TESTING A FULL FACE OF MAKEUP REVOLUTION PRODUCTS!
Makeup Revolution is probably a brand that you will have probably heard of at some point in the last few years. Either you will have seen it in your local Superdrug in the UK or in Ulta in the US or you will have seen a lot of beauty bloggers and YouTubers reviewing these products. This brand is all about creating great products at affordable drugstore prices with most products retailing for under £10. Now when I think of this brand I immediately think of the amount of dupes they have created of high-end makeup like Tarte, Kat Von D and Urban Decay but for the fraction of the original price. However, they are coming out with new products all the time that are not always dupes and most of the products in their collection are amazing quality. Time and time again, Makeup Revolution are bringing out new products that are loved by so many people; one of these products was the Conceal & Define Concealer which was loved by so many in the beauty community!
I have loved this brand since I started my blog in 2015 and there are so many great products that I use in my everyday makeup routine. There are so many products in their range from eyeshadow palettes to foundations and they seem to just keep expanding their collection. Recently they have started getting into more face products and have released a new foundation and concealer in the last couple of months - which I was super excited about trying. Even though this is an affordable brand, where concealers are only £4, the quality of their products are usually amazing. However, there are some products that do not perform as well as I had hoped but that is the case with any brand (you are not always going to love every single product in a collection). But, this does not mean that I do not love the brand as a whole as I have found that most products are such great quality. In the past I have found the packaging of Makeup Revolution to be pretty boring but they have definitely stepped up their packaging in the last year and their packaging has definitely improved but still remained affordable. Makeup Revolution has also recently brought out a new Revolution Pro range which I am excited to try out in the future and maybe review on here as well!
I am trying to include more drugstore brands on my blog and I knew that Makeup Revolution was a brand that I had to include. I have mentioned this brand a couple of times in past blog posts but I wanted to include another post that was fully dedicated to this brand. At first, I did not know what I should do and then I realised that Makeup Revolution now has a product for every step in your makeup routine - including brow products, eyeshadows, concealers and mascaras. So I decided that the best way to showcase this brand is by showing you how you can create a full face of makeup with this one brand and write mini reviews of each product mentioned. Some of the products mentioned are products that I have been using for months and some are brand new to my collection and will be more of a first impression review. Out of the whole Makeup Revolution collection, the only products I have not tested for this blog post are any of their beauty tools (like brushes and sponges) but I might review them in the future. In total this whole face of makeup will only cost £84.50 and that includes every product needed to create a full face of makeup (which I think is a bargain). Obviously this will be even cheaper if you don't buy every single product as not everyone will use two products on their brows or use two types of eyeshadows, but I wanted to test out as many products as I possibly could. At the end I am going to give my honest opinion of what products I think are worth purchasing and what products did not perform that well on me!
I just want to say that just because a product does not work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for you and there are sometimes batch inconsistencies and products perform differently on everyone as noone has the same skin tone or skin type. So please don't be offended if I say I dislike a product that you absolutely love and I am glad that it works for you!
Makeup Revolution is available from Superdrug and Revolution Beauty. You can also now purchase Makeup Revolution from Ulta if you live in America! All products linked will be from the Revolution Beauty website as they do ship internationally!
FACE
Primer
Primer is always the first step in my makeup routine and I think it is one of the most important steps that shouldn't be missed out. It helps prime the face before the foundation so that the foundation can stick to the skin and stay looking flawless all day. I have never tried a primer from this brand before and I have not really heard much about their primers from other bloggers or YouTubers, so I didn't know what one would be best to try out. I chose the Ultra Face Base Primer and it only cost £5. This is meant to smooth out your skin so that the foundation looks flawless. It did not say what skin type this primer is for and I have read a lot of reviews that say this is great for oily skin. I personally have mixed reviews of this primer. I only like this primer if I have really exfoliated my skin with an intense exfoliator as this is a primer that will accentuate any dry areas on your face once you have applied foundation. I have noticed a couple of times when I have not exfoliated properly that once I have applied my foundation it clings to any dry patches on my nose. However, if I have exfoliated properly then my foundation looks flawless and this primer does help to make my skin look and feel really smooth. This does feel more like a silicone primer, which I am not usually a fan of as I like more hydrating primers as I do suffer with dry skin but it does leave my skin feeling very soft.
I warmed up the primer slightly between my hands and then patted it into my skin and lightly rubbed it in. It didn't leave my skin feeling tacky, which is something that I usually like in a primer because I know that a foundation will stick to the primer a lot better. I also found it difficult to apply a stick foundation to over the top as it just felt very slippery, so I would definitely recommend using a liquid foundation rather than a stick foundation with this product. However, it does leave my skin feeling smooth but it did not fill in any pores and it just isn't a primer I would tend to reach for. But if you do have oily skin then this could be a great option, but if you have dry skin then stay away from this primer unless you want to do an intense exfoliation every morning.
Foundation
For the longest time, Makeup Revolution have not really had a foundation and now all of a sudden they are bringing out multiple foundations in their range (including a couple in their new Revolution Pro range). I have been a massive fan of stick foundations for quite a long time now, with my favourite being from Hourglass, so when I heard that Makeup Revolution were bringing out the Fast Base Stick Foundation for only £5, I was very excited to try it. This is a foundation that is meant to melt into the skin that will leave you with a dewy and natural finish to the skin. This foundation is amazing and is so creamy, plus it is perfect for the Summer when I want a really dewy and luminous finish to my skin. I do like using this foundation on its own as I find that it blends so easily and offers a medium coverage - however it is easy to build up to give a more full coverage. However, my favourite way of using this foundation is with another liquid foundation. I will always apply a few stripes of this foundation all over my face and then I will dip a damp BeautyBlender into my liquid foundation and bounce it all over the skin. This helps to give me a full coverage finish whilst also leaving my skin looking luminous, glowing and healthy.
I decided to just use this foundation on its own for this post and I mixed together two shade (F3 and F4 which are both fair to light shades). I used a damp BeautyBlender to blend out my foundation and I really loved the finish that it gave me. I do feel that if you have oily skin this might not be the best foundation for you (as it is very dewy), however it does mattify when you set it with a powder. I do love this foundation as it didn't cling to any dry areas (apart from one time because of the primer I had used). However, I would recommend using a liquid foundation with this stick foundation to get the best result.
Concealer
After doing my foundation, I always apply my concealer next - you can obviously do concealer first but for me I have always done my concealer after applying my foundation as I really like to brighten certain areas of my face. The concealer I used is one that I have already mentioned on this blog and that is the Conceal & Define Concealer and Contour which retails for only £4. I would say that this concealer is very similar to the Tarte Shape Tape concealer, however, it is not identical in formula. I find that the formula of this mascara is a lot thinner and less creamy than Shape Tape. However, this concealer is a really nice concealer, especially if you are on a budget, and I love the effect if gives to my skin. It covers blemishes, redness, dullness and dark circles perfectly and it blends out beautifully. My only criticism is that this concealer dries very fast so it is best to apply your concealer in sections so you have time to blend it with a beauty sponge, otherwise it can be difficult to blend out once it has fully dried. I also like to use these concealers as cream contours as they blend out beautifully and give a natural healthy glow to the skin. There are 18 shades in total but they are bringing out 7 new shades in the next couple of weeks.
I really like to brighten my under eyes with a fair concealer so I used the shade C3 (although I think I need a lighter shade) to help brighten my under eye area, my forehead, the bridge of my nose, my Cupid's bow and then I put some on my chin. I blended it with a damp BeautyBlender and just tapped it gently into my skin to help brighten certain areas. I do think that a lighter shade would have been better for me as it didn't brighten my under eyes that much and was a very similar shade to my skin tone anyway. I do know that they are bringing out new shades from light to deep and one of them is even going to be a white concealer which would be good to mix with other concealers so you can mix your own shade that is perfect for you.
Loose Setting Powder
After applying my concealer I always have to set it immediately with a loose setting powder. Makeup Revolution do sell quite a few loose setting powders in different shades but that one that I chose is the Lace Baking Powder and once again this retails for £5. This is a neutral, light pink toned baking powder that sets and mattifies the skin. This powder is definitely great for anyone with fair to light skin tones as even though it doesn't give too much colour to the skin, it does have a slight tint to it, so if you have a medium to deep skin tone then another powder will be better like the translucent, banana or terracotta shade.
