UK Beauty Haul

No, no, you did not miss my big trip to England. Unless I missed my own big trip across the pond, I have not left the United States in quite some time. However, my lovely roommate–who could potentially be reading this right now so if that's the case HI GIRL, SHOUT-OUT TO YOUR PERFECT FACE–spent a few days in London and did me the biggest favor of all time: she picked me up some British beauty bits. I gave her some cash, a general wish list and sent her on her merry way to Europe and spent two weeks missing her. I digress, she did me a solid and picked me up a few items that I've been dying to try but haven't been able to because, well, uh, England is over there and I'm over here.

The first thing I knew I wanted to try was the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer (I got mine in shade number one, fair). I'm all about that under-eye concealing game because you know your girl doesn't get enough sleep. I've heard so much about this concealer from the British beauty vloggers that I watch and I didn't think I could go another day without it. Before I was using the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, but I kind of like the fairness of the Collection concealer more and the fact that it comes with a doe foot applicator. I've been switching in and out and I just think the Collection one gives more of a brightening effect, most likely due to the nature of its shade, but that counts, too! Plus, it lasts a ridiculous amount of time and for me, it doesn't seem to crease if I lightly set it.

The next bit was the Seventeen eyeshadow in the shade Rose Quartz. Now I saw this on some list of the best UK beauty buys of some sort and I fell in love. Usually I stray away from pinky colors on the eyes, but I couldn't resist this shade. This is easily one of the most pigmented shadows I've ever swatched. One quick swipe of the finger in the pan and then across your arm is like heaven on earth. It's uber pigmented, there isn't a whole lot of fallout for it being a glittery/shimmery base and the colors is incredible. It is a mauve-y pink shade, but it's not so warm that it makes my skin look all out of sorts (this is why I couldn't use the Naked 3 palette, way way way too many warm shades that looked horrible on me). You can apply it lightly over the lid for a nice wash of color or you could totally build it up in the outer corner for a subtle (but still dark enough) crease definition, too.

I asked around for some good beauty buys and a lot of people recommended the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks. I had my roommate pick out a more neutral rose-y pink shade over the other gorgeous shades just so I could get something I would get a lot of wear out of. She got me the shade So Hap Pink, which is sort of like NYX Addis Ababa but less magenta and more rose. I find that they apply similarly to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams, except they are a bit more liquidy and thin. I wore it for a day at work and found it really comfortable. It wasn't overly drying and it really settled nicely on the top of my lips. I also really like the shade because when it was wearing off a bit (the wear time is not spectacular, but it's also really easy to reapply and layer) it wore off evenly and didn't look weird or patchy because the color wasn't overly bright.

And last but certainly not least, my favorite product from the whole little haul. I didn't even know I needed this product until somebody recommended it to me. I was nervous about it, too. I've been fascinated by Sleek Makeup for years, ever since Leesha from xsparkage used to haul their eyeshadow palettes even when they weren't available in the United States. But since Sleek is obviously not a US brand, I never really caught up or paid much attention to the brand because it wasn't readily available to me. Until, for a day or two, it was (via my roommate, obviously). If you don't know how much I love my glow right now...you probably don't follow me on Twitter, and that's okay. But I am a highlighting freak, on both my face and in my schoolwork. I just love me some glow on my cheeks, if you're picking up what I'm putting down.

Anyways, that was a really long introduction to the Sleek Highlighting Palette in Solstice. Guys, GUYS. Look at those colors. LOOK AT THEM. The top left is called Ecliptic and it's the only cream one in the palette. I don't love cream products on my skin but this highlighter is really, really gorgeous as a cream eyeshadow. The one to its right is called Hemisphere and it is just a pink, pearly highlighter that literally feels like a light beam is being shot out of your cheekbones. AMAZING. The bottom left is called Subsolar and it's a yellowy sort of highlighter that reminds me of Albatross from NARS but with a more golden yellow tinge. The bottom right is called Equinox and it looks similar to MAC Soft and Gentle in the pan, but I find that it's a lot more pearly and it swatches lighter because it has that sort of marbleized texture with the lighter shades mixed in.

Look, I cannot say enough good things about this palette. The packaging is gorgeous, there are four highlighting shades in one place. Like, that in itself is amazing. They are bright and vibrant and long lasting and they just get the job done. I have been using this palette religiously since I got it. That's right, haven't even touched Becca's Opal in about a week, which is both sad but also kind of exciting because this is a drugstore product! I'm sure I'll crawl back to it soon, but I really love that I can get a bunch of different looks from one palette. Plus, the products are most likely multi-purpose so if I'm even in need of a nice bright eye look, I know where to start.