Tarte - Rainforest of the sea palette

So as you would have seen from my post below, I got this little beauty for Christmas and I said I would do a little review for you all!

I’m a big fan of the tarte products I have tried in the past (foundation, mascara, their face brush, bronzer) but their goodies can be hard to get your hands on from the UK or cost a small fortune on the shipping, especially if it’s just for one or two items but I know you can buy their products from sites like QVC where you can get bundle deals without the high shipping costs – if you know of any other sites, help a girl out! I know that santa ( AKA my mum and dad) ordered this from America.

So this palette is stunning, the packaging was so pretty, it is circular shape which is easy to hold and has a cute little design on it. Inside the palette, there are 8 shades - mostly neutral tones with some warmer, some cooler-toned shades. For me, these colours suit exactly what I look for in a palette, I tend to stick to brown and gold shades so I was in love right away. These eyeshadows are really creamy and I found them so easy to blend into one another, tarte describe them as “cream powder” eyeshadows which I would agree with.

The shades are follows:

Seashell - A light-medium, pinky-peach shade with some warm undertones

Wave – A light to medium grey taupe with subtle, cooler undertones

Abyss – A brown with warm undertones and a slight shimmer

Reef - A medium, bronze shade with warm undertones and a gorgeous pear shimmery finish -One of my favourites

Starfish – A light-medium, golden brown with warm undertones with a shimmery finish - One of my favourites

Cove - A light-medium beige shade with warm undertones

Sand – A light almost yellow toned shade with warm undertones

Mermaid – A medium goldy shade with brown undertones and again, that shimmery finish – One of my favourites

The eyeshadows are easy to blend and build up, I find the lighter shades are excellent for using as transitions shade to get that seamless, blended look we all want. I’ve been using the palette with an old Avon eye primer I found from a wee while ago and this just helps keep the shadows in place, makes the colours pop and of course, keep it looking good all night.  

All in all, a really nice palette and the shades suit me to a T. Worth the money? I’d say so considering there are 8 different shades to choose from and plus, the packaging is just gorgeous.

I’m going to look to do some different looks using this palette to show you all so keep an eye out for these! I’m going to dedicate more time to my blog because recently, I feel like I haven’t been doing as many product reviews and looks as I would like but thank you for anyone who takes the time out to follow and read my posts, I really do appreciate it!

If you know any Tarte stockists in the UK, let me know and if you’ve tried this palette, what’s your thoughts?

Are there any Tarte products out there I’m missing out on and I should buy?! Let me know!

Natalie :) xoxox

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Art of Highlighting Set

I got the YSL Art of Highlighting set for Christmas and only started using it recently. First of all, can we take a minute to appreciate this stunning packaging:

I was in love straight away and that was before even trying out the product. This little box is all glittery and the product itself is in true YSL style - gold.

Ok so first of all, we have the Touche Eclat Blur Primer and out of all the primers I’ve ever tried (trust me, LOADS) this has got to be my ultimate fav. As you can see from the photo, it has speckles of gold in it and just creates the perfect base for applying makeup over. It gave my skin such a healthy glow and a little of the product goes a long way. My skin always feels so much softer after using this when I do other primers. I got this in a gift set but you can of course purchase the primer on its own - I know boots do it for around £30.00 - pricey but oh so worth it.

Touch Eclat Radiant Touch I got this in the lightest shade (surprise surprise eh) and that is No 1 which has a really pink undertone and in all honestly, I wasn’t too sure how it would look on my skin but it is the perfect shade and blends in perfectly.  It brightens up my face, eliminates any darkness around the eyes and ultimately my fav thing about it is that it doesn’t go on thick so gives a really natural finish. The formula is super creamy and quite a thin consistency. I would say this has a light to medium coverage which is ideal for me as the areas around my eyes are fine, I just like to make sure they are brightened which this product does amazingly. Again, this products is a high quality brand and you pay for what you get - for 2.5ml of product, it costs £25.50 from the YSL website but again, I think it is totally worth the money and I’ll continue to buy it as it does exactly what it claims to do!

What’s your best primer and concealer at the moment? Let me know! 

If you’ve tried this, do you love it too?!

Natalie :) xoxox

Silisponge - a good product or just a waste of money?

& so the phase of using these type of sponges continues with loads of different companies now joining the trend.

For anyone that hasn’t heard about this (where you been hiding?!) this is one of the latest fades in the beauty industry - a silicon gel sponge type product which I believe was started by Molly Cosmetics who are an indie company from Hong Kong but now, so many different companies have created their own version.

So this is what it looks like, It took so long to be delivered to me, I think i waited about 4 weeks to come but then again, think of how far it has had to travel! I paid for this in US dollars and it was around $10.00. The company state this is cruelty free and is a more hygienic way to apply make up.

I applied one pump of my every day foundation to the sponge and when applying it to the skin, it feels really odd at first. I found it really difficult to get the product spread onto the skin without it looking all streaky but the company do say that you can use a brush for the finish. I used the sponge to see overall finish and it does take some getting used to. What I would say is that the amount of product I used was 3 pumps less than what I would usually use and when you get into the swing of using it, I felt like it gave a really flawless finish. I did use a brush around my eyes and nose just to set it properly but I was pleasantly surprised. 

Overall, it is a fun little sponge to use when you have the time, definitely does save product and is so easy to wash but for every day use? I don’t think it is for me. I prefer a brush for quickness and to make sure everything is fully blended into my skin. Love the fact that a small indie company did so well so well in to Molly Cosmetics!

*This is not a sponsored post*

Have you tried one of these, what’s your thoughts?!

Natalie :) xoxox