences. To see more of his work check out his blog and facebook page.

Make Up Revolution Ultra Brow Arch and Shape Review

I've been on the hunt for a black brow pencil for ages, they're really hard to find. I think it's because many people in the industry recommend that those with black hair use a brown pencil  (or grey which is even more scarce) but I think on me, black looks more natural since my brows are jet black and using black will mean it will actually blend in with my other brow hairs. I've previously experimented with Benefit Cosmetics Brow zing Kit but even the darkest brown just didn't look right. I've inherited the family's strong dark brows and it is a case of having too much brow rather than not enough and because they're so dark I've never really bothered with drawing them in. I credit regular threading sessions that have sorted them out. However sometimes they do get a bit sparse at the inner corner making them look, as my mum affectionately says, like a the sparse whiskers cats have on top of their forehead!

To remedy this I decided to pick up Make up Revolution's brow Ultra Brow Arch and Shape. It's priced at £3.50 which is excellent value, especially as it has both a pencil and pen so it's two products rolled into one. The packaging is a simple shiny long pen with two caps and the rose gold Make Up Revolution logo. There isn't a label, but the end with the lettering Arch has the pen and the Shape side contains the brow pencil. (Labelling each end might be a thing for MUR to improve.) The pencil is a twist up liner.  I have the shade Darkest which is black but they also have three other shades in the range. The pen and pencil are definitely both black and dark, don't mistake this for a dark brown. The pencil isn't too waxy so it's easy to draw with it but since it's so dark you do need a light hand. I then blend using a finger or an old eye mascara wand since there's no spoolie attached. The colour is a soft charcoal colour when blended. It lasts me through the day though I haven't tested it in hot sweaty conditions yet, since it's not quite summer.

Now on to the brow pen. I was surprised at how precise this pen is considering the nib size. The pen takes around 20-30 seconds to dry and won't smudge once it's set. I don't use this much as I find pens don't give such a natural look compared to brow pencils. Black brow pens can look particularly harsh, but I admit the pen is great for extending the tail of the brow, it makes the job easy as it's so accurate. You can also use this to replicate the look of thin hairs too. This looks like it would make a good eye liner too but when I asked Make Up Revolution if it was safe to use it this way, they said although people have in the past, they wouldn't recommend using it as a liner near the eye.  All in all I'd definitely recommend this- thumbs up!

Have you used this brow liner? What brow pencils/kit do you use?

Poundland Make Up Gallery Time To Shine Nail Polish in Midnight Black

I've been looking for a black nail polish for quite a while to go under all my glitter polishes, so when I popped into Poundland and saw this, I grabbed it. If you've been following me on twitter you would have seen me tweet a picture I took of a very professional looking, well stocked make up display in my local store. Compared to Poundland's previous Chit Chat nail polish, this bottle is much sleeker. The polish comes in a cylindrical bottle much like Maybelline Color Show Nail polishes with a black top. The brush is short and wide which covers most of the nail easily in one go which is really good. The consistency of the polish is perfect, not runny at all or streaky which you might expect for a one pound nail polish. This is opaque in one thick coat.

 

Make Up Gallery promises 'High Shine Long Lasting Colour with a Quick Dry Formula.'
It definitely gives a super shiny finish, all the photos show the polish without a top coat to show you just how shiny the polish really is. The formula does dry quicker than average but it's not super quick. I used Bourjois So Perfect Base Correcteur underneath and Butter London Top Coat with this polish. It is definitely long lasting- it lasted 4-5 days without chipping and still looked good on day 6.  I'm really hard on my nails, not being used to wearing nail varnish regularly this went through typing, washing up without gloves and even helping to upholster a chair! You get a good amount for a pound, 10ml which is same as Nails Inc and more than Make Up Academy's one pound polishes. While some make up products overpromise and under deliver this is one of the good ones, I'd say this under promises and over delivers because it doesn't mention that it's opaque in one coat.

To sum up, I'm blown away by this polish! I'm completely surprised at the quality- good brush, good consistency, high shine and it's long lasting. I'm definitely going to buy more! I have read that the paler colours need more coats to be opaque, so perhaps the darker colours are better. Next time you're passing I recommend you pop in and check this out.

Femme Fiece Street Art in Croydon Part 2

Femme Fierce, the all female street art collective were invited by Rise Gallery to brighten up Croydon's town centre. Their canvases were shop shutters, walls and wooden holdings. This post focuses on the street art that can be seen on Park Street. If you missed my earlier post on Femme Fierce Street Art you can find it here.