I do like this powder, although I don't know if it will ever replace my Laura Mercier Translucent Setting powder, and I always apply my powder wherever I have put concealer - under my eyes, on the bridge of my nose, above my lip, on my chin and on my forehead. This powder is very finely milled and I always apply my setting powder with a damp BeautyBlender so that the powder will melt into the skin rather than just sitting on top of it and looking cakey. I like that this powder does not look cakey and does have a velvety finish to it. I also found that this does not crease throughout the day, however I do have to only use a very small amount otherwise it can look quite cakey and it can cling to some dry areas. This is not a powder that you can literally coat your face in, if you suffer from dry skin, but it is perfect if you use a small amount to set your concealer. After testing this powder out for a few times I would definitely say that this is not a good powder to bake with as every time I used this powder it would remove some of my foundation and concealer which left patches of my skin showing through. I would definitely suggest just using a brush with this powder and don't bake the face with it.
Pressed Powder
To set the rest of my face and to wipe off any of the loose setting powder, I will often use a pressed powder to set my whole face. I picked up the Pressed Powder in the shade Porcelain Soft Pink as I had seen some reviews online that said this was perfect for anyone with fair skin tones, however it does come in four shades including translucent. I do quite like the soft pink tint to this powder as it is perfect for my skin tone as I do have a cool undertone to my skin. There is not much to say about this powder as it is just like any other pressed powder. It is super soft and is quite crumbly and has quite a bit of fall out in the pan - I did notice that I have already hit pan and I have only been using it for a few weeks and usually it takes me months to hit pan with a powder product. I did find that this mattified my skin and is a great pressed powder. Plus this only costs £2 which is an absolute bargain!
I did use a big fluffy brush to set my whole face and I really loved the finish that it gave my skin. It seems to work really well with my skin tone as the soft pink tint just evens out my skin tone. It is not a heavy powder so it won't look cakey if you apply too much - although I would suggest using a setting spray just to make sure that all the powder has melted into the skin. I definitely think this is one of the best drugstore pressed powders that I have ever purchased and to think it only costs £2 is ridiculous. I also like the fact that this does come in other shades and I will probably buy the translucent shade to see if that is any good. I have not tested whether this has any flash back in photos but I don't think it should.
Bronzer
No matter what time of the year it is, I will wear some sort of bronzer on my face as I love the natural warmth that it gives my skin and just gives me a healthy Summer glow all year round. So, of course, I was going to pick up a bronzer and this is one that I have had in my collection for the last 6 months, although I have not really used it that much. The Ultra Bronze Bronzer is only £3 and you get a massive pan of product (think the size of my hand). I always apply my bronzer on the temples of my head, on my jawline (and down my neck) and lightly on my cheeks to give me a natural warmth to the skin. The shade is very pretty and it reminds me a lot of Benefit's Hoola bronzer, however I find that this can look a bit muddy on my skin as I am quite fair in the Winter. I feel like this doesn't work as well on fair skin tones and I am definitely going to try this bronzer again when I am more tanned in the Summer as I think it will look a lot better with a tan. I did find it very easy to blend out with a brush and it does look pretty but after blending it did look a bit muddy and just didn't work on my current skin tone. It especially looks muddy if you have texture on your skin (as it does seem to cling to texture), however I feel like this is only noticeable on me as I am quite fair at the moment. I think this will be a beautiful bronzer for anyone who has a medium skin tone.
I do sometimes get an even application with this bronzer (and I don't know what I do different to any other time) so really it just depends how good my skin is because I have worn this before and it looked really natural and gave me a healthy bronze to the face. I would definitely say that this is a product that you really have to work with and blend for a long time to prevent it from looking muddy. I am definitely going to keep you updated in the Summer to see whether this is better when I have more of a tan.
Contour
The Ultra Contour Palette is a palette that I have had for a while but is not really a product that I have really used that much. Recently I have not been using powder contour products as much as I am preferring cream contours but this is a palette that can be used for contouring. This palette is £8 and you get 8 powders in total - so it is only £1 per powder. In the palette, there are three contour shades, three brightening powders (two are definitely matte and one seems to have a very slight shimmer to it but is almost matte) and then two baked highlighters. I think that this contour palette is so much better than the individual bronzer and I can definitely use one of the shades as a bronzer from this palette. I feel like the powders apply more evenly and they don't cling to any texture, plus they blend out beautifully. I also love the brightening powders, especially the matte soft pink shade as that really brightens my under eyes and I like to use the slight shimmer champagne shade to give a natural highlight. However, if you love a more intense highlight then the two baked highlighters are perfect and are brilliant for all skin tones as there is a white highlighter and a champagne highlighter. These highlighters are stunning and are what I used to highlight my brow bone and my inner corner. I definitely think that this palette is perfect for most skin tones, although you might struggle if you have a medium/deep to deep skin tone.
I always apply any contour product by drawing out a three on my face. I start at the temple of my head and then work to my cheeks and then down to my jawline (so it will look like a three on your face). I then blend this out with a brush and I feel like this palette is amazing as it blends out so easily and just looks really natural on the skin. It doesn't look muddy and just seems the perfect shade for my skin tone, however I think this will look even better when I have a tan in the Summer. I also apply some contour down my nose to make my nose look slightly thinner and longer - but if you want to make your nose look shorter then apply a bit at the tip of the nose to give the illusion that you have a shorter nose. This palette reminds me a lot of the Shade and Light contour palette from Kat Von D which is one of my favourite contour palettes ever.
Blush
Let's talk about blush ... Makeup Revolution has quite a few blushers in their collection and they mainly come in palettes where you get 8 shades for only £6. There are different shades from more ambers to bright pinks and the palette I chose is the Blush Queen Palette as the shades look beautiful. I do own other blush palettes and I definitely prefer them to this one. In most of the other palettes there are matte blush shades and then two shimmer blushers but this palette has no mattes. Instead they all have a sheen to them and that is not something that I really like with a blush. I feel like this would work a lot better as a blush topper but even then it is not something I really like on the apples of my cheeks. I also don't think that these are very pigmented and instead are more of a sheer pink glow. I think if there were these shades in a matte formula then this palette would be worth buying. In general though I am not a massive fan of Makeup Revolution shimmer blushers as they are not soft and buttery, but instead are quite stiff and chalky especially when you feel them with your finger. I also feel like it is quite difficult to pick up product on the brush and I have to dig my brush in to really pick up any product and then I end up putting too much product on. They are also quite difficult to blend out and look natural, so these are definitely a pass from me. However, I am a fan of the matte blushers from this brand so if you are thinking of trying a blush palette I would recommend choosing one which has matte blushers in them rather than all shimmer. These could look pretty over the top of a blush and if you don't wear highlight but for me they are pretty pointless.
Highlighter
Since adding Makeup Revolution to my makeup collection in the last few years, I have had a love/hate relationship with their highlighters. I am someone who loves highlighters and I have dedicated whole blog posts to my favourite highlighters. I am a massive fan of natural highlighters and highlighters than make it look like there is a beam of light on my face! However, I have struggled to find a really nice highlighter from Makeup Revolution. I usually am more of a fan of the highlighters that come in the palettes from this brand as they are soft and blend out beautifully without having too much glitter in them. I have never really liked any of the individual highlighters, but when I saw they had some new highlighters that looked very similar to Jeffree Star's Skin Frost Highlighters, I wanted to try them out. I got the Skin Kiss Highlighter in the shade Champagne Kiss and it is only £5.
I applied this highlighter to all of the high points on my face where the sun would naturally hit my skin. The best way to find out where to put your highlighter is to stand in front of a window and see where the light is hitting your face and that is where you apply your highlighter - this will usually be the cheek bones (above your blush), the bridge of your nose, Cupid's bow, brow bone and inner corner of the eye. I am not a fan of this highlighter as I find that my brush doesn't ever pick up enough product and when it does it just ends up looking like there is a bunch of glitter on my face. I feel like this is too glittery and is too chunky. It doesn't apply evenly and picks up every bit of texture on the skin. This highlighter swatches better than it performs with a brush which is a shame as the colour is so pretty and it comes in a variety of shades, but the formula is just not great as it is not soft and buttery.
Setting Spray
Makeup Revolution even sell setting sprays and I cannot go out unless I have set my makeup with some sort of setting spray. For me, my favourite is the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray but I was intrigued to see whether Makeup Revolution could create a setting spray that works. There are quite a few setting sprays available but I decided to choose the Pro Fix Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray and it only costs £5. There are also setting sprays for oil control, illuminating and for sports. This is meant to protect your makeup against heat and humidity, cold and windy conditions, as well as keeping your makeup looking perfect for up to 8 hours.
