It has bright, orange based red (#37), Deep, blue based red (#63), dark pink (#16), nude (#24) and warm brown (#61):

#61

#24

#16

#63

#37

What is it?

10 travel-sized products from Benefit:
- 0.1 oz Dandelion (soft pink)
- 0.11 oz Erase Paste in No. 2 Medium
- 0.08 oz Benetint (rose)
- 0.08 oz High Beam (luminous pink)
- 0.08 oz Posietint (poppy pink)
- 0.08 oz Ooh La Lift
- 0.08 oz Stay Don’t Stray
- 0.25 oz That Gal
- 0.25 oz The Porefessional
- 0.1 oz Bella Bamba (watermelon pink)

They Describe it as:

This set includes the biggest hits of the season: primers, concealers, lip-and-cheek tints, highlighters, and blushes. This set packs all the Benefit legends you love in conveniently compact sizes.

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 4 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Some individual products yes.
• Price: $ 32

What is it?

Morale is very pink blush with sorta cold (blueish?) shimmer, and some tiny golden sparkles.

They Describe it as:

Illuminate, radiate, make your face come alive with the colour and drama of Illamasqua Powder Blusher. Colour-intense and highly pigmented, use it to shade, brighten, enhance and define the shape of your face. Be bold, be daring, be the centre of attention.

“Rosed flush, shimmer finish” 

Rating:

• Product: 3 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 5 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again?  Maybe
• Price: £ 16,50

Where to buy:

•  Illamasqua website

Overall Opinion:

Unfortunately this is just not my color. I rarely use pink blushes, I’m more of a peachy blush user, and when I use pink, I want it to be matte.
So I can’t really tell if this is a good shade or not, I just know it’s not my shade :/
But what I can tell, is that it’s pigmented and quite easily blendable. Again my review is a bit weird, because there’s nothing wrong with the product, just the personal opinion of the color.
If you like pink shimmery blushes, I can suggest you’d give this one a try!

Applied lightly and heavily:

What is it?

Eyeshadow palette with 9 shadows, two eyeliners, double-ended brush and mini lid primer.

They Describe it as:

Forget piling on eye makeup in the heat of summer. Our pro artists have handpicked all of these hues (including 7 new shades and 4 bestsellers!) with soft, naturally gorgeous eyes in mind. Includes FREE step-by-step guide for creating 3 looks and a mini Photo Finish Lid Primer!

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 4 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Sure
• Price: $ 48

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

I’ve always loved bright colors, so at first I wasn’t that excited about this palette. I skipped also the Urban Decay’s Naked, because I thought I already had enough nude shadows.
Then came summer, and I found out how wrong I  was.
For the last almost two months I have used this palette almost daily. I haven’t gotten myself to use any bright colors, so the color range in this one has been awesome.

The shadows are long-lasting, vibrant and quite pigmented (Nectar and Vanilla are a bit chalky, but not bad), and it has both light and dark colors, so you can do nude day look or smokey eye for nighttime.

I also like the brush that comes with the palette. The liner end is doable, I rather use my own brushes for liner, but the shadow application end is great. It’s soft and easy to use.

Primer is good, but it dries really quickly to the bottle, even if the lid is tightly closed.

But if you like nude shades that can be used both day- and nighttime, this is a great palette for you!

Check out also the look done with the palette: Smashbox softbox look

MUG Seal of Approval:

 Swatches:

What are they?

Kontrol is blue violet matte lipstick, and Violate is dark green shimmer lipgloss, both from Illamasqua’s new Theatre of the Nameless collection.

They Describe them as:

Kontrol: Let your lips speak volumes. Indulge in colour-intense lipstick with a highly pigmented formula, available in a choice of flawless finishes, from matt to glossy. Illamasqua Lipstick glides on smoothly and never feels dry, for the perfect all-night pout. A must have for professional make-up artists, and those who want to make a statement.

Violate: Super glossy, with a sensual, sheer colour designed to enhance your lips. Use Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss on its own or with Illamasqua Lipstick for added pout. Add a little more sexiness to your smile.

Rating:

Kontrol:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 5 out of 5
• Overall: 5 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Maybe
• Price: £ 15,50

Violate:

• Product: 3 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 3 out of 5
• Overall: 3 out of 5
• Would I buy again? I don’t thinks so.
• Price: £ 13

Where to buy:

• Illamasqua website

Overall Opinion:

Violate:

This is such a gorgeous minty teal color that looks great on the lid for a subtle wash of color.  I usually wear this on the lid with a dark blue in the outer V or just a medium brown in the crease.

