Freedom Pro Strobe Palette & Pro Strobe Cream Review

Freedom Makeup is a budget beauty brand created by the same people behind the popular and successful Makeup Revolution. I was lucky enough to win this in a competition on Georgina's blog She Might Be Loved.

The Freedom Pro Strobe palette is sleek and compact, making it travel friendly with a good sized mirror and a brush to boot! I'm really impressed with the colours, there's not a sight of glitter or orange bronzer to be seen and the powders are finely milled. There are 6 shades, 3 highlight colours and 3 contour colours.

The contour shade in the largest pan is an ashy brown perfect for mimicking shadows and faking chiseled cheekbones. The middle shade is a warm brown which is great for bronzing and is also the darkest shade in the palette which is great for skin tones on the darker side of medium. The final contour shade is a pale brown which would suit lighter skin tones or those who like their contouring to look very subtle. Despite being lighter than the other shades it still shows up on my NC25 skin.

Surprisingly for a palette called 'Pro Strobe' there is only one shimmer highlighter and the other two highlighters are matte. The biggest highlighter pan comes in a shimmer finish, a pinky-silver shade and it gives such a lovely glow and highlights really well. This shade who be good for those with cool skin tones. I have a warmer skin tone and tend to suit more golden shades. There's also a yellow and beige highlighter. I have used the yellow highlighter to set my under eye concealer. The matte highlight shades could be used to 'bake' highlighted areas.

I was really happy that a brush came with the palette, I had a similar shaped Illamasqua one which fell apart and needs gluing. The brush is fairly small (about 14.5cm long including the handle) the same size as the palette, but it's far from useless. The brush head is oval shaped and so soft and dense. I found short strokes worked best and it seemed be better for placing the powder across on the cheek bone and using another brush to blend it (I used Zoeva's 110 face brush to blend.)  I did use the Freedom brush to apply contour along my forehead by dipping powder on one side of the brush and then turned the brush over and used this cleaner side to do the blending.

The powders are long lasting lasting about 6-7 hours on my combination skin. This palette would suit light to medium skin tones, any darker and the contour shades wouldn't show up. This palette is good value for money with 3 contour shades, 3 highlighter shades and a brush for £10.  However I would describe this is as a contour palette rather than a 'strobe' palette because there is only one shimmer shade that gives that dewy, glowing strobe effect. Nevertheless I totally recommend this palette- you get a lot for your buck and the powders are very long wearing!

Onto Freedom's Pro-Strobe Cream. Packaging wise I like the holographic label and the silver cap. The packaging is practical and won't leak if you pop it into your bag.  Freedom claims this cream gives 'a subtle and natural illumination and highlight to the skin.' You can wear it to highlight on top of your makeup to highlight certain areas or wear it all over as an illuminating base. The consistency is like a body lotion and it smells like amaretto (almonds.)

I used this over my foundation. Freedom recommends to use your fingers to apply this cream.  On application it starts off as a white lotion with a hint of pink, and while rubbing into the skin you get this glowy silver-pink dewy highlight. However after about 10 minutes it sinks into the skin and the effect becomes very, very subtle. So just be aware that the full power highlight disappears quickly, leaving a faint trace of colour and becomes more in keeping with the natural look. Unfortunately the Pro-Strobe cream seemed to irritate my sensitive skin. On the whole I think there are better liquid highlighters out there that make more of an impact rather than fizzling out as this seemed to. My Verdict: Priced at £8 I don't think it's worth the money; very disappointing, save those pennies instead.



Pro Strobe palette is available at TAM Beauty  priced at £10 and the Pro strobe cream is £8.

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!

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.

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!

MakeUp Revolution Amazing Curl Mascara Review

The packaging of Make Up Revolution Amazing Curl Mascara in Brown Black is plain and basic, though the tube is bronze to distinguish it from the black mascara,  I did sometimes find it difficult to push the curved wand back into the tube after use but this may just be the one I bought- a wider opening would be easier to use though, has anyone else found this  too? However this has got to be the cheapest mascara I've ever tried so for £2 you can't really expect fancy packaging.

The wand is a slim curved bristle brush to give lashes 'an amazing curl.' I've only used a curved mascara wand once before and found it helps to lift the lashes so they appear curled for an hour or two but the effect is temporary and that you need to use an eyelash curler for longer lasting results. Just for the record I have long black but straight eye lashes The curled brush of this mascara makes it really easy to apply mascara from right from the root of the eyelash to the tip of the lashes and does a great job of separating them. This does hold a curl (with eye lash curlers) that lasts most if not all of the the day. This mascara can be built up to lengthen lashes a little too, which is a bonus! However it doesn't add any volume to the lashes. I also also wear contact lenses and found that it did not flake or irritate my eyes at all. Make Up Revolution also have a waterproof version of this mascara for the same price. As I've only recently opened this mascara I don't know if it will dry up after a few months.

