The Best of New Beauty #2

 

Another few weeks have passed and of course the beauty world has delivered a ton of new products during that time! Today I'm giving you the lowdown on my top makeup, skincare and haircare picks - I hope you enjoy.


Makeup

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away Liquid Concealer* (Shade 7) | £24 | I really do like to have a fresher, less heavy-duty concealer in my collection for days when I just want a glowing, healthy base...and this fits the bill. It's very radiant, gives medium coverage and has a hydrating finish. It's also nice and brightening on me and comes in a good number of shades. It definitely needs setting so it doesn't crease (I like to use the matching powder, which I reviewed here) but I still find that it lasts on my skin. If you have a dry eye area; I definitely recommend this one. 

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner & Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Vivid Smoky Quartz* | £14.50 & £16 | If you've read this blog for a while, you'll know I'm a long-time repurchaser of both of these eyeliners in black. Last month Stila launched the Vivid & Vibrant Collection which I attended an event for and it included a bunch of new colours in these two products (which are permanent additions!) There were some really fun jewel tones in there but on a daily basis, I was drawn towards this warm, rich, deep brown colour. The Stay All Day liner in this colour is a much softer way to get the winged liner look, which I love! It's still opaque and pigmented but gives a warmer, smokier vibe. If you've never tried this liner; it's incredibly precise to apply and super long-lasting, looking clean and smudge-free after an entire day of wear. The Smudge Stick is great for tight-lining on the upper and lower lash lines, as it can be blended out and has a creamy texture but is also transfer-proof. I find this colour way less harsh than black and will definitely be picking these two up again when I run out. I might even get a couple of the more adventurous tones to play around with!

Stila Heaven's Hue Highlighter in Incandescent* | £29 | Also recently launched from Stila is this super-unusual highlighter. It has a sort of putty formula and I don't think I've ever tried anything like this before. It has a smooth dewy formula and I use it like a cream; dabbing onto my cheeks with my fingers directly over foundation (not on top of powder). It is a kind of glittery formula but it's a very fine micr-glitter and isn't chunky in the slightest. It doesn't come off as pinky-peach as it looks in the pan, so it definitely is still a highlighter more than a blusher (though I don't think my swatch really does it justice!) I use it as a blusher-topper, given it has a lot of gold in it. This won't be for everyone but I really like this on my skin tone - it gives a dewy look and fans of something like Nars Orgasm will love this!

Zoeva All Night Long Eyeshadow Palette* | £28.50 | It's no secret that I love Zoeva eyeshadow palettes; they have such good colour payoff with the mattes having a creamy, blend-able consistency and the shimmers a smooth, foiled finish. Overall they're so easy to apply and very beginner-friendly! I would, however, note that there are two shades (Public Demand and Pause Point) that are a little chunkier and more glittery - I can make these work but they aren't my favourites. I personally wouldn't have picked up this palette myself, as someone with a huge collection, however I like it and still wanted to include it here because if you are looking for a do-it-all eyeshadow palette for evening makeup looks; I think this is perfect. It's a very well-balanced selection of shades - you get the 'essentials' like the champagne shimmer for the inner-corner highlighter, some brown crease colours - both light and dark - and lid colours along with smoky shades. It also combines both cooler and warmer tones in a way that gives you variety but also helps you mix the two in a single look without it looking 'off', which is a hard thing to achieve. Despite the name, I don't think these are the longest-wearing shadows ever; the wear-time is pretty average but that doesn't bother me hugely.

Zoeva All Night Long Brush Set* | £48 | I'm also a huge fan of their brushes - they have some really good beginner sets that are such great quality. These have shiny black handles and come in a sparkly black pouch, which fits in with the theme! I think this set has been put together in such a smart way and includes the tools you need for a more glam makeup look. The 104 Buffer Brush is a dense, flat-top foundation brush that's great for getting a really flawless, even full-coverage look with your foundation. I tend to save contouring for nights out, making the 109 Luxe Face Paint Brush a great addition to this set - this is a natural brush so I like it for applying and blending out a powder contour product to get sharper cheekbones. I use the 129 Luxe Fan Brush every single day, but obviously for a more glam makeup look; highlighter is a must! This is great for those really blinding formulas, as it allows you to get a more subtle, diffused application that you can build up gradually. The large, tapered 229 Luxe Crease Brush is one of my favourite eyeshadow brushes - it can be used to blend things together or apply a matte shade to the crease, as it gives such a smooth, even application. You can use the 317 Winged Liner brush for gel eyeliner but also for brow pomades, as it's so small and precise.