MAC’s Description:   Deep Sea Turquoise (Lustre)

Price:  $14.50    (Amazon) (MAC)

Atlantic Blue

The texture is finely milled and is nicely pigmented and yes, it’s bright!  It’s a cool, slightly purple, deep blue color that I would just wear on the lid.  To cut down the brightness, put a taupe or brown color in the crease.

MAC’s Description:   Bright violet blue (Matte)

Price:  $14.50    (Amazon) (MAC)

Bitter

It is a sheer Mountain Dew colored wash. It’s one to be creative with as it’s such a bright color, but it’s such a fun eyeshadow to play with! A unique combo with this is a dark purple (like green and purple grapes )

MAC’s Description:   Vivid green with shimmer (Velvet)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Creme de Violet

This is one of my favorite colors ever!  I love this pink tinted purple as it goes great with so many colors!  I love putting this in the crease with a dark purple on the lid for a sexy purple smoky eye.

MAC’s Description:   Pink-violet with gold pearl (Frost)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Electric Eel

When I think of MAC’s brightest eyeshadow, I think of Electric Eel.  You definitely have to be comfortable wearing bright eyeshadows to pull this one off, but it is a gorgeous teal blue color.  I like pairing this up with dark brown or even with Aquadisiac for a tropical  look…

MAC’s Description:   Bright blue with shimmer (Satin)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Free to Be

If you want a nice matte finish pink that would look great for everyday looks, this one is beautiful!  I put this in the crease to blend out brighter eyeshadows, or wear on the lid for a softer look.

MAC’s Description:   Bright true coral (Matte)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Goldmine

I love wearing Goldmine on the lid with a dark brown in the outer V for a date night look.  I also pair this up with teals for a tropical look- put Goldmine in the inner corner with Shimmermoss on the lid (so pretty!)

MAC’s Description:   Intense gold with shimmer (frost)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Hepcat

Another great purple color is Hepcat- it’s a violet slightly shimmery color that looks amazing on brown eyes!  (actually any eye color could rock this one )  It’s one of my favorite eyeshadows from MAC as it’s not too bright, but still is pigmented.

MAC’s Description:   Jazzy little deep-blue wine  (frost)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Humid

Humid has been my favorite color for years now!  The deep true green color goes well with so many colors- pink, tan, brown, lighter greens…  I love wearing this all over the lid for a sultry green smoky eye.  Just put some Kid or Wedge in the crease to blend it out.

MAC’s Description:   Intense green with shimmer  (frost)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

Rule

My favorite finishes for eyeshadows are matte as they blend so smoothly and don’t emphasize any wrinkles (yay for getting older! *cough cough*)  This matte orange color looks great on the lid paired up with a brown for a fall look, or with pink and yellow for a fun flower look, or with purple for a funky club look.  It’s more versatile than you would think!

MAC’s Description:   Vivid orange  (matte)

Price:  $14.50   (Amazon) (MAC)

What is it?

Liquid long-lasting eyeliner that comes in 8 beautiful shades.

They Describe it as:

A unique collection of glimmering, pearlescent liquid liners that dry with a pearl like opalescence. Liquid Liners can be worn alone, or smudged together to give you unlimited options.

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 4 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Yes
• Price: £3.49 (~ $5.74)

Where to buy:

• http://www.beautyukcosmetics.com/

Overall Opinion:

I love them.

I used to use liquid liners a lot before I discovered gel liners, and almost forgot the liquid liners complately.
I got one of these to try (sorceress) and it was love at first sight.
The colors of these are just amazing, and the lasting power is phenomenal.  My swatches lasted two days (and two showers!) without  almost any damage.
Some may find it as a bad thing, I think it’s great that it won’t come off unless I want it to wash off. The only problem is that these are a bit too wet, so you may need to first draw a line,wait a moment, and then enhance the line with another stroke.

MUG Seal of Approval:

Another picture:

(Shades are more true at the lower one)

Stardust:

True silver.

Shpinx:

True yellow gold.

Ocenia:

Turquiose.

Eclipse:

Not black, but dark blueish purple grey with multicolored sparkles.

Rich Mahogany:

On BeautyUK’s website this looks more red, but in the real life this is beautiful warm shimmery brown.

Sorceress:

Dark beautiful purple.

Blue Lagoon:

Super electric blue.

Purple Haze:

Almost electric purple.

What is it?

Three color eyeshadow that promises professional eyeshadows with just one sweep. Too good to be true?

They Describe it as:

A breakthrough new way for anyone to get a professional eye shadow look. The unique applicator is shaped to fit the eye and apply 3 shades in one sweep to define, color and highlight eyes. Beautifully coordinated colors. It’s fast, easy and mistake proof.

