Rimmel Stay Blushed! Review

Another Rimmel review from me today, be thankful, if you are in Australia and I am reviewing a Rimmel product, there is a chance you might actually get your hands on it.

This is described as a 'Liquid Cheek Tint', although because it is not a solid or a gas, it is by default a liquid, I expected it to be thinner that it is, perhaps a gel or or even something more line Benetint.

I would describe the texture as a cream, you can see below the texture and then blended out.  

                               

The colour here is Pop of Pink, but I feel that's not a great description either, as it is more a peach than a true pink.

So it's not really a liquid and it is not really pink. What it is, is lovely.  The texture means it is easy to apply and easy to blend out, the 'tint' factor means it is almost impossible to apply too much, resulting in a sheer wash of colour over the cheeks.  Perfect for a 'no makeup' look.  As a cream it feels nice, as well as looking natural. 

One of my favorite things about this blush is the tube.  It is designed to be blended with your fingers, which is fine, but unlike many other cream blush products, it does not require finger to product (in the container) contact, thus keeping it all nice and hygienic. 

Seems to me like powder blushes are on the way out with all these new liquid, gels, creams and tints, what do you think?

Bourjois Color Edition 24H Cream to Powder- Kick ass Cream eye shadow.

The actual name for this product is weird. Can you see that? Colour  Edition 24H Cream to Power.  Lucky there is a little picture of an eye, or that could get tricky!

What they say:
A new generation cream-to-powder formula is the newest member of the Bourjois' Eyeshadow family! Fine and silky, this soft cream colour turns into powder upon the contact with the skin leaving you with a luxurious, second-skin feel. In just one sweep Colour Edition gives a metallic sheen and intense colour that last 24 hours

What I say:
A cream eye shadow that sets instantly, with none of the usual stickiness and potential immediate creasing of so many cream eye shadows before it.

I picked up 'Or Desir'. a beautiful gold colour.

It swatches our nicely, and is just such a delicate shade, but easily buildable if you wanted to.

I am currently loving wearing this on my lids and a deeper power shadow blended through the crease, it is an effortless, and quick but effective, well defined look.  Throw on some mascara, a bit of liner if you have time and you're done.

I can't comment on this product's 24hr claim, as I don't wear makeup that long.  What I can say is that at the end of the day, I still look in the mirror and see the lovely eye makeup created rather than 'I swear I was wearing makeup when I last looked in the mirror'  
We've all been there, 9pm, perfect makeup, looking goddess like, 4am- who the hell is that?

I would liken these to the Maybelline colour tattoos, except they are less smooth, not in a bad way, I find the colour is easier to apply, perhaps, less slick would explain it better.  The straight to powder finish means that adhere to the lid as you apply it, rather than slipping.

The other major difference is that they are larger pots, so getting a brush in the top is not a problem, or if you use your fingers but find the size of the Maybelline pots means you end up with colour under your nails, you won't find that here.  The pot is also plastic, which I see as a bonus, because I break glass, it also means it is lighter for travel.

All in all I'm a fan.
In the UK, you can buy these from Bourjois retailers for an RRP of £6.99.
If you're in Australia, it might be trickier, a quick search of the Priceline website tells me these aren't available there (at time of writing) but you can buy them from ASOS albeit with a limited availability of colours, because of that they are priced (probably to clear) at £5.50, as with all ASOS items, these have free delivery.

Cream shadows, love em? hate me? Do you use them as stand alone products or more of a base like I do?

Seventeen Cheek Stamp Blush

A VERY long time ago, Australis made a product that had a buffing sponge on top of jar of loose blush powder.  Aside from the odd malfunction where the sponge came off and you wore half the tub (This never happened to me, but I saw it on 2 occasions) these were PERFECT.  OK not perfect, you couldn't really wash the applicator and as I say, wearing half a jar of blush in your cleavage? Not OK, but there were fab, they applied and blended the blush seamlessly and I loved them.

When I saw these cheek stamps, I was immediately drawn back to that little Australis pot of colour, and HAD TO try them.  They sounded almost identical.

I bought The Cheek of It and Stare Struck.  A peach and a plum.

Out of the box, they look like this:

 

So far so good, the walk down memory lane begins...

But on the inside, was not what I was expecting:

It's a solid blush and a sponge applicator, on top of the blush is a plastic cover to keep the sponge clean in transit, it is also a REAL pain to get out, I think I resorted to tweezers for one of them.

I'd like to point out there products didn't have testers, which isn't too uncommon in my local Boots store, not because they don't put them out, but because they 'walk' it had lead me to believe, on many occasion, there is a special place in hell for people who steal foundation testers.

The colour pay off of these if pretty awesome, and the colour selection- 5 colours in the range, from a pretty pink of a deep plum is also pretty cool.

Wearability is great, but then I've never had much of an issue with blush disappearing from my face.

The real issue, sadly, is what makes these different. The stamp.

Because the sponge is spring 'loaded' you have to push it to close it, and unless you kept that annoying piece of plastic, this forces colour onto the sponge.  Which mean picking up only a little, is near impossible.

