New Make Up Products I've Tried (Drugstore & High End)

Last week, I uploaded a blog post on the new skincare products I'd tried so this week, I thought I'd let you know what make up products I've recently tried and my thoughts on them. Spoiler alert - overall, I'm really happy with most of the new make up products I've tried!

Smashbox Photo Finish Primeriser - £30.00
I absolutely love the Smashbox Primer Water so when I heard that this primer had been released, I knew I had to try it. It cuts out a step in your morning skincare routine, by being a primer and moisturiser in one. The formula of this is lovely. It has a thin consistency and it does feel like it is hydrating to the skin as well as prepping it for make up. It sinks into the skin quickly and you don't need to use a lot to cover your face. I feel that it blurs my pores slightly and left a nice smooth base to apply foundation on top of, whilst leaving your skin feeling refreshed. The glass bottle comes with a pump so it is easy to get a controlled amount of product out. It doesn't really have a scent and it didn't break me out at all so it's a winner all round! One of the things I base my high end purchases on is whether there is an affordable dupe or comparable product out there. To my knowledge, there is no affordable version of this, so to me, it's worth the money.

Benefit Hoola Lite Bronzer - £25.50
I'm actually not a huge fan of Benefit, despite a lot of people obsessing over their products, but seeing as the original Hoola Bronzer is too dark for my skin, I thought I would try the Hoola Lite. Overall, I do really like this bronzer. It is a nice shade for pale skin, although I would prefer it to be a little more cool toned (just my personal preference) and it blends beautifully on the skin. I personally am not a huge fan of the cardboard packaging, as I prefer a pan that is easy to swirl a big bronzer brush around in, but it is supposedly more eco-friendly! I think if you are in the market for a high end bronzer and you have pale skin, this is a good bronzer to go for, but if you are on a tight budget, you could probably give this a miss and your life wouldn't be any worse!

Essence Glow To Go Illuminating Setting Spray - £3.30
If you haven't heard of Essence make up, it is available in the UK in most Wilko stores and is very affordable. I absolutely love the Essence Matte Setting Spray and I really feel like it works at keeping my oily skin looking matte all day. As the weather has been getting better recently (in Scotland that's a rarity), I've been fancying a more glowy look everyday, so when I saw this setting spray had been released, I had to pick it up. The first time I used this, I was on holiday so I was sat in front of a mirror with my handbag next to me. I realised later that day, that my handbag, my FitBit Watch and everything around me was covered in little specks of glitter... that doesn't seem to come off.. so be warned! The setting spray itself is nice, it isn't overly scented and it does make your face look glowy, although I feel like you need to hold it quite far away from your face to avoid huge specks of glitter on your face. In direct sunlight, it does show up quite glittery, so I'm not really sure on this one yet!

Morphe Concealer - Sand - £6.00
Morphe is known for their eyeshadows, but I've not heard many people talk about their face products, so I thought I would try one of their concealers. First off, I believe the palest shade is 'Sand' (I expected it to be the usual 'fair', 'porcelain', 'ivory' etc. but Sand is actually quite pale which is a bonus! Secondly, this concealer is unlike any other concealer I've tried, I actually had to check the packaging to make sure it was a concealer and not a liquid lipstick! The applicator and the formula reminds me of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams! It feels moussey, which gives a FLAWLESS finish, however, it doesn't last overly well under my eyes or on problem redness areas, but I think that's because I have combination / oily skin. This gives good coverage and I do like it as a concealer, it's just a bizarre formula compared to all other concealers I've tried!

Make Up Geek Highlighter - Glitz - £17
I am a huge fan of Make Up Geek eyeshadows, but I hadn't tried any other products from Make Up Geek. After seeing pale YouTubers raving about this highlighter, I thought I would give it a go (I'm really not hard to convince!) and the shade that looked the most suitable for pale skin was Glitz. Glitz is an icy pink toned highlighter, which isn't typically my favourite, however, I wore it with a purple eye look the other day and it complimented the look beautifully. It is quite an intense highlighter, which gives more of a sheen than a glittery highlight (this is my preference!) and the highlighter lasted all day! The packaging of this is lovely - sturdy and sleek looking and the product itself doesn't kick up any powder when swirling your brush in it. Overall, this is a great product, I just wish they would bring out more shades so I could buy more - possibly an icy white or a pale champagne shade.

