Smashbox Brow Tech "Blonde" & Revlon Brow Fantasy "Dark Blonde" & Soap and Glory Archery "Love is Blonde"

Ooo yes, let's talk brows.  Up until a few months ago, 'doing' my brows was never part of my make-up routine.  I did pluck to prevent any stragglers, but other than that, they were generally left wild and free.

 

It wasn't until I had a particularly over-zealous plucking session, and took off far too much of my inner brow.  In a panic, I went in search of a brow pencil to rectify the bald patch I now had, and I found an old one in my Mum's make-up bag.  I'm talking SO old that I can't even tell you the make, as it had long rubbed off.  My Mum is also darker than me so the pencil was a deep brown, and I'll be honest, when I tentatively went in with light feathery strokes, I was expecting a make-up distaster of Greek tragedy proportions.

 

But to cut a long story short, it did kind of work, and I enjoyed the 'neatness' the pencil brought to my eye brow.  It finished my eye area off a bit, and looked more polished.

 

So.  Off I went in search of a more suitable brow product for myself.

 

As I said, brows are a WHOLE new concept to me, so I was a bit of a fish out of water.  I did a lot of blog trawling and the basic message I was getting was that blonde brows are a nightmare to colour match, and basically trial & error was the only way to go.

 

So!  3-4 months down the line, I've tried four brow products, two of which I didn't think to photograph before they ran out which I'm SO annoyed with myself about, so it's going to be official photos of those I'm afraid.

 

Right.  First up was Soap & Glory's Archery in "Love is Blonde" £10.00

 

 

To date, on my brow journey, this has probably been my most successful purchase.  I was drawn to the double ended design, as it has a crayon one end and a felt tip the other, and I didn't know whether I'd be a crayon or a felt tip kinda girl.  So what a marvellous way to try both!

 

The felt tip end, for me, didn't really do much.  It has SUCH a fine nib and the actual ink (is that what you'd call it!?) is really pale and watery.  It added a nice gloss to my brows, but as for filling them in...I didn't really think this did much.  But again, I am a brow novice, I might be missing the point...

 

But the crayon end..oo la la I'm a fan.  The colour was pretty much perfect for my brows...which are an ashy dark blonde I'd say.  I don't dye them or do anything to blend them with my uber blonde hair, so they're my natural hair colour.  So yeah, mousey, ashy, dirty blonde.

 

The crayon consistency isn't ideal in my opinion.  I found it to break off into little crumbly bits quite easily and its not particuarly soft or creamy.  It's quite hard and almost brittle, and you have it give it a good old rub to get decent colour pay-off.  But the colour makes this a winner hands down for me, as it isn't orange-y in the slightest and looks mega natural when on.  At £10 it is bit steep purely because you only get about 2cm of crayon so it runs out quite quickly.  It also isn't the world's most amazing product, it's just the colour that I think will appeal to a lot of ashy blondes out there.

 

OK next up iiiiis.....Smashbox Brow Tech in Blonde £17.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

This teeeeeeny tiny little brow product is a whopping £17 and I only bought it because of a Boots deal that was running over Christmas.  When it arrived, I was like ohhh my god it is SO small (0.7g to be exact).

  It comes with two brow powder sections and one larger brow wax bit. 

 

This was my first foray into the land of brow powder, and I had to buy a slanted brow brush for E.L.F. as well so I could apply it.

 

Now again, with this one, I would 100% recommend the colour to my blonde ladies out there.  It's such a gentle colour with an ashy undertone, and you get two shades in the pot which compliment each other really well. 

 

I also found the powder to be soft, very long lasting, and it covers your brows really evenly.  For a novice, I found the whole application of this product SO easy, and I think it's ideal for people who just want to fill in sparse brows.

 

But if you're looking (like me) for a just a small bit of shaping or 'neatening' from your brow product, then I'd say this isn't worth the price tag.  The powder nature of it means the overall effect on the brow is soft.  It didn't give me nice clean lines, and so whilst it gave a lovely 'natural' look, if I was going for a more graphic eye,I just felt I needed more precision.

 

And as with the felt tip nib of the Soap and Glory one, I have to confess the brow wax in this one....ABSOLUTELY no idea how you're supposed to use it.  I tried applying it using the brush and it went on super thick, you could blatently see it, and it didn't exactly tame my brows that well.  I tried my finger, no joy.  I tried an old mascara wand (cleaned up) and I couldn't get the product out of the pot as the wand just kept knocking the plastic edges.  Argh it was so frustrating!!  So the wax is a no for me.  Again...I'm probably applying it using the wrong tools or something, but oh well.

