MAC Studio Finish Concealer Review

As dark circles are the bane of my life (I'm sure some of you will relate!) trying out new concealers - regardless of price - is something that I'm always willing to do. Having heard good things about MAC's Prolongwear concealer I headed to the nearest counter and had it tried on me. It didn't cover my dark circles (which was unsurprising, but still disappointing) so I ended up trying EVERY SINGLE MAC CONCEALER. I was there for more than half an hour. And by the time I'd tried all of them I discovered that none of them actually did what I wanted. Great. But I did find and purchase what I (and the lady trying all the different concealers on me) considered to be the best.

MAC Studio Finish Concealer, £15.50, 7g; comes in a small pot and has quite a thick formula. I have it in the shade NC20 as that is my skin tone however you could potentially buy it in NC or NW depending on the colour you want to balance out (like a corrector).

I've been using this concealer for a few months now and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it. The coverage is decent (I meant to get a with/without concealer photo to demonstrate however you actually couldn't tell the difference in any of them, so I guess this isn't a good concealer for photos?). I definitely look less like a sleep-deprived zombie with this on. That's the most important thing, I guess.

The annoying thing about this concealer is the staying power. It's not the best. I'd say it vaguely conceals under the eyes for the whole day but it is definitely more than three quarters gone (and kind of cakey where it still lingers) by the time I get home.

I tend to apply using my fingers and tap gently to blend as it definitely gets swept away by either swiping to blend or by using a brush. Having to rub my fingers into the product each time seems somewhat unhygienic to me. As it's quite a heavy concealer it's quite difficult to use without foundation so on a light make up day I definitely wouldn't go anywhere near it. It is pretty good on spots, though - so it is a multipurpose concealer!

To sum up -

PROS:

• covers dark circles reasonably well
• can also be used on spots
• decent amount of product in pot so will last me a long time
• SPF 35

CONS:

• not much staying power
• can't really be worn without foundation
• quite expensive
• fairly difficult to blend

Overall I would say that it's a good concealer, not my holy grail concealer by any means, and I might repurchase it in future if I don't find something better. I would recommend it, but it would be best for short uses rather than all day in my opinion.

Thanks for reading,

Eleanor xx

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Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer VS Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

I struggle find a good concealer. Dark under eye circles are a pain, anyone who struggles with them will tell you. In my time I've tried a few concealers so I thought I'd post a quick comparison between two pretty well known, popular concealers. I chose affordable concealers as these tend to be the most hit and miss.

Left: Collection Lasting Perfection
Right: Rimmel Wake Me Up

The two concealers the I'm comparing are Collection Lasting Perfection Full Cover Concealer and Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer.

Collection Lasting Perfection

Rimmel Wake Me Up

Price: Collection Lasting Perfection

Both of these are budget concealers, but at £4.19 Collection's concealer clearly beats out Rimmel's for price.

Coverage: Collection Lasting Perfection
There's a reason beauty bloggers and vloggers love it so much. It really does give great coverage and covers up pretty much everything you need to cover. I often use it to cover up the worst parts of my skin and then skip foundation. The only reason it doesn't give me complete coverage is because my dark circles are SO BAD. (Any other dark circle concealer recommendations would be great - price not an problem within reason).

Packaging: Rimmel Wake Me Up
The words stay on, for a start. If I forgot the name of Collection Lasting Perfection I would have no idea because my tube no longer says anything! Also, I really love the orange top - really stands out in my make up collection.

Colour range: Rimmel Wake Me Up
Technically, there are the same amount of colours but I have found that they are more usable and varied colours. Collection Lasting Perfection tends to be a bit orange and Rimmel's just seem a bit more natural to me.

Appearance: Rimmel Wake Me Up
For a similar reason to the last, the Rimmel colours look a lot less orange. Although saying that, they are a bit sparkly so you may struggle not to look like Edward Cullen if you go out in the sun. It's also not as thick so is less likely to settle into lines if that's a problem that you have.

Lasting power: Collection Lasting Perfection
While 16 hour wear may be a bit of a stretch, this concealer does stay on for ages. Lasts through the day.

OVERALL WINNER: COLLECTION LASTING PERFECTION
Although it's technically a draw, I feel like Collection Lasting Perfection wins where it counts. It's a great concealer from under the eyes and blemishes both and has got me through a few skin troubles. Absolutely love this concealer, definitely a favourite of mine.

I hope this post has helped anyone pick a concealer if they were struggling and as I said earlier on in the post if you have any recommendations for concealers (especially for dark circles) I'd love to hear them in the comments!
Eleanor xx

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Top Ten Tag

These posts have been floating around for a while now and although I haven't technically been tagged to do one I figured I'd give it a shot anyway!

1. Foundation - No7 Instant Radiance Founation (Cool Vanilla); Boots; £12.50; 30ml

Overall I find this to be a pretty solid foundation. I'd say that it's medium coverage and does what it says it does (improve the appearance of tired or stressed skin). Although I got it matched to me I would say that it's slightly pink as my skin is actually warm toned and this is cool, unfortunately.

2. Powder - No7 Translucent Perfect Light Loose Powder; Boots; £10.50; 20g

As with the foundation, I would say this is an overall good product which does its job just fine. I tend to only have one powder at a time as I don't really think it's necessary to have lots and this is the one I'm using at the moment!

3. Concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection Full Cover Concealer (Fair); Boots; £4.19; ???

I'm sure you've heard of this concealer. Every blogger's favourite, Collection's concealer is the best of the bunch. While it doesn't completely cover my dark circles it does cover them twice as well as any other concealer I've tried (Rimmel Wake Me Up was quite a disappointment, honestly) so it gets a thumbs up from me!

