drugstore

An American Request

beauty, haul, makeup, question

I’m going to New York in a couple of weeks and am making a list of all the makeup I need/want to get my hands on. I’m looking for both drugstore and high end products that are either cheaper out there or hard to find in the UK.

I’ve already got my eye on the Anastasia Beverley Hills liquid lipsticks as well as a number of items from the Kat Von Dee range but what else can you guys suggest?! I’d love to hear from you, what are your favourites from the drugstore? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @sophieaiken

Sophie xoxo

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Maybelline Master Sculpt

beauty, contour, makeup

You know how it goes…saw the advert, had to buy it! I didn’t need another contour product at all but curiosity won out!

Straight away I can tell you that this is by no means my favourite drugstore contour set, I’d reach for the Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit over this first. The fallout is pretty bad, one stroke of the brush and there’s powder everywhere! Also I think the highlight shade is more suited to a lighter skin tone but does work if applied with a very light hand on tanned skin.

I do however like the convenience of the Maybelline Master Sculpt, you get your contour and highlight together and when you open it up there is a half decent brush and good quality mirror. So if I needed to pack light I would reach for this. Also the colour pay off of the contour shade is lovely, not too orange but not too ashy either. At £6.99 I think it is fair to say that you’re paying for packaging with the Master Sculpt but then it does do what it says on the tin. With singer Mollie King as the face of this product it’s bound to attract a bit of a following and it’s definitely worth a look if you’re a contouring novice. My advice, swatch in store and see if the fallout is something you can look past.

Sophie xoxo

The £1 MAC Soar Dupe

beauty, lipliner, makeup

An impulsive trip to my local Poundland resulted in one of the best makeup finds I’ve had in a long time! Since Kylie Jenner gave MAC lip pencils Soar, Stripdown and Whirl a serious amount of publicity they have become somewhat of a phenomenon. I won’t lie, I followed suit and made sure they were all in my collection and I absolutely adore each one!

At first glance the makeup selection at Poundland is average at best, not very well stocked but always worth a quick once over. I originally had my eyes on a bronzer but decided that I definitely don’t need to add another one to my collection any time soon *like this century*!! I scanned the tub of lip pencils and impulsively picked up the standard neutral/rosy pink I always go for and didn’t think much more of it. That is until I swatched it on the back of my hand on the way home and realised I may have just stumbled upon a complete gem!!

The Make Up Gallery Pout It Out Lip Liner in Rose looks to be a slightly deeper colour than Soar but on the lips the two are identical. To double check this I applied Rose to my bottom lip and Soar to the top, if I hadn’t of known I could not have told the two apart. Unfortunately I couldn’t for the life of me take a decent picture of this!! The best thing about this post is that whilst writing it I discovered Poundland is online and you can stock up on this liner from the comfort of your living room, basically I’m now going to buy every other shade on offer!

Obviously there is a big difference in terms of quality. The MAC liner is smooth and applies like a dream, it has a softer finish meaning you are left with a much less harsh finish. In comparison the Poundland pencil is hard and requires a stronger hand to create the same colour pay off. But let’s be real, the price difference speaks for itself. If you’re a fan of Soar or even just a rosy pink lip GET IT GET IT GET IT! How could anyone resist a £1 MAC dupe?! I know I certainly couldn’t and I am beyond happy I didn’t!

Sophie xoxo

Eastend Snob

beauty, dupe, lipliner, makeup

P7290307For me, the true test of a product comes when it’s gone. If you really love something you’ll use it up and immediately want to repurchase it. However as I’m constantly finding new things this isn’t something that happens very often. And then came the Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner in Eastend Snob…

I discovered this lipliner through AmeliaLiana on YouTube who recommended it as a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury liner in Pillow Talk. At £3.99 it was a total steal compared to its high-end counterpart making the choice very easy. I tend to apply lipliner all over for a long lasting, matte look so this was a perfect addition to my collection.