Revlon Photo Ready Pore Reducing Primer - £12.99
After seeing one of my favourite YouTubers (ThaTaylaa) raving about this primer constantly, I had been meaning to try it for a while, but just hadn't got around to trying it. When you watch it applied in her videos, you can see an immediate difference to the texture of her skin and it balances out her skin tone magically! I'm very glad I picked up this primer as it quickly became a new favourite of mine! It works really well at blurring pores, doesn't feel overly siliconey or greasy and it didn't make my skin any more oily throughout the day. Once applied, it sinks in relatively quickly and leaves your skin looking better straight away and feeling smoother and softer. I've tried this with a number of foundations and it seems to work well with all of them so far. The glass bottle comes with a pump and you don't need to use a lot to cover your face. Overall, I would definitely recommend this primer!

Obsession Concealing Wand - Light - £6.00
Having swatched this concealer in store, it seemed pretty pale (which is a rarity normally in drugstore concealers!) so I thought I would give it a go, although I hadn't heard anyone talking about it. Overall, this isn't a terrible concealer, but it isn't a great one either. Like most concealers in this style, it takes about 50 twists of the bottom before you get any product out and it suddenly all comes out at once. The applicator is VERY messy, because it comes out the sides and top, so you end up with quite a lot of product wasted on the lid. It blends out nicely and the shade isn't bad for pale skin (not the palest I've tried but it is wearable), however, the coverage is lacking a lot. I could still see my dark circles under my eyes (I don't have extremely dark circles, just the average sleep deprived person!). It didn't particularly crease or breakdown throughout the day and it didn't oxidise. It just didn't give me the coverage I am looking for in a concealer and they need to sort out the applicator!

Olivia Hale Blusher - Bramble - £0.99
For those of you who haven't heard of Olivia Hale make up, it is available in selected Home Bargains stores in the UK and it's all around the £1 mark. This looked like a nice, natural shade so I thought I would give it a go! It is a nice blusher and a good shade for pale skin, plus the pan is huge! I don't tend to get through blushers (partly because I have so many and partly because I only use a small amount each day) so I don't think I will ever hit pan on this! It blends nicely on top of powdered foundation and the colour lasts most the day. It's not overly pigmented (which is what you want in a blusher to avoid looking like a clown if you have pale skin), so overall, for 99p, it's a great blusher to add to your collection if you happen to see it in the shop!

The Body Shop Matte Clay Skin Clarifying Foundation - Peruvian Lily - £10.00
I had seen mixed reviews on this foundation - some people were saying it clings to dry patches or looks patchy and cakey, so I held off on buying it, but I swatched it in The Body Shop and it seemed super pale and didn't oxidise, so I thought it was worth picking up. Based on the reviews I'd seen, I didn't have high expectations, but this foundation really surprised me! I would NOT recommend this for anyone with dry skin or dry patches, as it does have a very matte finish and it looks like it could easily cling to dry patches. However, on oily / combination skin, it looks really nice if you like a matte finish. The shade is almost pale enough for me without mixing with a white mixer (this is unheard of for drugstore!) and it didn't oxidise on my skin throughout the day. It controlled my oils well throughout the day and didn't really transfer. The only thing that would make this foundation perfect for me is having a bit more coverage; I would say this is a straight medium coverage.This comes in a squeeze tube which is great for getting a controlled amount out and it isn't too thick or too thin in consistency. Overall, this really shocked me and it's a great foundation for the money! 

Obsession Prep, Fix, Glow Setting Spray - £6.00
I already own so many setting sprays that I have now decided to base my purchases of setting sprays on how they smell, before I buy them, because so many of them smell like straight up vodka. This setting spray made the cut because it smells lovely! It's a slightly coconutty scent and it doesn't really smell like alcohol or chemicals, although the other setting sprays from Obsession did. I think this makes my make up look a bit more settled and makes it last a bit longer and it has a really nice mist, so it is nice to use. I can't say it really makes my skin look glowy, but it doesn't mattify the foundation so it's a nice in-between setting spray. Overall, this is a good setting spray for the price and the smell alone makes me reach for it constantly.

Morphe 35B Colour Burst Eyeshadow Palette - £23.00
I wanted to purchase this eyeshadow palette because I wanted a good range of bright colours to use with other eyeshadow palettes - e.g. sometimes green eyeshadows can look quite muddy, so I wanted some bright green eyeshadows to blend in with other greens to make it pop more. Just as I decided I wanted this palette, it seemed to explode on social media and it was suddenly sold out everywhere. You can buy Morphe palettes on Beauty Bay's website or from Morphe's website direct, if you can find it in stock! This eyeshadow palette is pigmented, blendable and the shade range is fab. To me, the price is worth it because of how many shades you get in the palette and how versatile it is for so many eye looks. I already own a few other Morphe palettes and the quality of the eyeshadows is consistent throughout.

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x