Makeup Geek Highlighters

I was two minds about purchasing these highlighters, due to the steep price. However, having heard so many positive reviews I decided to try a couple out. 

      Lit                                                  Midnight Sun

I went for LIT (duo-chrome) and MIDNIGHT SUN (signature). 

Lit is a duo-chrome with a slight goldish peachy-pink duo-chrome, and Midnight sun is a very warm gold.

                    Midnight Sun                                                      Lit

In my opinion these do not have the same formula as the foiled shadows. The highlighters are not as metallic.

It does take some building to achieve an intense highlight. 

Unlike Midnight Sun, Lit was a bit chalky and crumbly. 

I personally don't find them to be anything special, especially for the price, at £19.25 each.

Having said that, they're not bad highlighter and I do see myself wearing them.

6/10

My Top Five Eyeshadow Palettes

My obsession with eyeshadows is what ignited my passion for makeup. Therefore, eyeshadow palettes are my most collected makeup items. 

Of course this meant I would have a tough time coming up with my top five, so you're getting an extra pick.

1) Z.Palette / Makeup Geek

Just a few swatches, left to right; Country Girl, Vintage, Morocco, Starry Eyed, Burlesque and Flame Thrower

My Z.Palette gets the top place, as its a palette I've created myself and is also my most used palette.

I have mostly matte neutrals; browns, burgundy and plumy type of colours.

I also have some foiled shadows in this palette. I use this palette for almost every occasion. Love it!

Favourite shades: Mesmerized, Vintage, Country Girl & Burlesque. 

 2) Urban Decay Naked Palette (original)

Just a few swatches, left to right; Sin, Sidecar, Half Baked, Darkhorse, Toasted & Gun Metal

  

 This palette has received a lot of hype in the YouTube world, and rightly so.

The palette consists of mostly warm toned shimmers with a couple of mattes. It is a very versatile palette, with which you can create looks from every day work to bridal and clubbing.

Favourite shades: Darkhorse & Toasted.

3) Lorac Pro (original)

Just a few swatches, left to right; Pewter, Espresso, Garnet, Slate, Gold & Mauve

This palette was very difficult to acquire, as its not available in the UK.

Again this is another very versatile palette and almost stole first place on my list. The quality of these shadows (in my opinion) is unmatched by any other. So very creamy and blendable, however this also makes these shadows vulnerable to cracking easily and creating fall-outs. 

With equal amounts of mattes and shimmers you can't go wrong with this palette. I have to say Lorac certainly put a lot of thought in to creating this palette.

Favourite shades: Slate & Pewter.

4) Urban Decay Smoked

 

 

Just a few swatches, left to right; Blackout, Rockstar, Evidence, Loaded & Mushroom

Now this probably is the most underrated palette EVER! 

Don't understand why? I find that the quality of the shadows in this palette are better than any other Urban Decay palettes I have. The colour selection is gorgeous, with three most popular jewel tones for smokey eyes. It has a perfect amount of shimmers and mattes. And comes in a zipped case. Great for travelling. 

Favourite shade: Mushroom.

5a) Morphe 35F (Fall)

Shades don't have names

This is a recent discovery, and has quickly made it to my top five. I have to say this is my favourite Morphe palette. Very trendy colours for now, with plumy, burgundy and golds. Mostly shimmers, with a row of mattes. Another well thought out palette. 

Morphe eyeshadows are such good quality, extremely pigmented and buttery. The shimmer shadows are actually very foil like, and easy to work with.

Favourite shades: All the plumy shades.

5b) Lime Crime Venus Palette

 

 

Just a few swatches, left to right; Venus, Shell, Aura, Creation, Icon, Rebirth, Divine & Muse

 Yes, there's a sixth. I just couldn't help it.

Before I get started.....I am aware of the controversy surrounding this brand. However, I do own this palette and love it, so had to be honest and mention it.

The Venus palette is actually the first of its kind (burgundy rich tones).

It consists of two shimmers and six mattes. The eyesadows are very very pigmented and creamy. The reddish shades can stain your lids.

Favourite shades: All of them.

Kat Von D London Calling Kit

As most people probably already know, Kat Von D is now available in the UK (exclusively at Debenhams). The brand has produced a limited edition kit called "London Calling". The kit has been designed to give us Brits a taste of what the brand is all about, as it consists of three of their most popular products. 

The idea is genius, however, the size may be an issue for some.

The kit includes a Studded Kiss lipstick in the very popular "Lolita", a Tattoo liner in "Trooper" and an everlasting liquid lipstick in "Double Dare".

A brilliant collection of products and colours!

The issue with this kit is that each items are just tiny samplers.

Studded Kiss lipstick 1.2g

Tattoo liner 0.2ml

Everlasting liquid lipstick 3ml

At the cost of £20 for the whole kit.

I have to say I'm not too impressed with the liquid lipstick, as it's sticky, and like most liquid lipsticks very drying. To be honest I'm not really a fan of liquid lipsticks in general anyway.

The Studded kiss lipstick, however, is perfection! I love the formula, as its matte yet creamy, with a very light weight feel to it.

