Sunday 16 August 2015

New in: Makeup Revolution The Matte Blush collection review.

Makeup Revolution is a brand like no other. It truly revolutionised the makeup market by coming up with inexpensive solutions to every beauty addict problem: I want more. And they gave us more. More products that you can ever store in your Alex drawers or vanities. More quality products at the price that won't break a bank. I always look forward to their new launches as they're exciting and so on point. Last week I wrote about my last obsession, the new contour palette that's since became a staple in my daily makeup (for a review click here).This week I'm bringing you a new collection, fresh of the shelves.

Blushes. I wasn't the blush kinda girl until very recently (maybe a year or so). I owned 3 blushes before and used them only occasionally. Not knowing what I'm missing, I never used to include it in my routine. Now I can't imagine leaving a house without slight flush to my cheeks.

Blush is a funny little thing. It transforms my makeup. It gives me a colour so I don't look sick all the time (happens to pale skinned, believe me). And I'm not talking about overdoing it, just a light flush to the skin.




The Matte Blush collection is a hot commodity in the Revolution world. The pots aren't as pigmented as their blush palettes. It isn't the bad thing either, it takes a little training to apply those blushes as the pro and a very light hand. With these ones problem disappears. The formula is just right, gives you enough pigmentation so only a little product is needed to achieve that flawless flush but not too much that the only brush you can ever use it it is RT Blush Brush.

They come in 6 shades. I wore each single one to properly test the collection and I've chosen my favourites. Shades are absolutely gorgeous and will suit many tones. This is powder formula, yet it feels silky so that working with them is just pure pleasure. They're so finely milled you would not think you paid £3 per pot.  These babies lasted on my skin all day and I don't powder my foundation in the summer. That's says a lot about the quality. Pro MUA will be happy with the size of the product as well. They come in huge pots and 8.9g of the product which is a lot for a blusher. If you're not a pro these will last you a long time. Personally I prefer smaller sized blushers as there's no way I'm going to use up the product. According to the producent these can be used for 12 month after opening.

The Matte Blush in Nude
Nude is a nude with a slight pink to it. It'll will work great with dark eye looks when you want your face to be a perfect canvas without taking away from the main subject that is your eye look. It could also work for very dark skin tones as a matte highlighter thank to the pink undertone.

The Matte Blush inBeloved.
Beloved is a light coral with some pink mixed in for a good measure. It's my favourite for day looks. It gives me the perfect flush. This may not work on darker skin tones but for a vampire like me - it's just gorgeous.

The Matte Blush in Fusion
Fusion is another coral. This time darker, more defined. It will work to define the features more.I really like this one. It's a medium tone and only little is needed.

The Matte Blush inNew Rules
New Rules. Now here is my absolute fave. This is an evening look blush but you can also rock it in the daytime. It will suit dark skin tones as well as someone pale. You need to be careful if you are the latter though. Use the smalest amount as it is quite bright. Perhaps I shouldn't like it yet it's really my favourite of the bunch. I'm no longer afraid of taking risks when it comes to makeup so I'm really, REALLY liking this one.

The Matte Blush in Divine
Another daytime staple is Divine, it's a very light cool pink and it will look gorgeous complementing a nude pink or a stronger pink lip. Ok I must have aid pink like 3 times but it's truly is a Barbie pink. Don't get me wrong it's gorgeous on a skin. What I found that this one wasn't as long lasting on me as it faded really quickly. And because it's so light faded meant disappear. Not my most favourite of the bunch but I'll give it point for being so darn cute.