This soft pink shade applies really easily but does run out faster than your classic lip pencil. It comes as a roll-up stick meaning there’s no need for sharpening which is always a bonus! When my first Eastend Snob ran out I went on the hunt for a replacement straight away but it would appear everyone has caught on to the brilliance of this dupe and Boots and Superdrug were emptied out. Eventually I got it from the Boots website and life can now return to normal!

Sophie xoxo

You Get What You Pay For…

beauty, lipstick, makeup

A recent trip to Superdrug to stock up on ‘essentials’ turned into a makeup spree. I just can’t resist!! I recently raved about a couple of MUA and Makeup Revolution highlighters (you can read that post here) and with prices starting at £1 I found myself scouring the lipstick sections of both. On this occasion I picked up two shades. From Makeup Revolution – an autumn berry colour called Rebel with Cause and from MUA – a light nude/pink shade.

I’m not normally a dark lip kind of girl but I was drawn to Rebel with Cause, because why not? I really like it, moisturising and buildable – the perfect combination. I think I like this so much because it falls into the pink spectrum of berry shades, something I personally prefer.
And then there’s the other one… What can I say? The beautiful pale rose pink colour in the bullet fits right into my ideal shade range. That’s as far as it goes unfortunately, the formulation is awful! It’s dry, it’s too pale and it’s completely unflattering. This lipstick is going straight to the back of the draw until I can figure out a way to use it, at the moment I can only think that it will work as a good base for a zombie complexion at Halloween. I have to say both lipsticks smell utterly lovely, berries and vanilla accordingly. I would just say spend some time swatching in the shop if you can before buying. Obviously I still love Makeup Academy, I mean they blessed the world with this incredible powder!

Let me know your thoughts on these lipsticks. Would you rather invest in a more expensive brand?

Sophie xoxo

Kate Goes Nude

beauty, lipstick, makeup

I think at this point it’s just a certified fact that Rimmel and Kate Moss are a match made in heaven! At £5.49 the lipsticks are reasonably priced and the packaging is pretty nice for a drugstore brand. When I saw they were releasing a nude collection I couldn’t resist!

After a bit of swatching I settled on shade 43. It’s a sort of soft tan colour that can definitely be built up or worn lightly. My number one concern was that it would look like the dreaded foundation lips circa 2002. You know what I’m talking about right? When you were in school and it was vital that you blanked out any hint of colour on your face with a thick layer of dream matte mousse. Ahh the good ole days…

These fears were quickly alleviated as the lipstick applied with a sheer to medium coverage and enough colour to define the lips. It works perfectly as a more subtle take on the nineties makeup that Kylie Jenner has been wearing in recent months.  The collection features a range of other shades so there is a perfect ‘nude’ for everyone, what more could you ask for?!’

Have any of you got your hands on the nail polish collection? I’m so intrigued to know if they’re worth a cheeky purchase!

Sophie xoxo

The Highlights

beauty, highlighter, makeup, skin

Day or night, I’m all about a highlight! These days I tend to skip blusher in favour of a contour/highlight combination. Previously I was using the infamous Mary Lou Manizer Luminizer from theBalm but at £17.50 it isn’t cheap and if I’m being honest I find it a bit much. I feel like it works a lot better on a pale complexion as it can look a little ashy with a tan. Having said that, it is amazing for brightening the eye area on the brow bone and inner corner! So what have I replaced it with?

Makeup Revolution Highlighter Pink Lights– I spoke about this highlighter in a post about Makeup Revolution products which you can read here. Basically it’s great for adding a bit of colour without using blush, is suitable for a wide variety of skintones and is incredibly easy to apply. I love this with a full coverage foundation as it helps put a bit of colour back into the skin without being overpowering. It photographs nicely which is a bonus if you want to wear it on a night out but most importantly it costs a grand total of just £3.00. Makeup Revolution does it again!!

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder – A while back I wrote a blog post on my favourite face powder from Makeup Academy which you can read here. Since that discovery I’ve been intrigued to try more from the brand and with prices starting at a mere £1.00 it’s become impossible to ever leave a Superdrug store empty handed! This highlighter is the perfect ‘glowy skin’ product. The golden hues compliment tanned skin perfectly but can also work well on a pale complexion if applied lightly. The quality of the packaging far exceeds the £3.00 price tag as it is incredibly robust (I should know, I’ve dropped it on more than one occasion) and the product itself is beautifully designed to stop you going overboard with your brush.

