Review- Revlon Nearly Naked foundation!

"Makeup so refreshingly light, it melts right in, creating a fresh even look. So the only one that knows you are wearing makeup is you. Blends seamlessly, buildable coverage."- Revlon website.

I bought this as my summer foundation as I love my colorstay and my double wear but i find them too thick and heavy for summer, I wanted something that is nice and thin and light on the skin but would give more coverage then a tinted moisturiser. As an extra benefit it also has a broad spectrum SPF20 which I thought would be perfect for summer (broad spectrum meaning it provides protection to UVA and UVB rays)
Rounding everything up I like it! Its easy to apply, I like the way it feels on my skin, its nice and light feeling with still a decent light-medium coverage, it has a nice dewy finish and sits well on my skin and has good staying powder. More detailed review below :)

Packaging:

 It is very simple but sturdy glass bottle with no pump, the lid clicks when it is screwed on fully so you know its shut securely  the bottle is a nice size with no unneeded lumps or bumps. The absence of a pump doesn't bother me, all I do is put my finger over the opening, turn the bottle upside down then the right way up again and it leaves a nice amount on my finger :) I use 5 on these to cover my face :)

Colour:

 Colour is always hard for me im very pale and most cheaper foundations are all ways to dark (I cant use the lightest shades in rimmel or bourjois) but the shade Ivory (lightest shade available) is perfect for me. It has 10 shades so rather a large range compared to most cheaper end foundations! 

Texture:

 the texture of the foundation is very liquidy, it is thicker then MACs face and body, but thinner then most, its also a creamy texture rather then a gel or moose texture.

How it applies:

 I have tried this with a 187 stippling brush, the result was nice but you seemed to have to use loads of product and the coverage was light.

I used my fingers and I found it impossible to blend! it just kept streaking and it didnt seem to sink into my skin and it looked very uneven.

I love this product using the beauty blender! (well my tear shaped beauty sponge off ebay should I say) it goes on and blends so so easy with this, and the coverage is more medium and it gives a lovely dewy glow!

Look and Staying power:

 After applying with my beauty blender sponge, it looks really smooth even and flawless with a medium coverage, it is dewy without looking oily (it has no shimmer particles in btw!) and it feels nice and light on the skin!

I do powder my under eyes, nose, and cheeks lightly and I find this foundation lasts really well, it lasts me all day at work (9hrs) and still looks good even after that! In hotter climates (when I was on holiday) I applied it in the morning (about 8am) and by about 5 it was looking a bit tired and sweaty, so I would reapply it for evening.

before and after

just foundation

no concealer.

This is it as full face with bronzer blush etc, its also with camera flash so you can see that there isnt that really obvious SPF white glare you sometimes get :)

Final thoughts:

I would recommend this to any one who wants a light to medium coverage foundation, who likes a dewy finish and has a dry to normal combination skin.

Pros: good shade range, easy to apply, SPF20, long lasting, natural looking.

Cons: needs to be reapplied quicker in hotter climates, doesnt do a great job of covering open pores.

Review- MAC Mineralize Skin finish in Lightscapade

the colour is 'Lightscapade' and its the lightest colour at the time of purchase.

This photo is off MACs UK website.

This is my own photo.

So you can see the first thing I would like to address is the colour, I know that not everyone is going to be the same, but I was rather disappointed when I took it out of the box and it was the colour shown above (no its not the lighting it really is that orangey!) There is hardly any of the blue in mine and even less of the pink! :( mine is basically the opposite to the swatch! lots of cream and orange and hardly any blue and pink! Not impressed, I should of took it back and exchanged it, but I wanted to use it too badly! (im too impatient) However after a few uses more of the pink and blue is coming through, however its still hugely different to MACs swatch!

Used as a highlighter:

This is beautiful! it gives a real illuminosity without the glitter particles just  subtle shimmer particles that you can only see very close up You need to use it sparingly on only the high points of the face as it is very pigmented so you want to avoid applying it in harsh lines and make sure the edges are nice and blended! It is more silvery then gold so it is better for pale skins.
it does transfer so if you take a phone call you might find your screen is all highlighted as well! However I find it stays put really well and lasts all day without slipping and sliding around :)

Used as an all over powder:

Applied sparingly with a stippling brush. I wouldn't recommend it, I like a dewy finish but this is just too much, it gives as almost wet look to the skin in bright lights, so it can make you look very oily.

Final thoughts:

Pros:Would recommend for pale skins to use as a highlighter, very pigmented, lasts for ages, nice packaging, stays well on the skin.
Cons: Transfers easily, cant be used as a full face powder.

Review- MAC magically cool liquid powder.

MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder in the colour 'Truth and light'

According to MAC it is- "A silky, feather-light powder, formulated with 70% water, dusts on to the skin as a cooling mist to set and enhance the look of any foundation. Beyond sheer: light-reflecting and translucent. A virtually invisible way to add luminosity and a soft radiant glow to the skin."

and the colour is described as 'sheer shimmer that reflects silver and pink' This is the lightest of the 3 colours available.

So in this review I am going to include swatches, applied with the 3 brushes shown in the picture below, so you can see the different effects it can give and my views on different aspects of the product.

upper left- bare essentuals, flawless face buffer brush. upper right- MACs 187 duo fibre stippling brush.
lower centre- real techniques small dense foundation/concealer brush. 

Packaging:

the packaging to this product is the same as any other twist off lid jar, with sieve holes to disperse the product. It feels sturdy and the lid twists on securely, it does not feel like it will break in your makeup bag.
Even though the disperser holes are very small the product if so fine that it slips through the holes far far far too easily! if you tip this upside down for a few seconds The whole top section will be full of product which you dont want as you will end up loosing much of the product due to 'dust clouds' when opening, and product stuck to the lid. Therefore I think taking this product traveling is a big no no, unless you apply tape over the holes before popping it in your makeup bag! bit of an inconvinience.

Texture and feel:
Mac was spot on when they described it as "silky" and "feather-light" it is the finest powder I have ever had the pleasure of touching. It is unbelievable smooth between the fingers xD
It also gives a cooling sensation, im not surre if I love or hate the sensation though! when i apply it to my face with my brush it literally feels like im applying it with a very wet brush! I expect to have big streaky water marks in my foundation (but luckily I never do :P) But I can imagin you would welcome the feeling in hot summer months (not like we ever get any in England!) It would be a nice product to carry in your bag to freshen up your make up and cool down in hot weather, but unfortunatly this is not possibal due to the packaging problen mentioned above.
Even though it does feel very cooling and water like when applied it doesnt last long! maybe 10 seonds at the most, so if your buying it solely for the cooling aspect then dont buy it!

Smell:
if you sniff it in the pot then it has an unusual, yet very natural and subtle smell, however when applying it I cant smell anything! so if your funny with smells then dont worry this product will be fine for you!

Look and uses on the skin
it is light reflecting and glowy, it is inbetween a irridesence and shimmer see pictures below (click to enlarge)

Here you can see the flakes of tiny silver shimmer

and here you can see the pink irredecance (it looks more purple simply cause its on a black base!) 

This product can be used as both a setting powder and a highlighter depending of the effect wanted and the brush used.

187 brush without flash

As a setting powder:
I like it as a setting powder, it keeps my foundation in place and doesnt make my foundation look dry, powdery or cakey, I have tried it both with a sparse stippling brush and a denser powder brush here are the results:

187 brush with flash

This is the product applied with the MAC 187 brush, I stippled it on and the buffed it in, I found the more you buff with this product the more intense the glow becomes, this is not what i was expecting normally with shimmery products the more you buff the more the shimmer gets dusted off, but with this it seems to disperse it more! Be careful not to buff too much else you will move your foundation around and end up with patchy bits.

I like the look of this its not too much, when i first applied it I was dissapointed it wasnt a bit more glowy, but now I have been wearing it for a week, I appreciate its not over the top, this also means it doesnt draw too much attention to enlarged pores, fine lines or blemishes unlike very shimmery products do.

powder brush without flash.

This is the product applied with the flawless face brush, which is denser then the MAC 187 brush, I therefore thought it would give more of a glow, but I actually find them very simular, this brush perhaps applys it slightly more unevenly but only when inspecting it VERY closely! It may just be the powder brush I am using as I have read other reviews that said it is too shimmery when applied with a dense powder brush! I also thought that the 187 gave a nicer cooling feeling when applied.

powder brush with flash.

Therefore either brush would be fine to apply, its just personal preference and which brush you already have in your collection. Dont expect the glow to be too noticeable as a setting powder else you will be disappointed.

Applied with the real techniques brush.

Used for a highlighter

I really like it as a highlighter as well! I would apply it with a dense brush so it packs the product on, and remember its not a gold or silver based highlighter it will give a pink iridescence so bare that in mind!

so this is the product as a highlighter, I applied it with my favorite brush used for highlighting! its a mini foundation brush/ large concealer brush, it packs the product on, again the more i buff the product in the more of a glow I get. It gives a lovely shimmery glow with no glitter particles, for me I would of preferred a lighter or translucent powder to really lighten and highlight my cheek bone but if you have a light-medium (not white white!) skin tone then it should be fine, also if you have a ashier skin it would look better due to the pink iridescence to it.