 

 Artista The Cronx

Kayleigh Doughy aka Artista is an illustrator and muralist from south London. Her name Artista refers to being an artist (since the age of 4 when she won a design a Christmas card competition) as well as to her start in graffiti when she tagged as Asta. She progressed from type to characters and now paints a triangle character to represent an A.  The piece below is called The Cronx. Her style is fun with pastel colours and cartoon characters. She often uses food images such as her signature slice of toast. Recently she collaborated with Break Bike to hand paint a limited edition bike which you can buy here. She has designed laptop skins and has her own clothing line as well. In 2007 she was asked to design a skate ramp, which she spray painted. She has also won the Young Tate Prize and has had her work exhibited in the Tate Modern in 2009 and 2013. You can check out or buy her work over on her website.

Fio Silva

Fio Silva is from Hurlington outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. She's creating a storm in the street art scene after winning Spring Project's international talent search to travel and paint in some of the worlds top locations. Her dynamic images of nature and animals in bright colours impressed the judges.  Fio loves "to paint animals in fusion with organic things like leaves, branches, trees … I love to paint things that are moving, they are not static things, they mutate to become that change.” She began to paint after her boyfriend died to cope with the loss. Spring Projects founder Bri Patty said  “Little by little the beautiful consolidating power of nature that she put on walls started to restore not only Fio but also the streets in her little village Hurlingham.” On her success Fio said " the sadness of why I started painting finally is transforming into dreams for better times.” You can see more of her work on her blog and in the Spring Project's Youtube video .  

  

Giusi Tomasello

Giusi Tomasello is a London based artist, print and textile designer. She was born in Sicily to an Italian Father and Polish mother. She studied art and completed an MA in Industrial Design in Milan. Her style is very much fashion portraiture. She is influenced by pop culture (Michael Caine and The Kinks), fashion (Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn), fairy tales (Red Riding Hood and Alice in Wonderland), legends (Lady Godiva) and Greek mythology. There are three similar pieces in London, based on the Greek goddesses, Athena (below),  Demeter (Paradise Row, Bethnal Green) and Artemis (on Leake Street.) You can see more of her work on her website. She currently works as a graphic designer for luxury fashion labels that have included Gucci and Haute. Her print designs have been included in Calvin Klein, Donna Karen, Guess, Gap, Victoria Secret, Abercrombie and Asos collections. 

 

Illuzina

Illuzina, or Zina for short,  is a Norwegian street artist and illustrator based in London. She began spray painting four years ago after finishing her illustration degree in south west England. Her work often features realistic blue-scale portraits of black women and children. She is influenced by different ethnic cultures and music, often spraying to the beat of the music she's listening to. If you like her work pop over to her website. She has painted a mural for Brixton's Save the Arches campaign as well as creating murals for gym walls across the country. 

 

Bethan Bertrand

Bertrand is an fine artist based in Ascot, England. She studied at The Royal Academy, The Slade and Chelsea College of Art and Design. Her work is on permanent display in these places as well as the University of Sheffield and Focus Martial arts. Her style varies from simple cartoon characters to detailed realistic pictures of horses, which you can see on her website.

 

Croydon Arts Quarter- Femme Fierce Take Over Croydon

Femme Fierce is the world's largest female street art competition with over 150 international and UK artists. ( This year the festival was held at Leake Street Tunnel in Waterloo, London.) Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison from Rise Gallery invited the artists from this group to brighten up the neglected sixties shopping centre St Georges Walk in Croydon. Rise Gallery has been behind the initiative to create Croydon's Art Quarter in St Georges Walk and surrounding streets. The murals are painted onto shop shutters, brick or rendered walls and wooden holdings.  As this post is so picture heavy I've decided to split it into two parts. The street art in this post is located in and around St Georges Walk. Part two will be up on Friday.

 

Vlong- Harmony

 

Vlong aka Vanesa Longchamp is a London based artist. All of her street art pieces are painted with spray cans by freehand (rather than stencils.) Her signature style is painting female characters with long flowing hair. These "introvert, graceful female characters always face inwards, safely cocooned inside their winding locks of long hair. Born from a personal process of catharsis, they express emotional healing and balance." This piece is called 'Harmony.' Longchamp has painted at the City of Colours Festival in Birmingham and The Gloucester Paint Jam, as well as for group show exhibitions in the Ben Oakley Gallery and No Format Gallery in East London. You can see her other work on her website.

