Friday 27 January 2017

January Favourites 2017

I have been enjoying these products throughout the month of January. I bought them myself and all except the blush cost £5 or less.

Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream: £4.29 for 200mI
I use this cream on my face, body and hands. I find the scent so comforting and the texture of the cream soft and calming on dry, sore skin. It sinks into the skin without greasiness and gives long-lasting hydration which is perfect in this cold weather.

GOSH Natural Blush in 36 Rose Whisper: £7.99
This is a great blush to wear with minimal makeup. It is soft and matte, adding natural-looking colour to the cheeks.
On my skin tone this particular shade blends beautifully and gives an almost airbrushed effect. There are brighter pink and purple shades available.
The texture of this blush is silky soft but not crumbly at all so it lasts very well throughout the day. I am wearing it in the picture below.

Makeup Revolution Setting Spray: £5 for 100ml
When I see reviews comparing high end with more affordable makeup, they often conclude that the major difference is how long the makeup lasts on the skin. For me, this spray keeps drugstore makeup in place perfectly all day long.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hour Creamy Matte Cream Eyeshadow: £4.99
This is an absolutely great matte eye base. On its own it makes my eyes look brighter and more awake. Under powder shadows it provides a flawless, slightly tacky base which keeps them in place all day and enhances their pigmentation.

I have made the mistake in the past of smearing too much of this product onto my eyelids, resulting in an unflattering, thick and creased effect. This is definitely a product to tap on sparingly with your finger to achieve great results.

This little pot will last me a very long time.


Kiko Ultra Glossy Stylo in the shade 812 Black Cherry: £4.90
Finally, this lovely stick which is essentially a glossy, tinted balm. It is so easy to apply on the go, smells sweet and feels beautifully soft on the lips.
I love the hint of berry colour this gives, and the way it keeps my lips feeling hydrated and looking healthy without any stickiness.
Thank you so much for reading about my favourites this month,

Friday 20 January 2017

Review: Tanya Burr Lipstick

Tanya Burr lipsticks cost £6.99 and are available at Superdrug and Feelunique.com. There are 6 colours in the range, all in a traditional cream finish and enriched with Vitamin E. I have the shades Pink Cocoa and Big Kiss.
First Impressions: The chunky packaging looks and feels great for a drugstore brand, standing out from the usual plastic tubes. The gold effect looks sleek and sophisticated, and shows off the actual lipstick shades very well.
Big Kiss

The lipsticks have a sweet scent, apply very smoothly and are perfectly pigmented. The colour is rich, creamy and almost glossy when first applied.
Big Kiss

Cup of Tea Test:
There was some transfer to my cup, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the product lasted on my lips. For a bold colour, it still looked and felt great.
After drinking
After Eating:
The colour wore away in the centre of my lips after eating, but as you can see the lipstick stayed in place. It reapplied smoothly over itself and continued to feel very comfortable.
After eating

Overall: These are smooth, hydrating and comfortable lipsticks. They feel nourishing on the lips and their colour lasts very well, fading gracefully without dryness or flaking.
Pink Cocoa

The packaging feels more grown up than Tanya Burr's eyeshadow and face palettes, and the product performs very well.
These lipsticks are perfect for wearing in cold weather, as they are extremely moisturising and their hydrating formula gives the lips a full, flattering effect. The shade range is appealing, the addition of Vitamin E a lovely bonus, and overall I think these are great drugstore quality.

Pink Cocoa

Thank you for reading,
highstreet_beauty
Snapchat: highstreet_b


Friday 13 January 2017

Review: GOSH Rebel Eyes Mascara

This mascara costs £8.99. At the time of writing it is part of a buy one, get second half price GOSH offer at Superdrug. It claims to give "longer, volumised, curled lashes in a few strokes" with the promise to "last throughout the day without any rub off or flaking".
These are my bare lashes before applying the mascara. As with all the pictures in this post, they look less dark and defined than they do in real life. I have discovered that you need to wear a LOT of eye makeup to make a look translate into a photo, but these photos represent how I would wear this product in reality.
The wand is long and curved, reminding me very much of Benefit's famous Roller Lash mascara. I like the way that it coats almost every lash at the same time as the wand fits across the whole eye. I also find the long "handle" makes the product easy to work with.
One coat of mascara

The formula is fairly dry, which I prefer as it means a lot less mess during application and also when wearing mascara behind glasses.
Two coats of mascara

I did not find the effect to be particularly volumising in comparison to other drugstore products making the same claim. However, I did find that the GOSH mascara lifted, lengthened and curled my lashes impressively with just one coat. I did not use eyelash curlers before applying this product.
Two coats of mascara

The curl and held fantastically well all day and I felt my lashes looked long and flattering. The best thing about this mascara is that it absolutely did not flake or leave any dark marks around my eyes or glasses whatsoever. Not even a smudge. For a non-waterproof mascara this performed exceptionally well, and removed very easily at the end of the day.

After 5 hours - no flaking
After 9 hours - no flaking

Overall, if you are looking for a volumising mascara then I would suggest giving this one a miss. I like L'OrĂ©al's Miss Manga Mega Volume mascara for great, drugstore volume. GOSH actually makes an Xtreme Volume and Length mascara which might also be worth a try. However, if you are interested in a drugstore mascara which will lengthen and curl your lashes then this is a winner. Easily comparable in my opinion to Benefit's Roller Lash which costs around £19.50 for a full-sized tube, and I found the GOSH mascara easier to remove. 

Which are your favourite drugstore mascaras? Thanks for reading,
highstreet_beauty


Snapchat: highstreet_b




Friday 6 January 2017

Review: Kiko New Unlimited Stylo lipstick

Kiko's New Unlimited Stylo is a long-lasting lipstick with a semi-matte finish. Kiko Milano claims that this product "clings to the lips, leaving a uniform coat of colour and a precisely outlined lip contour". It costs £8.90 and comes in 21 different shades. I have the shade 04 Pearly Rosy Mauve.
First Impressions: The packaging is sleek and unique, with an aluminium effect and an accurate representation of the lipstick shade shown on the lid. I think the design is beautiful and could easily get distracted by snapping the lid on and off again and admiring the golden K embossed in the centre! The lipstick has a slightly sweet fragrance which fades when applied.
Application: This product glides on very smoothly. The colour appears sheer at first, but the pigment settles onto the lips and is buildable. I am a fan of this lipstick bullet shape, which really does hug the lips and makes for foolproof application. The product feels soft, smooth and matte when applied.

The Cup of Coffee Test:


There was minimal transfer to my cup and the lipstick looked perfect after drinking. I am very impressed with the staying power of this product. 

After Eating:
After eating, my lips began to feel slightly dry at the corners, but the lipstick still looked good. It had faded extremely gracefully as you can see above.

Re-applied over itself:
The lipstick applied over itself well, although not quite as smoothly as onto bare lips. Close up, you can see the second application has a little more texture, but in real life it was hardly noticeable.


After 6 hours' wear
This is the most comfortable long-lasting lip product I have tried. The semi-matte finish means that it is not drying, and I think it performed really well. By the end of the day it was starting to rub off around the corners of my mouth, but it held the lip shape perfectly and did not cause my lips to flake as most long-lasting products do.
Overall: This is a smooth and long-wearing lipstick which looks great both on the lips and in its packaging. It has a thin, comfortable formula which wears well and re-applies over itself, and for me this colour is a perfect, cool mauve.

Thanks for reading, as always,
highstreet_beauty

Snapchat: highstreet_b
Find this lipstick here: http://www.kikocosmetics.com/en-gb/make-up/lips/lipsticks/New-Unlimited-Stylo/p-KM00201025