REFY BEAUTY | WORTH THE INSTAGRAM HYPE?

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Today I'm reviewing one of the hottest makeup brands on the Gram: Refy Beauty. Originally, it was their brow kits that everyone was talking about but they recently launched their Summer Skin collection, which really caught my eye and tipped me over the edge in terms of placing an order. Let's get into the brand, the products and my experience...

- THE BRAND -

This is a relatively new UK-based brand founded by Jess Hunt. I wasn't sure if she'd been on a TV show I don't watch or something similar, however I couldn't find anything to suggest that. She does have 1.5m followers on Instagram and counting, though, so I'm assuming she rose to prominence as a style and beauty influencer. She's really young, which makes her creating this brand all the more impressive (obviously she's gorgeous and seems really lovely from the videos she's posted showing how to use the products!)

A lot of people I follow have spoken favourably about this brand and it seems like there are 5-star reviews for days on their website, but you know I'm a sceptic. I've tried so many products over the years that it's hard to really blow me away, so let's see if Refy Beauty was worth the hype for me...

- THE BROW COLLECTION - 

This is their original line and it's what the brand is really most well-known for. You can buy each of the products individually, or bundled together as The Brow Collection | £40 | in Light, Medium or Dark. Obviously, you probably know how you like to do your brows, so if you're adamant you just want a pencil or just want a brow gel: that option is available. I personally fancied trying out their 3.0 Stage brow system (as demoed by Jess in this video) and I wanted to follow it to the letter to see if it could make my brows look amazing and bushy. I'm not naturally very blessed in the brow department and pre-COVID had to get them regularly tinted to feign some fullness, so I was really keen to see if this kit could make my brows look a bit more impressive from home.

In terms of the shades: there are only 3 and I would like to see this expanded in the future as ideally, I'd want something in-between Medium and Dark. I did opt for Medium in the end as my hair isn't jet-black and I felt like there's not much margin for softness and error with a super-dark tone. This works pretty well for me and looks quite natural. Step 1.0 is the Brow Sculpt | £16 individually. I was kind of dubious about using a gel first, but I decided to ~ trust the system ~ and went with it. I wipe off the excess, brush this up through my brows and then use the clean brush / comb on the other end to ensure it's all smooth and clump-free. As you can see, I do like to create some thickness but don't go for that suuuuuper brushed-up look, it's just my personal preference, though you can totally do that with this product.

Once that definition is there, it's time to go in with Step 2.0 which is the Brow Pomade | £14 individually. It's been years since I used a pomade, so this definitely took the most practice. The thing is, the pot and brush are quite small and you have to be quite controlled with your application. Depending on the pressure you apply and how you build the colour, you can create quite a solid line or a light brush stroke. I really use this to fill any large, obvious gaps in my brows. I personally don't apply this to the inner corners of my brows and focus on the tail, because it's very easy to create a boxed-off look if you rush right in there with the most pigmented product type.

The final step is the Brow Pencil | £14 individually. This is a super-fine twist-up brow pencil that makes it very easy to shade in those individual brow hairs, so it's what I use on the inner corner and if there's any final shaping to do. Then you just brush everything though so it's perfectly blended with the spooly on the other end of this pencil. This is slightly darker than the pomade to give the brows some dimension. For me, I wouldn't necessarily do the entire process every single day; if I was just popping into the office only and putting on some concealer, cream blusher and tinted lip balm, I'd just use this. Likewise, if you're lucky enough to have very thick, dark, even brows: you might just need the Brow Sculpt, it really is a personal choice. However, for more made-up days, I loved the final effect. I have pretty unremarkable brows but carrying out this process patiently makes them sort of compliment-worthy! (If I do say so myself...)

I've shared my 'after' pictures below but if you'd like to see the full process, please check out my Instagram Reel.

- THE SUMMER SKIN COLLECTION - 

If you come here often, you probably know that I almost exclusively use cream products on my cheeks these days; I just prefer a dewy finish and find it more natural and flattering. Maybe it's the fact I focus more on skincare and light coverage or that I'm ageing a bit, but that's just my personal preference. The Summer Skin Collection features three cream products and a makeup brush to apply them with.

I honestly wasn't going to order the Gloss Highlighter | £18 individually | but it did come as part of the Summer Skin bundle for £45, so I just went for it. The reason for my hesitancy was that I got the one that Vieve do a little while back and just found it blotchy, messy and difficult to work with (despite having enjoyed everything else I've tried from them). However, this one is what I wanted that to be! There's only one shade in this but this sort of bronzy-copper is about as close to 'universal' as you can get with a highlight. I'd imagine the silvery undertone might be a bit too much on the deepest skin tones and the bronzed base could clash with fair-cool skin tones, though. For me, it very pretty! I spread a pea-sized amount on the back of my hand and use the duo-fibre end of the Duo Brush | £16 | to diffuse it naturally over the places light hits my face. I love the end result! It's not giving tin man vibes, it's just a natural but very noticeable dewy glow. I also think this brush is a must if you use as many cream cheek products as me; it's foolproof to use.

I was super unsure about what shade to order in the Cream Bronzer | £18 individually | as the shade Sand looked a bit light and the shade Tan looked like it would suit a slightly deeper skin tone than mine. However, I just messaged the brand on Instagram with an image of myself and they recommended Tan. It looked really red in the pan - I won't lie, and I wondered if this was a repeat of my Glossier disaster - however this is actually a really builable and user-friendly shade, so you can definitely layer it on to look like how it does in the website images but it initially goes on a lot sheerer. If you're my sort of skin tone then Tan is perfect to warm the skin without any red undertone. There are only three shades in this line currently and I do really hope this isn't Limited Edition and that they add some more. However, the spread of shades isn't bad considering there are only 3. 

I apply this with the duo fibre end of the Refy brush again and, as I mentioned, the colour is natural and buildable, adding a beautiful warmth to my skin. It's not think and greasy, it doesn't go on patchy; it's just perfect. You can set it with some translucent powder if you want, but I don't tend to because I want all the glow, and it lasts all day on me without wearing off unevenly. It even lasts pretty well underneath a mask!

The last product I'm going to talk about is the Cream Blush in Citrine | £14. Is this not just summer in a blusher? Sorry I'm telling you this during the latter half of August, but you know... It's just that perfect tanned peachy tone that adds a little pop of something without being super bright and difficult to work with. There are two other options: more of a true lighter pink (Rose) and a deeper tan-rose (Malaya). I use the dense, short end of the brush to stipple this on and the level of pigment is just perfect: easy to build, user-friendly and nothing too intense right off the bat. Again, the longevity really impressed me with this product, without having any need to set it in place with any powders or mists.

- FINAL THOUGHTS -

Honestly, the fact I've used these every single day (bar a few when I was just at home) since they arrived says it all! The hype is real, for me and my sceptical side has well and truly been put back in its box. These products are all now everyday staples for me and I've not been this excited about new makeup in ages.

Have you tried Refy?

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Read more posts from this series here!