Review | Collection Work The Colour Eyeshadow Pencils

Admittedly I'm rather lazy when it comes to eye make-up. I'd love to be able to contour my eyes properly, using all sorts of colours to blend and shade but I just don't seem to be very good at it... yet! In the meantime I'm always on the look out for easy to use eye products that look great and feel comfortable to wear. I spotted the Collection Work The Colour Eyeshadow Pencils in a magazine a few weeks ago and knew I'd have to try them out, especially as they retail at only £3.19 each in Superdrug which is a steal! My love for Collection is super strong in part due to their excellent range of concealers and gel nail polishes, so I hoped these pencils would also be great quality and luckily I wasn't wrong. 

Collection Eyeshadow Pencils, 'Vanilla Sky' and 'Hot Chocolate', £3.19 each

I went for 'Vanilla Sky', a shimmery beige colour, and 'Hot Chocolate', a dark brown-bronze shimmer. While there were other colours available I just can't get enough of the bronze neutral eye look, and neutrals go really well with bright lip colours which is my other beauty obsession at the moment. 

'Vanilla Sky' and 'Hot Chocolate'

Each pencil is described as being 'velvety, soft' and 'blendable'. Both pencils have a soft creamy consistency making them easy to control when applying. 'Vanilla Sky' seems easier to blend once on, and it works really well as a base shade for the whole lid and for highlighting the inner eye. It's quite a pale white beige with a hint of gold. I use 'Hot Chocolate' to line the eye and then smudge gently with my finger, although once it's on it seems a bit harder to blend than 'Vanilla Sky'. It has a lovely gold bronze shimmer running throughout, making it perfect for creating a really easy shimmery neutral eye. 

Both pencils are highly pigmented and have a beautiful creamy shimmer finish, yet they absolutely do not budge AT ALL once applied! They're labelled as waterproof and long lasting, and this is certainly true! I swatched them on my wrist (see below) and went I went to wipe them off with a wet tissue they wouldn't move at all, as in they didn't smear, smudge, rub off... I used eye make-up remover in the end and they came off then, so while they're super smudge proof they will shift when you finally want them to. I've been wearing them for about five hours at the time of writing this and they haven't faded, shifted, smudged or altered in any way. I didn't use a primer and they have held so well. 

Below: 'Vanilla Sky', Above: 'Hot Chocolate'

These Eyeshadow Pencils are the type of products I can use everyday with ease, and the colours make the perfect pairing. Along with Collection's Illuminating Touch concealer and Lasting Perfection concealer these are taking pride of place in my daily make-up bag. Great value at a brilliant price, I might even venture out and try some of the other colours available...

Browse Collection here

Review | Beauty UK matte lipsticks 'Snob' and 'Candy'

I used to be a lipgloss girl, afraid of lipsticks and preferring to stick to a tint rather than a bold wash of colour. Oh, how times have changed! Now I can't get enough of bright colours and I've discovered that my favourite lipstick finish is the matte lip. While MAC's Russian Red is one of my all time matte lip heroes it's always nice to discover a high street brand that can offer something similar, and I'm happy to say I would recommend Beauty UK lipsticks to anyone searching for an affordable matte lipstick treat. 

I'd never paid much attention to Beauty UK in the past when browsing Superdrug. I'm not sure if it's because of the packaging or the brand name but it never really appealed to me initially, until I randomly swatched one of their nude lip colours and decided to give it a go. At only £3.49 each I decided to give another two colours a try, and fell firmly in love with the matte lipsticks in the range. Unfortunately there isn't a label on each lipstick noting the finish; some are creamy while some are matte, so I sort of stumbled upon my two favourites by accident. I'd definitely recommend swatching before purchasing if you're not sure. 

Beauty UK lipstick 'Snob' and 'Candy'

'Snob' and 'Candy'

'Snob' and 'Candy'

'Snob' and 'Candy' are the two I found with a perfect matte finish. 'Snob' is a really interesting colour and not something I've found on the high street before, which is what I love about Beauty UK; they have a great selection of unique shades and textures. It's a muted dusty pink with lilac undertones, which may sound a little strange but it looks beautiful once on; very natural yet still eye catching. 'Candy' is a super bright neon Barbie pink, brighter than it looks in the pictures above and below! The matte finish of both lipsticks means they pack a proper opaque colour punch and don't budge at all once on. Due to the matte texture they are a little tougher to apply than a creamy or glossy formula but I really don't mind as the finish looks fantastic, and means they don't smudge or smear when applying. Both lipsticks smell pleasantly minty which is a refreshing change from sweet scented lip products. 

