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?

Make Up Revolution The One Fluid Blusher & Atomic Lipstick in Ruby Review

Make Up Revolution The One Fluid Blusher in Rush Me

Make Up Revolution The One Fluid Blushers are packaged very much like Daniel Sandler's famous watercolour blushes. These come boxed with a stripe across the top of the box showing the colour inside and hold 14.4g of product in a very small bottle. These fluid blushers are oil free (yay for some) and silicone based (various Dimethicones) that make it glide across the skin but this may be a no-go for those who are allergic to silicones. I have sensitive combination skin and I did not have any problems and can agree with MUR that it doesn't clog pores either. These liquid blushes also contain vitamin E and Jojoba, both of which are good for the skin. The smell is very neutral and there's no artificial, heavy chemical scent some products have.

Before applying you need to give this a shake to mix the silicone and pigment together. Then put 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 also have the product running/dripping off your finger/hands. I recommend applying this over a sink as it's a lot messier than applying something like Benefit's Benetint. (Maybe they should rethink the packaging?) You only need one or two drops but it's very easy to over do, but a few dabs of concealer and foundation can fix this. I find applying liquid blushes tricky but although this is messy to use, achieving the desired effect was easy. As long as the bottle is shaken before use this can be used on bare skin as well.

All of Make Up Revolution's The One Fluid blushes have a gold shimmer to them. I wasn't sure how obvious the shimmer would be, but I bought this in Rush Me, a peach gold blusher in the hope that it would give that Nars Orgasm highlighter glow, I couldn't find any reviews on it at the time so I thought I'd take a gamble and give it a go. In the bottle the blush looks peach but it actually gives a warm pink flush to the skin with a gold shimmer highlighting effect and not a hint of glitter or disco ball in sight. The gold does fade/wear off first after around 5 hours and the pink blush wears after 8 hours. I don't have Daniel Sandler's fluid watercolour blushes so I don't know which one is more superior but what I can say is I like this a lot and for £3 it's definitely worth checking out. I think I've fallen in love...I can't wait to try it in a darker shade such as Desire which is a raspberry colour. See the other colours available at Make Up Revolution website here.

Make Up Revolution Atomic Collection Lipstick in Ruby

The shade Ruby is supposed to be a dupe for Mac's ever popular Ruby Woo. However Ruby Woo is matte and this lipstick is not quite as matte, since it shines a little in the light. This is fairly comfortable to wear and not at all drying, a common complaint with Mac's Ruby Woo. It's a blue based Hollywood red (although Ruby sometimes looks like an orange/warm red it's not) and if you google pictures of Mac Ruby Woo you'll see it pretty much suits every skin tone despite it being a blue/cool red. I think the same can be said for Make Up Revolution's Ruby lipstick as well. I absolutely love this shade as it's just so glamorous!
It smells of vanilla and it does taste very subtly of vanilla. I've been wearing this with a No 7 lip liner in Fire as a lip base, which is a pretty good match for this lipstick (the lip liner leans a little warmer but it's not that noticeable.) After that I blot twice in between applying three layers altogether. Without a base of lip liner underneath this lipstick has a habit of moving all over the mouth area after drinking and eating so a lip liner is recommended. Unfortunately this lipstick does transfer when drinking, but the blotting and layering means that the pigment remains pretty much intact through a coffee and cold drinks. However this did not last through a meal at lunch or dinner which is pretty much standard for a budget lipstick.

I recommend this lipstick for those either on a budget, looking for a dupe or those scared of bright reds but want to give it a go without spending a lot. And of course for bargain hunters. This is my favourite shade of lipstick that I've bought from MUR and it's only £1! Available at Make Up Revolution online.

I Heart Make Up Go To Hell! Palette & Amazing Sheer Lip Glosses Review & swatches

As the name suggests I Heart Make Up Go To Hell is a rock look inspired eye shadow Palette. Just like the other Go palettes this is handy for travelling because it's compact and light. There are 19 shades with a total of 8.5g of product. Twelve of these shadows have a shimmer finish, six are matte and there is one glitter shadow in the centre. The layout of the eye shadows is definitely unique! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit a brush into the smaller pans in the middle circle but I was able to fit an Urban Decay shadow brush, a Sigma concealer brush and a fluffy Boots No. 7 brush. When I swatched these I went anticlockwise from the topmost/further shadow.

The outer ring contains the darker colours, there are three matte colours, although the two matte blacks seem to be exactly the same. The other matte, a vibrant fuchsia/purple was very pigmented and was easy to swatch. The shadow second from the left is actually grey although it looks almost black in the swatch. The blue (fifth from right) is gorgeous and just pops in the pan but while it is true to colour it's not as smooth or easy to swatch/use. The green (third from right) was a lot darker than I expected from the pan but I liked it- perfect for a smoky eye.