4. Blush - Sleek Blush (Rose Gold); Superdrug; £4.49; 8g

I have totally fallen in love with this blush over the last few weeks. Gorgeous pink colour with slight gold shimmer. I would definitely recommend this to anyone and I'm planning on getting some different shades from Sleek soon - they have some beautiful colours!

5. Bronzer - Collection Bronze Glow Mosaic Powder (1 Sunkissed); Boots; £2.99; 15g

If I'm being completely honest, I haven't tried many bronzers. I'm very pale (notice that my concealer is the lightest shade they do) so a lot of them look muddy. Great quality for the price.

6. Highlighter - N/A

Another moment of honesty - I have never owned a highlighter. Not going to lie, I'm a bit ashamed that I have a beauty blog and don't own one. Any recommendations?

7. Mascara - L'oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara; Boots; £8.99; 8.5ml

Very lengthening and volumising. I really love this mascara. One that you have to be careful with though as it is more likely to cause clumping with extra coats than a lot of other mascaras that I've tried. Overall I would repurchase.

8. Eyeshadow - MAC Electric Cool Eyeshadow (Pure Flash!); MAC stores/counters/online; £15.50; 2.1g

Weirdly, my dad bought me this eyeshadow. I believe it's part of a collection (?) and it's very different in texture to most eyeshadows. It's very strange - a bit like wet clay. The colour is a really nice shimmery gold and I've really been enjoying it lately. Apparently dads can buy make up...

9. Brows - Collection Work The Colour Eyebrow Kit; Boots; £3.99; 3x1g + 1x2ml

Has all the basic eyebrow necessities - a small angled brush, powders to actually fill in the eyebrows, and a clear brow gel to keep it all in place. A nice handy product.

10. Lip product - MAC Frost Lipstick (Angel); MAC stores/counters/online; £15.50; ???

My favourite lip product changes almost daily so this was a tough choice but I have been loving this lipstick recently. It's a lovely baby pink colour that doesn't draw too much attention to the lips whilst still adding colour.

Well. That took a surprisingly long time. Thanks for reading!
Eleanor xx

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5 Back To School Make Up Essentials

The time has finally come upon us - it's time for those who are in school to go back. Dragging yourself out of your bed every morning for school is not the most fun activity, so is often delayed as long as possible. This leaves very little time for doing your make up.
I personally go for basics when I do my make up for school anyway; avoiding foundation, my eyebrows, or anything makes me look as though I'm done up. As I went back today I thought I'd compile a list of my 5 essential make up products that I wear for school. These could also be done for a lazy day or just a day where you don't want to wear heavy make up, it's not exclusive to school.

Top left to right: Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, Vaseline Rosy Lips
Bottom left to right: Gosh White Kohl Eye Pencil, No7 Extreme Length Mascara, No7 Translucent Loose Powder

Concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer; Boots; £4.19;  ???

For me, concealer is the most important product. I'd say that if I was only allowed one make up product for the rest of my life I would choose concealer. I wear it at school as it gives a lighter look due to you only having coverage where you particularly need it, in my case I mostly concentrate on under my eyes due to my dark circle problem.

This particular concealer has great coverage for the price and helps to conceal any imperfections wonderfully. I find that it dries quite quickly, though. This can be good  in some ways but means that I have to try to blend it as quickly as possible so that it looks how I would like it to.

Powder - No7 Translucent Perfect Light Loose Powder; Boots; £10.50; 20g

Even when you have very little make up on you must use powder to set it. Doing this makes it last longer so you are less likely to have to reapply during the day. If you have oily skin or skin that is shiny it is even more important to use powder as it takes away this shine, too.

I use this powder from No7 that I got when testing their Match Made Foundation service. I'm not always a fan of loose powder but this  is just what I need. I prefer translucent powders like this as you don't have to worry about getting the wrong shade.

Eye Pencil - Gosh Kohl Eye Pencil (White); Superdrug; £4.49; 1.1g

While you may think that white eye liner is a little strange, it does help to brighten up the eyes when used on the waterline - perfect for school! I'm always tired when I'm at school and the eye pencil helps to make my eyes look brighter, wider, and more awake. Plus the white colour is a lot more subtle and therefore is perfect for a minimal make up look. I personally would not use it anywhere but my waterline, especially for school.

This eye pencil is pretty good and doesn't tug at the eyes when you try and apply it. It doesn't take long to do and is easy to control

Mascara - No7 Extreme Length Mascara; Boots; £12.50; ???

Mascara is obviously one of the most important steps. It makes your eyes look bolder and bigger, as well as making your lashes look longer and more defined.

I don't remember getting this mascara and I think I have a sample version as it is fairly small. Despite that, it is a good mascara that I like to wear and that extends the length of my eyelashes just as the name suggests. It isn't my all time favourite mascara but it serves its purpose just fine. It doesn't clump and I'd say that overall it's a good mascara.

Lips - Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips Rose And Almond Oil Petroleum Jelly; Boots; £2.19; 20g

I personally like to wear a lipgloss to school or something that will tint my lips slightly and make them look shiny. I also like things that are moisturising on my lips as I am concerned about them being dry, especially as it will start getting colder soon and that is probably going to dry them out and if they are dry it makes life much more difficult when applying lipstick.

Although Vaseline isn't technically lipgloss I like this as it has a pink tint to it as well as being moisturising. It is also good value for money and all types of vaseline are very good for the lips.

I hope this has helped anyone who wants a basic make up look, whether they are in school or not.

Eleanor xx