Skincare & body

The Inkey List Vitamin C Serum & Hyaluronic Acid Serum* | £7.99 & £4.99 | With the chaos currently underway at Deciem HQ, I'm glad another brand besides the Ordinary has stepped in to give us high-powered ingredients at a low cost! A couple of months back, I was sent these products to try from the Inkey List, which is why they aren't in the final packaging - I've been using them since they arrived and I have to declare: I am officially impressed! The Vitamin C Serum is more of a paste, however it applies perfectly well (giving a dry-touch finish) and doesn't pill up. It's definitely brightened things up and improved my overall complexion, as my skin has been looking so fresh and healthy since I started using this! However the standout is the Hyaluronic Acid for me - which I like more than the Ordinary's (yes, I said it!) It has such a nice texture given the low price-point and hydrates, plumps and smooths my skin without leaving it tacky or sticky. I'm seriously impressed with these two, so if you'd like me to pick up some more products and do a brand overview; please let me know!

Fresh Sugar Lip Wonder Drops Advanced Therapy* | £21.50 | I've been using these drops for the past 6 weeks or so and wasn't quite sure what to expect from them but I've been impressed with how my lips have been looking! These drops are lightweight and I just apply 1-2 before my lip balm. It contains natural fruit-based AHAs which help to smooth and soften the lips - they also leave things more hydrated at the same time. If you want to use a gentle, daily product instead of a heavy-duty scrub every so often; I definitely recommend this. Even when using really matte lipsticks, I've not had to reach for scrubs recently and I personally way prefer that! I've not really come across anything like this before and I'm really into it.

Pestle & Mortar Balance Spritz* | £28 | Pestle & Mortar isn't a skincare brand that has a ton of products in its range so I was definitely intrigued to see they'd added a face mist to their lineup. It's definitely more on the expensive side for this product type, but it does have a really good pump on it and the product comes in a proper glass bottle. Ingredients include amino acids, magnesium and herbal extracts that aim to reduce pollution, fight ageing and de-stress the skin. I find it difficult to substantiate the first two claims in my experience of using this over the past few weeks! However I can say that's calming on irritated skin, gives an amazing boost of hydration that really lasts and helps the appearance of the fine lines I have when I put on makeup after using this - it just has an amazing plumping effect.

Molton Brown Jasmine & Sun Rose Collection* | £22-45 | I'm absolutely enamoured with the colour scheme and packaging of this collection! (I Instagrammed the PR package here.) Despite having a very floral name, I actually find this scent to be a mix between fruity and floral - I looked up the notes and this actually made sense as the fragrance includes notes of raspberry, bergamot, peach, jasmine, rose and patchouli. I love how the fruitiness balances out the floral notes perfectly; making this scent so 'me' (it even has my name in it!) Here I have the shower gel, body lotion and smaller EDT - usually I'd pick my highlights and feature those from these sorts of collections but I love all three of these products! The shower gel is gorgeous, creating a rich foam and leaving behind a subtle hint of the scent my the skin. The body lotion is lightweight, non-greasy and hydrating in formula. I also really like the fragrance itself; in the past I've struggled with the longevity of Molton Brown EDTs, but this one lasts really well for me.

Hair

Toni & Guy Curl Squad Reverse Wand* | £39.99 | I'm definitely an advocate of curling wands - I really don't know how I ever managed when I was trying to get a wave with the stylers I use for straightening my hair! It would just drop out very quickly and wouldn't do much more than give my hair a bit of volume. This new wand from Toni & Guy has a really unique shape, which I thought could be a gimmick, but I actually now think could be genius... You can easily get a proper, tight curl by using the base of the wand or going up to the wider end to get a looser look. Even with the loose curls - the style holds incredibly well (I also sometimes use this without hairspray and it still lasts). I tend to use a mix of the two, alternating between tighter and looser curls, switching up the direction in which I angle the wand and using my fingers to comb through my hair afterwards to get a natural look. You can see how it looks using the wide end of the wand on my Instagram Stories from the makeup look I posted 3 weeks ago here.

Philip Kingsley Pomegranate and Cassis 1000ml Elasticiser* | £61.95 | The biggest bottle of Elasticiser in the world ever has just dropped on QVC! I also love the scents they're bringing this out in - I have a gorgeous fruity, berry fragrance here. If you aren't familiar with the cult product, you'll probably want to start off with a little sample size! However, for firm fans that use this weekly, I definitely recommend picking up this bottle because a) you'll save money on the long-run and b) the pump packaging is so much more convenient. This hair treatment is something you apply to lengths and ends and leave in for about 20 minutes (ideally, you cover it with a shower cap, however that can be a bit messy and faffy, so I don't always use this but it still works for me) before shampooing your hair. If you have dry or damaged hair; this is a miracle-worker for helping it to look and feel smoother and silkier, giving it a healthier appearance. 

Have you been impressed with any new beauty launches recently?

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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!