I always spray my face all over with the setting spray, around 20cm away from the face, so I get a fine mist all over my face and then I will immediately fan my face with a palette or piece of paper to let the spray dry quickly. I find that this keeps my makeup looking perfect all day and it works with all setting sprays and prevents any water marks appearing in my foundation. With this setting spray I did notice that my makeup did last a long time (I wouldn't say it was as long as when I use my Urban Decay setting spray), but for the price it is an amazing spray. My only criticism is the scent of this spray as it reminds me of a hospital but it does fade once it had dried and I could not smell it as the day progressed. Overall, I really like this setting spray and it really helps to make any powder melt into the skin to make my makeup look more natural, rather than cakey! I definitely think this is a great purchase as it works really well and is so affordable in comparison to other high-end setting sprays. I am thinking of buying the other sprays to see if they are any good as well so will keep you updated if I buy them. I am interested in the illuminating setting spray as I do love a dewy finish to my skin as I do suffer from dry skin and I would want to see whether that makes my skin look luminous.
EYES
Eye Primer
I am not someone who usually buys eye primers as for me it is usually a waste of money as I am fine with using my concealer as a primer base for my eyeshadow. However, I was really intrigued to try the Focus & Fix Eye Primer as it was only £2.50. This does not have a slight fair skin shade to it, so I am not sure how it would work on deeper skin tones as there is definitely some colour to this primer. I would definitely recommend going in and swatching this to see how it blends out on your skin tone as for me it did blend to match my skin tone. It is quite a thin formula but it does remain tacky which makes it perfect for eyeshadows to go on top of. I am really impressed with this product and it is amazing for the price. I found that my eyeshadow blended beautifully on top of this primer and the shadows stayed the same shade throughout the day. I also found that my eyeshadow lasted a long time and they did not crease throughout the day. This is a definite must-have purchase as it is so good and is the same price as a cup of coffee!
I would like to see Makeup Revolution create some other shades that have different properties like the Urban Decay eyeshadow primers, especially as these are only £2.50. I think these are definitely worth the price and it does work really well at making my eyeshadow last all day without creasing. I would recommend setting this primer with either a setting powder or a flesh coloured eyeshadow just to help the other shadows blend even better over the top.
Eyeshadow
I have always been a fan of Makeup Revolution eyeshadow palettes and I have quite a few in my collection. However, I never seem to reach for them because they are kept in my IKEA Alex drawers and I have my Anastasia Beverly Hills, Too Faced and other palettes in my dressing table drawers so I don't often reach for my Makeup Revolution palettes as much. However, they are super affordable and the quality is amazing so they are definitely worth buying if you don't want to spend lots on high-end palettes (as they can be £40 upwards). In my eyeshadow palette reviews there is often a theme - they are full of warm-toned shades with bronzes, caramels and golds in them and they usually all end up looking the same. Therefore, I decided to purchase the Re-Loaded Palette in the shade Newtrals 2. This is a palette full of rich peach tones and caramel shades - which is completely different to most of my other palettes. I loved that the shades are all warm-toned so are perfect for the Spring and Summer, plus there are so many different looks that you can create with this one palette.
When you swatch these shadows with your finger they are not soft and buttery. Instead, they feel quite stiff and you really have to swipe your finger in the pan to feel like you are getting any product. However, don't let that make you think that the pigmentation is rubbish because a synthetic brush seems to pick up the perfect amount of product and they are super pigmented. I do sometimes have to build up the colour if it is a light shade but they blend out beautifully and they don't fade into a completely different shade as the day progresses. They also don't crease and are just beautiful shadows. The mattes are just as pigmented as the shimmer shadows and they all look beautiful on the eyes. Plus this palette is only £4 and you get 18 shades (an absolute bargain). They do have three other colour options for these Re-Loaded palettes and I would definitely recommend buying a couple of these palettes as they are amazing! This is the stand out product from all of the Makeup Revolution products I have tried in this blog post!
Cream Foil Eyeshadow
Makeup Revolution have recently brought out new Flawless Foils Cream Eyeshadows and they looked amazing and I knew I wanted to buy a few. I managed to purchase three from my local Superdrug and I got the shades Rose Gold (a red rose gold), Rival (a soft pink) and Retreat (a khaki green). There are also four other shades that are bronzes, golds and white but they did not have them in stock in my local store. I am a massive fan of cream eyeshadows, especially when they have a foil effect to them. I think that these are the easiest way to create a beautiful eye look, as all you need is a transition shade in the crease and then apply a cream shadow all over the lid and you have a beautiful look. I decided to use the shade Rival for my eye look as I thought the soft pink would work well with the peach shades that I had used from the eyeshadow palette. These are quite expensive at £5 each, in comparison to the fact that you can get 18 shadows in a palette for £4 but they are definitely worth the price tag and are a lot more affordable than high-end cream shadows and I think these are even better.
I love how these cream shadows perform on the eye. All you need to do is put some product on your finger and press it onto your eyelids to get an intense pigmented shimmer shadow that looks like a foil. This also comes with a little bottle of intensifying primer and I would highly recommend using this primer with the shadow. All I did was dropped some of the primer onto my finger and placed it all over the lid. I let it dry down slightly and then put the cream shadow over the top. The shadow just seems to change colour when you use the primer and it becomes a lot smoother and is a lot more even. However, it does look beautiful without the primer but it could look a bit more chunky and crease slightly. I found that when I used the primer the shadow lasted all day and did not crease once - it looked just as amazing at the end of the day as it did when I first put it on. I am 100% going to order every single shade of this cream eyeshadow as they are stunning and just create a perfect eye look every time. They will be great for transforming a daytime look into a evening look in a matter of minutes.
Eyeliner
I am someone who does not always like wearing eyeliner on an everyday basis as I prefer how my makeup looks when I don't have eyeliner on. However, I do wear it every now and again and I decided to purchase the Awesome Double Flick Eyeliner which costs £3.50. This eyeliner has two ends to it (hence why it is a double flick eyeliner) with on end for thin eyeliner and then the other end is to create a thicker line on the eyes. I feel like you get the best result when you use the side of the pen nib and that does give a jet black line on the back of my hand. However, when I go to put it on my eyes I find that it is not as opaque as I would like as I don't personally like a really thick line on my lids and therefore don't want to use the side of the eyeliner to get an opaque finish. I also find it is very difficult to use as it seems to drag a lot when I apply it and it takes forever to get a perfect line when I use this eyeliner. I think there are better drugstore liquid eyeliners out there that are opaque and you can create a beautiful wing in minutes. Whereas, with this eyeliner I had to keep going backwards and forwards with the eyeliner to get a precise line. I did also find that it took off some of my eyeshadow because I had to really press down to get a line and I just did not like the finished result. I will admit that this does not budge throughout the day and it does not bleed at all, so if you can deal with taking a bit more time to do your eyeliner then this would be a good option but for me, I don't want to spend 10 minutes trying to just get a thin line against my lashes (and I didn't even do a wing).
Mascara
I have recently done two whole blog posts about two of my new favourite mascaras, and I am a huge fan of both drugstore and high-end mascaras. But when I saw that Makeup Revolution were selling mascaras for only £2, I knew that I had to try it to see if it was any good. There are four different mascaras to choose from and I decided to go with the Amazing Volume Mascara as I have recently become a fan of more volumising mascaras. I wish I could say I was a fan of this mascara but honestly I was a bit disappointed, although for the price it is ok. I am not a massive fan of the wand and because it is quite fat and big, it was really difficult to coat every single lash and I would end up getting more mascara on my skin than my lashes. I also didn't really see much volumising happening. Instead, it just coated my natural lashes but didn't add any volume or length. The one thing I did like about this mascara is that it did not clump my lashes together and instead seemed to really focus on separating the lashes. I feel like this is a mascara where you would have to apply a few layers to maybe get a bit of volume but then you are risking your eyelashes clumping together. I also found that this mascara would smudge as the day progressed and I ended up with black mascara all under my eyes. Overall it is an ok mascara for £2 but it is nothing special and is not going to be a mascara that I will probably use again. I think there are better drugstore mascaras out there that cost less than £10 that are a lot better than this one.
I think I might have had a slight reaction to this mascara as I noticed that when I wore it my eyes started to sting and they would water so I am not sure why this mascara would cause that (as I am usually not that sensitive to makeup products) but it is definitely something that I will probably not repurchase in the future.