 

 

 

 Miss Hazard

 

Harriet Wood aka Miss Hazard is a UK graffiti artist, illustrator and designer based in Bristol. She studied at Leeds College of Art and has a degree in Graphic Design from the University of The West of England. She started out in the graffiti art scene by working in a graffiti art shop that sold spray paint and that also held exhibitions. From there she was recommended for a job as a Bristol's Street Art Tour guide. Her work is influenced by tribal and communal art from around the globe and her love for hip-hop and punk culture. She is also inspired by the differences between cultures and aims to create a bold yet peaceful and thought-provoking atmosphere in her work which you can see on her website and Tumblr blog. She been voted one of the top 10 female street artists by the Guardian and was included in the Top 25 Female Graffiti Artists in the world by The Huffington Post.

 

 

 

Thieu- Coeur d'artichaut

 

Stephanie T. aka Thieu is a French graphic designer, illustrator and muralist based in London. She is know for her brightly coloured portraits and her hybrid animals such as the peafrog and searaffe. She began painting street art because she wanted to support friends who were going through a tough time " I would spread some messages along the places where he would often go, to inspire his “routine” like 'you are the hero of your own story' or ' be the change that you want to see in the world.' " She was influenced by C215 to paint with bright colours and admires graffiti artists Etam Crew, Swoon and mainstream artists Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo and Paul Gauguin. In the piece below " Je crois que vous avez un Coeur d'artichaut" translates as  I think you have an artichoke heart, meaning that I think you are fickle in Love. You can see the steps Thieu took to create her piece and her other work on her website here.

 

Elno- Balance

 

Elno is a Spanish artist based in London. She paints characters in her street art, saying "I fuse the human characters with animals. " These characters are both urban and free-spirited, harnessing their instincts in a childhood simplicity. Her mural below is a lot calmer and harmonious that her other work which seems to be more playful and surreal, mixing light and dark elements, which you can see for yourself over at her website.

.

 Pixie

 

Pixie is a muralist who is originally from Peterborough but is now London based. She is also part of Girls On Top Crew which consists of over 100 female street artists. Recently she got involved with Sonority Turner's 'Look Out For Hope' project to spread the message of hope to people, which can be such a powerful message and is such a  positive project. Using Posca Pens on glass their piece can be seen in the window of Body Soul Charity in Rosebery Avenue, Central London. Unfortunately when I went to photograph her piece someone had tagged on her work. However you can se more of her work and latest projects at her website .

 

 

 Neonita

 

Nicky Le Sueur aka Neonita is an artist and illustrator based in south London. She completed a Fine Arts degree at Kingston University and she is also part of the Girls On Top female muralist crew. The name Neonita refers to the bright neon paints she uses in her work and 'ita' was added after being inspired during her travels to South America, and chosen to express her femininity in the male dominated graffiti industry. Using neon also provides an opportunity to use UV light to change the nature of the work according to the light source. She is inspired by Japanese prints because she is drawn to the asymmetric compositions, colour and themes as well as African masks and sculpture She loves the rebellious nature of graffiti and the fact that its so accessible for everyone to see. She tries to portray strange worlds or ideas that run alongside reality. This often tends to manifest as strange creatures that incorporate things we deal with in life but in much more fantastical situations. Visit her website to see more of her work. 

 

 

Roo

 

Roo is a UK illustrator and muralist whose bright comic book style has been influenced by her love of comics. It started when she used to visit her dad's flat in Paris and read his vast collection of comic books and later entertain herself by drawing her own comics. When her brother discovered graffiti she also became interested in lettering before coming back to character design. Since very few kids in her area painted graffiti it wasn't until she was in her late 20's that she got into graffiti again, inspired by her brother who was then tagging as Mylz. She won Graffiti Artist of The Day for her piece at the 2014 Femme Fierce festival which you can see here. In the pieces below she collobrated with Skyhigh. I love the fact that they used an image of the Croydon tram in the second one. Take a look at rest of Roo's work on her instagram page.

 

 

 

 

Adriana Doi

 

Adriana Doi is a UK based painter, graffiti artist and web iIlustrator from Romania. She studied at The Art University in Timisoara, Romania, though her current love is graffiti. Her work below uses simple lines compared to her detailed graffiti paste ups which you can see on her instagram page. I also like this piece here.