The Matte Blush in Dare
Finally The Matte Blush in Dare. This is another level of pink. It's medium cool tone with a bit of kick to the colour. Again I recommend a lighter hand. It's gorgeous fuchsia and very bright so it will work on days where you opt for minimal makeup but you want at least one wow factor. Choose Dare :)

Here  I swatched them all for you so you can see for yourself just how lovely they are:

From left: Divine, Beloved, Dare, Nude Fusion and New Rules (natural light, no flash)

From left: Divine, Beloved, Dare, Nude Fusion and New Rules (natural light, with flash)
I'm super happy with my new blush collection and I can see myself enjoy using them a lot. there's a colour there to match my every look and it's great because they're all matte. With strobing game going strong we all need days when your skin should be glowing but without overdoing it. On those days I will be reaching for my The Matte Blush collection.

I wonder what you think about this new range? Is it exciting or didn't really interest you in slightest? I'd like to know your opinion. Sound off in the comments below if you will be picking up any of the blushes and if so, which one? They are available from Makeup Revolution website and you can buy them here for £3.00.

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. If you did, don't forget to subscribe not to miss another post.

Thanks for reading.
Love,

Dorota x

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Saturday 15 August 2015

Cream contouring on a budget feat. Makeup Revolution, Essence and W7.

Good morning ladies. On the news front, I joined a 30s club yesterday. There were few tears but in the end a lot of excitement too. 30s are the new 20s right? So I washed away my tears and I'm planning to enjoy myself for the next 10 years :)

Today I'd like to take on board not so new trend, that is a cream contouring. We have so many options these days. We have a contour. You can use both cream and powder or just stick to one. No matter how scary cream contour may look when you're watching tutorials, when done right, it's actually the easy option, more wearable for sure. If watching Kim K MUA scarred and scared you for life, don't fret, try it first, you may actually like it. I truly think that, by using creams for your contour needs, you end up with more natural outcome. All you need is a contour shade and either a brush or a sponge and you are on your way to become a contour master.

There are many high-end options on the market these days. We have a bronzing base from Chanel, chubby stick from Clinique or new contour sticks from Smashbox. They are all on more expensive side of things and if you're new to contour you may want to start with more budget friendly options. If you don't like it, then you didn't spend too much and if you like it, then this is only the beginning.



I have 4 products for you to consider, including one palette. I find them all budget and beginner friendly and they don't disappoint. Quality is decent at least with few being actually really amazing products. 

Essence Soft Touch Mousse in 03 Matt Honey was my first ever product purchased for cream contour . I wanted to learn and it being £3.50 and available at my local Wilko was definitely a plus. I saw few polish beauty vloggers recommend it, so I jumped on a wagon. It has a really light consistency of a mousse and it's really easy to blend. Colour is a little on a warm side, it being a light camel, honey shade. Nevertheless it will work for your bronzing needs and if you'd like to make it more cool toned, you can mix it with a little of Color Tattoo Permanent Taupe. It has a decent staying power. On it's own it'll last 4-5 hours and powdered down up to 8 hours. Available here.

When I experimented a little with my first product, I thought it will be nice to have a little variety so I started searching my favourite budget brand that is Makeup Revolution. I saw reviews that their Ultra Cover and Conceal Palette in Medium-Dark can be, in fact, used for cream contour, I bought it the very same day. It features 8 creamy shades (all swatched for you below). As none of the shades are actually something I'd use on it's own I started to mix them together and you can come up with so many colour combination, it's actually pretty great. Some shades are more ashy than others, meaning you can create a pretty decent contour shade by mixing them up. Staying power is pretty much the same as with Essence. However in my opinion they are very creamy so you may want to set it with the powder. It's available here for £8.00.

