FOTN: Helen É Cosmetics Reviews

Hello you beauts. How are you on this fine Sunday morning? I hope fabulous. Today I want to show you some products from a brand named Helen É Cosmetics. I received one of their Long Lasting Lipstick's in my last GlossyBox and gave my initial impressions which you can see here. I have been asked to review some more of their products which were sent to me for free and so I thought I would show them off in a FOTN post.

So here are my thoughts on the Helen É Cosmetics:

 Stage Foundation Ultimate Performance Liquid Make-up For All Skin Types (Monroe - Very Fair Skin), £20.00 for 35ml

 

Helen É Cosmetics, the Make-up Sponsor of the Miss England Competition have taken inspiration from iconic actresses when developing the Stage range. It is aimed at professional Make-up Artists and customers alike. The Stage Range is made up of Stage Liquid Foundation in four shades, Stage Matte Mousse Foundation in three shades, Eyelights, Stage Eye Shadow Primer and Cheek Radiance in two shades. The collection is available from the Helen É Cosmetics website and selected stockists now, priced between £8 and £24.99. 

When I heard the term 'stage make-up' I did think this foundation was going to be heavy duty and very mask like, but it is quite the opposite. It feels as light as a BB Cream and is buildable. I would say it gives a medium to full coverage without being dry or cakey. Great for my dry skin. It does not streak and lasts very well. I am still undecided if this shade is right for me, but it is the lightest of the four. I am not too sure if it's a little too yellow on my skin, but let me know your thoughts. This foundation is paraben and fragrance free. It comes in a squeezy tube with a screw top.

Chunky Twist-Up Miracle Concealer, £8.00 for 3.5g

I have never used this style of concealer before. I expected this to cling to dry patches everywhere and not apply very well. This is a correcting concealer which should be used to neutralise dark pigmentation or shadow before applying a skin smoother or foundation. I always apply my concealer after my foundation otherwise I think you just end up ruining the effect of the concealer or wiping it away all together. I used this under my eyes and on blemishes. I have to say this worked really well. It comes in just one shade which I thought may be a little too deep for my skin tone, but it blended in easily. This may be because the foundation is a little more yellow than I am used to as well though. It did crease just a bit when I initially applied it under my eyes, but when I corrected this and used a setting spray to seal all of my make-up there was no further creasing. This also covered my blemishes pretty well. I used it on my eyes as a shadow base too and it did not crease there. The pencil did start to get a little loose a couple of days ago though and start dropping forward a bit without the need to twist up.

Powder Blusher (Candylicious), £7.00 for 2.5g

This coral blusher is pigmented and easily buildable. It's a little hard to tell in the photos because my cheeks are naturally flushed from rushing around getting ready after shower, but this is a really pretty, wearable shade that I think shows up best in the 1st and 3rd photos. I also used this on my eyelids on another day and it really made my blue eyes pop. This has a very secure click shut compact with a transparent lid. There are 5 shades in this blusher range.

Cheek Radiance (Oyster), £10.00 for 5g

This product is said to add a flush of colour to your cheeks or to be used as a highlighter for the cheekbones, brow bones, collar bones and shoulders. This is another twist up product. Inside the pop off lid there is another cap, but I'm not really too sure of it's purpose as I think the click shut lid is sufficient. This comes in two shades. The one I have is a peachy golden highlight with glitter particles. I found the best way to apply this was to apply a fair amount to the back of my hand and use the tip of my finger to dab it on where needed. I applied this product on top of my cheekbones, on my cupids bow and a little down my nose. On another day I applied this too my eyes to add a very subtle shimmer. I think this added a nice highlighting sheen to my cheekbones and the cupids bow. It leaves a trace of a few particles of glitter on my cheeks which didn't bother me, but that may not be for everyone if you just want the sheen effect.

