Recently Tried Products (Skincare & Make Up)

In the past few months since the last blog post I wrote on new products, I've not tried a huge amount because I'm focusing on spending money on my house and trying to cut down how many beauty products I buy in a month, however, all of these products I really wanted to try so I caved and bought them.

Nip + Fab Teen Skin Salicylic Acid Tonic 100ml - £10.99
When I first saw this product on Superdrug's website, I knew I had to try it, because my skin has always love Salicylic Acid, since I was a teenager with mild acne. Even though this is aimed at teens and people with acne, I still use Salicylic acid all the time because it keeps my breakouts away - it's one of the only ingredients that I found really works for my skin. This is slightly pricey for the amount of product you get, but I do think that it is helping my skin to stay clear of blemishes. This does feel slightly drying on the skin - it sinks in very quickly, but once you put moisturiser on over the top, it feels back to normal. I would also say that you have to use quite a lot of product because it sinks into the skin so quickly, so I don't think the bottle will last very long. The one terrible thing I would say about this product is the scent - it smells strongly of Cod Liver Oil -which is disgusting, however, once applied, the smell does disappear. Overall, if you are struggling with acne, this may well be worth picking up, but just be warned that it smells disgusting.
Rating 4/5

Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Berry Jelly Moisturiser 50ml - £4.79
I've been meaning to try this product for a while now because I do find that Tea Tree Oil works well for any breakouts I have on my skin, however, it had very mixed reviews on the Boots website. Lots of people said it pilled up on their skin (when it leaves little bits of product on your skin), but it was 3 for 2 on skincare in Boots when I picked it up and I needed a third item, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm really glad I did, because this product is fantastic on my skin! It has a gel formula, which glides onto the skin and sinks in quickly; I didn't find that it pilled up on my skin at all. This moisturiser feels like it leaves my skin feeling soft, moisturised and matte, but it actually keeps my oils at bay ALL day, like no other moisturiser I've found! This feels very refreshing and cooling when first applied. It has a mixed scent, of Tea Tree Oil and Berry, which is a bit strange but it is not over powering and the scent isn't offensive to me. I personally am not a huge fan of the packaging - it has one of those tops that you push down and product comes out the middle - I would have preferred a standard pump, but it's not the end of the world. Overall, if you've got oily, acne prone skin, I would highly recommend trying this!
Rating - 5/5

Physicians Formula Butter Blusher - Plum Rose - £12.49
If you haven't heard of Physicians Formula, it is an American brand which is available for us in the UK on Amazon and iHerb. This blusher is part of the "Butter" range, which includes a highlighter and their iconic bronzer (which I have and love!). This range smells like coconut - sort of like a really good smelling sun tan lotion to me and I love the scent, but if you don't like scented products, I would avoid this range. The blusher has a similar formula to the bronzer - it feels creamy and soft and isn't overly pigmented. The shade 'Plum Rose' is a beautiful mauve colour, which has a bit of shimmer but just gives the cheeks a natural looking glow and flush of colour. The packaging is relatively sturdy, although I did find that the bronzer packaging (which is the same) has broken and doesn't click shut after a few weeks of owning it, but the blusher packaging is still going strong just now. I think this a great blusher for pale skin - in terms of shade and pigmentation; you can build it up but it is a lovely natural looking blusher.
Rating - 5/5

Sleek Make Up Lifeproof Concealer - Flat White - £6.99
I picked up this concealer in Boots, having not seen it before or heard any reviews on it. Firstly, I noticed there were very pale shades (by the look of the tubes) and secondly, I noticed they all were named after coffee (I am obsessed with coffee) so that sold it to me. I also noticed the tubes were quite big - they contain 7.4ml of product. This concealer has quite a thick consistency, and I found that I needed to apply quite a lot to cover the areas I wanted concealed - it didn't really spread easily. It gives a medium coverage - not the fullest coverage concealer that I've ever tried and not the lowest coverage. The shade isn't the palest shade I've got of concealer, I think it looks lighter in the tube than it does when swatched or applied, but it is wearable for me and I am a ghost. This lasted all day on my skin and didn't separate or go oily and I didn't find that it broke me out. It does have a strong chemical scent when you smell the applicator, but that doesn't really transfer onto the skin. Overall, this concealer didn't really blow me away, but it's not a bad product by any means.
Rating - 3/5