I like it as a highlighter as well, but its a bit to dark for my taste, so I personally use it as a setting powder but its personal preference and skin tone!

Final thoughts?

I find this product sits on my shelf and gets forgotton about, I would not purchase again as I dont think the look, or uses live up to the price.

Thanks, let me know what you think, and if you like the other 2 colours MAC have ('Honey rose' and 'Cajun')

Review- NYX lipsticks and on lip swatches!

NYX round and Black Label lipstick swatches and Reviews!

(swatches on lips!)

So I decided I'd have a little post Christmas treat and orded some NYX goodies :) It is the first time I have tried their lipsticks but it is safe to say I will be ordering more, so look out for swatches part 2 in the near future :P

Price
The round lipsticks are £3.50 including VAT, and weigh 4g, and the black label lipsticks are £8 at 4.2g, So you can tell there is rather a big difference in the price! Is it worth it? I would say no, the round lipsticks are just as good!

Packaging
So the round lipstick packaging is exactly what it says... round! It is a nice size to carry in your bag not to big or chunky with no random bulges sticking out anywhere! It says the colour on the lid, and on the tube, and has a colour 'preview' on the bottom. Nice and sturdy, well made packaging, doesnt feel like its going to break and the twist up mechanism works smoothly! As for the black label lipstick it is square this time and a little bit bulkier and larger to carry in your bag but still a nice size, and everything else is the same as the round lipstick packaging!

Texture
They apply to the lips like a dream, the black label one feels like butter been applied, whereas the round lipsticks feel slightly thicker, but both apply well, the texture on the lips is lovely and non drying, and the ones with a slight frost feel smooth with no annoying bumpy glittery bits!

Smell
The smell of the round lipsticks is very subtle you can hardly smell anything, it smells almost perfumey in a fruity kinda way! it isnt a smell you can explain! the black label lipsticks smell of cheap, sweetly sick watermelon! If you ever owned those pens that smelt of fruit when you where little it smells exactly like the purple one! it is quite strong so if your funny with sweet smells then I would stay away! however it does fade after a little while.

Staying power
the staying power is very good especially considering the price, obviously the more opaque ones last longer then the sheer ones (such as 'Rose') You could have a drink and the lipstick would still be looking pretty good, but after food it would need reapplying! The lasting power is average for a lipstick!

Now on to the swatches and individual reviews!

So this is my lips bare, you can tell they are a little dry!

'Castle' lipstick is a lilac, I ordered this one after seeing lime crimes lilac! It is pretty opaque and gives a nice coverage, it has got silver frost but it is very subtle and fine, and doesn't set into the dryness of my lips! lovely fun pastel shade.

'Nymphus' is a very dark rich warm toned brown,  it has red under tones and is very dark and opaque, it has no shimmer in it, but does have a nice glossy cream finish! This is a nice winter or grunge lipstick, and would look lovely on a darker skin tones!

'Rose' this is a bright pink with hues of coral in it, it has very fine orangy coral shimmer in, but gives a frosted finish to it, instead of glittery. It is semi opaque, so is slightly sheer. it does tend to stick to the dryer areas of my lips. a lovely bright glossy pop of colour.

'Louisianna' is a muted hot pink, so if you like the thought of a hot barbie pink but are not quite brave enough then this is perfect! it gives you an opaque vibrant burst of pink without been too 'in your face' it is blue toned so looks nice on ashy skin tones with no shimmer.

'Thalia' is a natural muted cool toned pink mauve, it looks natural so is good for work. it is just a couple of shades darker then natural lip shades, it is a lovely cream finish with no shimmer and not too glossy, perfect for every day wear. 

'Tea Rose' is simular to 'Thalia' but it has a warmer pinkier tone, but again is very wearable and natural.is is lovely opaque and creamy, with no shimmer.perfect for day wear.

'Orchid' is the black label lipstick, it doesnt look as pink as in the photo in real life, its more purpley it has a fantastic blue frost to it that shows up better in some lights compared to others, it feels like butter on the lips and is very opaque, I love this for a fun bright lippie! the more accurate colour is actually how it looks it the tube (picture below)

 So final thoughts? 
I would reccomend any of the lipsticks mentioned above, 'Nymphus' does look slightly grunge or gothic on my very pale skin (but I dont mind that look in winter) and it would look amazing on medium to dark skin tones! 'Thalia' and 'Tea Rose' are very simular, so if your on a budget I defiantly would recommend one or the other, not both. Also rose is slightly sheer so a lip liner underneath would be recommended! :) and NYX lip liner in 'Bloom' is perfect for 'Orchid'

Great lipsticks, Great price, well done NYX!

Rimmel lipstick swatches- click here!

NYX blush swatches- click here!