Eye Brightener Pencil
I was really intrigued by what an Inner Eye Brightener Pencil was and from reading online it seems to just be a nude eye pencil that you can use to add a matte highlight to your inner corner or you can use it to line the waterline to really open up the eyes. I am a huge fan of using nude eyeliners on my waterline as it just always makes me look more awake and it looks more natural than using a white eyeliner pencil, so I was excited to try this as it was only £2.50. Unfortunately, I did not get on with this product as firstly it is a matte nude pencil and it does not seem to offer any highlight to the inner corners of my eye, plus it doesn't seem to brighten my eyes at all. It is really pigmented when I apply pressure on the back of my hand but I really struggled to get any pigment when I was applying it to my eyes (as I did not want to apply as much pressure on my waterline). It is also not creamy enough and just seemed to break off every single time I used it, although that could be because it is a couple of months old and might have dried up. It seemed to just crumble and lump together when I applied it to my waterline, which just made it look like I had an eye infection. There are other nude eye pencils that I think work a lot better and I would personally just prefer to use a powder highlighter to highlight my inner corner, as the nude was too dark for my skin tone and was very noticeable.
I did also notice that this pencil is under the eyeshadow primer section on the Revolution Beauty website so I am not sure if it is meant to go all over the lids before putting your eyeshadow on. If it is for priming your eyes then I don't see the point as the pencil is so small that it would take forever to cover your entire lid, so I don't think it is a primer at all but I did see some reviews that said they had used it as an eyeshadow primer and they liked the results, but I would suggest just buying the Focus & Fix eyeshadow primer as that worked amazingly well!
BROWS
Brow Pencil
When it comes to my brows, I am a massive fan of my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz and I don't really use any other products on my brows except a clear brow gel or sometimes a brow pomade. Now, Makeup Revolution have a lot of brow products available and one that I decided to buy is the Duo Brow Pencil which reminded me a lot of the brow definer from Anastasia Beverly Hills. I think if you are use to using this type of pencil then this will be something that you will love. I am use to a smaller pencil rather than the triangular shape of the brow definer so I really struggled to make the drawn on hairs look like natural hairs. However, the pencil is really creamy and applies so easily to the brows without looking not natural (it was only the way I applied it that made my brows look awful). This pencil is also really pigmented and only costs £2.50. I am definitely going to keep practising with this brow pencil as it is really good, I am just rubbish at using this type of pencil.
Brow Powder
The second brow product that I got was the Focus & Fix Brow Kit in the shade Medium Dark and it costs £2.50. In this kit you get three brow powders and a clear wax to set your brows into place. You even get a mini brush and a little pair of tweezers, which are quite difficult to use because of the size of them, but they are really handy if you are travelling and find you need to pluck a few brow hairs. I never use brow powders but not that I have tried this kit I am definitely going to try some more. I would definitely say that a brow powder is perfect if you have fuller eyebrows or you don't usually have to draw in hairs. In the future I will definitely use a brow powder with another product as I have to draw in some hairs but I do have quite full brows as well. I really like how you can mix the shades to get your perfect shade and I even used some of the lightest shade to add a bit of natural highlight to my brows. I found the powders were so pigmented and just helped to fill in my brows, whilst making them still look natural. I do feel like they need to bring out darker shades as anyone with really dark brown/almost black eyebrows will really struggle to use this product. However, hopefully they will bring out more shades in the future. I did also like using the wax in the kit and I found that it set my brows in place all day, however it can sometimes look a bit clumpy if you get too much wax on the brush. But I just used a spoolie brush to brush the wax throughout my brows to make them look natural.
I think this little brow kit is so handy to take while travelling as the packaging is quite small and compact, but it has lots of products in them. I also like the fact that there is a small mirror as I often do my brows whilst holding a small mirror to make sure my brows look beautiful. For the price you would not expect to get a mirror in it so it is a definite bonus getting a mirror included.
LIPS
Lipstick
One of the first lip products that I ever got from Makeup Revolution was a lipstick in the shade Chauffeur (which is a must have in everybody's collection). I now have three of the Rose Gold Lipsticks in the shades Chauffeur, Expose and Inclination. Two are more of a creme sheen formula and the shade Expose is a matte formula. They are all nude shades and my favourite go-to shade is Expose as it reminds me a bit of Kim K.W. from Charlotte Tilbury although is not as peachy. These lipsticks are beautiful and even made it into my Best of Beauty 2017 blog post in January. I love how creamy these lipsticks are and they are so opaque - you only need to swipe once to get a full coverage of lipstick. I think that these three shades will also work on so many skin tones and they are so wearable. Plus they only cost £3 each which is a bargain for a great quality lipstick. Like with any lipstick this does not last that long on the lips, especially when eating and drinking, but I did find that it would last a good couple of hours before I noticed it start to fade from my lips. Also, you don't want to apply too many coats of this lipstick as it can become a bit clumpy especially on dry areas but if you use a lip balm of scrub first then that should not be a problem at all.
I am going to buy more lipsticks from Makeup Revolution as the quality is amazing and I think these would be great choices to buy in shades that you usually would not wear but might want to wear for just one day. I am someone who always wears nude lipsticks, so I would definitely think about buying some reds and brighter shades as they are so affordable and there might be a day when I want to wear a bright shade but don't want to spend £20 on it.
Liquid Lipstick Kit
Makeup Revolution is known for creating dupes of well-known high-end makeup products and their Lip Kits are obviously inspired by Kylie Jenner's lip kits but for a fraction of the price. In the kit you get a creamy lip pencil and then a liquid lipstick in the matching colour. I don't own many of the liquid lipstick lip kits from Makeup Revolution as I have so many and there are not many shades that I really like - a lot of them are just shades that I cannot pull off. However, one of my favourites is the shade Reign which is a beautiful dusty rose pink and will look great on all skin tones. I really like the formula of Makeup Revolution's liquid lipsticks as they dry down fully matte but don't feel too heavy on the lips. They also don't make your lips feel dry and the formula is so thin that it feels like you aren't even wearing a liquid lipstick. They are also so pigmented, you only need one swipe to get a full opaque lip colour and they are not streaky at all. Once applied this lipstick does not budge even if you are drinking and eating so perfect for meals out and wearing all day long (although they can be quite hard to remove and you do have to really scrub at your lips to remove the lipstick). The lip liner is not something I use as much but it is handy to have to prevent the liquid lipstick bleeding and it does apply so easily to the lips because it is really creamy. Each lip kit retails for £6 which is an amazing price as you get a lip liner and a liquid lipstick.
I wish that Makeup Revolution had more nude liquid lipsticks in their collection as the other shades I have are shades that don't look very good on me. Even Reign is not a shade that I would usually wear but for me it was the most wearable shade. I think that if they had some of their lipstick shades in this liquid lipstick format then I would definitely buy more. I also love the lip liners and I know they do sell these lip liners individually for around £2.50 so I am definitely going to buy some of them as they are so affordable and the formula is rich and creamy, whilst being extremely pigmented.
Lip Gloss Lip Kit
As well as selling liquid lipstick lip kits, Makeup Revolution also sell Gloss Lip Kits that also sell for £6. In this kit you get a lip liner and gloss in the same shade. I only own one gloss lip kit in the shade Honour which is a beautiful nude with a hint of peach. These remind me a lot of the Anastasia Beverly Hills lip glosses as they are so pigmented and are definitely not sheer. They will give a colour to the lips and you don't really have to use the lip pencil with these glosses but I would recommend using the lip pencil to make the colour last a lot longer. The gloss gives a beautiful shine to the lips without leaving them feeling sticky and horrible. They are so easy to apply and last a fairly long time - I really like applying this over a lipstick to create a subtle ombre look. Like with any lip glosses this will not last all day (unless you use the lip pencil underneath) but you don't expect a lip gloss to last a long time, especially when eating and drinking. The lip pencil is identical to the pencils in the liquid lipstick lip kits and they are really handy as they can go with other lip products as well.
Just like with the liquid lipsticks, I wish that these lip glosses came in more wearable shades. Even though the shade Honour is a nude, it has a slight peachy tint to it and it is not the most flattering shade on me. I find that this shade just doesn't suit me and I wish they had a more nude/brown shade or even a pink nude shade that is really flattering on all skin tones. I also think this shade would have been better if it was not as pigmented and was more of a sheer gloss. I think the lip glosses are nice, I am just not a huge fan of the shade selection. I would also like a few brighter shades as well like pinks and reds that are suitable for every skin tone, as I do think that a lot of these shades would not work on every skin tone.
PRODUCTS WORTH BUYING
I have loved this brand since I started my blog in 2015 and there are so many great products that I use in my everyday makeup routine. There are so many products in their range from eyeshadow palettes to foundations and they seem to just keep expanding their collection. Recently they have started getting into more face products and have released a new foundation and concealer in the last couple of months - which I was super excited about trying. Even though this is an affordable brand, where concealers are only £4, the quality of their products are usually amazing. However, there are some products that do not perform as well as I had hoped but that is the case with any brand (you are not always going to love every single product in a collection). But, this does not mean that I do not love the brand as a whole as I have found that most products are such great quality. In the past I have found the packaging of Makeup Revolution to be pretty boring but they have definitely stepped up their packaging in the last year and their packaging has definitely improved but still remained affordable. Makeup Revolution has also recently brought out a new Revolution Pro range which I am excited to try out in the future and maybe review on here as well!