Revolution Conceal & Define Foundation 23ml - £9.00
I included this product in a recent review of 3 different Revolution foundations, so I won't go on about it too much. I absolutely love the Conceal & Define Concealer, but I had heard mixed reviews on this foundation, so I decided to pick it up and see what I thought for myself. The shade F1 is not quite pale enough for me, however, the shade up from that, F0.5, is far too pink. This foundation does oxidise slightly, but is wearable for me. The coverage of this foundation is amazing (full coverage on my skin), it applies and blends nicely and it's lasting power is amazing - comparable to the Revlon Colourstay which I find lasts on my skin around 12 hours. I was shocked by the lasting power because the other Revolution foundations I've tried have been terrible in terms of longevity and only last around 4 hours on my skin. This foundation doesn't sink into fine lines, doesn't transfer, stays matte all day and didn't separate or break down on my skin. This became a new favourite foundation very quickly and I would highly recommend trying it if you have a similar skin type to mine.
Rating - 5/5

W7 Dusk Til Dawn Eyeshadow Palette - £4.99
I've become a huge fan of W7 products in the past year as I feel they have really upped their game. I decided to try this palette because I love purple / burgundy shades (I have green eyes and purple and burgundy really make them pop!) and also because I love the 'On The Rocks' palette so much. Unlike their old eyeshadow palettes in the tin packaging, this palette is very pigmented and blendable, both in the metallic shades and the matte shades. The packaging is sleek and sturdy and comes with a mirror. The matte shadows do create a bit of fall out - especially in the darker shades and they can be a little bit powdery, however, you can brush away the fall out so it doesn't really bother me because it is so affordable. The metallic shades are creamy and pigmented and work best with a brush sprayed with a little setting spray. I feel like this palette is great for a range of different eye looks, which is what I look for in an eyeshadow palette. For an affordable eyeshadow palette, this is amazing quality and I would highly recommend trying it out!
Rating - 5/5

iHeart Make Up Princess Cut Highlighter - £6.00
The iHeart Make Up Goddess of Love highlighter is one of my absolute favourites, so when I saw they had come out with this new Diamond range, I needed to try it immediately. The shade 'Princess Cut' has two tones on it, an icy white with a hint of yellow and a more lavender / lilac tone. You can either use these shades individually or mix them together - I tend to do both depending on what look I am going for. The formula is very similar to the Goddess of Love highlighter, so if you like that, you will like this - it gives a beautiful sheen to the skin with a small amount of glitter. This is not a highlighter for those of you who like a natural look highlighter - this can be built up to a very intense highlight. The packaging is the same as the Goddess of Love - it is quite bulky cardboard and isn't great for travelling because it is so big, but it does product the product well. I think this is a great shade of highlighter for pale skin, but there are other shades in this range.
Rating - 5/5

MUA Bronzed Matte Bronzing Powder Solar - 110 - £2.50
As a pale girl, it's difficult to find a good matte bronzer, especially in the drugstore, that isn't orange or too warm for pale skin tones. When I saw this bronzer in Superdrug, I had to pick it up, especially for the price point. The shade 110 is a great bronzer or contour shade for pale people, it is quite cool toned, which I prefer in a bronzer. The formula of this is quite dry, in comparison to other bronzers I've tried - it doesn't swatch particularly well, however, it blends easily on the skin and has a good level of pigmentation. It is also fully matte, which I prefer in a bronzer. The packaging is simple and plastic, however, it does feel quite sturdy. For the price, you really can't go wrong with this bronzer and although this shade is particularly suited to pale people, there are a lot of other shades in this range.
Rating 4/5

Nip + Fab Make Up Illuminating Fixing Mist 100ml - £9.95
I've tried a lot of setting sprays at this point, but the majority of the setting sprays I have are mattifying ones, so I decided I would try some more 'illuminating' or 'dewy' sprays. I base a lot of my setting spray purchases on scent, because I don't like the setting sprays that smell straight up of vodka. This one smells slightly chemically, but it is not over powering and it doesn't smell like alcohol. The spray mister on this is nice and gives you an even mist over your face. I think this makes a slight difference to the lasting power of your make up and it doesn't dry out your skin. However, my issue with this setting spray is that you can see in the bottle all of the glitter that is floating around in it and when sprayed on your face, it just covers your face in glitter. This setting spray would be good for festival make up, for dance shows or possibly even a night out, but I would not recommend it for everyday use, unless you like having glitter all over your face. I was hoping that this would just give a glow, but I should have realised when I saw the glitter in the bottle that it wouldn't achieve the look I wanted.
Rating 2/5

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x