Showing posts with label mua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mua. Show all posts

7 Oct 2013

Products I Regret Buying Part One!!

I often find blogs can concentrate on reviewing products that they love. I have to admit this has been the same for me so far on my blog. I tend to pick things that I like to write about because I find it easier to review them. However, I think that often we get more information from reviews of products that people don't like simply because it will give us an insight into why the product didn't work for that person and maybe make us more cautious of buying the product in the future.

Just a little disclaimer before I begin. This blog post is my honest opinion and the products mentioned are ones which I found didn't work for me or ones that I found a better alternative product for. This doesn't mean that they won't work for you and if you have tried them and loved them please comment below this post as this will also be helpful for other readers to see who the products do work for. This post is not being in any way offensive to the brands, its simply me telling my readers what I would not buy again.

So lets begin....

I am a big fan of the Macadamia Deep Repair Mask. This leaves my hair super soft. However, the same cannot be said about their Rejuvenating Shampoo and Moistuirizing Rinse Conditioner. These products did nothing at all for my hair. They made my hair greasy and I felt like no matter how much I rinsed my hair it always felt like there was still product left on my hair. I couldn't style my hair properly afterwards either. Definitely didn't like these products.


I bought a Mally set from QVC over a year ago and the kit contained a face primer, eye gel and eye primer. I liked the face primer and I used up all the eye gel but I really didn't like the eye primer. It says to apply this under your concealer to make it last longer and keep the skin hydrated. All this did for me was make my concealer crease and eventually disappear from my under-eye. Mally in general is a great brand but this product just did nothing for me.

Another eye product which I bought and didn't feel stood up to the claims was Boots Botanics Hydrating eye cream. As the name suggests this is supposed to hydrate the eyes but it didn't do this for me. I didnt see any difference in my eye area after using this product and I used almost the full tube.


It's all about eyes for me in this post so far and another one to add to the list is Clinique's all about eyes (rich formulation). This claims to help diminish the look of dark circles, fine lines, shadows and puffiness. I have used this for a long time now and really have not seen any of the above improvements.

Now on to some makeup....


Everyone and their mother seems to love the Collection 16 Hour Wear concealer and I did love this for awhile last year but for some reason this year it just isn't doing anything for me. If I apply it under my eyes it makes me look like I have 90 year old wrinked eyes and if I apply it to a spot I feel it just cakes over the spot and makes it look more obvious. For me their are much better products on the market than this one.


For a while everyone in the blogging world raved about the Chanel Soleil tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup base so of course being the addict that I am off I went to Chanel and spent a ridiculous €40+ on this bronzer. When I got it home I was happy enough with it and did use it. I would have a relatively sallow complexion but this is a little too orangey on me. I also don't like the way it is such a hard consistency. This means you have to really work your brush into it to get some product out and then your brush bristles end up getting stuck in the product.....not a good thing at all. To be honest its not the worst product but for the price I would have expected something amazing. I have found a much cheaper and in my eyes a much better product in the Boujour bronzing primer. You can read my review on this beauty HERE.


I trained as a makeup artist with Makeup Forever and am a massive fan of their products. Their foundations for me are second to none. So on a trip to top up on some kit essentials I decided to try one of their liquid highlighters. I bought the Uplight Face Luminizer Gel in Shade 22. The girl in the shop said it looked great on skin over foundation or mixed in with a foundation. I tried it both ways and when I layered it on top of foundation it was very intense looking and almost glittery looking and when I mixed it with foundation it just made my skin look oily and way too shiny. Also this product seemed to go off very quickly. After awhile it began to smell funny and broke my skin out very bad. This was over €30 so I definitely regret buying it because I didn't get much use out of it.

Bobbi Brown bronzers have been a favourite of mine for over a decade and on my trip to IMATS in June I decided to pick up one. The makeup artist there recommended I bought shade Medium 2. I thought this was fine because I used this shade previously but when I got it home and tried it it was completely the wrong colour for me. It was very dark and had a red tonne of it which is not suitable for my skin tone at all. I was watching a Youtube video and one of the girl I am subscribed to who is much darker than me had the exact same problem as me. So I included this bronzer in this blog, not because the product isn't good but because the shade they recommended for me was totally wrong. I would recommend the bronzers in general but just be very careful what shade they give you.


I love the look of bright undereyes and so was very excited to try the Bare Minerals well-rested eye brightener. The idea of this is that you can use it alone or over concealer under the eyes to make your eyes appear brighter. This really did not work for me and I tried it every way possible. It dried out my under eyes and made my fine lines much more visable. I have heard other people rave about this so it may be worth a  go but I just didn't like it at all.