I am trying to include more drugstore brands on my blog and I knew that Makeup Revolution was a brand that I had to include. I have mentioned this brand a couple of times in past blog posts but I wanted to include another post that was fully dedicated to this brand. At first, I did not know what I should do and then I realised that Makeup Revolution now has a product for every step in your makeup routine - including brow products, eyeshadows, concealers and mascaras. So I decided that the best way to showcase this brand is by showing you how you can create a full face of makeup with this one brand and write mini reviews of each product mentioned. Some of the products mentioned are products that I have been using for months and some are brand new to my collection and will be more of a first impression review. Out of the whole Makeup Revolution collection, the only products I have not tested for this blog post are any of their beauty tools (like brushes and sponges) but I might review them in the future. In total this whole face of makeup will only cost £84.50 and that includes every product needed to create a full face of makeup (which I think is a bargain). Obviously this will be even cheaper if you don't buy every single product as not everyone will use two products on their brows or use two types of eyeshadows, but I wanted to test out as many products as I possibly could. At the end I am going to give my honest opinion of what products I think are worth purchasing and what products did not perform that well on me!
I just want to say that just because a product does not work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for you and there are sometimes batch inconsistencies and products perform differently on everyone as noone has the same skin tone or skin type. So please don't be offended if I say I dislike a product that you absolutely love and I am glad that it works for you!
Makeup Revolution is available from Superdrug and Revolution Beauty. You can also now purchase Makeup Revolution from Ulta if you live in America! All products linked will be from the Revolution Beauty website as they do ship internationally!
Primer
Primer is always the first step in my makeup routine and I think it is one of the most important steps that shouldn't be missed out. It helps prime the face before the foundation so that the foundation can stick to the skin and stay looking flawless all day. I have never tried a primer from this brand before and I have not really heard much about their primers from other bloggers or YouTubers, so I didn't know what one would be best to try out. I chose the Ultra Face Base Primer and it only cost £5. This is meant to smooth out your skin so that the foundation looks flawless. It did not say what skin type this primer is for and I have read a lot of reviews that say this is great for oily skin. I personally have mixed reviews of this primer. I only like this primer if I have really exfoliated my skin with an intense exfoliator as this is a primer that will accentuate any dry areas on your face once you have applied foundation. I have noticed a couple of times when I have not exfoliated properly that once I have applied my foundation it clings to any dry patches on my nose. However, if I have exfoliated properly then my foundation looks flawless and this primer does help to make my skin look and feel really smooth. This does feel more like a silicone primer, which I am not usually a fan of as I like more hydrating primers as I do suffer with dry skin but it does leave my skin feeling very soft.
I warmed up the primer slightly between my hands and then patted it into my skin and lightly rubbed it in. It didn't leave my skin feeling tacky, which is something that I usually like in a primer because I know that a foundation will stick to the primer a lot better. I also found it difficult to apply a stick foundation to over the top as it just felt very slippery, so I would definitely recommend using a liquid foundation rather than a stick foundation with this product. However, it does leave my skin feeling smooth but it did not fill in any pores and it just isn't a primer I would tend to reach for. But if you do have oily skin then this could be a great option, but if you have dry skin then stay away from this primer unless you want to do an intense exfoliation every morning.
Foundation
For the longest time, Makeup Revolution have not really had a foundation and now all of a sudden they are bringing out multiple foundations in their range (including a couple in their new Revolution Pro range). I have been a massive fan of stick foundations for quite a long time now, with my favourite being from Hourglass, so when I heard that Makeup Revolution were bringing out the Fast Base Stick Foundation for only £5, I was very excited to try it. This is a foundation that is meant to melt into the skin that will leave you with a dewy and natural finish to the skin. This foundation is amazing and is so creamy, plus it is perfect for the Summer when I want a really dewy and luminous finish to my skin. I do like using this foundation on its own as I find that it blends so easily and offers a medium coverage - however it is easy to build up to give a more full coverage. However, my favourite way of using this foundation is with another liquid foundation. I will always apply a few stripes of this foundation all over my face and then I will dip a damp BeautyBlender into my liquid foundation and bounce it all over the skin. This helps to give me a full coverage finish whilst also leaving my skin looking luminous, glowing and healthy.
I decided to just use this foundation on its own for this post and I mixed together two shade (F3 and F4 which are both fair to light shades). I used a damp BeautyBlender to blend out my foundation and I really loved the finish that it gave me. I do feel that if you have oily skin this might not be the best foundation for you (as it is very dewy), however it does mattify when you set it with a powder. I do love this foundation as it didn't cling to any dry areas (apart from one time because of the primer I had used). However, I would recommend using a liquid foundation with this stick foundation to get the best result.
Concealer
After doing my foundation, I always apply my concealer next - you can obviously do concealer first but for me I have always done my concealer after applying my foundation as I really like to brighten certain areas of my face. The concealer I used is one that I have already mentioned on this blog and that is the Conceal & Define Concealer and Contour which retails for only £4. I would say that this concealer is very similar to the Tarte Shape Tape concealer, however, it is not identical in formula. I find that the formula of this mascara is a lot thinner and less creamy than Shape Tape. However, this concealer is a really nice concealer, especially if you are on a budget, and I love the effect if gives to my skin. It covers blemishes, redness, dullness and dark circles perfectly and it blends out beautifully. My only criticism is that this concealer dries very fast so it is best to apply your concealer in sections so you have time to blend it with a beauty sponge, otherwise it can be difficult to blend out once it has fully dried. I also like to use these concealers as cream contours as they blend out beautifully and give a natural healthy glow to the skin. There are 18 shades in total but they are bringing out 7 new shades in the next couple of weeks.
I really like to brighten my under eyes with a fair concealer so I used the shade C3 (although I think I need a lighter shade) to help brighten my under eye area, my forehead, the bridge of my nose, my Cupid's bow and then I put some on my chin. I blended it with a damp BeautyBlender and just tapped it gently into my skin to help brighten certain areas. I do think that a lighter shade would have been better for me as it didn't brighten my under eyes that much and was a very similar shade to my skin tone anyway. I do know that they are bringing out new shades from light to deep and one of them is even going to be a white concealer which would be good to mix with other concealers so you can mix your own shade that is perfect for you.
Loose Setting Powder
After applying my concealer I always have to set it immediately with a loose setting powder. Makeup Revolution do sell quite a few loose setting powders in different shades but that one that I chose is the Lace Baking Powder and once again this retails for £5. This is a neutral, light pink toned baking powder that sets and mattifies the skin. This powder is definitely great for anyone with fair to light skin tones as even though it doesn't give too much colour to the skin, it does have a slight tint to it, so if you have a medium to deep skin tone then another powder will be better like the translucent, banana or terracotta shade.
I do like this powder, although I don't know if it will ever replace my Laura Mercier Translucent Setting powder, and I always apply my powder wherever I have put concealer - under my eyes, on the bridge of my nose, above my lip, on my chin and on my forehead. This powder is very finely milled and I always apply my setting powder with a damp BeautyBlender so that the powder will melt into the skin rather than just sitting on top of it and looking cakey. I like that this powder does not look cakey and does have a velvety finish to it. I also found that this does not crease throughout the day, however I do have to only use a very small amount otherwise it can look quite cakey and it can cling to some dry areas. This is not a powder that you can literally coat your face in, if you suffer from dry skin, but it is perfect if you use a small amount to set your concealer. After testing this powder out for a few times I would definitely say that this is not a good powder to bake with as every time I used this powder it would remove some of my foundation and concealer which left patches of my skin showing through. I would definitely suggest just using a brush with this powder and don't bake the face with it.
Pressed Powder
To set the rest of my face and to wipe off any of the loose setting powder, I will often use a pressed powder to set my whole face. I picked up the Pressed Powder in the shade Porcelain Soft Pink as I had seen some reviews online that said this was perfect for anyone with fair skin tones, however it does come in four shades including translucent. I do quite like the soft pink tint to this powder as it is perfect for my skin tone as I do have a cool undertone to my skin. There is not much to say about this powder as it is just like any other pressed powder. It is super soft and is quite crumbly and has quite a bit of fall out in the pan - I did notice that I have already hit pan and I have only been using it for a few weeks and usually it takes me months to hit pan with a powder product. I did find that this mattified my skin and is a great pressed powder. Plus this only costs £2 which is an absolute bargain!
