freedommakeup

March beauty favourites 2016

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Hello my little buttons!

I realised I hadn’t written a favourites blog in quite a while, so thought I better get back on track. The past month I’ve really been enjoying playing with makeup, I’ve got some fab products I just can’t put down that I’d love to share with you! I think I have reviewed most of these products but I can still give u a mini break down of why I think they’re awesome. I’ve tried quite a few eyeshadow palettes this month, I’ve really been feeding my addiction lol, so I’m going to do a separate post on my favourite palettes from the month.

Product number one had to be Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in the shade blonde. This stuff is incredible, it’s the perfect shade for me and is so easy to apply. Personally, I line the outside of my brows with a thin slanted brush, over drawing them slightly giving myself more of an arch. I then use the remainder of the product on the brush to fill the rest in. It’s so quick and easy and I love the end results. I’ll add a photo below. It lasts the whole day with zero touch ups which is fantastic, even in the rain there’s no smudging what so ever. Don’t get me wrong I’m not claiming to have perfect brows or to be a ‘brow queen’ but this definatly helps! It’s priced at £15 and I bought mine from Beauty Bay. If you are after a cheaper alternative Freedom Makeup London also do a brow pomade which does exactually the same thing for only £5!

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Next on the list is eyeliner pens. I tend to prefere a wet liner with a small brush but recently while looking at my eyeliner stash I realised I have quite a few eyeliner pens I’ve not even tried. So this month really has been the month of the pen, I’ve actually found it a lot easier to use than I used to. A few favourites have been Elfs new liner pen (it’s lost in my house at the moment it’s driving me insane not being able to find it) the formula is super dark and the nibs long and flexible with a super fine tip which is great for winging it out on the upper Lash line.

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Another range I totally forgot existed is Avon super shock liners, I have 3 colours and all three are easy to use and last really well throughout the day. I wouldn’t recommend the dark green although it looks gorgeous on it stains really badly!! I’ve found the pens that are the best to use are the ones with a long nib and fine tip, you have more control and they glide over the lids a lot easier.

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I do own a Rimmed Scandal eyes pen which has a short flat applicator, I found this a lot more challenging to glide across my aging eyelids lol they’re not as smooth as they used to be!!

Highlighters, highlighters and more highlighters. I just can’t get enough, highlighting and strobing is huge right now and I have officially jumped on the band wagon. I couldn’t pick one favourite as I’m rotating my collection but I can definatly recommend a few. I have a several highlighters in stick form that are super quick to apply, the one I’m reaching for most is Collection ‘Speedy highlighter’ in the shade ’01 Pearl Sheen’ it’s a beautiful peach pearly colour which is really flattering on my skin tone.

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For the creams I’m loving Makeup Revolution Ultra Strobe balm, I have the shade Euphoria which is a pinky toned highlight. An old favourite which I’ve mentioned many times is Essence Soo Glow which is a gold highlight, the cream to powder formula feels like a dream. Both apply evenly and blend in beautifully over makeup.

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For the powders I’m reaching for my Elf baked blush, which is a pinky toned blush but I also double as a highlight as it has the prettiest rose gold shine.

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I would also highly recommend the Makeup Revolution highlighting trio palette, it contains 3 huge pans of product including a gold pink and purple highlight. They last all day and look stunning. They also have individual baked highlighters if you wanted to stick with a certain colour.

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I’ve been reaching for my Freedom Makeup London Setting Spray a lot too, it helps my makeup last as well as De cakes my face if I’ve over powdered. I like that it’s not a huge bottle it’s great to throw in my hand bag to freshen up through the day.

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L’oreal Infallible matte Foundation is giving me life right now!!! I love the coverage, a little goes a long way and it makes my skin look amazing. It’s a great Base for any contouring or highlighting I feel like doing that day. It’s stays matte through out the day and doesn’t dry my skin out, it will forever be in my top 3 favourite foundations so I just had to mention it.

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So there we go, there was quite a few bits in this month’s favourites but I really couldn’t leave any out. All amazing products and none that break the bank. Total win win. What’s your monthly favourites I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Becca xxxx

Freedom Makeup London and House Of Glam Dolls eyeshadow palette in ‘Vintage Doll’

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Hello my little buttons!