 

 

 

LisArt

 

Lisa Richer aka LisArt uses stencils for her pieces such as the Kate Moss below. The supermodel Kate Moss actually hails from Croydon which was probably why she was chosen as the subject. Richer is influenced by pop culture and has included Laurel and Hardy and Twiggy in her designs (Brick Lame, London.) Her latest work was completed by free hand (instead of by stencils) and uses a cartoon stick character hugging a heart. You can see the different stages of the Kate Moss piece and catch up with her recent work on Facebook here.

 

 

 

 

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows & They're Real Push Up Liner Review

 

Benefit Creasless Cream Shadows

 

The formula of Benefit's Creaseless Cream shadows means that they do exactly as they claim, which is no mean feat for a cream eye shadow. They are easy and quick to use, a quick swipe your finger and you're good to go, perfect for rushed mornings or for eye shadow newbies. These shades are fairly shimmery/metallic, but used as a base and then paired with other powder eye shadows or a matte cream eyeshadow they can be toned down if you like. Benefit's shade No Pressure seems less shimmery than the others if that's more your style. These don't need a primer, they can be applied directly on the lids and will stay all day (at least in a British summer) and on a night out lasted me the full 7 hours. I've had R.S.V.P for a least a year, probably for two years and it hasn't dried out yet. Benefit has changed the packaging recently, still in the same glass jar only thinner and bigger than the original, which had a bird pattern on the front. The new design has a notched/serrated edge and a cream coloured plastic base but contains the same amount of product (4.5g). They also now come in this cute little circular box too, which you can see in the photo above. They are fairly pricey cream eye shadows compared to the drugstore (such as the wonderful Maybelline colour tattoos) but they are good quality eye shadows with a performance to match.

 

Bikini-Tini  is a shimmery gold, great for brightening the eyes or for wearing in the summer, while R.S.V.P is a light Oyster pink that is flattering on the eyes without making them look pink and tired. Compared to MAC's Paint Pot in Bare Study, Bikini-Tini is yellow gold while Bare Study is lighter and more of a champagne colour.

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows are £15.50 Available at Benefit Cosmetics online, Boots and department stores. 

 

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner 

 

 

 

I also picked up a couple of Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner samples a while back and tested the liner over 7 days.  For Benefit's eyeliner you click the bottom of the pen until the product is pushed up and appears at the slanted nib. Then you draw across the lash line. One click is enough for one eye. The tip is made from a very soft flexible rubber material that Benefit calls an 'Accuflex' tip. Benefit claim that the Accuflex tip provides a smooth lash hugging application and that the nib draws an 'easy line.' The Accuflex tip does feel really soft against the skin, which is great since the skin near the eye is so delicate. This makes applying eye liner feel incredibly comfortable and easy since it just glides across the skin.

Yet the results I got with the samples weren't good at all. It was difficult to get a thin or medium line or a line close to the lashes and drawing cat flicks was incredibly hard. The consistency was on the dry, thick side. This meant that the results weren't smooth and some bits came out dry and balled in clumps because it had dried up between uses. Before applying I would recommend doing a test line on your hand first to get rid of any dried bits that form in between uses. However when I tried the full sized version in the store it was a lot easier to get a thin line and the consistency was much more fluid and easier to use. When you first press the eyeliner down you tend to get a thick line which gets thinner but I think with practice you can draw a line with same thickness all the way through or however you want it.

The gel liner is strongly pigmented and shows up nicely. The full sized liner in the store had a very wet consistency so you have to be careful not to smudge it while waiting for it to dry. Once it had set it does last the day, there wasn't any flakiness but the colour did fade towards the end of the day.

I think I either got bad samples or that they weren't very well designed (In the full sized version the liner is kept fresh as it is stored inside the pen. In the sample the liner was kept in the nib which you had to squeeze to get product out.) You do need to practice a little to get the hang of it but props to Benefit for coming out with this unique design. It hasn't replaced my Maybelline pot gel liner as my Holy grail favourite because Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner did fade towards the end of the day, while Maybelline always remains pristine. I think if you have the money give this a go otherwise try the cheaper Maybelline gel pen first to see if you get on with a push up liner pen.

Benefit They're Real Push up liner is £18.50 from Benefit cosmetics online, boots or department store counters.