You can lightly stamp the colour on to the cheeks and then blend, but really, if you're going to that trouble, why not just use a blush straight from the container.  Which is exactly what I do.  This has advantages too.  Because the pot has sides, you don't make little 'spills' of powder, and you can tap your brush if needed and waste virtually no product. 

As a blush, I love them, as a new and clever way of applying blush? Not so much, unless you are either a fan of thick stripey blush, or rag doll cheeks; in which case, they are PERFECT.

Seventeen is exclusively available at Boots.  Although Boots in a UK store, there are shops in other countries such as Thailand- if you or someone you know is on holiday there soon, sweet talk them.  You never know.

My Top 10- Makeup Brushes

 

 I had originally planned to do a 'Top 5 Brushes',  but it was too hard. Instead here is my top 10 makeup brushes, in no order.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

 This one divides the blogging community a little.  I love it, it's dense, soft and perfect for speedy early morning buffing of foundation. It is fast, effective and bloody good value for money.

Real Techniques Blush Brush

Another one that people seem to love of loath.  I love that it is tapered, so I can pick up just a little colour but then is is soft enough to blend it all at the same time.  I reviews this brush here.

Tarte Blush Brush 

 This is one of those random brushes that you fall for, I got it as part of a gift set, but it is the perfect contour brush, it's both flat and dense, so it can place colour precisely and aid the blending, because it is slightly tapered, it is great for picking up just a little product.

Rae Morris Mini Kabuki

 This is the Mini Kabuki from the newer magnetic range, I don't have the original to compare.  I love this for highlighting, it's dense and fluffy but quite small, making it perfect for a light swipe of colour across the top of the cheap bones.

Rae Morrish Flawless Shader

 This is the Flawless shader from the original Rae Morris brush set.  It's a fantastic brush for blending out any harsh lines on the face or applying powder to large areas.  It is also really good for contouring as it is dense and quite thin.
The only difference between this brush and the same from the new Magnetic range is the appearance, also the brushes are slightly softer. No reason to upgrade.

Rae Morris Medium Oval Shadow Brush

 I love this brush for laying down any base colours or packing on colour, it's not as stiff as most, but because it is reasonably large, and picks up colour well, it does a great job at placing it on the lid.

Lancôme Blending Brush

I love this brush for general blending, it came with an eyes kit my mum brought back from the US, it's synthetic, a little bit stiff and reasonably tapered, I'm not sure how it became one of my faves, probably because it's purple, and then because it did a good job.

Hakuhodo S146

As blending brushes go, this one is quite small, it makes it perfect for blending into the crease while my eye is open.  My eyes are quite hooded, so if I try to place colour and blend into the crease with my eyes closes, it ends up looking terrible  So I don't.

This is the tip of the brush against a 5p coin and a $1 coin, just to give you an idea of how small it is.

Hakuhodo mini pencil brush

 This brush doesn't have name on it, it came as part of a set.  It is tiny and I really like it for detail work like the inner corner or lower lash line.

You can see in this picture, just how teeny tiny it is.

Last, but no means least:
Illamasqua Lip Brush

 At first this probably looks like every other lip brush, but it isn't, its as thin as most lip brushes, but it comes to a point, it isn't as rounded as most.

This photo shoes how pointed it is.  Unfortunately, Illamasqua changed the design of their lip brushes, they now come with a cap, and they are more rounded than the old design.  As soon as I realised this, I sent all of my friends a huntin' at their local Illamasqua counters and managed to pick up a few more. I only use a lip brush for my OCC Lip Tars, but this is a god send for doing a perfect red lip on someone else as the line you can create is perfect.

So there you have it, I really wanted to mention a few others, such as the Illamasqua concealer brush, and also the brush up brush, but to be honest there are other brushes that do the same job as these.  I adore makeup brushes, so picking only 10 was really tough.

Do you own any of these brushes? do you have your own faves I haven't mentioned?

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick review

I love a good eye shadow stick/crayon/pencil.  I am a complete sucker for the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Shadow Pencils or the NYX Jumbo eye pencils and I am convinced these a darn good dupe of either bot both.  Described as a 24hr waterproof eye shadow pencil, they do pretty much the same thing, at a fraction the cost.  They are not as soft as the NYX pencils and sadly, do not seem to come in the huge range of colours that the NYX ones too.

These are the colours Bullet Proof Beige, which is actually more of a golden shimmer and Tempting Turquoise, which is as the name suggests a turquoise colour.

This is a better picture of my tattoo than a swatch.

I've worn these for a full day, although I have not challenged the 24hr claim, because I can't stay up that long and don't sleep with makeup on.

On the lids they are not in the least bit sticky or greasy, which it a pet peeve of mine, I hate being able to 'feel' a cream shadow, it MUST set immediately.

I initially bought the 'Beige' to use as a base for colour, but the more I use it, the more I like it worn alone or with a darker colour through the crease.

Colour pay off for these as well as the others in the range is great for the cash and I thoroughly recommend these if you are in the least bit interested in eye shadow pencils or want to give one a try.

A quick search of the Priceline website tells me these are available in Australia at $12.95 OR you can buy them from ASOS for less (but there is a smaller range of colour) and free delivery.

Eye shadow pencils, love em? Hate em? let me know.