Ultra Cover and Conceal Palette top 4 shades

Ultra Cover and Conceal Palette bottom 4 shades

From left: Essence Mousse, MUR The One Blush and W7 Bronzing Base
I was lusting after Chanel Bronzing Base for a while now. I just knew, I wouldn't use it so much as to justify the spend. So when I saw that W7 does a pretty darn good dupe, I ordered it without thinking twice about it. I tested Chanel as I had a tester from their counter against it's cheaper W7 version and I really can't see the difference except maybe in packaging. Nevertheless W7 packaging is actually really well made, except for very plasticky top. Make Up & Glow Bronzing Base has a slight shimmer to it but it's perfect for bronzing during summer. It's my most reach for product when I need a little tan to my face. I personally use it before any contour to give a little bronzed look to my face and then continue with the contour. It's here for £4.38 (sale price) as standard RPR is £7.99

Lastly my newest addition to the cream contour collection - Makeup Revolution The One Blush Stick in Matte Malibu. The range is a total dupe for their Nars counter products and costs £5 per stick. These are blushers, however I was speaking with my blogger friend Anna and she recommend it to me. It's the darkest of any of the previous products but it blends beautifully. It's pretty perfect for achieving that chiseled look you've been lusting after. What I like about it it's the application. It's the stick so you can just draw a contour on your face using a side of the stick without having to use a brush and then blend it out with a sponge or a brush whatever you prefer. I use a Zoeva buffer blush normally for my nose and Glambrush T16 for my cheeks and forehead. It's available here and in Superdrug.


The winners for me are two products that I now use together. I use W7 bronzing base to lightly tan my complexion first and then top it up with contour using The One Blush Stick from MUR. These two are my perfect go to cream products for summer. W7 gives me a subtle glow to the skin and MUR chisels my cheeks to the point of perfection. I don't set them with powder now but I may do when summer's over. 

Thank you for reading.
Love,

Dorota x

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Thursday 13 August 2015

Weekday me. What's in my makeup bag #2.

Hello ladies :) Today's Thursday and I have placed a spending ban on myself 4 days ago. It's already been a challenge but the plan is to stay on it as much as I can and start showing more love to my existing humongous collection. I decided I will continue to give my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette some time to remind me why I fell in love with it in the first place. 




This week my makeup bag has been dominated by Naked 3. I've chosen the rest of the products to compliment the tone of the palette. I am very much in love with naked skin at the moment. I don't want and need coverage. I want my skin to show. So I started testing a brand new tinted moisturiser by Bare Minerals. Complexion Rescue is something else. I only wore it few times so I'll leave my thoughts for a full on review but so far so good, I'm very impressed with it. I wear it in shade Opal  . That's a perfect shade for me (phew!!! as this was an online shopping indulgence). It's light, it feels great on my skin and is surprisingly long wearing. I can pat myself on a shoulder for deciding to take a plunge on this one.

I already gave you my first impressions on Correct and Conceal Palette from Freedom Makeup (check out my previous post here). I continue to use it and I'm really liking this palette. I've been using it non stop recently and it has few matte highlighting shades that I'm enjoying at the moment. It gives me a coverage and a highlight in one, which is always great. 

The Balm Desert Bronzer is also very new in my collection. It's a sample, I only just received in my August Birchbox (for a review click here) and I love it. It's a perfect summer bronzer. It's got a stunning colour with a satin finish. Perfect to give your complexion just a little bit of tan. 

The Matte Blush from Makeup Revolution is a brand new add on to my collection. I'm hard in testing and I hope to have a review for you this weekend. I decided to use Divine as it's got that light pink shade that's surprisingly fresh on the cheeks. Perfect pigmentation, easy to blend, matte. I'm impressed and there's 5 more to feast your eyes on. I'm loving it !!!

I decided it's time to try this whole "my lips but better" trend and join in. I chose Freedom Makeup Pro Lipstick in Whispers. It lasts 2-4 hours, it's moisturising and gives me that perfect pink nude pout. Love it !!! Also for £1 per shade it's a sin not to get at least 1.... or 10 :) I reviewed lip products from Freedom before, for a review with swatches click here :)

I created a light, almost angelic look inspired by the gorgeous Chloe Morello latest tutorial using Naked 3 palette(watch here). I wanted naked skin look. Glowing skin with defined yet light cheeks. Lips that are my colour just a little better and eyes that are full of sparkle. It's a very daytime look, it would look gorgeous as a wedding makeup if what you're going for is delicate and natural.