Long Lasting Lip Colour, £8.00 for 3.5g

Left: Blush

Centre: Coral

Right: Hollywood Red

Blush (shown in the photos above) is a very natural rose lip shade that is one of those 'my lips but better' tones. I find these lipsticks so moisturising. They are not drying at all and the pigment in them lasts so well. It barely fades at all and does not go patchy so great for an all day event or a night out. I like the clear packaging at the top so that I can actually see what the shade is inside at a glance. There are 21 shades in this range of both cream and pearlised colours, including neutral and more vibrant tones. I really want to try some more as I am so impressed by them. My only fault is that the stickers do tend to come off so that's a bit annoying if you want to repurchase a shade and can't remember it's name.

The next two lip swatches were applied by using my I-Phone camera to apply them on the weekend while making breakfast as I was trying to catch the sunlight so please excuse the not so neat looking lips. Photos were taken with my digital camera though.

Coral

This is actually a really nice nude shade. Not too pale and deathly as some nude shades can make you look. I think this is very wearable for many skin tones. Unfortunately this one snapped while using and I didn't use extreme pressure so that was a real shame.

 Hollywood Red

Just wow. This was an amazing colour to wear and is not for the faint hearted. This lasted so well throughout the day considering it's vibrancy.

Other products I used in this FOTN are:

No7 Exceptional Definition Nutrient Enriched Mascara Black

E.L.F. Studio Translucent Matifying Powder

Peacocks Quad Palette (White Shimmer Shade)

E.L.F. Studio Mist & Set

Overall I am very impressed by this range of products from Helen É Cosmetics. I am totally in love with their lipsticks and want to try out more products too.

CEO Helen Elowe also has a blog called Helen's Make-up Tips where you can discover more about Helen É Cosmetics with helpful tips and advice. I think it's great when brands back up their products with advice on how to actually use them. I believe it gives consumers the confidence to work with the items they have purchased and perhaps try new things.

Have you tried any Helen É Cosmetics? Which products are your likes and dislikes and why? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

neutralises dark pigmentation or shadow before you apply your Skin Smoother or foundation. - See more at: http://www.helen-e.com/cosmetics/face/chunky-twist-up-miracle-concealer.htm#sthash.ic1cWzDP.dpuf

FOTN Using Proto-col Natural Mineral Cosmetics

Hi my beautiful Beauty Addicts. I hope you are all doing fine this Saturday. My head is absolutely banging, but I am plodding on and trying to take my mind off it so I thought I would write this post.

The lovely Kat from Touch Media sent me some mineral make-up products for free to try and review so here they are :)

Left: Proto-col L.E.D. Lip Gloss (Coconut Ice), £11.95 for 9ml

Proto-col lip gloss collection has a gel formulation for a fabulous lightweight effect on the lips. This non-sticky formulation gives a glamorous shine that really lasts. Available in 5 gorgeous shades all enriched with mineral oil to hydrate and moisturise the lips.

 

When I saw this shade I was excited because it has a duo-chrome type effect. It's a very milky pink with gold and I think a deeper pink running through it. There is a mirror on the back that is a great size, but to be honest the lid is a good enough mirror in itself and the L.E.D. light in the lid is great for nights out. It also comes with a brush applicator. This lip gloss did feel a little bit tacky, but only when applying. It didn't dry my lips, but I wouldn't say it was moisturising. It gave my lips a nice glossy shine, but I think this shade would work better over a lipstick as you don't see the tones of colour as you do in the tube.

Right: Proto-col Baked Mineral Eye Shadows (Olive Trio), £19.95 for 2.2g 

Create an array of stunning soft, subtle or dark, smoky eyes with proto-col''s mineral eye shadows.

With a range of beautiful baked minerals to enhance your colour palette the natural ingredients work to provide a sensational appearance.

Usually I am not a fan of eye shadows in the same palette that are joined together and by that I mean they don't have their own individual pot within the palette. My reasoning for this is that I find some powders can transfer into the other shades which means you apply unwanted shades to your eyes. This is so annoying, especially when they are next to a white, light cream or black for example. I used all three shades for this FOTN and they hardly moved into each other in the palette at all which is great. The texture of these shadows felt really nice to apply to the eye area as they felt velvety. I would say the pigmentation of these are pretty good, but not amazing. I'm not sure if perhaps other shades from this range would show up better. There is a mirror inside the compact which you can see your whole eye in at the right distance, but I prefer a slightly larger mirror to apply my eye make-up as I look back and forth between both eyes to try and make them appear more or less the same in appearance and that would be hard to do with this mirror. The lightest shade is a golden peach that I wish showed up a little more. The right shade is an olive green with gold and the brown shade has a touch of sparkle which I think is gold.

