Collection: Blush & Highlight 2 in 1 Cream Duo Review (+Swatches)

Hello Lovelies, another day another review, it seems! I've decided to review products that I already have because isn't that what this blog is all about? So yes, review time, and today's product is something that I have been using and loving since I bought it.

In my previous post I reviewed Collection's new Trio Eye Shadow's in Naughty n' Nude, and I personally love that little product. Of course there are a few more new products out from Collection, one being the Blush & Highlight 2 in 1 Cream Duo, which I think is Collection's first Cream blush that they have released. There are two shades readily available, which are the shades Strawberries & Cream and Peaches & Cream. How cute!

The shade I have is Strawberries & Cream, and that's purely because I don't like coral based blushers (and the fact they don't suit my skin tone), but if you do, then I suggest trying out Peaches & Cream because it looks just as sweet as this one does!

I picked this little duo up a while back when Boots were doing an introductory offer on the new Collection items that were available, and this is what immediately caught my eye. I've been into blushers for a while now, but my dry skin and powder do not always bode well together, so I thought that a cream blush would do the trick for hydrating my skin whilst also giving me a little bit of life. That, and it was pretty much love at first sight with this product.

It's a very cute little duo, and I love the colour - Strawberries & Cream is a combination of a bright, candy pink blusher and a silvery highlighter, but the payoff itself is extremely sheer, yet it gives you enough colour that helps give off a nice healthy glow in my opinion, but if you are a fan of strong colour pigmentation with your cream blushers, then step away because this one does not do that! If anything, it's just a nice little natural blusher which will make you look a little more alive if you feel down or tired.

Top: Blended | Bottom: Swatched

Personally, I really like this item. I use it when I am on the go and when I need a little bit of a pick-me up in my cheeks. Most of the time I don't even wear foundation, but I feel the need to put some colour back in my face, so this is my little savior! It's pretty easy to blend, though you do need to warm it up with your fingers or brush at first, and because of how compact it is, its a product which is extremely easy (and handy!) to carry around if you need to add some more later on in the day, which is something I always find handy because I generally do my make-up at college if I wake up late...

This is also the first product to introduce me to highlighters - I generally don't use them, and never had one before now because I saw no point in them, but whenever I use this blush, I use the highlighter beside it. I've found that it gives a nice faint glow, though the amount of glitter present in the pan can be quite scary to look at! However, after blending it out you just get a nice subtle highlight which looks quite nice in my opinion... just don't go overboard!

The downfall to this product would have to be that you need a very good moisturiser or dewy foundation in order to get it to blend well. I found that it's a lot harder to work with when I use one of my moisturisers which is okay, but not that great, and realised that this product didn't glide onto my skin like I wanted it to. It's also quite hard to work with if you have extremely dry cheeks, something which I do indeed suffer from, so just wear a good moisturiser or a very dewy, moisturising foundation or BB Cream, because it will work then, and it will go on like a dream and look lovely!

Other than those downfalls, I do really like this cute little duo! It's great for any on-the go girl due to how compact it is, and I love the colour itself. It's sheer, but I'm pretty sure you can build it up to a brighter colour, and the highlighter is nice if you are starting out.

This my current go-to blusher, and if I ever run out, I will definitely repurchase this product all over again! At £4.19, I do find it to be a little pricey, especially considering this is Collection, but it's a nice product to have in my collection and it works for me!

You can find this little treat in Superdrug, Boots and on the Collection website, and with current offers in-store, take advantage and treat yourself!

Have you tried this product yet? If you have, which shade do you have and how does it work for you? Let me know!

Collection: Work The Colour Eye Shadow Trio in Naughty n' Nude Review (+Swatches)

Hello lovelies! Another day, another blog post! I don't have anything new to show you today, but I do have a little review on a product I have had for a month or two now, one which I have found myself reaching for most days when I need to go go go! Basically this is my go-to palette when I am in a rush for college and need something quick and easy, but also brightening for my eye.

This cute little trio is from Collection Work The Colour, and is one of their new products under the new name since they changed it from Collection 2000. You can find this brand in both Boots and Superdrug, and at the price of only £3.19, you really can't go wrong with these little treats!

I purchased the shade Naughty n Nude, which is the second mini-palette out of eight that you can collect. With this trio you get a dark, rich purplish-brown colour, a very pretty gold colour that would be perfect as either an all over lid colour or a highlighter, and a cream shadow which you can use as either a base or a highlighter. All shades are quite shimmery, especially the cream shadow, which I found to be a little too glittery for my own liking, but it's still very lovely.

Whilst the darker shade may not be as neutral as most would like, I find that you can ut it on uite sheer and build it up to however dark you want it to be, something which would be useful for those of you who like to intensify your look from day to night!

I use the cream shadow mostly from this palette, because it's so quick and easy to pop on if I a rushing off to college. The tone of the cream base also brightens up my eyes before I go, but when I have more time, I use all three colours and create a simple look by using the cream shadow as a base, the gold as an all over lid colour and the darkest shade in my crease and on the outer corner of my eyes. Just having all three colours there is very useful, especially if I am rushing off and need something quick to do!

The packaging is also very compact, something which caught my eye with this trio. I carry my makeup to college now, so having something small and light is always helpful. I also find it to be quite cute with how little it is!

The colours, as I said, are very shimmery, especially the cream shadow, but because I don't mind shimmery based pigments I'm fine. I also find the colours, especially the darkest shade, to be quite pigmented, which I was so pleased with because when I bought this palette you could not swatch it (even though Collection don't seal their items, which can lead to others poking their fingers in the products), so I had to take my chances with this one.