This is by no means a comparison of the two products as they are very different. In my opinion they are equally as good in terms of the quality of makeup and value for money. I like Pink Lights for the cool pink undertones and I like Undress Your Skin for its golden shimmer. For me these two highlighters are the only options I really want on a daily basis in order to mix and match without needing thousands of products. Do you lean towards more expensive highlighters or are you more of a blush kind of person? Let me know!

Sophie xoxo

Don’t forget you can tweet me @sophieaiken2  🙂

The Makeup Revolution

bargain, beauty, makeup

A while back I wrote about an amazing Naked Palette dupe which you can read here. This dupe was a Superdrug discovery that introduced me to the brand Makeup Revolution. So of course I had to go straight back and see what else they had to offer! With a bored friend in my ear telling me to “hurry up” every few minutes, I only picked up three products. I’ve had a chance to use them all and these are my thoughts…

Oil Control Fixing Spray – On the whole I’m a big fan of setting sprays. I normally use Mac Prep + Prime Fix+, which I love, but at £15.50 for 100ml there had to be a cheaper option. And there is! The Makeup Revolution Pro Fix comes in at just £5 for the same quantity. I use this before I apply my makeup and then again once it is complete. My makeup definitely lasts longer when using this, although I’m not sure it’s as long as the ’12 hours’ the bottle suggests. Most importantly it keeps shine at bay meaning I don’t have to powder as much as I usually would. This is a perfect summer night out essential and I won’t be without it any time soon!

Vivid Baked Highlighter – I love a highlight, trust me I have A LOT of them. Up until recently I was using theBalm Mary Lou Manizer Luminzer but it’s £17.50, extremely pigmented and I find it works best with pale skin. I saw this Makeup Revolution one in Pink Lights and at £3 decided it was worth a try. I worried it would be very glittery but thanks to its baked consistency the product is deceptively smooth and blends out into a soft sheen. I have used this on both pale and tanned skin and love it in both cases. It’s gone straight to the top of my collection!

Depraved Lipstick – At just £1 for a lipstick, it took all my willpower not to purchase the entire collection, but having never owned a lipstick from Makeup Revolution before I thought it best to stick with the one. I went with this bright purple lipstick as festival season is right around the corner and it’s just perfect for that. The formulation is quite glossy so it takes a couple of coats, but I like that as it means less room for error. Because of this, I was concerned about longevity so I have found that applying this over a neutral lip liner makes it last longer with less smudging. Cost is everything with this product after all who can resist a quality £1 lipstick?!

Sophie xoxo

The Naked Dupe You Need

Uncategorized

The Urban Decay Naked Palettes have become a firm favourite amongst beauty lovers across the world in the last few years, and with good reason! The colours, payoff and longevity of their eyeshadows easily match up to their MAC counterparts. Personally I own the original Naked Palette and The Naked Palette 3, I haven’t yet felt the urge to buy number 2 but I suspect at some point I will, mainly just to complete the collection!

As new eyeshadows have joined my collection, the NPs became somewhat unloved. It wasn’t until I spotted a couple of dupes whilst browsing in Superdrug that I really gave them a second thought.

The Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette 3 is almost identical to the Naked Palette 3 and at just £4 a complete bargain!! I couldn’t resist buying it to see how it compared and it did not disappoint. There are a couple of noticeable differences in that the pigment isn’t as strong so it does require a little more work from your brush. Also, there is a definite amount of fallout, which is easily removed, but a pain nonetheless. Finally, the lightest shade is not really worth bothering with, it has hardly any colour payoff at all. Both palettes come with brushes but steer clear of the cheap, sponge applicators of the Revolution palette, they’re rubbish.

L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart

L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart

Comparison: Revolution Palette - shades have no name

Comparison: Revolution Palette – shades have no name

Sophie xoxo