 Neither of these products are tested on animals.

I attended an event last night which I will be blogging about very soon. I wore these products to that event so this is how they look.

From the eye palette I applied the golden peach shade to the inner section of my eyes. I then applied the green shade to the outer portion of my lids, on the outer V and to the underneath of my eye between the golden peach and the the brown. I also applied the brown into the crease of my eyes and outer V. I kept blending the colours and reapplying more where needed until I was happy.

Other products used in this FOTN are:

Model Co Face Base Skin Primer*

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm

Natural Collection CoverUp Cream (Light)

E.L.F. Studio High Definition Powder (Translucent)

17 Clear Definition Mascara

E.L.F. Studio Cool Bronzer

No7 Exceptional Definition Nutrient Enriched Mascara (Black)

E.L.F. Studio Mist & Set

*Sent to me for free and previously reviewed here.
 

I am intrigued by the nutritional and skincare products on the proto-col website so thank you Kat for introducing me to this brand.

Are you a fan of any proto-col products? Which ones do you recommend or even dislike and why? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

FOTN: New Year's Eve & StarGazer Lashes Review

Hi my special Beauty Addicts and Happy New Year's Eve! Today I wanted to show you a look I have created that could be worn on New Year's Eve or on any night out really. This look also includes a review of some false lashes that were sent to me for free. Here is the look I created :)

Now let me talk about these false lashes that were sent to me by the lovely Kat at Touch Media. These are the StarGazer Feathered Eye Lash 40. They are described as feathered I guess because they have longer lashes on the band with shorter ones in between. I love the little berries (or at least that's what I call them) that are edged along some of the tips. I applied these before doing any of my make-up because I am no pro at applying false lashes as you can probably tell. These were a little long in width for my eyes so I trimmed a couple of berries width from the inner part of each lash before application. These came with their own glue. It looks almost iridescent blue, but dries clear. It's kind of gooey. I used a cotton bud to apply it along the band and tweezers to place the lashes onto the eyes. These were very fiddly let me tell you, but I do like the overall effect. They are very, very long and touch my brow bone if I open my eyes wide. Because they remind me of berries I think they are perfect for the winter months. I wanted the lashes to be the main feature of this look so I kept the rest of the make-up fairly neutral with a toned down lip and a fairly light smokey eye. I think the headband worn hippy style adds to the New Years Eve feel as it adds that touch of glam with a natural wave to the hair. If I applied these again I would probably use some black liquid liner to cover the glue as it shows up a bit. You can buy these fun and flirty lashes for £4.00 here.

Other products used in this FOTN are:

H&M Shimmer Lipbalm (The Pink One)

Model Co Face Base Skin Primer*

Max Factor Ageless Elixir 2 in 1 Foundation + Serum (Light Ivory 40)

Natural Collection CoverUp Cream (Light)

E.L.F. Studio High Definition Powder (Clear)

Primark Beauty Eye Shadow Palette (Shades Reef, Spear, Bright Eyes, Hustle, Graphite & Night Sky ~ Xmas Present)

17 Clear Definition Mascara

StarGazer Bronzer (Bronceador)**

Blink + Go Long Lasting Black Mascara

Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Eyeshadow (Citrus Thunder - Bronze side used on lips)***

*Sent to me for free and previously reviewed here.

**Sent to me for free and previously reviewed here.

***Sent to me for free, but not to review. If you would like me to review this and other shades as I was sent those too please let me know in the comments below.

So I hope you like the look. What New Year's Eve/Day make-up looks do you have planned? Link me up with photos, posts or videos in the comments below. Have a great time whatever you get up to tonight and Happy New Year at midnight :)!