Freedom Makeup recently did a collabe with House of Glam Dolls to create four ‘all in one’ palettes. For those of you who don’t know, House of Glam Dolls is a makeup training academy in London. When Freedom first launched I was invited to a makeup course there using all the new Freedom products. It was run by David Horn it was absolutely fantastic I would highly recommend their courses,  there is a blog about it further down the page! (my blog is getting a revamp soon to make articles easier to find!!)

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The palettes are £8 each and avalible in four different colour choices. I chose Vintage Doll as I’m quite pale and thought the blushes would suit my skin tone. On reflection I wish I would of gone for Fairy Doll as I love bright coloured makeup but I did think I would get more day to day use of Vintage Doll.

Each palette contains 4 brow powders, 3 highlight shades, 4 lipglosses, 2 blush and 10 eyeshadows. I don’t normally buy all-in-one palettes as they remind me of kiddie makeup and I just don’t seem to reach for them but as I love the vast majority of Freedom Makeup I really wanted to give them a go, and for £8 it was a bargin.

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I really like the brow powders, there is a shade for nearly everyone. They apply smoothly and have great pigmentation. Another bonus is although I would only use one, maybe two shades on my brows these double up as eyeshadows. I liked using the lighter shades in the crease and the darker shades to add demention and smoke things out!

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Here are the swatches of the blushes, I feel these steal the show in this palette. They actually remind me of Sleek blushes, which is a big claim to make! They are so creamy and pigmented you only need the tiniest dab on your brush, they blend out beautifully and last really well throughout the day. They leave a slight stain which helps with the staying powder.

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One of the issues with having lipglosses next to shadows in a palette like this is that is you know within minutes you will get powder, dust and random bits stuck to the products. I think the only way it works is if there is a separate flap covering the lipglosses. The colours themselves show up lighter than they appear in the pan which is a shame, but it was expected. They’re nice for a light wash of colour and last for maybe an hour or so. I like that you can mix the colours to customise your own shade but I don’t think they are needed in the palette and could of been left out.

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The eyeshadow and highlight layout in the palette did confuse me slightly so I’m lumping them into the same category as both products are multi functional. It’s funny because when I saw the palette online I thought ooo pretty, but when it was in front of me it took me a while to think of what do with it! As you’ll see further down the page I managed to create quite a few different eye looks with this palette but it was rather confusing that I didn’t feel inspired straight away. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like it. There’s a good selction of shimmers and mattes, most shades are pigmented and looked really pretty to me after I swatched them but a couple were quite stiff so required more time and effort. I have found this tends to be in case in most drug store palettes so it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Infact I’ve even found it in a few high end palettes too!!!

Although this is not my favourite palette in the whole world, it is a decent product. I think it would be great for someone starting out in makeup as it has 5 products for only £8! You can really experiment and practice with different colours and looks while not worrying your money’s being washed down the sink as it’s so reasonably priced. Another thing I think this product would be fabulous for is travel, it’s a small sized palette so even if you bought all 4 you could slip them in your suitcase or carry on and have endless looks at your finger tips. I do think I would take this on holiday it just seems so convenient taking one product, apose to 5. I’ve enjoyed creating different looks and seeing how much I can get out of this palette.

Becca xxx

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Freedom Makeup London Pro Studio Priming Water

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Hello my little buttons!