I did use a big fluffy brush to set my whole face and I really loved the finish that it gave my skin. It seems to work really well with my skin tone as the soft pink tint just evens out my skin tone. It is not a heavy powder so it won't look cakey if you apply too much - although I would suggest using a setting spray just to make sure that all the powder has melted into the skin. I definitely think this is one of the best drugstore pressed powders that I have ever purchased and to think it only costs £2 is ridiculous. I also like the fact that this does come in other shades and I will probably buy the translucent shade to see if that is any good. I have not tested whether this has any flash back in photos but I don't think it should.
Bronzer
No matter what time of the year it is, I will wear some sort of bronzer on my face as I love the natural warmth that it gives my skin and just gives me a healthy Summer glow all year round. So, of course, I was going to pick up a bronzer and this is one that I have had in my collection for the last 6 months, although I have not really used it that much. The Ultra Bronze Bronzer is only £3 and you get a massive pan of product (think the size of my hand). I always apply my bronzer on the temples of my head, on my jawline (and down my neck) and lightly on my cheeks to give me a natural warmth to the skin. The shade is very pretty and it reminds me a lot of Benefit's Hoola bronzer, however I find that this can look a bit muddy on my skin as I am quite fair in the Winter. I feel like this doesn't work as well on fair skin tones and I am definitely going to try this bronzer again when I am more tanned in the Summer as I think it will look a lot better with a tan. I did find it very easy to blend out with a brush and it does look pretty but after blending it did look a bit muddy and just didn't work on my current skin tone. It especially looks muddy if you have texture on your skin (as it does seem to cling to texture), however I feel like this is only noticeable on me as I am quite fair at the moment. I think this will be a beautiful bronzer for anyone who has a medium skin tone.
I do sometimes get an even application with this bronzer (and I don't know what I do different to any other time) so really it just depends how good my skin is because I have worn this before and it looked really natural and gave me a healthy bronze to the face. I would definitely say that this is a product that you really have to work with and blend for a long time to prevent it from looking muddy. I am definitely going to keep you updated in the Summer to see whether this is better when I have more of a tan.
Contour
The Ultra Contour Palette is a palette that I have had for a while but is not really a product that I have really used that much. Recently I have not been using powder contour products as much as I am preferring cream contours but this is a palette that can be used for contouring. This palette is £8 and you get 8 powders in total - so it is only £1 per powder. In the palette, there are three contour shades, three brightening powders (two are definitely matte and one seems to have a very slight shimmer to it but is almost matte) and then two baked highlighters. I think that this contour palette is so much better than the individual bronzer and I can definitely use one of the shades as a bronzer from this palette. I feel like the powders apply more evenly and they don't cling to any texture, plus they blend out beautifully. I also love the brightening powders, especially the matte soft pink shade as that really brightens my under eyes and I like to use the slight shimmer champagne shade to give a natural highlight. However, if you love a more intense highlight then the two baked highlighters are perfect and are brilliant for all skin tones as there is a white highlighter and a champagne highlighter. These highlighters are stunning and are what I used to highlight my brow bone and my inner corner. I definitely think that this palette is perfect for most skin tones, although you might struggle if you have a medium/deep to deep skin tone.
I always apply any contour product by drawing out a three on my face. I start at the temple of my head and then work to my cheeks and then down to my jawline (so it will look like a three on your face). I then blend this out with a brush and I feel like this palette is amazing as it blends out so easily and just looks really natural on the skin. It doesn't look muddy and just seems the perfect shade for my skin tone, however I think this will look even better when I have a tan in the Summer. I also apply some contour down my nose to make my nose look slightly thinner and longer - but if you want to make your nose look shorter then apply a bit at the tip of the nose to give the illusion that you have a shorter nose. This palette reminds me a lot of the Shade and Light contour palette from Kat Von D which is one of my favourite contour palettes ever.
Blush
Let's talk about blush ... Makeup Revolution has quite a few blushers in their collection and they mainly come in palettes where you get 8 shades for only £6. There are different shades from more ambers to bright pinks and the palette I chose is the Blush Queen Palette as the shades look beautiful. I do own other blush palettes and I definitely prefer them to this one. In most of the other palettes there are matte blush shades and then two shimmer blushers but this palette has no mattes. Instead they all have a sheen to them and that is not something that I really like with a blush. I feel like this would work a lot better as a blush topper but even then it is not something I really like on the apples of my cheeks. I also don't think that these are very pigmented and instead are more of a sheer pink glow. I think if there were these shades in a matte formula then this palette would be worth buying. In general though I am not a massive fan of Makeup Revolution shimmer blushers as they are not soft and buttery, but instead are quite stiff and chalky especially when you feel them with your finger. I also feel like it is quite difficult to pick up product on the brush and I have to dig my brush in to really pick up any product and then I end up putting too much product on. They are also quite difficult to blend out and look natural, so these are definitely a pass from me. However, I am a fan of the matte blushers from this brand so if you are thinking of trying a blush palette I would recommend choosing one which has matte blushers in them rather than all shimmer. These could look pretty over the top of a blush and if you don't wear highlight but for me they are pretty pointless.
Highlighter
Since adding Makeup Revolution to my makeup collection in the last few years, I have had a love/hate relationship with their highlighters. I am someone who loves highlighters and I have dedicated whole blog posts to my favourite highlighters. I am a massive fan of natural highlighters and highlighters than make it look like there is a beam of light on my face! However, I have struggled to find a really nice highlighter from Makeup Revolution. I usually am more of a fan of the highlighters that come in the palettes from this brand as they are soft and blend out beautifully without having too much glitter in them. I have never really liked any of the individual highlighters, but when I saw they had some new highlighters that looked very similar to Jeffree Star's Skin Frost Highlighters, I wanted to try them out. I got the Skin Kiss Highlighter in the shade Champagne Kiss and it is only £5.
I applied this highlighter to all of the high points on my face where the sun would naturally hit my skin. The best way to find out where to put your highlighter is to stand in front of a window and see where the light is hitting your face and that is where you apply your highlighter - this will usually be the cheek bones (above your blush), the bridge of your nose, Cupid's bow, brow bone and inner corner of the eye. I am not a fan of this highlighter as I find that my brush doesn't ever pick up enough product and when it does it just ends up looking like there is a bunch of glitter on my face. I feel like this is too glittery and is too chunky. It doesn't apply evenly and picks up every bit of texture on the skin. This highlighter swatches better than it performs with a brush which is a shame as the colour is so pretty and it comes in a variety of shades, but the formula is just not great as it is not soft and buttery.
Setting Spray
Makeup Revolution even sell setting sprays and I cannot go out unless I have set my makeup with some sort of setting spray. For me, my favourite is the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray but I was intrigued to see whether Makeup Revolution could create a setting spray that works. There are quite a few setting sprays available but I decided to choose the Pro Fix Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray and it only costs £5. There are also setting sprays for oil control, illuminating and for sports. This is meant to protect your makeup against heat and humidity, cold and windy conditions, as well as keeping your makeup looking perfect for up to 8 hours.
I always spray my face all over with the setting spray, around 20cm away from the face, so I get a fine mist all over my face and then I will immediately fan my face with a palette or piece of paper to let the spray dry quickly. I find that this keeps my makeup looking perfect all day and it works with all setting sprays and prevents any water marks appearing in my foundation. With this setting spray I did notice that my makeup did last a long time (I wouldn't say it was as long as when I use my Urban Decay setting spray), but for the price it is an amazing spray. My only criticism is the scent of this spray as it reminds me of a hospital but it does fade once it had dried and I could not smell it as the day progressed. Overall, I really like this setting spray and it really helps to make any powder melt into the skin to make my makeup look more natural, rather than cakey! I definitely think this is a great purchase as it works really well and is so affordable in comparison to other high-end setting sprays. I am thinking of buying the other sprays to see if they are any good as well so will keep you updated if I buy them. I am interested in the illuminating setting spray as I do love a dewy finish to my skin as I do suffer from dry skin and I would want to see whether that makes my skin look luminous.
EYES
Eye Primer
I am not someone who usually buys eye primers as for me it is usually a waste of money as I am fine with using my concealer as a primer base for my eyeshadow. However, I was really intrigued to try the Focus & Fix Eye Primer as it was only £2.50. This does not have a slight fair skin shade to it, so I am not sure how it would work on deeper skin tones as there is definitely some colour to this primer. I would definitely recommend going in and swatching this to see how it blends out on your skin tone as for me it did blend to match my skin tone. It is quite a thin formula but it does remain tacky which makes it perfect for eyeshadows to go on top of. I am really impressed with this product and it is amazing for the price. I found that my eyeshadow blended beautifully on top of this primer and the shadows stayed the same shade throughout the day. I also found that my eyeshadow lasted a long time and they did not crease throughout the day. This is a definite must-have purchase as it is so good and is the same price as a cup of coffee!