 

So my disastrous attempt at brow wax, led me to buy MAC's "Brow Set" gel in clear £13.00 

 

My brows being unruly is definitely one of my "brow issues" so I thought maybe Mac's gel could tame them.  Sorry for the generic photo from the site, but although my gel is still very much going, it's now gone a manky brown colour, and wasn't worthy of a blog pic.

 

Now this gel...hmm...what to say about it.  It has a very satisfying squelch  sound when you pull the wand out!  The wand is a standard mascara type design, and if I'm honest, I'd prefer a slightly smaller one to be able to get along the shape of my brows easier.

 

I do find that this smooths my brows down, and keeps them in place pretty well throughout the day.  It doesn't dry crispy and you can't tell you're wearing it (in a good way, not a bad way).  But I can't help but wonder if a high street dupe could do just as well.  Not that I can find a high street dupe.  I was hoping Collection or Rimmel or someone might do one, but I cannot find any!  The only one I can find is a clear mascara from Natural Collection and this dries hoooorrrrribly.  So maybe you do have to pay the MAC price tag to get this product.

 

It also lasts well, I use it pretty much everyday and have had it over 4 months, and it is still well over half full.  I guess the proof on this one will be in the repurchase.

 

 

Which brings me onto my most recent purchase...Revlon's Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde. £6.99

 

 

 This caught my eye for two reasons....the brow gel (cheaper alternative to MAC??) and the colour, which looked pretty good.

 

The design is double ended, with a brow gel on one end with a mascara wand type applicator, and a brow pencil the other end.

 

First thing's first, the brow pencil is so soft and creamy.  It was a joy to apply and felt a lot more high end than a £6.99 product.  But alas!!  The colour!  For some reason when I applied this, it looked dreadful.  The pencil had some kind of red/golden undertone which meant it clashed with my natural brow colour and was sooo obvious as it was a completely different colour.  I despise 'obvious brow filling in' and this was a classic example of it.  I'm gutted as I think if the colour was right, this product would be a real little gem.

 

I'm going to continue to use up the gel end, as the tint is barely noticeable and the wand is slightly smaller than the MAC one, and it would be a waste just to dump it due to the pencil end.  And once again, the gel pretty much does what it says on the tin, much like the MAC gel. But all in all, a massive disappointment for me I'm afraid.

 

I swatched the Revlon pencil against the Smashbox powders below, and you can see the difference in undertone really clearly.

Revlon on the left, Smashbox on the right

 

 So..my brow journey continues.  What I'm desperate to find is a decent, soft/creamy brow pencil in a gentle ash blonde. Something I can get some precision out of.

 

If any one has ANY recommendations at all, then this straggly browed blogger would love to hear them..



Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream & Maybelline Superstay Better Skin & Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation

 

 

If there is one thing I'm a sucker for in the cosmetic world, it's 100% a foundation.  I literally crave flawless skin, and since genetics and a penchant for chocolate means my natural complexion is pretty manky, foundation has had to become my best friend.  And I am always on the hunt for my holy grail of foundation.

 

It has been a while since I've purchased a new foundation, basically because I started to get a bit disillusioned by what was on the market.  Yet when I was on a recent blog trawl, I noticed a few new(ish) ones that were getting some impressive blog reviews.  And my my, am I easily led by a positive blog review.

 

My first purchase was Vichy's Dermablend Fluid Corrective 16hr foundation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a foundation that is marketed more as a 'medical' type cosmetic product, aimed at individuals with very sensitive, very reactive skin.  It was in the skincare section of Boots, was in a box, and came with a rather substantial instruction leaflet.  I bought mine in Shade 25 "Nude".  It is designed to be very high coverage (we're talking literal camouflage) but lightweight and also very gentle on the skin, so ideal for rosacea, severe acne, vitiligo or eczema

 

Now first things first, my skin is sensitive but not very sensitive, and is reactive but not mega reactive.  I have to be a bit careful about what I use on it, but it certainly isn't on the extreme end of the scale.  But at the same time, I do suffer with eczema, I do have significant red, itchy patches on my face, and I am a bit of a fan of a flawless high coverage finish.

 

So what was the verdict?  My first issue with this was the colour range.  Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I'm all about the yellow undertones.  I always lean towards yellow foundation, yellow concealers, yellow powders....I'm obsessed with taking the pinky/red out of my skin tone.  This foundation comes in about 5 shades, with nude being the second lightest...and it really isn't very light.  It also has definite pink-undertones.  It's what I would call a very 'old-school' type foundation shade range, before cosmetic companies started jumping on the 'undertone' bandwagon.  If you have pale porcelain skin, I just don't think you're going to get a shade to suit you.  Likewise if you have very dark or olive-toned skin.  For reference, I'm an NC25 in MAC, and the Nude shade was a tinge on the dark/orange side.

