Zoeva Rose Golden Blush Palette

I'm sure you've all seen, and fallen in love with the 'rose gold' trend that's been circulating the scene for quite a while, and doesn't seem to be shooting off anytime soon, (luckily!). Brands are pulling at our heart-strings, (and purse strings), by launching products coated in rose gold left right and centre. Zoeva is a brand that does the trend particularly well, previously launching brush lines with rose gold finishes and matching metallic pouches. Now they're back with 'Rose Golden Volume 3', which consists of a luxurious rose gold brush set, (with the killer price tag of £75!!), and a more purse-friendly blush palette! 

The palette contains a rose-gold blusher, or blush topper, a stunning white highlighter with gold reflects, and a classic cool-toned taupe contour shade. 

From the swatch, and from the initial look at the pan, the blusher didn't look like something I would use on my cheeks, as glittery cheek products tend to emphasise flaws I'd rather not draw attention to! However, after thinking 'why the hell not!', I tried it out and was absolutely stunned! For something that is incredibly glittery to swatch, it comes off on the cheeks as a gorgeous sheen, and no glitter chunks at all! The shade on my skin tone is a very warm, deep peach shade.

The highlighter is so so pigmented. Literally, I just dab my brush into the pan and sweep it along the top of my cheekbones and I'm good to go! Although it looks a flat white in the pan, it has a stunning iridescence to it, and has warm gold reflects, complimenting the coolness of the white beautifully.

As for the contour shade, in the pan, it looks like my dream shade, and it really is on the skin too! However, it's slightly tougher to grab the product onto your brush. I'm not sure why, but it's very gritty to begin with, and I feel like I have to scrub at the pan to really get it going. Once applied, it does look beautiful, and creates the most natural shadow. Surprisingly, this hasn't put me off and I still adore this palette, contour shade included. 

You can purchase this palette from www.beautybay.com for £13! I personally think that's an amazing price, especially for such a quality product.. (Plus the packaging is pretty fabulous too!). 

Comparison: NYX Wonderstick or Freedom Makeup Contour Stick?

Hello!

This is a first for my blog, a comparison post! I recently picked up these two products, and I've been thoroughly putting them to the test so I can share with you all what I think!

NYX Wonder Stick in 'Light'

First up is the NYX Wonder Stick in 'Light' which I picked up on Feel Unique, (yes, they sell NYX!). I've wanted this product for sooooo long, so when it finally became available to us UK lot, I simply couldn't resist. 

I picked mine up in the shade 'Light', as it seemed to be the most 'grey-toned' out of the lot, but of course, you'd choose a shade most suitable to yourself.

This product is absolutely brilliant, from the colour, right down to the blend-ability. It's super creamy upon application, and you can apply it precisely to those areas you want to chisel out. Once blended, it creates a super natural shadow, and I opt for this when I want a more natural contour for daytime wear. 

I don't tend to use matte, cream highlighters, but I have been using this to accentuate the bridge of my nose, chin and centre of my forehead, and for that the colour is spot on. 

Freedom Makeup Pro Contour Shaped Stick in 'Medium 02'

The other contour stick in question is the Freedom Makeup Pro Contour Shaped Stick, and I picked mine up in the shade 'Medium 02'. This seemed to be the most cool-toned out of the bunch, but I could have been wrong as there was no online swatches to work from, and I had to guess purely from the image online. 

As much as I love a cool-toned contour, this is SO pretty. It doesn't look orange in the slightest, it actually just looks like a beautiful warmth on your face, and with it being a cream products, it looks super natural, (if blended properly of course!). This applies beautifully, and blends just as well as any high-end product. 

As far as the highlighter is concerned, I'm not the biggest fan, purely as the shade is a little too peachy for me.

(The top two shades are Freedom, and the bottom two are NYX).
SO! The verdict is in!
The winner goes to..
..
NYX!
Yes, I have chosen the NYX Wonder Stick as my winner, but this was a very tough decision to make! It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality, as both of them are excellent and equal in my opinion, but more to do with shades. I much prefer the cool-toned shade of the NYX Wonder Stick, and the brighter highlighter. However, in the correct shade, I really think I'd struggle to choose! There isn't much of price difference, with the NYX Wonder Stick being £10, and the Freedom Makeup Pro Contour Shaped Stick being £5. I have no regrets with either, and I would re-purchase both of them. 
(You can check them both out using the linked words above!).
SO! What do you guys think? Is there any other products you'd like me to put to the test? Let me know down below, or tweet me at @nicolecourchee!

New In Beauty: Freedom Makeup Strobing Kits

Hello!

