neutral eyeshadow palette

Discovering New Beauty Brands in 2016

- Vicki 3 Comments
Trying New Beauty Brands

For me 2016 was the year of trying out brands and products I’d never used before. I was not only introduced to brands I had never heard of before but also given the chance to test out products that had been on my wish list for a while.

A few didn’t live up to expectations but I’m pleased to say most of them have become firm favourites. I thought I would share some of the ones that stood out to me. I am very much looking forward to trying more new brands this year and have a few on my radar already.

Pureology Haircare

Pureology Haircare

I had wanted to try this brand for the longest time as I’d only heard positive reviews from bloggers whose opinions I really trust. I was thrilled that the FULFYL haircare system that I tried out lived up to my expectations and my Mum even went out and purchased it for herself too. This particular range is formulated for colour treated hair and it protects your colour from fading whilst keeping your hair strong, nourished and looking super glossy. I am obsessed with it and the hair colour I used on my hair this year stayed vibrant for the longest time, I 100% put it down to using this trio.

NIOD Skincare

NIOD

Again I was excited to try this brand and I have to say its one of my favourite skincare discoveries of 2016. NIOD are a relatively new brand to the market but don’t overlook them on that count, they’re a brand that are pushing the envelope of ingredients and producing products that are fuss free, effective and pretty damn cool. Everything from their production & packaging right down to the products themselves are progressive. I have tried out a couple of their offerings this year but this Mud Mask has changed my life – well my skin. It has restored my skins radiance and I’ve certainly had fewer blemishes which pleases me greatly. I will be purchasing a lot more from them in 2017 and also trying a few products from their sister company The Ordinary.

Mac Palette Dupe

W7 Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

This is a budget brand that has always intrigued me, they are quite renowned for producing dupes and when I saw this MAC Burgundy Times Nine Palette dupe on MissMakeupMagpie blog I knew I had to try it. I love neutral palettes and this 9 pan palette has become a firm favourite. I’ve used it so much these past few months and if you are able to track it down (its like gold dust) then I urge you to snap it up. Its super pigmented, wearable and affordable, what more do you want!?

BRYT Skincare

BRYT Skincare 

This was a new British skincare company that I was introduced to this year but they mainly cater for younger skin and I’m certainly not in that bracket anymore. Nevertheless their skincare is gentle and although rich its not greasy or too heavy. I did enjoy trying out these three products, but I need something that offers more lift, tightening and hydration. BRYT seem to be ticking all the boxes when is comes to delivering affordable, ethical and botanical premium skincare. So if you’re under 25 then make sure you check them out. How cute and bright is their packaging too!

Skin Chemist Snail Serum Skincare

skinChemists Skincare 

This is quite a luxury brand which has a very modern minimal feel to its branding and packaging. I have enjoyed the products I have tried from them, especially the snail eye cream which I thought was very gentle and nourishing. It was very lightweight and felt cooling around my eye area, also my concealer applied so well over this. I have been using a few products from their Caviar range too but It’s still early days, so keep an eye out for a full review soon.

Ooh! Oils Cacay Facial Oil

Ooh! Oils of Heaven 

I adore using facial oils and love how versatile they are, these two from Ooh! have been a pleasure to use. The Cacay Oil was my favourite of the two and I mostly use this as part of my evening skincare routine but I do mix a little with my serum during the day of my skin is looking lacklustre. It helps to keep my skin looking radiant and hydrated and is great at reducing scaring and uneven skint one. This particular Oil has a high content of vitamin A, vitamin E and Linoleic Acid (omega-6) which have effective results in skincare.

Blank Canvas Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette-One-

Blank Canvas Cosmetics

Another brand I had never heard of before trying this palette but I have learnt that they have a huge following, especially in Ireland which is where this brand is from. They produce high quality makeup brushes and also a range of makeup products. The eyeshadow palette didn’t completely WOW me but I did like quite a few of the shades and think they are a brand to keep an eye on. The double ended brush that came with the palette was incredible quality and Its made me want to try a few more from their huge range.

What brands did you try for the first time in 2016, any firm favourites that you would recommend?

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

- Vicki 3 Comments
W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow

W7 The Naughty Nine Mid Summer Nights Palette

W7 The Naughty Nine : Mid Summer Nights Palette 

I have already admitted this to myself but I’m without a doubt an eyeshadow palette addict, I just love them. I think it’s because the colours look so pretty altogether and I like that you can easily create an eye look without too much fuss. So when I saw this absolute beauty of a palette from W7 on MissMakeUpMagpie blog a few weeks ago I had to get it.

On the grapevine, I have heard that this W7 palette is meant to be a dupe for the MAC Burgundy Times Nine Palette & I wondered if the pigmentation would be there but I have to say this palette knocks it out of the park. All 9 shades are gorgeous, very pigmented and have little to no fallout The shades in this palette are perfect for Autumn / Winter.

w7-mid-summer-nights-palette

W7 Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow

The packaging is very MAC inspired, it feels like its very good quality, it’s slim, compact and sturdy, I also love that it has a clear lid so you can see the eyeshadows. You get 4.5g of product and 9 shadows in total. I think its a fantastic palette for the price. As with most budget brands, they haven’t named the shadows which annoys me slightly but that doesn’t take away from the quality, which is very good.

Mid Summer Nights Eyeshadow Palette

You get 9 shadows in the palette and I like the range of nude-toned neutrals & the fact you get a good selection of coppers, cranberries and a few nude pink tones. I would wear every shade in this palette, it makes a very good everyday option as you can make it look quite minimal and muted with the pretty nudes or vamp it up with more of the deeper, richer shades.