Love to you all

FOTN: Ardell Demi Wispies Review

Hi once again my cherubs. I hope you are having a fabulous Sunday. I was sent some Ardell Demi Wispies in Black for free to try out some time ago from Kilpatrick PR. I wanted to wait until I was going on a night out before using them as I am no expert at applying false lashes so if I actually got them to work I wanted to be able to show them off.

Photo taken after use. I apologise for this as in my excitement of trying them out I realised it would have probably been better for me to take the photo before use, whoops!

I am a bit of a nervous nelly when it comes to applying false lashes as I don't use them often enough too feel confident I suppose. The last time I tried was Xmas 2011 for a work do and lets just say it didn't go well. My eyes were streaming and they just wouldn't stick. It might have been the lash glue or the lashes I'm not sure, but I had to re-apply my whole make-up without lashes in 10 mins.

So now onto the review. I removed the lashes from the pack and placed them along my lash line to see if they were the correct width for my eye. They were fine, but had they been too wide I would have snipped them a bit from the inner corners to make them the correct size while keeping the sexy feline flick at the outer corners. 

I then bent the ends inwards towards each other to help the band curve into more of an eye shape. This set came with lash adhesive so I squeezed some onto the cardboard packaging and used a cotton bud to apply it in a thin layer along the false lash line. 

I waited for about 30 seconds and with my tweezers I maouvered them onto my natural lash line and pressed them against it with my tweezers gently to help them stick. I did get some glue on one of my eyelids, but this was easily removed by just peeling it off.

I applied my Ardell lashes before applying any other make-up so that if it was a disaster the rest of my make-up wouldn't be ruined. This was the best tip the lovely Celebrity Make-Up Artist Louise Page gave to me at the Speed Beauty Event. I think this took the panic out of applying them and so they were a success, thanks Louise :) I also went for a green smokey eye rather than black/grey to make the lashes stand out. Louise gave me the advice of not using too dark a colour so that the lashes would be emphasised rather than disguised. I went through the false and my natural lashes with mascara after applying the rest of my make-up to help them intertwine and look a bit more together.

I removed the lashes with a bit of moisturiser at the end of the night and peeled off the glue so that I can hopefully re-use them. I gave them a gentle wipe over with a face wipe also to get some of the mascara off.

I love the flick at the outer edge

They did seem to sit slightly lower on one eye than the other, but I think that may be just down to my eye shapes.

I look like I have just seen a ghost, ha ha

Here is a link to the Black Demi Wispies on the Ardell website, Link. My box says Natural Style, but most of the styles I found on boots.com, superdrug.com and onestopbeauty.co.uk say Fashion Lashes. Prices shown in links. If you know which ones are the same as mine please leave a link in a comment.

Other products used in this FOTN were:

Rose & Co Rose Petal Salve

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream*

Natural Collection CoverUp Cream (Fair)

E.L.F. Studio High Definition Powder 

NYX 5 Color Shadow The Caribbean Collection I Dream Of St. Kitt Palette (White Shade)

StarGazer Bronzer (Bronceador)**

Eyeko Cream Extra Glow!

Sleek MakeUP Original I-Divine Palette (Two Green Shades Far Right, Top & Bottom)

17 Clear Definition Mascara

Max Factor Liquid Effect Pencil (Black Fire)***

Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen (Jet Black)

BYS Mascara (Jet Black)

Natural Collection Sheer Natural Lip Colour (Biscuit)

Accessorize Diamond Sparkle Lipgloss (Temptation)

*

**

*** The products marked with asterix were given to me for free by PR companies

I had a fabulous night out with my friend. We had dinner and drinks, but it all went too quickly. We will just have to do it again soon I guess so that I can have another go applying some more falsies ;) I got complimented on my eyes when I was out too. We were in a pub and the person was drunk, but it still counts right, ha ha.

Many thanks to Kilpatrick PR for sending these to me to try out.

What are your favourite falsies? Any more tips for a newbie :)

Love to you all