As for the liner...well, I'm very conflicted with this one. I absolutely love the calligraphy style brush tip, which is a dream to work with.

However, I'm not too fond of the formula of this eyeliner, as it has a satin finish and does not last.

 Left to right; Studded kiss lipstick (Lolita), Liquid lipstick (Double Dare) and Tattoo liner (Trooper)

Lolita is a warm tone pink, very similar to Nars Audacious lipstick in "Anita".

Double Dare is a neutral toned pink and slightly lighter than Lolita.

The shade Trooper is just an average black. Not the darkest I've seen.

My conclusion

The kit is a brilliant idea, but you won't be getting your moneys worth.

I bought this thinking they were travel size, and was very disappointed to see that they are only sample sizes.

In my opinion this kit should have been priced around £10.

As for the products, I do see myself purchasing the Studded lipstick in Lolita, but will be giving the other two items a miss.

Overall I do not regret purchasing this kit and am glad to have tried it.

5/10

Hope this was helpful.

Please follow me here and on my their social media profiles for more reviews, makeup looks and giveaways :)

❤

London based freelance makeup artist for parties and weddings

I am a freelance makeup artist based in north London, and willing to travel within greater London. 

I specialise in Asian and English makeup for all occasions. 

For further information and quotes please contact me (Laila) on 07586526825. 

IG: @slkbeauty 

Becca Glow On The Go - Moonstone

This small kit from Becca is a set of mini shimmering skin perfecter (liquid 5ml) and the shimmering skin perfecter pressed powder (2.4g). 

This set is in Moonstone, but I believe it also comes in Opal.

Moonstone is most suitable for light to medium skin tones.

This is a great sampler kit, which is great for travelling. 

And at just £20 for two products (even though they're minis) its a decent price.

The liquid skin perfecter comes in a small concealer type tube, with a doe-foot wand, and the pressed version comes in a tiny compact with mirror. The compact is just a plain black plastic material, instead of their traditional packaging. 

Left to right; Liquid & pressed (Moonstone)

The best description for the colour would be a light yellow/ champagne gold. There are no visible glitters in either. I would say the pressed version is Mary-Lou on steroid!

The liquid version is however a more subtle/ sheer glow. Suitable for a natural look day.

As we all know both of these can be worn alone or layered together.

I rate...

9/10 

Avon Perfectly Matte Lipsticks

Like most well known makeup brands out there, Avon has also jumped on to the matte lipstick bandwagon, which they're calling the "Perfectly Matte Lipsticks". The name is perfect for this line, as they are the ideal matte lipsticks, in my opinion. They glide on very smoothly, feel very light weight on the lips, have excellent colour pay off and of course "perfectly matte"!

So far they have twenty colours, and I love every single one of them.

Nudes:

Left to right; Pure pink, Posh petal, Perfectly nude, Au natural, Marvelous mocca

Pinks:

Left to right; Hot plum, Ideal lilac, Electric pink, Splendid fuchsia, Mauve matters, Adoring love, Peach flatters

Reds:

Left to right; Vibrant melon, Absolute coral, Coral fever, Ravishing rose, Ruby kiss

Dark:

Left to right; Red supreme, Wild cherry, Superb wine 

Every images you see on this website was created by me (S. L. Khatun) unless otherwise stated. Please do not use any photos or content without first asking my permission sezealk@gmail.com.

**I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned on this post. These are products I have purchased myself and enjoy using**

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette

The new Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette was launched this summer (2016), with an attractive arrangement of colours.

This palette consists of 14 mostly warm eyeshadows, focusing on plumy/ reddish pinks and warm brick tones. Since these colours are very much in trend right now, the palette has become extremely popular. It has certainly become one of my favorites in my collection so far.

I have to say this palette does have some resemblance to the Lime Crime Venus palette. So if you're one of those boycotting Lime Crime but are interested in the Venus palette then the Modern Renaissance palette is a good alternative.

    

The packaging of this palette is beautiful. The dusky pink soft velvet gives it a very luxurious feel. However, it is most likely going to get dirty very easily....remember the first UD Naked palette?

The quality of the shadows are very impressive, they are very pigmented, soft and easy to blend. The two shimmer shadows (Vermeer & Primavera) are very metallic, The photos don't do them justice.

Top row swatches:

Left to right; Tempera, Golden Ochre, Vermeer, Buon Fresco, Antique Bronze, Love Letter, Cyprus Umber

Tempera: Semi matte light butter cream

Golden Ochre: Matte Beige

Vermeer: Metallic champagne 

Buon Fresco: Matte dusky lavender 

Antique Bronze: Shimmer warm brown

Love Letter: Matte plummy raspberry 

Cyprus Umber: Matte chocolate brown

Bottom row swatches:

Left to right; Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange, Primavera, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Warm Taupe, Realgar

Raw Sienna: Matte light coffee

Burnt Orange: Matte burnt orange

Primavera: Metallic gold

Red Ochre: Matte rusty brick red

Venetian Red: Satin bricky plum

Warm Taupe: Matte ashy brown

Realgar: Matte true brick red