There is a nice mix of mattes, satin finishes and shimmers all of which are pigmented and blend well. It’s unusual to find good affordable matte shadows but these are very good quality, in fact regardless of price, this is an outstanding palette and one I highly recommend checking out.

*This post contains an affiliate link 

Blank Canvas Cosmetics Palette One

- Vicki 1 Comment
Blank Canvas Cosmetics Palette-one

Blank Canvas Cosmetics Palette-one

So this month I was introduced to Blank Canvas who are an Irish, online cosmetics brand. Their product selection is quite small but they are constantly adding to the line and growing as a brand. I have been trying out one of their latest releases, the Master Series Palette One. Being a complete Neutral Eyeshadow Addict this 12 pan neutral palette had me very excited.

Blank Canvas Cosmetics Master Series Palette One* £30.40

This palette comes well packaged in an outer sleeve and the palette itself feels very sturdy and good quality, it has a great sized mirror, and the palette has a magnetic close so its not going to end up open in your makeup bag.  You also get a really nice quality double ended (vegan friendly) makeup brush which is also for sale separately and retails at £10. One end is fantastic for packing on the shadow and the other end is a lovely fluffy blending brush. Its a total 10/10 for the quality of this brush, I am very impressed.

You get a total of 12 colours, 11 matte shadows and 1 shimmer shade, often it is hard to find good quality matte shadows and a couple of the lighter colours in this palette are a little hard to work with which is a shame but I like that you get a nice selection of warm neutral colours, these colours are so easy to wear and exactly what I reach for daily so I was hoping this could become my new goto palette.

Blank Canvas Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette One

Blank Canvas Palette One Swatches

Lily / Goddess / Core / Hibiscus / Brazen / Carmin

I really wanted the quality of these shadows to be great and in the pans they looked gorgeous and rich but once I started swatching, the shadows had quite a lot of fall out and quite a few colours applied patchy. The top row has all of the lighter shades which are not the best quality, the three darker shades on this row are better and their texture feels a lot softer in comparison, they’re much easier to blend and have better colour pay off.

The bottom row is much better, these 6 darker shades are on the whole rich in colour and easier to work with. There are a few shadows in this palette that I absolutely love like HIBISCUS, CARMIN and COCOA but I really wish all the colours were of the same quality. I had to work hard to get the swatches below to look as bold as they do.

Master Series Palette One Swatches

Cocoa / Downtown / Forza / Hickory / Strut / Corruption

I didn’t use a primer because day to day I don’t wear one and not everyone would have that step in their makeup routine. If I could make a smaller palette out of the shadows I love I would 100% purchase it. I have searched for other reviews of this palette and a few people have said they are not completely in love with it but there are also quite a few people that love it and say that it’s pigmented and wonderful quality. I wonder if I have a dud or maybe I’m being super critical.

To look at this, its a gorgeous neutral palette & has the potential to be my dream palette but overall for me the quality just isn’t there so I’m sticking to my guns and saying this Master Series Palette One isn’t one I would recommend.

*PR Sample

Skinn Cosmetics Makeup

- Vicki 2 Comments
Skinn Rosette Eyeshadow Palette

Skinn Cosmetics Makeup Range

Skinn Rosette Eyeshadow Palette

Skinn Rosette Eyeshadow Palette*

This has impressed me the most out of the three products I have been testing from the collection. Its a 12 pan neutral toned palette with a beautiful mix of shades, nothing too bright or out there and every single colour is one I would wear. Which in my opinion makes it great value. It has a nice mixture of matte and shimmers and all the colours are talc free so they’re not drying on the lids. I find these have minimum fall out and they last very well on me – ever longer if you use a primer. I love the copper tones and the beautiful dark brown which looks plum in some lights, all the shades are pigmented and rich in colour. It’s a great palette to travel with, as its slim, sturdy and has a large mirror too. I’m very very impressed with this palette and have been using it a lot these past few weeks.

Skinn Rosette Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

Skinn Hollywood Nude Lip Palette

Skinn Hollywood Nude Lip Palette*

I found the consistency of these to be more like a tinted lip balm than a lipstick. The colours are all quite pretty and very wearable shades, but they only give your lips a wash of colour and have more of a gloss finish. I find lip palettes a bit of a faff if I’m honest and I would never reach for this over a lipstick. I would say give this a miss unless you like a simple understated lip look & don’t mind carrying a palette out & about so you can reapply your lip colour.

Skinn say these are Collagen Boost Lipsticks that will drench your lips with collagen-forming ingredients in a creamy, moisture-rich formula – so i guess they’re skincare infused lippies which is interesting. They do feel smoothing and comfortable on my lips, I just felt they were a little too muted and didn’t have enough colour pay off. 

Skinn Hollywood Nude Lip Palette Swatches

Skinn Ultra Luxe Mascara*

This is an ok mascara, I would say middle of the road in terms of quality. There are so many incredible budget-friendly mascaras now so there is tough competition. I found this Ultra Luxe Mascara had quite a wet formula and after a two coats it went a little clumpy. It didn’t really give volume or length to my lashes. I will say that it didn’t transfer or fall down throughout the day. I just felt my lashes didn’t look as good as usual. I think the wand would be better with a few more bristles.

Skinn Ultra Luxe Mascara

So if you get the chance to buy the eyeshadow palette I would say try it & you will get a lot of use out of it. The lip palette wasn’t my thing (but they never are) but if you do like your lipsticks in a palette format then you might be more inclined to use it. Whilst I think the mascara doesn’t hold up to many more affordable brands I have tried, I may be tempted to try one from this brand that has a different brush.

Let me know if you have tried anything from the Skinn Beauty range, I would love to hear your recommendations. I have blogged about their Skincare too if you’d like to read that.

*This post contains PR Samples