theBalm Nude Dude Palette

theBalm Cosmetics has always been a particularly attractive brand to me - I put it down to the sassy, retro-inspired packaging, innovative and high quality products and pretty reasonable prices. For Christmas I received theBalm's Nude Dude Eyeshadow palette, which retails for £30 (I  got it for £27 in the feelunique.com sale).

The palette contains 12 stunning, highly pigmented eyeshadows - 4 matte shades ('Fearless', 'Flawless', 'Feisty' and 'Friendly'), a couple which have a hint of glitter ('Fine' and 'Fierce'), and the rest are either iridescent or glittery which I absolutely love. All of the shadows are really wearable and blendable and can be mixed with water to create a much more pigmented effect for a bold eye or coloured eyeliner. theBalm website also says that the shadows are 'triple-milled' which would explain their velvety, creamy feel.

Among my personal favourites are 'Fit', a burnt-orange/copper shimmer, 'Firm', which is more pink-toned and 'Fine' which is a dark warm-toned brown with a barely-there hint of glitter which is perfect for a brown smoky eye.

Personally I'm not a big fan of including little brushes in eyeshadow palettes - although this is one of the better ones I've seen (does anyone actually use those little spongy applicators?) - so I don't think this one will be getting much use from me, especially now I have my new Zoeva brushes! The shadows apply and blend so nicely with a fluffy brush.

The packaging is very slim and perfect to slip into your handbag, but perhaps wrap a hairband around it first, because it is just thick cardboard, held by (relatively strong) magnets. There is also a huge mirror which spans most of the palette (a hundred beauty points to theBalm!) which makes it ideal to take on a night out to touch up your whole face, not just your eyes.

Have you ever tried anything from theBalm?

Love, Milly xx

Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set

There is literally no way that these Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Brushes can look bad - I wish I was as photogenic as them! After being on my wishlist for over a year, I finally committed and asked for the brushes for Christmas, because, for me, forking out almost £60 on brushes is a pretty big deal, which is why these are so special. Looking back though, I wish I'd bought them earlier because they are more than worth the money (they work out around £7 per brush)! For anyone in the UK, I would recommend buying from Beauty Bay, purely because you get free next day delivery, and I know I certainly couldn't wait if I knew these were in the post!

 

From left to right, the set includes:

 

106/Powder - ideal for mattifying the face, covering a large surface area fast

 

127/Luxe Sheer Cheek - perfect shape and size for applying blush or highlight to the cheeks

 

102/Silk Finish - similar to the Real Techniques Buffing Brush, for buffing in foundation

 

110/Face Shape - the right size to fit under the cheekbones for applying and blending contour

 

142/Concealer Buffer - a very firm brush to buff concealer and give an airbrushed finish

 

227/Luxe Soft Definer - similar to the MAC 217, ideal for blending eyeshadow

 

231/Luxe Petit Crease - tapered to allow precise application of eyeshadow and smokier blending

 

317/Wing Liner - perfect size, shape and firmness for winged liner using eyeshadow or gel liner

 

 The brushes are a mixture of natural and synthetic hairs, which allows you to use them with both cream and powder products. For anyone who prefers to use only synthetic hairs, Zoeva do vegan brush sets just for you!

 

You probably also noticed the stunning makeup bag that the brushes come in, which is huge and has a pocket inside, so you can separate makeup and brushes. The bag feels really high quality and has a gorgeous rose gold zip detail to add to its loveliness!

 

All of the brushes are extremely soft and amazing quality (my Real Techniques brushes may have to take a back seat for a little while). Expect to see them in the background of plenty of future photos!

 

Love, Milly xx

Current Beauty Favourites

 

 

Today's post is quick round-up of my favourites from the past few weeks, which have become staples in my daily routine.

Revolution Vivid Baked Highligher in Peach Lights - I've already done a review of this, but in summary, I'm obsessed with the glowy effect it gives to my skin, and I basically coat my face in the stuff on a daily basis!

Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob - this may just be the most long-wearing lip product of all time! The ultra-matte finish leaves no room for smudging and means that there's no chance of your lips fading over the day. The colour is also gorgeous, but for me, a little bold for school-wear.

The Body Shop Red Musk Eau de Parfum - not only is the packaging absolutely stunning, but the fragrance is warm and spicy and makes me smell delicious all day.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer (in 010 Porcelain) - finding a concealer which is a) pale enough b)doesn't crease and c) covers blemishes is very difficult for me. But I may have just found the 'one'. The concealer has a finish somewhere between matte and dewy and has more than enough coverage for my blemishes. Some days I use this all over my face as a foundation and my skin just looks perfect. Price isn't really an issue with this one either - £5.49 for 6g.

Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner - after hearing Suzie from Hello October talk about this in most of her makeup tutorials, I thought I would give this a go, and I am so impressed. I thought that a liquid eyeliner would be really difficult to use, but the precision brush makes it perfect for winged eyeliner on a daily basis. The formula lasts all day without smudging, and comes out black-black, not grey like some drugstore eyeliners. Oh and the price? £2.99. I'll take 5!

What have you been loving recently?

Love, Milly xxx