The middle ring has three matte shadows in a row. The peach was really hard to get any colour from the pan. It is a nice neutral colour that actually shows up on my skin when I could get it to. The colour that's third from the right looks like a violet but swatches very red and reminds me of Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoo in Pomegranate. I also like the colour next to it which is like an antique gold colour, unusual but also fairly neutral. The shadow in the centre is the only glitter and I'm pleased I managed to capture it on camera. It is the most pigmented of all and while there's definitely glitter it is not as strong as some of the Urban Decay/ Too faced glitter shadows, which also means there's no fallout using this shade.

The wear time of these shadows is average without a primer (7 hours, they fade later on in the day.) This palette comes without a brush or sponge applicator which I don't mind as they're never very good anyway- however if you're using this on the go then you need to bring a separate brush. Altogether the colours of these shadows make for a very versatile palette which can give a rocky smoky eye, a neutral eye and a bright eyed paler look. The shimmer shadows perform better than the mattes which is often the case in low end palettes (and even some high end!) The full price of the Go To Hell palette is £6.49 but it's currently on sale for £3.99 here which isn't bad for 19 shadows (or 18 excluding the difficult peach shadow) and you get a mixture of dark light, shimmer and matte and a glitter.

Make Up Revolution Amazing Sheer Lip glosses

Since these lip glosses are marketed as sheer I feel you can't expect too much from them.
Must Be Strong is almost like a clear gloss (even though there is a clear gloss called Free in the collection) while a thin layer of Not Naive gives a My Lips But Better look, a thicker application gives a natural looking pinkish cherry colour to the lips. Baby Try is a cool pink , I'd say between neon pink and Barbie pink. It's very bright and extremely pigmented. It's not a colour I would normally choose (these were part of a Black Friday bundle deal.)  Despite being labelled as sheer these feel quite thick on the lips and a little oily. The texture is a bit like Benefit Ultra Plush lip glosses only not as lightweight and a bit more sticky. They're not incredibly sticky, just a little. These Amazing Sheer Lip glosses smell a little of vanilla but taste fruity very much like Starburst sweets. The lasting power isn't great: they transfer onto cups and begin to wear off drinking and when eating a snack.  Overall I feel that these are not the best lip glosses I've tried (they transfer very easily) but neither are they the worse, they have enough pigment not to be a waste of time, they're not overly sticky and they taste fruity (how I like lip glosses to taste.) These Make Up Revolution Amazing Sheer Lip glosses are sold at  Superdrug here for £1 each!

4 Moisturising Lip Picks for Winter

Come winter, chapped lips seem inevitable, meaning you can forget about applying drying lipsticks. For days when you want to add colour but lipstick just feels uncomfortable to wear or too full on, try reaching for one of these instead. They range from most pigmented and opaque (#happy lips, lip butters) to sheer (TBS Born Lippy.)

The Body Shop Born Lippy in Plum
This gives a subtle berry tint to the lips and is very moisturising. There are other shades in the range but this is the darkest, I chose the darkest assuming it would have more colour pay off and it doesn't disappoint. It's doesn't look odd when it wears off either. I prefer the Born Lippy lip balm in stick form rather than the pots because I find the formula more moisturising and hygienic. This lip balm smells slightly of plum and prunes and tastes a little like plums. As always with The Body shop this tinted lip balm isn't tested on animals and is priced reasonably at £3. You can get this from The Body Shop here 

Clinque Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Balms
This is the one that started a revolution in the make up world. The twist up form was easy to apply and didn't need sharpening. It became so popular it started a copycat trend amongst other cosmetic brands. These Clinque chubby stick lips have a perfect formula for they are not sticky, tacky or waxy in anyway. Clinque Chubby Stick balms are not scented and have no taste which is great for those with allergies. They are very comfortable to wear. Full review and swatches see here. If you are after a more opaque colour then Clinque also do a Chubby Stick Intense line.They are available at Clinque Online here , Boots, Superdrug and department store for £17.

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters
I have four of these sheer but moisturising lipsticks, in Macaroon, Berry Smoothie,Tutti Frutti and Raspberry Pie and reckon they're worth the hype.They smell of vanilla but it's fairly subtle. The wear time of these aren't great but I found them to last a bit longer than the No 7 version, Sheer Temptations lipstick which is similar. A swatch of the Raspberry Pie can be found here. Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters are priced at £7,99 at Superdrug here and Boots here £7.99

Make Up Revolution Amazing Care #Happylips in Love Red
This has a moisturising outer layer containing argan oil. Because of this I expected that it would be sheer like a tinted lip balm, but I was pleasantly surprised that this can be built up to a bright red colour (although it looks pink in the swatch below it's actually a cool toned red.) and is a lot more pigmented. These happylips are perfect to wear in the winter when your lips tend to feel drier because this is really very moisturising and so comfortable to wear. It can last through a drink but not eating. There is no noticeable smell but it does taste like vanilla. Altogether there are 5 shades in the line. £3 Make Up Revolution here