Rating:

• Product: 3 out of 5
• Packaging: 3 out of 5
• Quality: 3 out of 5
• Overall: 3 out of 5
• Would I buy again? No
• Price: $ 9,95

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

First I was like “WTF?”, but then I was like… well actually I was still like “WTF”.

At first they sound too good to be true of course. Who wouldn’t want to save huge amount of time? On the other hand, I love applying makeup, combining colors, blending.. So I’m probably wrong person to review these in the first place
But IF I wouldn’t love applying makeup, I think I would like these a lot.  Of course they are not perfect, but with some practise and time they are better than you would expect.

I had to use more than one sweep, but it’s still easier than taking color from three different eyeshadow containers, blending and all.

Color options are nice (8 color combinations, naturals and playful to all eyecolors), and the shadows seem to quite pigmented. Only one I had troubels with was the 819 (natural for all eyes), which wasn’t shimmery and had the worst pigmentation.

If you don’t have time or will to apply your eyeshadow the traditional way, you might want to give these a chance.

MUG Seal of Approval:

409 Natural for blue eyes:

819 Natural for all eyes:

209 Playful for blue eyes:

Swatches:

In action:

409 works the best what it comes to pigmentation and colors:

209 Playful for blue eyes:

And the worst of the bunch, 819 Natural for all eyes:

So, although it was hard to do it, I’ve chosen some of my favourite blushes that I reach for very often from the different price range. I hope you will find this helpful!

Luxurious Blushes (price range $30-$45)

Hourglass Aura Sheer Cheek Stain in Flush,  $45

This is the most expensive blush out of my selection  and it is a water-based formula that gives cheeks a lasting and subtle lit-from-within glow. But you can also built up the colour for a more dramatic look, the blush  stays on very well and doesn’t dry out the skin. I absolutely love this blush as it gives a very natural, light and glowy flush to your cheeks. This blush is said to be oil-, fragrance-, and phthalate- free and to improve skin’s hydration. Yes, $45 is a lot, but it is one of the best blushes I’ve ever tried and when I just got I completely forgot about all my other blushes and I still use it very often.

Buy it at: Sephora Amazon

Ellis Faas Blush in  S301, $32

This is probably the most unique blush design I’ve ever seen and everyone asks me about my Ellis Faas products as they look so different from everything else. This blush is said to be made of essential oils, rose water and vitamins C and E.  The blush blends into the skin really well and gives the natural finish. This particular colour gives a beautiful peachy shade which is long-lasting and beautiful. Just make sure that you read  the instructions carefully or you may have your product get clogged.

Buy it at: Ellis Faas

Medium Priced Blushes (price range $20-25)

BECCA Beach Tint in Grapefruit , $25

These can be used both on lips and cheeks but I am not a huge fan of using these on the lips however they are brilliant on your cheeks. First of all you should know that each  shade is deliciously scented in its synonymous name and, as I have several, I can confirm that.  These are really small (7ml) especially when you think that you pay $25 but you seriously need  a tiny amount of the product. I would recommend this blush for those who are afraid to get overboard because they give a subtle and kind of sheer shade which looks natural even on a fair skin. The

se are said to be water-resistant but I can’t confirm or deny this as I’ve never worn them to the beach.

Buy it at: BECCA. Amazon

Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Rude, $24

Now this is a famous blusher and it is certainly a favourite of a lot of people! It is a flattering warm coral pink which  has a great pigmentation and goes on smoothly on the skin. It is perfect for spring/summer season as it immediately perks up your complexion. I guess you can see by yourself how much I love my blusher as there is a huge dip in it already.

Buy it at: Sephora Amazon

Daniel Sandler Watercolour in Flush, £14.50 = $23.6

I know that most people who read this website are from the US but I just had to include this blusher as it is a favourite of mine. It has an amazing water based formula so you have to shake it well before using (I recommend getting the Daniel Sandler Waterbrush to use with it). I have several shades of the Watercolour but Flush is my absolute favourite as it gives the most amazing flattering pink shade. Makes you look so fresh and pretty, beautiful for spring!

Buy it at: Beautique, they ship Internationally.

Affordable  Blushes (price range $5-10)

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in 07 Peach Satin, $5.94

I actually got interested in this blush because of Marlena’s recommendation and I have to say that now I like it myself. It has a lovely light texture which is a pleasure to use and which blends nicely into the skin. The shade that I have gives a natural peachy colour to  the cheeks.

Buy it at: Amazon

Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in 18 Soft Cardinal, $9.77

If you want a great quality blush but can’t afford to pay a lot, you should check this one out. It is very pigmented and although it is really small you actually need the tiniest amount of it. I like how it looks like on the skin and the effect it gives . I know quite a few Make-Up Artists who have these in their professional kits as you can get a lot of shades for a reasonable price.

Buy it at: Ebay