Makeup Monthly #2

It's time once again for my monthly makeup roundup! This is a series on my blog where talk you through my current go-to makeup, products I'm trying to pan or finish up, any new additions I've been reaching for and my thoughts on some new beauty releases...


The look I'm into

I'm still all about that light base life (as I discussed in my recent post Ditching Full Coverage Foundation) so it's been either last month's pick: the Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser (St. Moritz) | £30 | review | or, when the heat has been really intense, the Bare Minerals Matte SPF15 Foundation (Golden Nude 16) | £27 | review.

I've been going for quite a specific look recently (which is unseasonably grungy, to be honest!) which involves my Huda Beauty Rose Gold Remastered Eyeshadow Palette* | £56. I did a bit of an initial review in my latest Cult Beauty Haul and swatched all of the shades there - I'm going to be writing up a more in-depth post comparing it to the Desert Dusk soon, so keep an eye out for that. However here I just want to talk about the shades I've been going for, which are: this beige-brown mid-toned matte Sandalwood as a transition, the reddish-brown matte Henna to add some depth to the crease and then I use one of these metalised shades - #Blessed - across the lid. This is a sort of warm bronze-gold and is best applied with the fingers. A bit of the light champagne Moonstone is perfect for the inner corner and then I use Cocoa (a cooler, deep matte brown) or Maneater (a gorgeous rich deep pink matte) along the lower lash-line, though sometimes I mix the two together. These mattes are so pigmented, opaque and easy to blend and the metallic finish really is special. It's a go-to look for me when I know I'm going somewhere straight from work because it's really long-wearing. I also like the pop of pink on the lash line to elevate it above a standard warm bronze smokey eye.

The blushers I pair with this sort of look are coming up later in the post but on the lips it has to be either my MAC Matte Lipstick in Taupe | £17.50 | or my Nudestix Magnetic Matte Lip Colour in Boho | £20. I'd forgotten how amazing Taupe is but this past month I've been reminded why it's been a firm favourite for so many years. I know a lot of people's perfect brown nude shade is Velvet Teddy, but on my skin tone the warmth of Taupe wins every time! The formula is very smooth but gives a matte, long-lasting finish. Boho is a cool brown shade that's not quite like anything else in my collection and I'm so glad I picked it up. It's nothing too drying and lasts a good while on me, giving a true matte finish.

A few other mentions

Since getting it back in my life following the Cult Beauty haul I mentioned, I've been using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Ebony* | £22 | a lot. It's just a great eyebrow pencil with a fine tip and a nice, waxy consistency that means I get a natural look that lasts. It's also a quick and easy product to use in the morning! 

I've also been reaching for a shade from my Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Blush palette - though this isn't available any more, my go-to shade Brilliant Nude can be picked up individually for £32. It's such a pretty, luminous formula and I find it very easy to apply and blend out without it ever looking like too much. It also really lasts on me without going patchy. This is a warm bronzed-nude colour with slightly peachy undertones.

Stuff I'm using up or panning 

I'm still working on the products I mentioned last month (the Urban Decay bronzer has some serious pan and I'm slowly but surely finishing up the ColourPop eyeshadow) but I have a few additions to my 'use it up' pile... 

First up is my Too Faced Hangover Primer | £27. This has a 6 month expiration date according to the packaging, but I've had it waaaaay longer than that! It still performs the same, it still smells as it did before and it hasn't broken me out or anything, however I think it's time to say goodbye... This is just a lovely hydrating primer - it won't do much for pores or fine lines but makes my skin look healthy and feel so nice and soft.

We have another Too Faced product here and I do love it, but I have a big dip in it, so I might as well focus on using this up instead of dipping into several very similar shades. I have heard these are being discontinued, which I really hope isn't true! The formula is amazing - it's matte-look but has a nice crumbly texture so it blends out so evenly and really lasts on me. This is the Too Faced Love Flush Blush in Baby Love | £25 | and it may look boring in the pan but it's that cheek colour that just always works! It's a sort of nude peachy-mauve tone that's perfect with the more grungy look I've been describing.

I also have my beloved Lorac Unzipped Eyeshadow Palette | $42 | review & shipping info | in here. It's not getting any younger, though it still performs amazingly, I'd like to get some good use out of it before it starts to turn and the formula begins to change. There are two shades in here I'd quite like to hit pan on and I tend to gravitate towards when I use this palette, so I don't think will be too much of a challenge. They are: Undiscovered (a light gold shimmer) and Unspoken (a mid-toned caramel brown matte). I actually use Uncensored (a deep bronze-brown shimmer) a lot too, so I think that's another shade I could pan. This palette is amazing but I think it's time to crack on and use it before it stops being the palette I love.