For my base I used my fingers to blend a little of Complexion Rescue in Opal. I added some coverage underneath my eyes using Correct and Conceal Palette from Freedom Makeup. I also used the lightest pink shade to highlight my nose, chin, cupid bow and forehead. I then lightly added some The Matte Blush from MUR in Divine on my cheeks. Then to bronze up my complexion i lightly dusted The Balm Desert Bronzer on my forehead, nose and on cheekbones - not contouring, just adding some colour and glow.





I created this look using 4 shades from Naked 3 palette. I firstly applied Urban Decay Original Primer to my lids and dusted Strange (matte) all over the lid to help me with blending. I then started to blend Limit (matte)just above my crease (I don't tend to blend in the crease as much because of my hooded eyes - so the good trick is to create an illusion and blend just above). I then intensified the "crease" with Nooner which is another matte shade. I also blended it in the other corner, very lightly just to add dimension to the eye. The sparkle you see in the inner corner and middle of the lid comes from Dust. Dust is a gorgeous shimmery shade but also very tricky. I won't lie to you, there's a lot of fall out. I applied a little of UD primer and then pressed Dust on it with my finger. I then finished the lower lid by applying Limit all over and dust in the inner corner, slightly blending it outwards. Little coat of mascara and voila. I applied a little of Freedom Makeup Pro Lipstick in Whispers to complete this angelic look.

I hope you enjoyed browsing my current makeup bag. I plan to switch it up weekly from now on to show you a little more of my collection and create some looks that I tend to opt for during that particular week. Hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you next time :)

Thank you for reading.
Love,

Dorota x

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Tuesday 4 August 2015

New In: Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette

Hello everyone :) It's Tuesday today so I hope you had a great start of the week. I'm expecting Ikea delivery today, which is quite exciting as I'm finally adding some final touches to my bedroom/beauty room.

Today I have some exciting new product to share with you. I believe I'm partially responsible as I'v been asking Makeup Revolution and Mr Minto himself to bring out their version of Contour Kit. Can I just take all the credit? Lol. I had to test it so I ordered it once it premiered. Delivery was really quick as I placed an order on Thursday afternoon and I received it on Monday. So well done MUR :)

Packaging is a standard Ultra product packaging. Plastic and sturdy with a large mirror. I'm slightly disappointed as I would like to see more products in matte plastic as their Iconic Pro palettes for example. I find it to look more expensive and pro. Nevertheless it's a well made packaging and I'm sure it will last through travel.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette

Inside the palette you will find 8 pans of product. Top row we have a very light powder, matte with slight cool undertone as well as matte, banana powder (ABH inspiration). Then there is a sheer powder with some highlight to it in champagne colour as well as baked highlighter, with light gold sheen to it. Bottom row you have your bronzer/contour shades. First one is a light colour bronzer with neutral tones. Second is a cool toned contour shade. Thirdly we have a deeper but still medium toned, warm bronze shade. Lastly we have a baked warm bronzer shade with just a little of satin finish - gorgeous for summer.

Top row powders and highlight

Bottom row bronzers & contour

I've done swatches of all the shades for you. I like that all the shades are quite buttery and soft and I'm looking forward to start using this palette to both set my makeup and contour. I don't lack in bronzers and contour products, however this is my first contour kit. I know and love Makeup Revolution and if I like this product, I may be tempted to purchase the original behind this greatly designed dupe - Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit. I've been eyeing it for months but the price tag is a commitment.

I'm super happy that I've picked up this palette and I'm excited to take it for a proper test run. Will it end up in favourites? Only time can tell. My first impressions are super positive. I only wish the banana shade was little lighter than it is. It's not showing on my skin too much but the lighter shade would have been perfect for someone as pale as I am :)

Are you tempted to pick up MUR's Ultra Contour palette? Or maybe you already own it? Let me know what your thoughts are?

You can buy it here for £8.00.