MUA (Makeup academy) do some really great product at very reasonable prices but one product I have tried that really didn't work for me is the Brush-On Concealer pen. This claims to hide under eye discoloration and blemishes on the face. I tried it for both and it did neither. It is too watery and thin to give any amount of coverage.


Another Makeup Forever product that I wasn't too happy with is the Aqua Eyes pencil in 0L Black. This is a waterproof eyeliner and I have to say it does last all day. My main problem with this eyeliner is the colour, it is almost like a dark grey colour rather than a carbon black colour. Really not what I was expecting from this pencil. I wouldn't purchase this again because I believe there are alot of other much cheaper and much better products on the market.


Another eyeliner that I bought which I was let down on was the infamous Mac Blacktrack Fluidline. Don't get me wrong its not a bad eyeliner but when compared to the likes of Inglot's gel liner in No 77 it really doesn't stand up to the challenge. It is not as long wearing or as dark as the Inglot or other liners on the market. I definitely will use this on myself for everyday use but wouldn't repurchase it because I know there are better alternatives.


I also do not like the e.l.f Cream eyeliners. They are not very strongly pigmented and they dry out super fast. Not my favourite e.l.f product at all.


I always loved Hypnose mascara by Lancome and purcahsed this a few months back. It just didnt give me the same wow factor as before. With this mascara you can build up layers to create more impact. I found with one coat my lashes just looked darker and when I began to build it up it would add slightly more volume but the mascara would clump. Again this won't be a repurchase for me and I have tried many other mascaras which for me work much better.


Another mascara I am just not pushed on is Maybelline's the Falsies. It did nothing for my lashes and really didn't make them look like I was wearing fake lashes. In general I like Maybelline mascara's but this one was not for me.


Some lip glosses which I really do not rate are e.l.f's minty lip gloss or their Luscious Liquid Lipstick. I do love alot of e.l.f products which you can check out in this older blog post.

I adore some of the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker lip glosses but the shade pink apricot is not for me. It went off very quickly and the shade was in my opinion not the nicest. It isn't a peach nor a nude shade so I didn't think it looked great on the lips.



Last but not least is Stila's Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer. This is supposed to add luminosity to the skin and make it looks fresh but it just made me look overly shiny, greasy and just down right unattractive. This didn't come cheap so I was very disappointed with this purchase.

I think that is enough for now. I have rambled on long enough. I hope you found this useful and I will continue to take note of the products I don't like because I think this would be so useful to my readers as it will save them wasting time on money on buying products that really don't live up to the hype.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and let me know if you found this helpful.

What products do you regret buying? Do you love any of the products I mentioned above, as ever you are welcome to comment below and tell me what you think.

Have a wonderful day xxx


22 Apr 2013

Competition Time at Kissandmakeupwithme xxx


Hi Everyone,

So I have a great competition running on over at my facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/KissandMakeupwithMe 

Be sure to check this out. The prize consist of : 

-A 10 colour blush palette
-An e.l.f blush brush to apply your new blushes
-A Makeup Academy Immaculate collection palette containing 24 eye shadows in a huge range of colours
-An e.l.f Super Glossy Lip Shine in Pink Kiss
-Two e.l.f nail polishes in Mint Cream and Liliac


All you have to do to enter is: 

-Pop over to my facebook page and be sure to "like it" 
-Like and Share the competition picture 
-Comment on the picture to let me know you have done all of the above 
-Sit back and keep your fingers crossed 
-Winner will be announed at the beginning of May and is open worldwide 


Best of luck my beauties xxxx


22 Mar 2013

My February 2013 Favourites



Hello There,
So I have kept my new years resolution and am trying LOTS of new makeup and beauty products. During February I tried a fair few products, both brand new products and some I have tried before and just gave them another go in February. This post is all about the products I loved most and products I would recommend. I hope you enjoy



The First Product I am in love with is the L'oreal Expert Intense Repair Shampoo for Dry Hair. I don't necessarily have dry hair but I do tend to get frizzy hair as my hair is naturally curly. I bought this at Christmas time and I have to say it is amazing. I have seen a really big difference in my hair and have had alot of compliments. I feel it really does hydrate my hair without weighing it down so it allows my curls to stay bouncy. I know some people do not believe in spending money on expensive haircare but I recently have become a firm believer in good haircare. You just cant beat it. I also got the mask in the same range and this is great. I use it as a normal conditioner and if I want a more intense treatment I leave it in for longer. These products smell amazing and really have given my hair great body and nutrients.