Bottom: 'Snob', Top: 'Candy

There's no doubt that for me the matte finish makes these two lipsticks extra special and a brilliant high street find. They remind me of MAC's matte range in terms of texture and finish; not at all drying, delivering a solid punch of colour. The matte finish makes the bright colours easy to wear as they seem more modern and flattering somehow; a mouthful of brightly coloured gloss can sometimes look a little OTT (although I'm still a gloss fan at heart!) 

Needless to say it proved next to impossible to capture the colour of the lipsticks once applied on camera! I tried and tried but couldn't manage to get many good shots, although I do have one photo of 'Candy' that almost shows how Barbie pink it is:

'Candy'

It looks a little brighter in 'real life' though! 

These lippies offer an excellent way of easing yourself in to wearing brighter, bolder colours. Once on they stay put, meaning you don't have to worry about lipstick on your teeth or colour bleeding outside of your lip line, which is what I worried about a lot when I first started wearing brights. I usually apply one coat, blot, and then apply a second coat, and you can add a further layer for an even more intense finish. 

Although I love the unique muted pink-lilac 'Snob' and while it's perfect for wearing as an alternative everyday neutral, my favourite has to be 'Candy'. Not only is it the perfect neon Barbie pink, but the matte texture means it doesn't look dated or garish. If it was glossy I don't think it would have the same effect. The powdery matte finish makes it seem fresher and bolder, and it would look fab with a tan once the current rainy weather improves! 

If you're curious about Beauty UK I'd really recommend giving them a try, as their products are great value for money and offer lots of alternative and unique shades. I'm building quite a collection already!

Browse Beauty UK here

Points win prizes!

I love, love, LOVE my Boots Advantage Card and Superdrug Beauty Card. Nothing beats discovering you've built up quite a significant amount of points (hello, shallow side!) because of course, points mean beauty prizes! I decided to have a little spending spree in Boots and Superdrug today using points collected over the past few months or so, and I have to say it felt good to part with zero cash for once *pats self on the back* Yes I know, I know, I only had the points due to previous spending sprees but I may as well use them instead of spending even more cash. Especially as I'm not supposed to be spending anything at all at the moment. 

First up, Boots. My love for Natural Collection continues to grow! Underrated but awesome,  I can't get enough of their products at the moment and so I decided to treat myself to a neutral duo eye shadow and a pressed bronzing powder. 

Duo Eyeshadow 'Mink/Sable' £1.99 and SunTint Bronzing Powder 'Sun Shine' £1.99

I've also got a bit of an obsession with Sinful Colors nail polish, especially as Boots keep adding lots of amazing colours to the collection. I've wanted a pale creamy yellow for a while and I also like peachy white pastels so I went for 'Unicorn' and 'Easy Going'. 

Sinful Colors 'Unicorn 953' and Easy Going 300' £1.99 each

Over in Superdrug I had a browse of the Collection stand. Their Lasting Perfection Concealer has officially replaced my MAC concealer pot as my all time favourite blemish concealer EVER. Don't disbelief the blogger hype, as it really is a miracle product. With this in mind I thought I'd give their Illuminating Touch concealer wand a try. I also got a free Hot Looks nail polish due to a 'spend over £3.99' offer. I chose 'Milkshake' as you can't really go wrong with neutral nails and it was a little different to paler neutrals I've got in my collection. A proper freebie! Hehe...

Collection Illuminating Touch, £4.99 and Hot Looks 'Milkshake' usually £1.99

I couldn't walk past the MUA stand without a little peek at their new blusher shades and their eye shadow trios. I decided on 'Cupcake' blusher as I like a peach shade and it seems quite matte. I also popped the 'Pink Sorbet' trio eye shadow in my basket as I've wanted this for ages; I like a gentle pink shimmer and the colours compliment each other really well. 

Blusher 'Cupcake' £1 and Eye shadow trio 'Pink Sorbet' £2.50

I had to check out the Rimmel stand as I've been searching for their Scandaleyes eye shadow sticks for weeks. Every time I've found 'Bulletproof Beige' and 'Bad Girl Bronze' in other Boots and Superdrug stores they've always been opened and tested, which is so irritating. I finally found some sealed ones today so I snapped them up straight away. 

Scandaleyes eye shadow sticks 'Bulletproof Beige' and 'Bad Girl Bronze', £4.49 each

Having recently discovered Beauty UK and their absolutely brilliant lipsticks I picked up 'Candy'. I love the matte finish and the super bright pink colour; it's so summery and really brightens up my make-up look. I'll be reviewing this soon as I am head over heels in love with it! 

Beauty UK lipstick 'Candy 2'  £3.49

'Candy' swatch

I'm so looking forward to reviewing lots of these lovely items in depth over the next few weeks, but couldn't resist posting a little haul to show off my latest finds! Those points really do soon add up, and I think my prizes are really rather lovely. Have you tried any of the items above? I'd love to know your thoughts.