A while ago I was sent a priming water from Freedom Makeup London The water is full of nourishing multi vitamins and is prices at £6.00 for 100ml. If you follow my blog you’ll know with primers and foundations I like to thoughaly test them out with a viaraty of other products before I give my verdict so that I am confident in my opinion. This was my first experience with a priming water, it seems crazy that a product with the consistence of water could prime your skin to help your makeup go on smooth as well as make it last. So I was very curious to see how this would perform. My skin is slightly oily and I can get dry patches, although they have cleared up since using Freedoms pro studio moisturiser, if your interested I have reviewed further down my page. I tend to use mattifying primers, again I have reviewed Freedoms further down the page lol. After testing and testing and testing again I have come to the conclusion that this primer is a handy little tool to have in your collection. If your in a rush it’s fantastic to quickly spritz on the face, it’s smells gorgeous which is always nice, and dries fast. My makeup applies beautifully and not only that, lasts really well throughout the day with no dry patches or grease pools around my nose. It also seems to help blur my pores slightly, which as we all know is always a good thing. I’ve mainly been using medium-full coverage foundations recently and I’ve noticed a difference in the overall look as well as the longevity of my face products. You get a lot of product for your money so it would last you for ages, the mist is so fine even after a month or so of nearly constant use I’ve only used a quarter of the product. If your looking for an everyday quick primer to save you time as well as do the job, this could be the priming water for you!

Becca xx

Disclaimer: although this product was sent to me to review that doesn’t remotely effect my opinion of the product. I would not sell my sole for makeup xx

Freedom Makeup London Pro Studio Oil Control Base

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Hello my little buttons!

I purchased the Freedom Makeup London Oil Control Base Anti-shine lotion a few months ago, but really wanted to test it out thoroughly before writing this blog. I find primers quite hard to review until I have used them with a viaraty of foundations, bb creams etc. Its priced at £8, the packaging is the same as the Freedom Makeup London skincare range, silver sleek and super functional with a pump. My favourite way to get a product out! Hygienic and you have a fair bit of control on how much primer comes out. It feels like a cooling gel to touch and a little goes a long way, I have tried using my fingers to apply the anti shine lotion as well as a Real Techniques buffing brush and I have found the same results with both ways of application. It actually works!!!! With bb creams and lighter foundations I’ve found I might need a light powdering in the afternoon as apose to the normal 4/5 during the day but with a matte foundation this primer is unstoppable. What I found quite unique is as well as keeping my oily t zone at bay, my skin stayed really hydrated throughout the day. Quite often with mattifying primers/foundations they can cause dry patches on my chin and around my mouth but I didn’t find this an issue at all. I wasn’t having to powder through the day as even towards the afternoon I had a healthy ‘glow from within’ look not an ‘oil slick’ look! If Freedom Makeup could add some pore blurring magic to this primer I would never use anything else again lol. I’ll add some photos of the primer in action! I’d love to hear what your favourite primers are in the comments down below!

Love Becca xxx

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Freedom Makeup London Dramatic Sensitive Eyemakeup Remover

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Hello my little buttons!

If you follow me on instagram or my blog you’ll know that I’ve been testing out the new range of skincare at Freedom Makeup London, so far I adore their moisturiser (review a few posts back) and will be blogging this week about their Oil Control Makeup Base.

Today, however were talking about their Dramatic Sensitive Eye makeup Remover. All the packing in this line is gorgeous, silver and sleek looks great on the vanity. What was quite different is that the product is pumped out of the bottle, which is very hygienic so I liked this feature. However I think I must of gotten a dud one as every time I pumped it squirted the product out sideways instead of straight down. This was easily solved by holding my cotton pad right over the pump so it couldn’t go anywhere other than the pad but was a little irritating. The product itself has a light fresh scent which you can smell on the skin afterwards. I have tried the product several times and I’m so sad as I seem to be allergic to an ingredient or two in it! It’s so disappointing as it removed my make up spectacularly quick, it felt cooling and I was really pleased with the results. Until maybe one minute later when my eyeballs virtually set on fire, they were streaming and stinging for hours. Even after washing them it was still painful, I wanted to really make sure it was the makeup remover that was setting my eyes off (as I was testing out other new products) I tried it twice more (crazy I know but I really wanted it to work lol). Sadly it happened both other times which ended in me taking an antihistamine tablet, so it’s definatly this! I do have to say my eyes are very sensitive so this isn’t the first time a product has done this, I have to be careful with eyeliners and mascaras as well as skin care products. Im not an expert in skin care or makeup ingredients so I have no clue what exactually it is my eyes don’t like about it. This was quite hard to review as although it didn’t work for me it could be someone else’s holy grail makeup remover as it worked really well until the reaction! It’s also very affordable, costing £5 for 30ml/1 Fl.Oz avaliable at: .Freedom Makeup London No matter how much you love a brand there’s always going to be products you don’t get along with, and this is sadly one of those products. Have you tried this remover? Did it work for you? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Becca xxx

Freedom Makeup London Pro Studio Moisture Cream

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Hello my little buttons!