New additions

Outside of my look with the Huda Beauty palette, I've been all about green eyeshadows, which is kind of in keeping with the grunge theme! I was absolutely kicking myself for not picking up the Melt Cosmetics Gemini Palette | $58 | and at the time it was marketed as being a true limited edition that would never be coming back, so when Angela Mary Tanner posted dupes on her Instagram page, I dug out the two singles I actually already had and ordered the others (bar the deep inky blue, as I never use black mattes in palettes or their stand-ins) to put in my Makeup Geek empty palette. I'm loving the looks I created with this and the singles are from some brands I wanted to try (Looxi, Nabla and Devinah) as well as my beloved ColourPop. I spent less than I would've on Gemini with customs and shipping but it is still annoying that they're bringing it back when they said they wouldn't be, because I did want to try the Melt formula. I'm also enjoying my ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Telepathy | $5. I love this formula! It's so metallic and wet-look, it's easy to apply and super long-lasting. It really has an impact on the eye and this lime green / yellow colour is stunning! Sorry that I managed to miss it out of my photos and swatches (d'oh!) - check it out here.

I also received a bundle of Pixi goodies you can check out on my Instagram page and have already been using one product a lot! I'm really enjoying the Glow-y Gossamer Duo in Subtle Sunrise* | £20. If you don't like a slightly glitzier, frostier highlight then this might not be for you, but personally I think it's gorgeous! It's not chunky or anything like that and actually has a lot more impact than I expected from Pixi (as more of a skincare and natural-looking makeup brand). This duo has a slightly pinky-champagne colour and a deeper rose tone. I think these shades are pretty unique in my collection too, which is a feat!

The other product I've been using is the Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara* | £25 | which I won't talk about too much here, because I think it might be on track for being named my 'if you buy one product this month...' Spoiler: I really like this mascara! I don't really have one in my collection that gives me so much oomph and it's a welcome addition. Stay tuned for my full thoughts...

New launches

As I've mentioned before, I do have a series on my Instagram page where you can vote whether you're interested in or passing over the latest new beauty launches, however once a month, I pick out a couple of highlights to include here that I have a bit more to say about!

One product I won't be picking up (and it pains me to say it!) is the new BeautyBlender Bounce Foundation | $40 (UK launch TBC). I love my BeautyBlender and they aren't cancelled buuuut... I won't be buying this product! This is so disappointing to me because the concept is innovative - and it's been a long time since I've felt a brand has done something new without being gimmicky. Instead of putting foundation on the back of your hand, you dab your sponge onto this surface that's curved perfectly for the BeautyBlender. I kind of wish they'd just released the empty bottle to allpw people to put whatever foundation works for them in it.

Image via: beautyblender.com

This really fell down in terms of the shade range and I've only really seen excuses from the brand for this, which was also disappointing to me. There's no use in having a lot of shades if 70% of them are almost the same and that's where this product really falls down; the gradient is all wrong! The jumps between the deepest shades are ridiculous and you can tell that these colours were an afterthought. I don't really boycott brands for shade range issues however, even if I can find a colour in the specific product there's an issue with, I won't buy it because it deserves to flop... I'm sure that being in the 'medium plus' sort of range that I have a colour in here but I won't be spending my money on this product and hopefully BeautyBlender will get the message loud and clear!

Images via: trendmood1 on Instagram

One launch I am interested in is the Too Faced Tutti Frutti collection | £16-30! I'm not sure how long this will take to reach the UK given the record set by the Peaches and Cream products but I have heard it will be later this month, so fingers crossed! This is exclusive to Ulta in the US. Specifically I really like the look of these split pan cheek compacts! I'd have to see the shades and swatch them in person but so far the Pineapple one has caught my eye (which is a bronzer and highlighter) and the Cherry and Apricot duos with blushers look gorgeous! Realistically, I can't / shouldn't buy all of them - Cherry is the most unique for me, but could be too deep for my skin tone, so I may end up with the Apricot. We shall see! I probably won't pick up the Pineapple palette (as it's similar to Gemini and therefore the dupe shades I just talked about) but I'm definitely into the colour story. I'm always here for a smaller palette and I like the warm tones with a green twist (though in some non-official swatches of it, it look more of a duochrome). I really like Too Faced's formula for eyeshadows, so this will probably be great quality. The liquid highlighters look a bit glittery for me and I'm never into glosses, but the cream stick highlighters could be cute too! I think I'll pass over the liquid shadows as I'm not sure they're different enough to other products on the market. There's also a dewy setting mist and foundation launching alongside the colour products. You can check out swatches of the collection here and here.

Images via: makeuphunternews on Instagram

What makeup releases are you buying or not buying? Which makeup have you been going for lately?

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Disclosure - products marked * were sent to me for consideration however all opinions remain my own.

Read more posts from this series here!