Contouring Made Quick And Easy - Kiko Contouring Pencil Set

 

 

 

Remember those Smashbox contouring sticks that came out awhile back that I included in my make up wish list? Well I didn't get round to buying them but I recently came across those beautiful products  . Smashbox contour sticks retail at £35 and the Kiko contouring pencil £9.90 .

These pencils are very creamy and pigmented . I highlight and contour my usual areas of my face (full blog post here) I blend the contour out with a stippling brush or and angled brush . It blends out really easily then sets and stays put all day . The contour shade is that perfect in between shade of not being too ashy or too warm so it gives definition without your skin looking dull . The highlighter really brightens up the face too. I'm a sucker for cute make up packaging and this rose gold and pink packaging is just beautiful .

Its so handy for anyone in a rush and really compact . If you were in the market for contouring and highlighting products I would buy this over the Smashbox one and save yourself the money .Even though I haven't got the Smashbox highlighting and contouring sticks I can't see how they could make contouring sticks any better then this . I purchased a few other things from Kiko also and there such good quality for the price. Honestly cannot fault this product at all . They are limited edition though so I would advise buying sooner rather then later . The light set is all sold out but I bought the medium to dark set and it still works well on my light skin .

Here's a link to where you can buy them on there website : Click Here

Have any of you tried these contouring pencils yet or the smashbox set ?

Monthly favourites blogpost will be up soon , its hard to believe its nearly September .This year is going so fast .

Alannah x

Smashbox Studio Skin Foundation - First Impression

 

Today I am doing a first impressions blog post on Smashbox studio skin foundation .This is my second 'first impression' blog post on foundation on my blog(click here to view first foundation first impression)  . My first one is the most viewed blogpost on my blog . Basically what I do is buy a new foundation , try it out for a day and write what I think about the foundation , pretty straight forward .

 

 

 I never heard much about this foundation which was why I was interested to try it out . Hoping that for the money , it would be worth it . This foundation claims to do it all , its supposed to control oil , last 15 hours and hydrate the skin . Smashbox is a great high quality make up brand that apparently test all there products out infront of hd cameras and lights to make sure there make up brand products are picture perfect . Which this one actually is . It came off lovely in the photos I took. I don't understand how though because it was terrible in real life . Even my mother commented on how bad my foundation was looking .

Just Applied Photos

 

 

 

 

 

The texture of this foundation is really strange , it almost feels like a gel and is kind of tacky on the skin .Maybe thats there way of keeping it on the skin .It has a slightly thick texture. I have normal/dry skin more on the dry side recently . I applied it using a stippling brush on completely bare skin to test the foundations true longevity without a primer .The weird thing about this foundation is that it says its hydrating ? I don't think so . Its made parts of my skin look like the Sahara desert . The foundation has a medium to full coverage and a Satin Matte finish . It lasted pretty well throughout the day covering my red cheeks but it did start to get a little patchy near the end of the day . It stayed matte all day no need for any powder. It comes in a glass 30ml bottle with a pump .It has no spf so no camera flash back .

 

                                                                       15 hours later

 

 

 

 

Over all I wasn't too impressed with this foundation , for the price (£29) I don't think it was up to the standard . I wasn't impressed with the finish of the foundation it just did nothing for my skin.  It is just my first impression though so we shall see , I'll probably have a full review on it on mention it again in a future blog post .

 

 

Alannah x