I’ve been on the lookout for a good moisturiser for some time now, I have fairly oily skin but due to the cold weather have started getting dry patches which my foundation is loving sticking to. I normally use really light products such as hydrating gels or mattifying creams to stop the oil slick thoughout day but this wasn’t helping the dry patches. I tried a few other creams that I had samples of and although it was helping the dry patches the rest of my face wasn’t thanking me for it, they were too heavy for my combo skin type. I noticed that one of my fav brands, Freedom Makeup London had a half price sale on so thought this would be a great opportunity to try some of their new skin care and hopefully find a moisturiser to be a staple in my collection. I chose the Pro studio moisture cream, normally £7 but as it was half price I paid £3.50. (the offer is still on at http://freedommakeuplondon.com) I was happy with the price as if I did like this product it would be easy to replace. There’s nothing worse than loving a sample size skin care product and finding out the full size is £50, I know you know what I’m talking about lol.

The cream came on a big glass pot, simple white and silver packaging, I liked it. Under the lid is a smaller removable lid that fits right over the opening of the jar which I have kept to keep out air and bacteria as much as I can. I usually go for creams in tubes so I’m not touching and contaminating the product inside, but my hands are clean whenever I apply my skin care products anyway and I don’t share them with anyone so it’s not put me off. The cream contains ‘skin nourishing’ ingredients such as ‘olive derived squalane and shea butter’ to ‘firm, protect and rejuvenate’ and you get 50ml/1.69Fl. Oz.

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I have been using the cream for a few weeks now and think I’ve got a pretty good feel for it. This cream is awesome!! I’ve been using it daytime as well as night, my dry patches have gone and i’m not a dripping greasy mess. I can wear it alone or under makeup, it’s a great all rounder! Even my makeup is going on smoother, my skin looks so much better than it did and the fact I’ll cream my face up before makeup is a testament to the brilliance of this cream. I’m so pleased to have found a cream that I can use everyday that is affordable and works with my skin, I’m 28 and I’ve not started wrinkling up yet but it is inevitable so the more I can do to help my skins elasticity and texture, the better!!! I also think it’s going to last me for ages, as you can see in the photo after 2 weeks I’ve hardly made a dent, a little goes a long way and it sinks in nice and quick too. Its got a lovely light scent to it, it’s fresh but not over powering. A lovely little cream I will happily recommend! 

Have you tried this cream? I’d love to hear in the comments below! I’ll be reviewing a few other Freedom skincare items I bought throughout the week so of you’d like to read more scroll down my blog until you see this:

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And sign yourself up for email notofications. You can also follow me on instagram ‘buttonnailslovesmakeup’ Hope your all having a fab weekend!

Becca xxx

£5 dupe for Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow?!

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Hello my little buttons!

Recently I purchased Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow in the shade blonde for £15, soon after that I found out Freedom Makeup London also did a blonde brow pomade for £5, naturally I ordered it lol! The past two weeks has been the battle of the brows, to see how these both perform side by side and if Freedom Makeups version could really be a good dupe for me to recommend. I blogged a first impression of the dipbrow and long story short I loved it, so easy to use, great colour, lasts litrally all day. It really does something magic to your brows, if you have used it you know what I mean! It is avaliable in 11 shades, you receive 4g of product and it has a 6 month expiry after opening. I ordered mine through http://beautybay.com and received free delivery (I’m in the UK)

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The first thing I noticed about the Freedom Makeup brow pomade in comparison to dipbrow was how similar the packaging is, both are cute little glass pots with sleek black lids. The next thing I noticed, that really shocked me was how similar the colours were!