 

Which is a shame, as the foundation itself is actually really good.  For the degree of coverage it gives, the consistency is actually not that heavy, nor cakey.  It applies really easily, blends well, and is definitely a really high coverage.  When I have red patches or scarring, this covers them an absolute treat, and gives a real airbrushed appearance to the skin.  It also doesn't sit in my rather oversized pores.  I do have to set this with a very light dusting of powder, as it does have a tendency to go quite greasy on the skin though.  For this reason, I use this more of a concealer than an all-over-the-face foundation.  It is ideal for providing higher coverage on areas you need, allowing you to have a much lighter foundation (like a CC cream) on the rest of your face.  It's success definitely comes from how easily blendable it is, because it means you don't get any obvious tide marks or texture changes if you use it with a much lighter foundation. 

 

I literally love this for touching up bad skin areas, and despite the poor colour range, will definitely be purchasing it again.  It is a bit pricey at £15-16, but if you use it the same way I do, then it will last for ages. 

 

My next purchase ws Maybelline's Superstay Better Skin Foundation

Now this little gem has received a LOT of fuss in the blog-sphere.  I'm not usually a fan of Maybelline's foundations, but this received such consistently good reviews that I decided to give it a try.  It retails between £7-£8 so pretty standard for a high street foundation, and it claims to improve your skin just from wearing it *sceptical eyebrow raise*

 

Now, first things first, this is a really, really nice foundation.  It has a really light consistency, smooths onto the skin mega easily, and actually leaves the skin with an impressive amount of flawless-ness.  I would even compare the consistency and finish to my all-time favourite foundation, the Diorskin Nude (amen).  But the shade range for this foundation IS. AWFUL.

 

As I said, I'm an NC25, which in my opinion is not particularly extreme on the pale scale.  I got this foundation in 010 Ivory.  The lightest shade appears to be Light Beige...but that's literally no lighter, trust me, I swatched extensively.  This looks SO orange on my skin.  And I'm talking nasty, jaw-line tide mark, orange.  The first time I wore it I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was like sweet jesus I look like a 14 year old experimenting with make-up! I tried to tissue some off but ended up having to wipe it off completely.  I have given it another couple of tries since, but I just can't get on with the colour.  It just has such an orange finish to it - I think it might oxidise quite a lot on the skin.  You can see the difference below between the Maybelline (on the right) and my MAC NC25 on the left. 

I am SO frustrated with Maybelline about this, as the foundation really genuinely is an impressive high street foundation.  It's coverage and smoothness is reminiscent of much pricier foundations, and I think it would be a bit of a holy grail jobby if I could only get a colour to suit my skin.  So Maybelline, sort it out!!  Embrace a bit of pale and a bit of yellow-undertone!

 

My final purchase was the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream.



 

Now once again, I'm not particularly all over the Bourjois foundation range.  I do enjoy their Healthy Mix range, but I don't rave about them to the degree some people do.  So I was a little dubious about buying this.  It is Bourjois' answer to the CC/BB cream craze and is meant to contain apricot, green and white (really!?) to counteract fatigue, redness and darl spots.  Hmm..really?  A CC cream? But glowing reviews are glowing reviews, and I decided to give it a little punt.

 

Oh how glad I am that I did.

 

At the moment I am L.O.V.I.N.G this foundation.  Let me say first of all, that CC creams and BB creams and tinted moisturisers are normally not my bag.  I wear foundation for coverage, and normally the 'light-coverage' brigade just don't cut it for me.  But this little offering from Bourjois actually has coverage!  Who would have guessed!?

 

I bought this in shade 32 Light Beige (beige clair) and hallelujah (take note Maybelline) the shade is exquisite.  It has just enough yellow undertones to keep me happy, and is such a fresh shade.  As with the other Bourjois foundations, you may struggle if you have very pale skin, as I think this is one of their palest shades.

 

But the winning quality of this for me is definitely the consistency and coverage and (suprisingly) the staying power!  This covers equally as well (if not better than) some of my "medium-coverage" foundations, and yet it is so light and hydrating and evens your skin tone out an absolute treat.  It's perfect for Spring/Summer as it gives the skin a real glowy, natural look, but still does a good job at hiding your nasties.  At the moment I've been wearing this everday and then topping up my really red patchy areas with the Vichy Dermablend.  The two together are like a little dream team.

 

So if you're a light-coverage phobic like me, my only advice is not to overlook this little CC cream. 

 

 

So!  There you have it.  Now this little lady needs to stay away from the foundation counter for a while..!