I would like to see Makeup Revolution create some other shades that have different properties like the Urban Decay eyeshadow primers, especially as these are only £2.50. I think these are definitely worth the price and it does work really well at making my eyeshadow last all day without creasing. I would recommend setting this primer with either a setting powder or a flesh coloured eyeshadow just to help the other shadows blend even better over the top.
Eyeshadow
I have always been a fan of Makeup Revolution eyeshadow palettes and I have quite a few in my collection. However, I never seem to reach for them because they are kept in my IKEA Alex drawers and I have my Anastasia Beverly Hills, Too Faced and other palettes in my dressing table drawers so I don't often reach for my Makeup Revolution palettes as much. However, they are super affordable and the quality is amazing so they are definitely worth buying if you don't want to spend lots on high-end palettes (as they can be £40 upwards). In my eyeshadow palette reviews there is often a theme - they are full of warm-toned shades with bronzes, caramels and golds in them and they usually all end up looking the same. Therefore, I decided to purchase the Re-Loaded Palette in the shade Newtrals 2. This is a palette full of rich peach tones and caramel shades - which is completely different to most of my other palettes. I loved that the shades are all warm-toned so are perfect for the Spring and Summer, plus there are so many different looks that you can create with this one palette.
When you swatch these shadows with your finger they are not soft and buttery. Instead, they feel quite stiff and you really have to swipe your finger in the pan to feel like you are getting any product. However, don't let that make you think that the pigmentation is rubbish because a synthetic brush seems to pick up the perfect amount of product and they are super pigmented. I do sometimes have to build up the colour if it is a light shade but they blend out beautifully and they don't fade into a completely different shade as the day progresses. They also don't crease and are just beautiful shadows. The mattes are just as pigmented as the shimmer shadows and they all look beautiful on the eyes. Plus this palette is only £4 and you get 18 shades (an absolute bargain). They do have three other colour options for these Re-Loaded palettes and I would definitely recommend buying a couple of these palettes as they are amazing! This is the stand out product from all of the Makeup Revolution products I have tried in this blog post!
Cream Foil Eyeshadow
Makeup Revolution have recently brought out new Flawless Foils Cream Eyeshadows and they looked amazing and I knew I wanted to buy a few. I managed to purchase three from my local Superdrug and I got the shades Rose Gold (a red rose gold), Rival (a soft pink) and Retreat (a khaki green). There are also four other shades that are bronzes, golds and white but they did not have them in stock in my local store. I am a massive fan of cream eyeshadows, especially when they have a foil effect to them. I think that these are the easiest way to create a beautiful eye look, as all you need is a transition shade in the crease and then apply a cream shadow all over the lid and you have a beautiful look. I decided to use the shade Rival for my eye look as I thought the soft pink would work well with the peach shades that I had used from the eyeshadow palette. These are quite expensive at £5 each, in comparison to the fact that you can get 18 shadows in a palette for £4 but they are definitely worth the price tag and are a lot more affordable than high-end cream shadows and I think these are even better.
I love how these cream shadows perform on the eye. All you need to do is put some product on your finger and press it onto your eyelids to get an intense pigmented shimmer shadow that looks like a foil. This also comes with a little bottle of intensifying primer and I would highly recommend using this primer with the shadow. All I did was dropped some of the primer onto my finger and placed it all over the lid. I let it dry down slightly and then put the cream shadow over the top. The shadow just seems to change colour when you use the primer and it becomes a lot smoother and is a lot more even. However, it does look beautiful without the primer but it could look a bit more chunky and crease slightly. I found that when I used the primer the shadow lasted all day and did not crease once - it looked just as amazing at the end of the day as it did when I first put it on. I am 100% going to order every single shade of this cream eyeshadow as they are stunning and just create a perfect eye look every time. They will be great for transforming a daytime look into a evening look in a matter of minutes.
Eyeliner
I am someone who does not always like wearing eyeliner on an everyday basis as I prefer how my makeup looks when I don't have eyeliner on. However, I do wear it every now and again and I decided to purchase the Awesome Double Flick Eyeliner which costs £3.50. This eyeliner has two ends to it (hence why it is a double flick eyeliner) with on end for thin eyeliner and then the other end is to create a thicker line on the eyes. I feel like you get the best result when you use the side of the pen nib and that does give a jet black line on the back of my hand. However, when I go to put it on my eyes I find that it is not as opaque as I would like as I don't personally like a really thick line on my lids and therefore don't want to use the side of the eyeliner to get an opaque finish. I also find it is very difficult to use as it seems to drag a lot when I apply it and it takes forever to get a perfect line when I use this eyeliner. I think there are better drugstore liquid eyeliners out there that are opaque and you can create a beautiful wing in minutes. Whereas, with this eyeliner I had to keep going backwards and forwards with the eyeliner to get a precise line. I did also find that it took off some of my eyeshadow because I had to really press down to get a line and I just did not like the finished result. I will admit that this does not budge throughout the day and it does not bleed at all, so if you can deal with taking a bit more time to do your eyeliner then this would be a good option but for me, I don't want to spend 10 minutes trying to just get a thin line against my lashes (and I didn't even do a wing).
Mascara
I have recently done two whole blog posts about two of my new favourite mascaras, and I am a huge fan of both drugstore and high-end mascaras. But when I saw that Makeup Revolution were selling mascaras for only £2, I knew that I had to try it to see if it was any good. There are four different mascaras to choose from and I decided to go with the Amazing Volume Mascara as I have recently become a fan of more volumising mascaras. I wish I could say I was a fan of this mascara but honestly I was a bit disappointed, although for the price it is ok. I am not a massive fan of the wand and because it is quite fat and big, it was really difficult to coat every single lash and I would end up getting more mascara on my skin than my lashes. I also didn't really see much volumising happening. Instead, it just coated my natural lashes but didn't add any volume or length. The one thing I did like about this mascara is that it did not clump my lashes together and instead seemed to really focus on separating the lashes. I feel like this is a mascara where you would have to apply a few layers to maybe get a bit of volume but then you are risking your eyelashes clumping together. I also found that this mascara would smudge as the day progressed and I ended up with black mascara all under my eyes. Overall it is an ok mascara for £2 but it is nothing special and is not going to be a mascara that I will probably use again. I think there are better drugstore mascaras out there that cost less than £10 that are a lot better than this one.
I think I might have had a slight reaction to this mascara as I noticed that when I wore it my eyes started to sting and they would water so I am not sure why this mascara would cause that (as I am usually not that sensitive to makeup products) but it is definitely something that I will probably not repurchase in the future.
Eye Brightener Pencil
I was really intrigued by what an Inner Eye Brightener Pencil was and from reading online it seems to just be a nude eye pencil that you can use to add a matte highlight to your inner corner or you can use it to line the waterline to really open up the eyes. I am a huge fan of using nude eyeliners on my waterline as it just always makes me look more awake and it looks more natural than using a white eyeliner pencil, so I was excited to try this as it was only £2.50. Unfortunately, I did not get on with this product as firstly it is a matte nude pencil and it does not seem to offer any highlight to the inner corners of my eye, plus it doesn't seem to brighten my eyes at all. It is really pigmented when I apply pressure on the back of my hand but I really struggled to get any pigment when I was applying it to my eyes (as I did not want to apply as much pressure on my waterline). It is also not creamy enough and just seemed to break off every single time I used it, although that could be because it is a couple of months old and might have dried up. It seemed to just crumble and lump together when I applied it to my waterline, which just made it look like I had an eye infection. There are other nude eye pencils that I think work a lot better and I would personally just prefer to use a powder highlighter to highlight my inner corner, as the nude was too dark for my skin tone and was very noticeable.
I did also notice that this pencil is under the eyeshadow primer section on the Revolution Beauty website so I am not sure if it is meant to go all over the lids before putting your eyeshadow on. If it is for priming your eyes then I don't see the point as the pencil is so small that it would take forever to cover your entire lid, so I don't think it is a primer at all but I did see some reviews that said they had used it as an eyeshadow primer and they liked the results, but I would suggest just buying the Focus & Fix eyeshadow primer as that worked amazingly well!