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Freedoms was a hair darker (do you see what I did there haha) but the similarity is impressive. Anyone with blonde hair/brows knows that most drugstore ‘blonde’ products really aren’t blonde, and even if they look blonde in the pan when you apply them they seem far darker. Don’t get me wrong these are still a darker shade of blonde but thats perfect for my brows and I imagine if you had lighter brow hair it would appear lighter on the skin. Getting back to my original point it’s hard to find affordable blonde brow products but the Freedom pomade was spot on. They felt very similar in texture and throughout the day both swatches lasted equally as well on the back of my hand, once they had set they didn’t budge. I also thought it was fab that Freedom also carried 11 shades, which again for drug store is a rarity. There is less product though, you get 2.5g but the product expires after 12 months instead of 6 so if you didn’t use it every day it’s still good for twice as long as the dipbrow and it is £10 cheaper. I ordered mine through http://freedommakeuplondon.com

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Next up are the brow swatches, again super impressive! They both acheive a very similar result which I wasn’t expecting. I found the Freedom pomade adhered to the hair slightly more than the skin but after good comb through with my spoolie it evened out nicely. I found the dipbrow adhered to skin and hair more smoothly but I would still brush them through so really it doesn’t matter too much. With both products you can lightly fill in your brows or go full on defined “instabrow” depending on what you prefer.

In conclusion I think the Freedom pomade is a brilliant dupe for the more pricey dipbrow, both are fantastic and get the job done. They both wear well and last all day with no flaking or running all over your face in the rain (nothing worse than loosing your brows!). The shade range in both lines is unbelievable there really is something for everyone, what more could you want for your brows? What’s your fav brow product? I’d love you hear in the comments below!

Becca x

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My July favourites!! 

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Hello my little buttons!!

Here’s a count down of my favourite products from the month of July 2015. This month for me has all been about trying new things, as well as lightening up my makeup for the summer. I’ve been super busy with work and the kids so I’ve needed practical products that get the job done fast. 

  
The Pro Decadance Magic eyeshadow palette from Freedom Makeup London has been a staple in collection, I have done an in depth review on this on my blog recently so if you scroll down it should be there! To keep it short and sweet, fantastic quality all shades are pigmented blendable and just stunning I really can’t praise it enough. For £6 I was bowled over.

  
Blush highlight and contour palette from Makeup Revolution £3.50 I have owned for a while but rediscovered this month. Beautiful shades that are easy to work with, I would say use a light hand with the contour shade (I would use this more as a bronzer or for suble contour) as it’s highly pigmented. The highlight is pretty and also works very well as an eyeshadow, the shimmer is to die for! The blush is a dupe for the sleek blush rose gold, side by side there is very little difference. 

  
I might have found my Holy Grail liquid eyeliner, again a Freedom Makeup London product, the brush is perfection. It’s a rubber tip that is mainly firm to get your line straight but the end is flexible to get your wing on!! It’s really helped with my eyeliner application  and as you can do very fine lines with ease I can do for a lighter look without it going wrong and ending up super thick, you all know what I’m talking about!!!! 

  
I will have a review up soon on this product as I have bought a few other colours, this is the Bourjois Color Band eyeshadow and liner 2 in 1 pencil. I LOVE this pencil, the rose gold colour is so metallic and smooth to apply no matter how I wear it im always happy with the result. It’s sets really well and lasts most of the day even on my oily lids. Can’t wait to try more looks with the other colours they are quick and convenient, great for if your in a rush. 

  

Another Boujois product that I can’t believe I’ve not mentioned sooner in a favourites as it lives in my handbag and this is my second one!! Color Boost Lip crayon in Proudly Naked. Balmy, creamy this glides on the lips with just the right amount of colour. It’s sheer but packs a punch it’s my perfect pinky nude and the best thing is you don’t need a mirror to apply, it also goes with nearly every makeup look so it’s very diverse. 

  
 
I have an in depth review on this product too which I wrote recently. The swatch speaks for itself, if I could paint my whole body in this I would. Super affordable, the cream to powder formula feels good on the skin and works well over liquid and powder foundations. 