Thank you for reading.
Love,

Dorota x

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Saturday 1 August 2015

Nails Inc Gel Effect nail polishes in depth review and swatches

Hello my lovelies. It's Saturday and my post is really late. I apologise as I've been bracing a little room refurbishment since Wednesday. It is now done except for delivery of some extra bits from IKEA. I am now a proud owner of white walls and one accent grey wall. My bedroom/beauty room is so clean and gorgeous. I will be doing a post on it once I'm through with everything :)

Back to the topic of today's ramblings, which, as the title suggests, are new gel finish nail polishes from Nails Inc. There's a theme here, as I previously reviewed new gel like nail polishes from Barry M. To read all about it, click here for my thoughts on Sunset Daylight Curing nail paints.


Gel effect Nail polish from Nails Inc have been designed to mimic gel like manicure at home without having to cure them under UV lamp. These are used by itself without having to finish them off with the top coat as you would with Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing range. They cost in between £14 and £15 each as opposed to £4.99 for Barry M counterpart.

Here's what Nails Inc has to say about them:

The bestselling Gel effect polish range formulated with revolutionary plasticiser technology for a flawless manicure at home. Gel effect polish glides on effortlessly and the extra wide brush ensures easy application. Highly pigmented to provide exceptional coverage and with a plumping agent to level out any imperfections on the nail.

I will agree that extra wide brush tends to help with an application process as the polish goes on in no time. 

They are in fact quite pigmented, however two coats are needed for a flawless finish. Some shades cover better than others in my opinion and I will talk about that when discussing each individual colour. They do fill out the the ridges of the nails creating a smooth finish which is actually pretty great. 

Drying time is quite long. With two coats you may need to spend minimum of 10 minutes as they take longer to harden than, for example it's Barry M competition. 

They last aprox 4-7 days depending on how hands on I was being at the time of testing. However on acrylic nails the colour will last up to 2 weeks as I've painted acrylic extensions for my friend and they lasted a whole two weeks without having to top them up. She experienced no chipping, only slight rubbing off at the ends.

From left: Regent Place, Soho Place, Uptown

I own 3 shades in the range, all accumulated through various beauty boxes from Latest in Beauty:


  • Uptown is a lovely dusty pink nude shade. It goes on evenly and creates a smooth, glossy finish. It's a perfect pink nude in my opinion.
  • Soho Place is a perfect summer turquoise shade. Again it goes on very evenly and with two coats it does have a gel like, glossy finish. It's gorgeous and my favourite of the three that I own.
  • Regent Place is a pale yet opaque blue with slight lilac undertone to it. It's another summer shade in the collection. This one I had troubles with an application, as it didn't cover as evenly as the two others. It needed 3 coats but in the end the results wasn't as perfect as with others. Because of the thickness of 3 coats, it also needed the most time to dry and harden.
I really like the new packaging from Nails Inc. I find it more modern and it looks great on my vanity. I really like the colours that I own with Soho Place being the most worn shade by me. I love turquoise for summer and this had hit all the right spots for me. Uptown I will continue to wear through autumn and winter as well. It's a great pinky nude that looks really polished on the nails.


I found that these best apply on a clean nail. I use few base coats and they affected the application and drying time. I found Regent Place to have the worst finish, with pigment not applying evenly and taking longest to dry as well.

I'm not particularly sold on Nails Inc at this point. I think they offer an amazing range of shades and there's something for everyone to choose from. However for the price, I expected them to be better than Barry M Sunset Daylight Curing. What I found is that the drying time is longer and application isn't as easy or even as with others. For a £15 mark I would expect more I guess. I'm glad I was able to test these and two are my absolute favourite shades already but would I purchase them in the future? I'm not 100% sure.

You can find the whole range here.

Let me know what your experiences are with Nails Inc. Do you own any of their Gel effect polishes? Do you like them? I'd like to know your opinions :)

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you here next time.
Love,

Dorota x

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