To sum up this up this wouldn't be my HG (Holy Grail) mascara. I'd like more volume but for just £2 this is pretty good and does what it says: it curls lashes and adds a little length. I would say Make up Revolution Amazing Curl Mascara would be good for bargain hunters, students, teenagers or those who are skint towards the end of the month and they should check this out.

Available at Superdrug here Make Up Revolution Online £2 here

MUA MAKE UP ACADEMY MATTE LIPSTICKS AND LIP LINERS REVIEW

MUA's matte lipstick range comes packaged in white tubes to distinguish them from their original lipstick line (in black tubes). The colour indicators at the base are accurate in that they match the lipstick inside. The packaging is simple,no frills.The matte range smells heavily of vanilla creme brulee but once on the lips the smell disappears. They taste of vanilla too but it's fairly subtle. 

There isn't much slip when applying these MUA Matte lipsticks and it can be  a teeny bit drying on the lips.

Scarlet Siren is a bright red and Wild Berry is a darker vamp cherry shade. From the bullet Wild Berry looks almost Gothic but is actually a dark raspberry shade that is much more wearable than it appears. However Wild berry is a little waxy and can cling to dry patches so that the application doesn't look as smooth as expected.This shade does not last a meal which I didn't really expect it to as it doesn't claim it's long wearing.It can wear off on the middle of the lips but looked quite subtle because my lips are a similar red/pink tone. 

Scarlet siren is a little different because it doesn't cling to dry patches and applies very smoothly. It does transfer onto cups and glasses after a drink but remains intact. Again this lipstick doesn't last after a meal. It can wear off in the middle so be wary of the lipstick ring effect.

                               Scarlet Siren

                               Wild Berry 

On the lips Wild Berry is actually a dark red like a red wine rather than purple which was difficult to show on camera. Out of the two shades Scarlet siren is my favourite  I love the fact it's matte and a classic Hollywood red that looks so sophisticated. 

Priced at just a pound both these lipsticks are a bargain! Thumbs up.

MUA LIp Liners

These lip liners are available in four colours- Red Drama, Brooding Plum, Pink Me Up and Softly Lined. They have a creamy soft consistency just like MUA's eyeliners. The sharpener in the lid is pretty decent. and useful. However be careful if you're travelling with these to wipe down the pencil sharpener so that the shavings don't stain your bag.

MUA lip pencils Top-Bottom  Brooding Plum,Softly Lined, Pink Me Upand  Red Drama,

Red Drama kept the runny Jemma Kidd lip gloss in place and without any signs of feathering.

Softly lined and Pink Me Up are both satin finishes which I've never tried before I'm used to matte colours for lip liners.

These are softer compared to Boots Seventeen's lip liners (which are now discontinued) and while they apply smoothly, unfortunately they smudge easily and have no lasting power. While MUA's eye liners look sexy when smudged the same does not apply to lip liners especially if they're in such bright colours shown here. As much as I like MUA apart from the two with satin finishes these colours can be commonly found in other make up brands and they probably will work better, so give these a miss.

 (If you do want to pick one up you can get them from  Superdrug or MUA online for £1.)

Sleek idivine Showstoppers Palette celebrating 50 years of Superdrug

Superdrug have re-leased the Sleek idivine Showstoppers Palette to celebrate Superdrug's 50th birthday along with limited edition packaging. This palette was limited edition and came out in 2013 so if you missed out here's your chance to get your hands on it. The 12 eye shadow shades are named after popular i-divine palettes.

             (L-R Paraguaya, Sunset, Me Myself & I, Bad Girl, Noir, Ultra Mattes V2)

              (L-R Oh so Special, Bohemian, Storm, Sparkle, Au Naturale and Graphite)

In this palette Sleek have included satin, matte and a glitter finish with varying degrees of success.
The satin shades offer the best quality and there are 6 in total. Sunset is a burgandy-pink, Me Myself and Eye is silver with a blue tinge to it, Bad Girl is olive green and Noir is dirty petrol blue. The satins on the bottom row are Sparkle which is champagne and Graphite a dark brown. Sparkle and Me Myself and I are perfect for an inner corner highlight, while Graphite would be good for a smokey eye. I love Noir it's the shade I've been looking for years to create a rock chick look.