I personally really like these colours; the gold is a beautiful shade, and it really brightens and highlights my eyes. It's also that perfect go-to shade if you want to look a little bit more awake, or just need something quick to put on before you rush off. With the pink and the gold, I interchange what I wear depending on my mood, so I find that both the cream shade and the gold shade are suitable for quick mono-shadow looks if you just need something simple and easy. If I feel like I need more definition, I use a light hand with the dark purplish-brown shade because it's so pigmented!

I love this little palette, and that's because it's so easy to use and has all the colours I need to complete a look or just to create something quick and easy before I go off to learn! The colours are pigmented, and they blend beautifully together. The cream base is very glittery, something which I do find to be a bit of a downfall with this palette, but I bear with it because I like how it looks as a shadow on its own and how well it brightens my eyes!

This is a gorgeous little palette which will work beautifully with green eyes, and at just £3.19, it's a bargain waiting to be bought!

I don't think that this is the best eye trio I have ever tried, but I do like it. The colours will fade after a few hours, and they will crease throughout the day because the cream base on its own is a horrible primer, but for someone on a budget this is a lovely product, and if you are a girl-on-the-go, this might be a nice little purchase for you as well. Collection do have many other shades, including greens and purples and blue's for the more adventurous make-up lovers, but for someone who needs something easy and brightening, Naughty n' Nude (or even Chocolate Chip) is the perfect little palette for you. It's easy to use, the colours can be used sheer or you can build them up for a more powerful impact of colour.

It's a sweet, handy little trio, so try it out if you like Collection, or if you just need something to give you a quick and easy look to get you through the day!

Have you guys tried out this palette? If you have, what do you think and what colours do you have?

 

Mini Haul & Review: Collection, MUA & NYC!

All products were purchased by me with my own money. All thoughts are honestly my own.

Hello lovelies, today I have a mini (and by mini, I mean mini!) haul to share with you all today! After taking a trip into town and checking to my local Superdrug for a certain mascara, I cam out with two other little Halloween treats for myself.

Really, I should learn that going in for a Mascara ultimately means buying something else, especially when Superdrug has a fantastic 3 for 2 offer going on! I couldn't let that deal go to waste, so I found myself buying the eyeliner that I have been eyeing up for a while, as well as a brand new lip balm just in time for winter!

Anyway, here's what I got!

 

MUA Professional Mega Volume Mascara (£3) - I needed a new black mascara, seeing as I haven't used a good ol' black mascara in a while! Usually, I stick to Brown/Black that are waterproof, but this time I wanted black! That, and MUA brought out their latest products, so I thought that I would give this baby a try and see how much I liked it, because I just adore MUA as a brand.

Firstly, the brush: This is actually a very nice brush, I love how it feels on my lashes and how it works through every lash and separates them nicely. It's fairly standard in size, but it works nicely enough for me! I had a easy time applying the mascara, which is generally what you need in a mascara brush.

The charms of my wonky eyes

It also does a really nice job with the application! As you can see, my left eye (or right in real life, but pictures are fickle) has the product on, whilst my right eye doesn't. I found that this mascara did a very nice job with making my eyes look bigger, and my lashes longer and a lot more noticeable. I do think it does a good job with volume as well, and considering the result was via a few coats, this mascara is looking pretty promising and could easily replace my beloved 17 Peep Show Mascara!

This is a very nice addition to the growing MUA line. I am loving the formula already and how great this mascara applies! Of course, give me a few more days or weeks before I can officially say I love it, but for now, I am really enjoying this mascara!

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner (£2.99) - This is an older product from a nice little brand called Collection, formerly known as Collection 2000. I've actually been checking this eyeliner out for a while now, but never bought it due to fear of a faulty product. It happened in the past with this brand, because there is no seal on any of their products in the stores, and so I just put off buying anything for a while from this brand...

But other than the whole no-seal thing, I actually do like this brand.

The product itself is your everyday felt tip liner pen, and the application is, in my opinion, very nice. It glides on smoothly, the liner is nicely pigmented, and it has a pretty good staying power from what I can tell. Also, it doesn't sting my eyes at all after applying it, which is always a bonus for me and any liquid based liner, because my eyes are very sensitive!

The felt tip allows for easy application, with thick or thin lines, which is what you want in a liner pen. It's easy to use, and so far I quite like it!

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm (£2.49) -  This is a new little product which I happened to catch out of the corner of my eye on the NYC stand in my local Superdrug, and whilst I haven't used this brand in quite a few years, the products always look appealing... but this one really did catch my eye, and I knew that I just had to have it, even if I don't necessarily need it!

I decided to get this product in the shade Applelicious Pink, which is actually my second choice. I actually wanted to get Apple Blossom, but it was the only shade that had actually sold out, annoyingly enough. So I settled for this colour, and I am pretty glad I did! Applelicious Pink is a duo made up of a dark pink colour with a baby pink center. It's a very nice colour, actually, and as this is a balm and not a lip gloss, it applies a lot sheerer than the colour you get in the tube.

The application itself is very smooth, and the colour can be built up to give a more noticeable finish to the lips. I actually found that about two or three swipes was enough for me and gave a pretty good colour pay off. It's nice and glossy, and it feels very smooth and comfortable on the lips, something that is pretty much a must in any lip balm.

This has to be my favorite buy for this haul! I'm glad that I picked it up, and for the price, this is a very sweet little bargain and I got it just in time for the on-coming winter months! Also, as a little bonus, this product smells absolutely delicious! It has a nice fragrance of apples, something which I hoped it would have, given the name. It smells lovely, and I do love it when my lippies smell nice!

So, have any of you lovelies checked out these products at all? If you have, what do you think of them, and which one is your favourite? Be sure to let me know!

Kel xxx