Rimmel 'Wake Me Up' Foundation Review

Firstly, I have to admit I’ve never liked Rimmel products. I don’t mind their nail polishes or lipsticks but among my everyday essentials not one Rimmel product makes an appearance. But, being the (rather skint student) sheep that I am, I couldn’t ignore all the hype over the new(ish) Wake Me Up foundation so decided to see what all the fuss is about. This is all despite the fact that just about a month ago I remember laughing with my friend about the very same foundation and making Edward Cullen jokes due to its sparkly properties. Well, I’m running out of Studio Fix, so times have changed.

 I picked this up for £8.99 from Boots. At the moment its on a 3 for 2 deal, but I honestly couldn’t see any other two products I’d want to buy. I think I’m finally realising I shouldn’t just spend money for the sake of it! (Maybe). The packaging is quite nice, in a nice glass bottle with a disposable pump (yay for hygienic, practical cosmetic storage solutions! I’m looking at you, Mac Comsetics).

There are only six shades available, which is ridiculous, a bit presumptuous, and eliminates a huge amount of potential customers.  I know the average high street brand can’t have enough variation to supply a perfect match to everyone, but  if L’oreal True Match is available in 20 shades then surely Rimmel branching out to, say, 10 shades shouldn’t be too much difficulty? I picked up the lightest shade available- Ivory- and hoped for the best (I'm NC15 in Studio Fix).

 The stereotypical blogger swatch test:

As you can see it has pretty good coverage, not quite as heavy as Studio Fix but significantly better than most high street foundations I’ve tried before. The ‘sparkle’ in the foundation, which looks ridiculously scary and glittery in the bottle, isn’t as apparent on the flesh (thank goodness!). It covers up my blue veins without much difficulty. 

Excusing the rather dour look I’ve got on my face, this is the foundation in action in direct daylight. I’m not wearing any primer underneath, or any powder or blush on top, and the pictures haven’t been edited to give an accurate portrayal of how it looks.

Close-up, with and without flash:

As you can see, the flash does bring out a slight shimmer to the foundation, but it’s in no way the disco-ball effect I had been slightly apprehensive about. I think a touch of powder will probably eliminate it substantially for a more matte effect.

Overall I think its a foundation deserving of all the fuss. For me, it doesn't beat my favorite- Studio Fox- for a couple of reasons. The first is obviously the lack of shades. Whilst 'Ivory' isn't  a noticeably bad match for my skintone, its not excellent either. It also gives me a slight 'mask' effect, and although some blusher should sort that out, I wouldn't exactly reach for this if I was going for a 'natural' type of look. However, it gives good coverage, smells lovely, and the shimmer genuinely does make me look more awake. 

For a daytime foundation, I would definitely recommend it.

xxx

Cheap and Cheerful

Hello! I’m well aware its been weeks since I last posted, but honestly, nothing exciting seems to have happened anyway! Post-Berlin I managed to get rather ill (clearly 48458385 layers of thermal clothing was not enough!) and lethargic, and my finances have taken a bit of a blow, too. Any new purchases recently have been essentials, the rest of my money I’ve spent on coffees and lunches with my nearest and dearest- the best way to spend money!

That said, there really is something to be said for retail therapy, and today in Superdrug I couldn’t resist buying some new lipsticks- particularly when they cost the princely sum of £1 each, by MUA. I’ve never tried MUA make-up before but a few blogs I read have regularly mentioned the products, and, well, for £1 they definitely have proved a bargain buy.

I purchased lipsticks in shade 1 and shade 5, as well as lipgloss shade 4, which proved ridiculously difficult to photograph but in reality is a lovely pinky-gold, very wearable. As an aside, I wish MUA would name their cosmetics! Its such a small thing to do but (for me at least) makes such a difference! I will absolutely never understand why Kate Moss has named her lipstick range for Rimmel in numerical order, it just seems like lack of effort! Anyway, that’s just a shallow, surface criticism, because actually, I’m pretty damn impressed by my purchases.  

 Shade 1 is the deep red, Shade 5 the pink with silvery shimmer. All pictures were taken without flash, although the pictures on the bottom are more accurate to the lipsticks real shade!