The mattes are not so good, the darker ones being better for their pigmentation. Paraguaya a light peach would be a useful light neutral colour if it wasn't so chalky. Paraguaya hardly showed up against my skin tone (despite having no problems with similar shades in the past) and was very difficult to swatch and work with. Ultra Matte V2 black is better, more richly pigmented but still very matte and while this shade is included in many of Sleek's palettes it's still useful to have. Oh So Special is a cool toned grey which wasn't easy to swatch as it's a little chalky and patchy. Bohemian is a bright salmon colour, it was a little chalky but with excellent pigmentation. Storm is a dark blue and richly pigmented.

The Single glitter shade Au Naturale is a deep purple colour it is extremely pigmented but I didn't find that the glitter showed up much when swatched.

As far as packaging goes apart from the limited edition cardboard packaging the palette is matte black with Sleek's logo as usual and contains a good sized mirror. The palette contains 12 shadows (13.2g) and costs £7.99 from Superdrug.

Out of the twelve, three shadows were disappointing (Paraguya, Au Naturale and Oh So Special) but on the whole it's a reasonably good palette with a eclectic mix of colours that aren't often seen together. This palette is versatile offering neutral, bright and dark looks suitable for work, relaxing or a night out.
Sleek idivine Showstoppers Palette is not a must have but it's worth it for the price if you're building up your eye shadow collection or have fallen in love with one of the shades belonging to a previous palette that is no longer available.
                                                   

Rock Chick Look

I used Noir (petrol blue) for the lid. I mixed Oh so special (Grey) and Ultra Matte V2 (Black) for the crease.

I lined my upper lash line and added a wing with L'oreal superliner pen in black then lined the lower lash line and tight lined the upper lash line with Rimmel Exaggerate black liner. I used Avon Mega Effects Mascara in black.

Burgundy Brown Autumn Leaves look

Sunset applied to lid, then Graphite applied to the crease and outer corner.
Then I used Bourjois liner Pinceau in brown and Avon Mega Effects Mascara in Black.

MUA EVER AFTER MATTE PALETTE REVIEW

                                                                                                              
This colour story may look a little boring but neutral palettes are useful for everyday work looks. The darker brown and green could create a smokey eye.

The top row are your spring pastel shades. However I found them lacking pigment and very powdery. The white was just like Talcum powder it didn't really adhere to the skin.I have olive skin but it wasn't the case of the colours being too light to show up (usually pink and white show up on me)  but that the shades were very chalky, hard in the pan, powdery to swatch with lots of fall out and little colour was left behind on the skin. The brown was less chalky and has a decent amount of pigment.

Unwrap (white) Butter (beige) Bare (light pink) Taffeta (Peachy pink) Fade (pastel brown)

Penny (mid brown) Chino (taupe) Truffle ( chocolate) Fog ( dark green) Smoke (very dark brown)


The Bottom row consists of darker neutrals. It's nice that they included a green among all the browns giving the palette a little more versatility. The last colour smoke looks black in the pan but is actually a very dark brown. This row thankfully is much more pigmented and texture is much better and smoother with no powder fall out. I wore Fade and Penny for a natural daytime look, with primer on one lid and one without. After 6 hours the one without primer still had shadow but it had faded and lost a little definition. Pairing Chino on the lid and truffle in the crease is another natural daytime look. I wore this for 10 hours one lid with primer and one without. After 10 hours eye shadow on both had faded although still there, but the lid with primer fared better. I created a smokey eye with truffle and smoke.Again I wore one lid with primer and one without. Eye shadow was still intact on both lids after 12 hours although it had faded a little bit. I would recommend a primer because it makes the colours brighter as well as keeping the eye shadows looking fresher for longer. This palette has 3 taupe browns in different shades which would suit a natural look for the summer or for work and the darker browns for an evening smokey eye.

Packaging: Basic packaging in black. The square pans change it up a bit from the usual MUA circle pans. Although there are 10 pans rather than the 12 usual round ones, you actually get more product (10g vs. 9.6g)

Price: 10 shades (10g) for £4

Verdict
I find this palette to be very disappointing. It is the first MUA palette I have bought where the pigmentation and texture of almost all the top row has been so awful. I would say 6/10 shadows are good-adequate. Matte shadows are difficult to get right however  MUA do have decent light pastel shades in their singles so I don't know why these aren't up to scratch.The eye shadows seem to fade quicker than MUA's other palettes as well. On the whole I don't think this palette delivers a happy ever after. I would recommend checking out the light matte colours in MUA's Smokin palette instead.

MUA Matte Ever After Palette from Superdrug and MUA online £4