BROWS
Brow Pencil
When it comes to my brows, I am a massive fan of my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz and I don't really use any other products on my brows except a clear brow gel or sometimes a brow pomade. Now, Makeup Revolution have a lot of brow products available and one that I decided to buy is the Duo Brow Pencil which reminded me a lot of the brow definer from Anastasia Beverly Hills. I think if you are use to using this type of pencil then this will be something that you will love. I am use to a smaller pencil rather than the triangular shape of the brow definer so I really struggled to make the drawn on hairs look like natural hairs. However, the pencil is really creamy and applies so easily to the brows without looking not natural (it was only the way I applied it that made my brows look awful). This pencil is also really pigmented and only costs £2.50. I am definitely going to keep practising with this brow pencil as it is really good, I am just rubbish at using this type of pencil.
Brow Powder
The second brow product that I got was the Focus & Fix Brow Kit in the shade Medium Dark and it costs £2.50. In this kit you get three brow powders and a clear wax to set your brows into place. You even get a mini brush and a little pair of tweezers, which are quite difficult to use because of the size of them, but they are really handy if you are travelling and find you need to pluck a few brow hairs. I never use brow powders but not that I have tried this kit I am definitely going to try some more. I would definitely say that a brow powder is perfect if you have fuller eyebrows or you don't usually have to draw in hairs. In the future I will definitely use a brow powder with another product as I have to draw in some hairs but I do have quite full brows as well. I really like how you can mix the shades to get your perfect shade and I even used some of the lightest shade to add a bit of natural highlight to my brows. I found the powders were so pigmented and just helped to fill in my brows, whilst making them still look natural. I do feel like they need to bring out darker shades as anyone with really dark brown/almost black eyebrows will really struggle to use this product. However, hopefully they will bring out more shades in the future. I did also like using the wax in the kit and I found that it set my brows in place all day, however it can sometimes look a bit clumpy if you get too much wax on the brush. But I just used a spoolie brush to brush the wax throughout my brows to make them look natural.
I think this little brow kit is so handy to take while travelling as the packaging is quite small and compact, but it has lots of products in them. I also like the fact that there is a small mirror as I often do my brows whilst holding a small mirror to make sure my brows look beautiful. For the price you would not expect to get a mirror in it so it is a definite bonus getting a mirror included.
LIPS
Lipstick
One of the first lip products that I ever got from Makeup Revolution was a lipstick in the shade Chauffeur (which is a must have in everybody's collection). I now have three of the Rose Gold Lipsticks in the shades Chauffeur, Expose and Inclination. Two are more of a creme sheen formula and the shade Expose is a matte formula. They are all nude shades and my favourite go-to shade is Expose as it reminds me a bit of Kim K.W. from Charlotte Tilbury although is not as peachy. These lipsticks are beautiful and even made it into my Best of Beauty 2017 blog post in January. I love how creamy these lipsticks are and they are so opaque - you only need to swipe once to get a full coverage of lipstick. I think that these three shades will also work on so many skin tones and they are so wearable. Plus they only cost £3 each which is a bargain for a great quality lipstick. Like with any lipstick this does not last that long on the lips, especially when eating and drinking, but I did find that it would last a good couple of hours before I noticed it start to fade from my lips. Also, you don't want to apply too many coats of this lipstick as it can become a bit clumpy especially on dry areas but if you use a lip balm of scrub first then that should not be a problem at all.
I am going to buy more lipsticks from Makeup Revolution as the quality is amazing and I think these would be great choices to buy in shades that you usually would not wear but might want to wear for just one day. I am someone who always wears nude lipsticks, so I would definitely think about buying some reds and brighter shades as they are so affordable and there might be a day when I want to wear a bright shade but don't want to spend £20 on it.
Liquid Lipstick Kit
Makeup Revolution is known for creating dupes of well-known high-end makeup products and their Lip Kits are obviously inspired by Kylie Jenner's lip kits but for a fraction of the price. In the kit you get a creamy lip pencil and then a liquid lipstick in the matching colour. I don't own many of the liquid lipstick lip kits from Makeup Revolution as I have so many and there are not many shades that I really like - a lot of them are just shades that I cannot pull off. However, one of my favourites is the shade Reign which is a beautiful dusty rose pink and will look great on all skin tones. I really like the formula of Makeup Revolution's liquid lipsticks as they dry down fully matte but don't feel too heavy on the lips. They also don't make your lips feel dry and the formula is so thin that it feels like you aren't even wearing a liquid lipstick. They are also so pigmented, you only need one swipe to get a full opaque lip colour and they are not streaky at all. Once applied this lipstick does not budge even if you are drinking and eating so perfect for meals out and wearing all day long (although they can be quite hard to remove and you do have to really scrub at your lips to remove the lipstick). The lip liner is not something I use as much but it is handy to have to prevent the liquid lipstick bleeding and it does apply so easily to the lips because it is really creamy. Each lip kit retails for £6 which is an amazing price as you get a lip liner and a liquid lipstick.
I wish that Makeup Revolution had more nude liquid lipsticks in their collection as the other shades I have are shades that don't look very good on me. Even Reign is not a shade that I would usually wear but for me it was the most wearable shade. I think that if they had some of their lipstick shades in this liquid lipstick format then I would definitely buy more. I also love the lip liners and I know they do sell these lip liners individually for around £2.50 so I am definitely going to buy some of them as they are so affordable and the formula is rich and creamy, whilst being extremely pigmented.
Lip Gloss Lip Kit
As well as selling liquid lipstick lip kits, Makeup Revolution also sell Gloss Lip Kits that also sell for £6. In this kit you get a lip liner and gloss in the same shade. I only own one gloss lip kit in the shade Honour which is a beautiful nude with a hint of peach. These remind me a lot of the Anastasia Beverly Hills lip glosses as they are so pigmented and are definitely not sheer. They will give a colour to the lips and you don't really have to use the lip pencil with these glosses but I would recommend using the lip pencil to make the colour last a lot longer. The gloss gives a beautiful shine to the lips without leaving them feeling sticky and horrible. They are so easy to apply and last a fairly long time - I really like applying this over a lipstick to create a subtle ombre look. Like with any lip glosses this will not last all day (unless you use the lip pencil underneath) but you don't expect a lip gloss to last a long time, especially when eating and drinking. The lip pencil is identical to the pencils in the liquid lipstick lip kits and they are really handy as they can go with other lip products as well.
Just like with the liquid lipsticks, I wish that these lip glosses came in more wearable shades. Even though the shade Honour is a nude, it has a slight peachy tint to it and it is not the most flattering shade on me. I find that this shade just doesn't suit me and I wish they had a more nude/brown shade or even a pink nude shade that is really flattering on all skin tones. I also think this shade would have been better if it was not as pigmented and was more of a sheer gloss. I think the lip glosses are nice, I am just not a huge fan of the shade selection. I would also like a few brighter shades as well like pinks and reds that are suitable for every skin tone, as I do think that a lot of these shades would not work on every skin tone.
PRODUCTS WORTH BUYING
Stand Out Products from Makeup Revolution
Fast Base Stick Foundation, £5
Conceal & Define Concealer and Contour, £4
Ultra Contour Palette, £8
Pro Fix Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray, £5
Re-Loaded Palette, £4
Flawless Foils Cream Eyeshadows, £5
Rose Gold Lipsticks, £3
Conceal & Define Concealer and Contour, £4
Ultra Contour Palette, £8
Pro Fix Amazing Makeup Fixing Spray, £5
Re-Loaded Palette, £4
Flawless Foils Cream Eyeshadows, £5
Rose Gold Lipsticks, £3
Hit Products from Makeup Revolution
Ultra Face Base Primer, £5
Lace Baking Powder, £5
Pressed Powder, £2
Focus & Fix Eye Primer, £2.50
Duo Brow Pencil, £2.50
Focus & Fix Brow Kit, £2.50
Liquid Lipstick Lip Kit, £6
Gloss Lip Kits, £6
Lace Baking Powder, £5
Pressed Powder, £2
Focus & Fix Eye Primer, £2.50
Duo Brow Pencil, £2.50
Focus & Fix Brow Kit, £2.50
Liquid Lipstick Lip Kit, £6
Gloss Lip Kits, £6
Miss Products from Makeup Revolution
Ultra Bronze Bronzer, £3
Blush Queen Palette, £6
Skin Kiss Highlighter, £5
Awesome Double Flick Eyeliner, £3.50
Amazing Volume Mascara, £2
Inner Eye Brightener, £2.50
Blush Queen Palette, £6
Skin Kiss Highlighter, £5
Awesome Double Flick Eyeliner, £3.50
Amazing Volume Mascara, £2
Inner Eye Brightener, £2.50
Have you tried anything from Makeup Revolution before? Let me know in the comments if any of the products are your favourites and what other products you would recommend from Makeup Revolution?
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