I quickly tried on the two and both impressed. Shade 5, once applied, looks more like a lipgloss than a lipstick, and is a great deal more sheer than it appears in the tube. Shade 1 is not quite as deeply crimson, but is still resolutely a good staple blue-red.Both lipsticks don't have any kind of scent, which I personally don't mind but I'm sure some of you will miss the creamy sweet scents of more expensive products. Most importantly, both applied well straight from the tube and although I've yet to test their longevity both felt smooth on my lips- I have dry lips and I don't think MUA lipsticks will make them worse unlike some other brands I've tried (Revlon lipsticks- I'm looking at you!!!).

 Although MAC lipsticks remain my favourite I'm not particularly loyal to any other brand, and for such a great price MUA lipsticks are worth buying! I'll probably wear both during the day and save my favourites for nighttime :)

xxx

Today was a good day...

...for cheap makeup! Now, in my (rather feeble, it must be said) attempt to save a bit of money, I've decided that the amount I spend on make-up is absolutely ridiculous. My staples are YSL mascara, MAC Studio Fix foundation and cream blush, Urban Decay eyeshadows and MAC lipsticks. I'm also partial to the odd nice face cream, or hair mask. This is all well and good, until I run out (and don't you find you always run out of EVERYTHING at the same time?!), and I have to spend a chunk of hard earned money on refills.

So no more! I've been trawlings blogs and forums to find the makeup and beauty products with the highest recommendations. And I think I've done pretty well today!

Picked up these beauties at Poundland (!) L-r Revlon Creme Gloss lipgloss in Raisin' The Roof,
Rimmel eyeshadow quad in Smoky Brun, and eyeshadow mono in Spicy Bronze.

Now, I get that Poundland do receive shipments of brand name products when they are about to be discontinued and the brand wants to get rid of them. However, the Rimmel products I bought today are still on Boots website- even the colours I picked up! The quad retails at around £6.50, and the mono about £4. This is  all a little suspicious- back of a van, anyone? Rimmel eyeshadows are usually decent enough quality, and the little quad is perfect to pop in a handbag for touchups. The Revlon lipgloss is almost certainly discontinued (its on Amazon retailing about £3), but the colour is lovely and the brush is pretty damn good, too. Poundland also had a little selection of Rimmel nailpolishes, and Maybelline false lash effects mascara (!) which I used to wear but can't anymore because alas, most high street mascaras are just not suitable for my delicate post-laser surgery eyes.

When I got home, my ELF delivery had arrived! I've  never ordered from Eyes.Lips.Face before, but read about the products in quite a few magazines and blogs- particularly their make-up brushes, which seem to have a pretty stellar reputation considering the cost(I got a foundation brush and a blending brush, each £1.50) My delivery arrived a mere two days after I ordered it, and was packaged very nicely. A+ for delivery, Elf!

 Top to bottom: All over Color stick in Persimmon, Matte lip color crayon in Praline,
Nail polish in Cranberry, Tame & Treat eyebrows in Medium, Makeup Mist and Set, and
Foundation Brush in 1801, and blending brush in 1803.

I meant to go on just recommendations, but ended up going a bit mad because they've got a sale on (cheap stuff, even cheaper!) From the sale I ordered the Studio Mist make-up spray (half price at £2.45) and a dark red nail polish called Cranberry for just £1. I can't ever pass the opportunity to buy lipstick of any type or colour, so picked up the matte crayon lipstick in praline (£2.45 on sale). Its a lovely nude colour, I have pretty high hopes!

I never fill my eyebrows- I have light brown hair and my eyebrows are nearly blonde, but I always think they look odd drawn in! I know that brow gels have been pretty big news but I don't want to spend upwards of £15 when I'm not sure I'll appreciate the look- ELF however, has a Treat&Tame (treat??!) eyebrow shaper for £3.50...my expectations are a bit low, but it'll be interesting to try out.

Lastly, I purchased one of the all over face sticks in Persimmon (It took awhile to decide on a colour- the website stock pictures aren't the greatest) as it reminded me a little of Nars face sticks! In reality the colour is really, really nice- I'm very pale and it looks just like a subtle peach shimmer. If its not a perfect match for my skin, I can see myself using it as an eyeshadow base, as I usually wear gold and bronze shadows anyway.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my purchases! I'm sure some will be better than others, but considering the combined total of everything I've pictured is under £20(!!!), I can't complain too much!

xxx