I've been so excited to write this post up, but I wanted to give these products a good try before sharing them with you all.

As you all know, contouring/strobing/sculpting has become huge over the past year or so. I appreciate that it's always been around, but I feel like more recently it's been more accessible and has now been incorporated into our every day makeup routines in one way or another. I personally contour whenever I do my makeup, usually opting for a powder for a more subtle look, and when I'm going all out, adding cream products in the mix.

I'm sure you've all had enough of the Anastasia Beverly Hills pricey contour palettes being forced down your throats, so I'm here to introduce you to a couple or budget friendly alternatives!

Freedom Makeup is a relatively new brand on the scene, and is the sister brand to my beloved Makeup Revolution. Freedom Makeup is here to offer us professional quality makeup, at super affordable prices. After trying a bunch of their products, I can definitely agree with this. 

Anyway, enough rambling! Onto the palettes!

First up is the Pro Cream Strobe Palette. Both of these palettes are very compact, and come with six shades. Three for highlighting, and three for contouring. I find this to be the warmer of the two palettes, and as you can see from the swatches, it's super pigmented. I was concerned that this would be very 'waxy' and difficult to blend, but oh my was I wrong! It's super creamy, and just as blendable as my ABH cream contour kit! A winner in my eyes. Nobody likes harsh contour lines! You get a high quality contouring brush, and this is so soft, and is perfect for sculpting those cheekbones. 

This is the Pro Powder Strobe Palette. This one contains very 'traditional' contour shades, very cool-toned with a banana powder to finish it off! Unfortunately with my arm skin tone, I find it hard to show off swatches properly, but don't be fooled, these powders are super pigmented! I've been using this palette in particular everyday, using the middle contour shade to create a natural shadow, and the banana powder to set my under-eye concealer. (Ps, you get the same brush with this palette!).
My verdict is.. YES! You need these palettes. Okay, maybe not everybody needs both of them.. but I personally would recommend picking them both up! I love combining cream and powder contour for an ultra sculpted look. These palettes retail at £10 each, including the amazing brush! 
Have you tried these palettes? What do you think of Freedom Makeup? What's your favourite contour palette?

New In Beauty: Makeup Revolution Ultra Sculpt & Blend Collection

Quite a lengthy title, but there's a lot to pack in! 

I was recently pleasantly surprised to be woken up to a package being launched on my bed, and inside was these beaaautiful brushes! I knew I immediately had to get to work on these so I can fill you guys in on the details!

As you can see above, the set contains 3 brushes, (with the most stunning, on-trend rose gold handle), and one beauty sponge. 

I've tried Makeup Revolution brushes before, some I've adored and have found themselves a place in my everyday make-up routine, and others have ended up collecting dust. Before I get into each individual brush, I'll just say that the quality of these brushes are comparable to other high-end brushes I've used, and I'm impressed with how much Makeup Revolution are improving as a brand.

This brush is called the 'Powder, Sculpt & Blend' brush. I tend not to take much notice on what a brush is 'supposed' to be used for, and I find a way that it works best for me!

I used this brush to blend both cream and powder contour, and also to smooth out any other harsh lines. You could definitely use this for foundation application as the bristles are incredibly soft, and the flat top makes is easy to buff product into the skin.

This is my favourite out the range, and one that gets whipped out on a daily basis. 

This brush is called the 'Cheek & Highlight, Sculpt & Blend' brush. I only use this brush to 'sculpt', and in particular to apply cream contour. The brush is the most dense out of the range, and doesn't have 'too' much give, so it's perfect for precise application. This is a handy little tool for those who love to contour to perfection.

The last brush in the set is this little guy, and it's the 'Ultra Metals Eyeshadow Blender'.

This doubles up for me as a more precise brush for highlighting, and to blend out my eyeshadow for a seamless finish.

Another super soft brush, and a great one for your collection.

The final piece in the kit is the beauty sponge. Now I'm a huge fan of the original 'beauty blender', and I've never used a brush since, so giving a more budget-friendly alternative a go is something I'm always looking forward to.

My heart still belongs to my trusty beauty blender, but this does an amazing job of applying your base seamlessly. Of course, I wet mine before application, so bare that in mind. It expands quite a lot and covers the entire face quickly and efficiently. It's definitely worth giving a go, especially if you're new to the 'beauty sponge' world!

So there's my thoughts on the Ultra Sculpt & Blend Collection! Don't they just look beautiful?

I recommend picking this set up if you're after some new, pretty brushes that cover a whole lot of bases! For £14.99, you can't go wrong! You can purchase it here.

Have you tried any Makeup Revolution brushes? What do you think? Are you going to try these brushes out?