Young Blood Makeup- The Review.

As some of you may remember a few weeks ago I attended the launch of Young Blood cosmetics here in Ireland, I blogged and filmed the event as well as giving my initial reactions to the products and the brand. So as I've been testing out the samples I'm now back with some more detailed reviews of the two stand out products I'm loving.

First up is the Mineral Primer- however before I go into this it must be said that I have never been a primer girl- shock horror! This has always been a step I've skipped, and I never thought it was worth spending money on primers. Unusually enough, this is the product I was the most excited to try as I wanted to see if it really did get my makeup to stay in place all day.This primer is paraben free and naturally rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals- like all Young Blood products they are good for your skin don't clog up those pesky pores.
So what did I think of it? To be perfectly honest I haven't found this as life-changing as I thought it would be, if I use this and skip powder I find that it does make my makeup stay in place that bit longer than if I just went straight for foundation. Areas like my chin, forehead and nose are places where I get quite oily throughout the day and where my make-up always rubs off first- and I didn't find that this made a huge difference in my makeup's lasting power in those areas. However, places where I'm not greasy it did work really well. I have found that my under eye concealer lasts that bit longer, as well as my blusher retaining its vibrancy throughout the day! The other lovely thing about this product is that it makes your base smooth and easy to apply makeup to especially over any areas where I have a breakout. Foundation just glides on over spot-prone areas without clinging to dry skin as the primer creates a smooth and even barrier.

The other Young Blood product I've been really loving is the Mineral Rice Setting Powder- which I mentioned in my previous Young Blood post and video! I love this stuff. Its so fine and light that it doesn't leave your skin loking cakey and heavily powdered, instead it almost imparts a sort of luminescence to the skin without containing any glitter. It gives the skin a beautiful velvet-matte look that's very on-trend this Autumn/Winter and is a look I personally love.

Mineral cosmetic is never something I was particularly interested in before- but I'm definitely converted! Young Blood are now available to buy online via the Closer2Fabulous store: http://closer2fabulous.ie/?product_cat=youngblood-makeup

The Balm Nude 'Tude Eyeshadow Palette- Review.

So I have a little confession to make.....I've been cheating on my beloved Naked Palette, shhhh don't tell! I've been using Urban Decay's staple palette for over three years now (I'm on my second one!) and I love it. However, recently I've found that I'm reaching for The Balm's Nude 'Tude* palette that bit more....and here's why;



Particular favourites for me are;

Silly- a gorgeous colour for a dramatic smokey eye- as its  a dark brown with lots of gold glitter!
Seductive- a beautiful, very warm toned bronzey gold.
Stand-offish- a lovely salmon pink/champagne colour that looks great in the inner corners or all over the lid.
Sultry- a warm toned matte brown that look perfect blended into the crease.
Sexy- a red toned brown that I thought would be more like Mac Cranberry, but is still a gorgeous colour. A nice one for a rich smokey brown eye.

The other colours are lovely as well, these are just my particular favourites at the moment! I still need to experiment a bit more with this palette as I think there are so many looks you could achieve with it! Its great for travelling as its a nice thin palette and you can get both everyday looks and more dramatic evening eyes with just the one palette. Its also worth noting that the shades are super pigmented but do have some fall out much like the Urban Decay ones so leave your concealer until last when using the darker shades.





*PR SAMPLE

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer Review

It seems almost strange to write a review on this concealer as I feel like I've made my feelings for it quite obvious over on my You Tube channel! Also, this concealer gets so many rave reviews all over the internet that it seems almost redundant to write another review on it.

Despite this, I thought that this concealer deserves yet another review as it really is an amazing product.  The best bit about the Lasting Perfection Concealer is the shade, us pale gals find it uber difficult to get a high street/ high end concealer that isn't too orange in colour. As far as I know they only have three colours in their shade range and I wear 1-Fair. This is a perfect match for my very pale skin and I find it blends in perfectly, even around my jawline without looking too dark.
It's also got the most fantastic coverage and is my go to product when I have a breakout as it covers redness really well. Its thick and creamy making it easy to blend into the skin seamlessly.

The only downside to this product is that things can get a bit cakey and heavy if you put too much on. I've found that less is more and I like to blend it out with the warmth of my index finger to make things as light and smooth as possible.
Due to its heaviness I don't find it great under my eyes as it can look too thick for the delicate eye area and settles in any fine lines I have. Other than that this is a holy grail product for me that I can't live without, and at around €6/7 it's an absolute bargain!

The Balm Blushers- Review.

 Left- Frat Boy Blusher. Right- Down Boy Blusher.

Anyone who has watched my most recent video will know that The Balm Cosmetics were kind enough to send me some make-up to review. Along with numerous other bits they were very generous and sent me three of their blushers!
First up is Frat Boy*- the one I've heard the most about here in the blogging and You Tubing world- clearly for a reason. It's such a gorgeous shade- a lovely peachy pink that adds a really natural flush to your cheeks. This is definitely  my favourite of the bunch!
Next is Down Boy*, the brighter of the two. A lovely girly pink that looks really great swept onto cheeks for a pretty and fresh look.

Lastly is Hot Mama*- definitely my favourite packaging! This colour is gorgeous- my Mum has stolen it off me already! A kind of a mixture of the other two shades but with an added bit of golden shimmer that adds some colour and a sheen to the skin. This one really reminds me of Nars Orgasm.


From using all three of these for the past week I can say that they are now firm favourites for me, they are super pigmented so a little goes a long way, I can see these lasting me for ages! Also, they have surprisingly long lasting power on the cheeks- something I've never had with my MAC or Sleek blushers, I've always needed midday top ups with those! These blushers can also be used as eyeshadows, I think Hot Mama would look particularly good on the eyes blended in with a dark grey!

If you want to try these for yourself- go online at Feel Unique, Koan UK and Amazon. Or check out The Balm's entire range at http://www.thebalm.com/



*PR Samples.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Correcting Concealer

This Bourjois concealer is a re-discovery for me. I used to love this concealer and then I discovered Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer which kind of took over! However, recently I've found that its a bit too heavy for under my eyes and went on the hunt for something else. So what's so good about it? Firstly its super thick and creamy which makes it great at covering dark circles under my eyes without being too dry. Oddly enough it also smells amazing! It has a fruity-raspberry scent to it but it doesn't irritate my skin.
The only downside to this concealer is that the lightest shade is just that bit too dark for me, I have the lightest shade- 51 Light Radiance.
Next up- I need to try the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation - I hope its a better match to my skin tone as it gets such amazing reviews!