Next up is the Sigma Mrs Bunny Essential Brush Kit. I use this kit everyday and love it so much. For my full review please check out my review in my product reviews.

I always love a fresh peach glow to the skin in Spring/Summer. So I decided I would get ahead of the game and try the Benefit Coralista. This product is around for a few years now but I never tried it before now. I had read so many great reviews on this product and so I decided to give it a go. I have to admit I wasn't disappointed. The minute I opened the box the beautiful sweet smell hit me and I was sold. Then it got better when I tried the product. It gives me the most amazing "glow from within" look that is very hard to find in a product. It is a little pricey at €34 but you get ALOT of product and it really is worth the splurge!


I have always suffered with dark circles and blemishes(sometimes really angry acne) so I am always searching for a great under-eye concealer and a blemish concealer but I never expected to find the two products in one as usually you need a light consistency for under the eye and a thicker one for covering redness and blemishes. However, I do think I found it in this product. Its great for under the eye area as it gives you great coverage but doesn't sit in fine lines. The product is just as good for covering blemishes, it has a great thick consistency but one that spreads evenly. It seems Revlon have made another great base product. I just love this brand!!!
I am not currently using this for my under eye area as I am road testing something else at the moment but I have used it and use it on clients and it stays put all day and night and doesn't crease like so many other products(even high end ones). I am using this everyday for blemishes though and it has become my holy grail blemish concealer. Its around €10.99 so it is very reasonable especially if you use it for both areas.





I am an addict when it comes to black liner. The blacker the better I say. I love the intensity of gel and liquid liners but as I am up early every morning I don't have time or energy to apply these products perfectly. I have been using pencil liner for years now and have loved Avon's Supershock Gel Liner for many years. I have tried many high end brands and nothing comes close to this product. It comes in a pencil which means it is extremely easy to apply. This stuff literally glides across the eye and the finish is exactly like a gel liner(just like the name suggests). I can 100% verify that this product doesn't smudge as I often wear it for 15 hours at a time. I mostly wear it on my top lash line and would wear it on my waterline on nights out and it has NEVER let me down. I think the full price of this is under €8 but its almost always on special offer in the Avon catalogue.


Every Christmas I get the big Soap and Glory gift set as a present. When I received it this year I was slightly disappointed when I seen there was a mascara in it so I left it in my drawer until the beginning of February when I decided to give it a go. I have to say I was amazed by this product. I love the way it makes my lashes look. It gives me loads of volume and length and doesn't clump or flake which is exactly what you want from a mascara. The wand is quiet thick (reminds me of the Diorshow mascara) which is great for coating your upper lashes but requires control to apply to the bottom lashes so be careful when doing this. Also the product does tend to try out quick as I feel I need a new one and am not using it that long. However, all that said its a fantastic mascara and I will definitely be repurchasing this.




I have used the e.l.f brow kit for ages now and when MUA had a 50% sale on I decided I would try some (or alot) of their products and this was one of the products I definitely wanted to try. This kit contains a light and dark brow colour, a wax and a highlighting shade. It also contains a mini dual ended brush and a mini tweezers. I use the dark brow colour everyday and its a perfect match for my eyebrows. If I am having a "no makeup day" I will use the lighter brow colour(would also be great for blondes). I also set my brows everyday with the wax. The powder is so pigmented and soft and glides on effortlessly but has amazing staying power. When combined with the wax your brows will stay in place all day long. I don't like the highlight colour as I feel it is way too dark to higlight so I dont use this. I dont use the brush either but I have tried it and its a really dense brush which is ideal for perfecting your brows. I really like the little tweezers. For such a small tool it does a great job. This kit is only £3.50 so you really cannot ask for more. I have tried many high end brow products and this one tops them all. A definite stable in my makeup kit from now on!!



The last of my Feb Fav's is another MUA product. Its the Love Hearts Lip Balm in Sweet Kiss. This Lipbalm is so nourishing to the lips but it also has a really beautiful finish and sheer colour which lasts for a very long time. If I don't want a really glossy lip I use this over my lipstick or on its own and I love the look it gives. It also tastes amazing which is always a plus!! I will have to try the other balms in this range. They are only £2.00 which is an absolute bargain for such a cool, fun and great product. 

So that's all my favourites for Feb 2013. I have already started to test new products and will continue to do so throughout March so stay tuned for some more product reviews during March. If you have any questions or would like me to do a more indepth review on any of the products mentioned above (or any other products) please let me know. Thanks a mill everyone and chat to you all soon xxxx