  
Last but defiantly not least is House of Glam Dolls lashes, here I’ve used the half strip. I’ve always struggled with applying lashes, mainly getting the glue tackiness correct. The glue that goes with these lashes is the bomb, it applies blue and is ready to be instantly applied. It also holds them in place all day with zero slippage. The lashes are made with natural hairs and are light and comfy to wear there is also a huge range of styles to suit everyone and anyone. At £5 a set these were my deal of the month! 

Freedome London Makeup Curl Mascara Review

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Hello my little buttons!

Here’s a quick review on Freedom Makeup Londons ‘Curl Mascara’ £2. There is also a volume mascara and lengthen mascara in the range. The first thing I noticed was the gigantic size of the wand, I photographed it next to a lipstick so you could see how long this thing is! I have big eyes but even on my peepers it wasn’t the most comfy mascara to apply, I really had to watch what I was doing so not to ruin the rest of my makeup. I do have to say though true to its name it did curl my lashes, really lifting them up and holding them up for most of the day. It’s super black and the end result was soft fluttery lashes that did look fairly natural. This would defiantly be a ‘no makeup day mascara’ as it opens up the eyes and isn’t chunky or clumpy.  This was a good few coats and as you can see its layered up nicely. Think I’m going to get the other two mascaras and review them all side by side. Might even try them all together for crazy huge lashes! Overal like this mascara for natural days and light summer looks, great price for £2 and oddly enough it smells gorgeous, just annoying the wand is so huge. Please subscribe for me reviews like this! 

Disclaimer: I received this mascara while on a Freedom Makeup London makeup course, curtesy of Freedom Makeup London but that doesn’t remotely effect the honest review I have given I have not been sponsored or paid to promote this product. I would not sell my soul for makeup. 

Freedoms Makeup London ‘Pro Decadence Magic’ eyeshadow palette review!   

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Hello my little buttons!

I received this palette while I was attending a makeup course at House of Glam Dolls in London. There is a review of the course just below this post if you’d like to hear more do have a read, now back to the palette. 

I want to jump straight in my saying Freedome have stepped up their game with these shadows. If your not familiar with my blog or instagram page I am an eyeshadow junkie. I love everything about palettes and really enjoy collecting and experimenting with texture, colours and different looks. As well as highend I do have a lot of affordable brand palettes, some of which are really big competitors against the more pricey palettes. This is one of those special palettes! I’m going to generalise slightly here, in most £6 palettes that involves mattes as well as shimmers there is always at least one dud that is just so disappointing. In this palette there’s not one single shade that’s disappointing, when applying on the eyes they are super pigmented, they blend beautifully and have very little fall out. Even comparing these eyeshadows to the Freedom mini palettes and 32 pan palettes these are defiantly a better quality, in the way they feel to the way they apply and last. I really think the colour selection has been very carefully thought out, you have your matte and shimmery highlights  base colours, matte crease colours as well as some of my favourite shimmers of all time. There are several shimmery shades I have not got in any other palette I own, and that is a rarity I promise you!!!! 

  

This was the look I was taught on the makeup course, it’s called ‘rose goddess’ I used a stunning shimmery pink all over the lid, a deeper matte pink shade in the crease, and a matte cream colour on my brow bone. I’ve tested this palette with several primers, patting on the shimmery shades then using my blending brushes for the crease and brow bone. 

  
I had so many compliments on this simple yet pretty eye makeup look, it’s like a goldy pinky creamy… Ok I can’t describe it but you have eyes so I’m sure you can see the colour for yourself! It’s not at all chunky or stiff it was smooth and really stuck to the primer lasting all day.

   
 
The next day I went for a darker look to test out some of the deeper shades, I chose this reddy bronzey brown. As you can see again it’s not glittery and chunky its smooth and shimmery and still I was impressed with the longevity with a primer. 

  
The last look I went for was using more bronzey browns, with a slighter deeper brown on the outer V, again loved this look really neutral but eye catching.  I find it interesting how each brand has different quality products within the brand, I’ve been happy with the other shadows from freedom but to me these are by far the winner!!!

  
Disclaimer: I did receive this item for free but that doesn’t remotely effect the honest review I have given I have not been sponsored or paid to promote this product. I would not sell my soul for free makeup xx