Makeup Review | MERIT Beauty The Eye Set

 

MERIT contacted me a couple of months ago to ask if I’d like to try their eye set and after hearing such good things about their line it was a no brainer! To give a short introduction, MERIT is a clean, vegan, cruelty free and luxury beauty brand inspired by minimalism. They were founded by Katherine Power (also the founder of Versed) in 2021 and are based out of Los Angeles, California with the products being made in the U.S., South Korea, China and Italy. I received The Eye Set* which includes everything in this post and retails for $129 CAD | £102 | £94 USD. You also get the signature bag with your first order! 

 

The Eye Set includes the Solo Shadow in Vachetta ($33 CAD | £26 | £24 USD individually). This is a single, cream to powder eye shadow with a matte formula in a beautiful neutral shade with Vachetta being described as a warm beige. The formula can be applied either with your finger or a brush and the Brush No.2 ($27 CAD | £22 | $20 USD individually) is the perfect size, soft (vegan bristles) and dual ended so great for applying all over the lid or lash lining. The shadow itself is buildable so you can blend it out more to have a subtle hint of colour or add more drama if you layer it. It’s nicely pigmented and very easy to blend and hasn’t caused me any irritation and is safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers! I will say though that I have very oily lids so there is not much colour left on mine by the end of the day whether I use a primer or not. In its defence, it fades very evenly but it’s not quite as longwearing as I was hoping for or expecting! 

 

MERIT Solo Shadow in Vachetta (unedited)

Moving to brows next and the Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade ($33 CAD | £26 | $24 USD individually) has fit into my brow routine very nicely. I find when I keep on top of dying my brows I don’t need to pay so much time in the morning ‘doing them’ so this has been perfect to quickly brush through to fill any sparce gaps and give some volume and hold! I have the shade brown and it leaves my brows looking natural yet groomed and the formula isn’t flaky or crispy. There is only 2.4g of product though so this one definitely feels pricier than the other products based on that!

 

Lastly, and in my opinion the star of the show – the Clean Lash Lengthening Mascara ($36 CAD | £28 | $26 USD individually). This is a tubing mascara and oh my god have I been missing out. I have watery eyes and usually go for waterproof mascaras which still usually smudge halfway through the day. Not with this! The bristles make it easy to coat my lashes and it works well to lengthen. There are no clumps or flakes and definitely no smudging as the day goes on! Although this doesn’t give as much volume as some mascaras, I am a convert! I took this on my recent holiday to Mexico too and like I said, I am so impressed by the zero smudging or flaking! I still use my usual Nivea bi-phase eye makeup remover with this which works great!

 

Let’s also take a minute to talk about the packaging – I am in love! It feels weighty and so luxurious, I love the black and gold! The Solo Shadow also has a very satisfying extra click to it to make sure you have screwed it closed tightly enough. These are on the pricier side and I was hoping for a little more lasting power with the Solo Shadow but there is no doubt these are beautiful products and I will definitely be taking a look at their blush and lip oil next! 

 

Have you tried MERIT before? Or what’s on your wish list?

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

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Five Things I’m Loving | October 2019

Hey guys, hope you are all having a lovely week so far! Not sure what came on me this weekend, I finally sorted my memory card out and put my photos into folders ready for their blog posts! I don’t think I will be posting very regularly but some products do get me excited enough to want to write about them so here we are with what I have been loving this month! Incidentally, I am much more active on Instagram, and here’s my link if you want to come have a look! 

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater

This has been a godsend for me over the last month as I have been back working in an office setting! With the change of seasons, my skin always freaks out and gets really dehydrated and this is such a refreshing, cooling pick me up perfect throughout the day! I have gone through countless bottles of this and tried the cucumber and lavender versions too (need to try the orange next!) but this one is my favourite! 

Lanolips 101 Ointment

I got this in a Cult Beauty GWP (my weakness) a couple of months ago and it’s been a staple ever since! It feels very hydrating on the lips and there is minimal reapplication as it lasts so long! The only thing I don’t love is the scent so I would try a different one next time but the formula is amazing! 

Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder 

I’ve had this for ages and kept forgetting about it (usually because the bottle is so small it gets forgotten!). Now, this doesn’t do a lot for me on its own, but in conjunction with my normal dry shampoo this makes my hair look like it’s got a little somethin' somethin' going on when in reality it's day 3 and it could have done with being washed the night before! Rubs in easy and adds some lift to my roots! 

Clean Fragrance in Skin

Another recent rediscovery, I completely forgot about this set of 5 perfumes I got last Christmas! This scent is my favourite from the set and it’s so subtle but long lasting I just love it and the rollerball is so handy! I suck at describing scents but all the notes it includes are in the link if you are interested! Cannot find a UK link for it so I guess this will go on my ever-growing list of perfumes I can’t have after finishing them *sigh*

Anastasia Beverly Hills single eye shadow in Warm Taupe

I pretty much stopped wearing eyeshadow in Canada, not sure why, probably so I could have an extra 5 minutes in bed but since I have to drive to work and get up earlier now anyway its back! This shadow recently became part of a mini project pan I am working on and I have been loving it! It is the perfect one wash colour and impossible to go overboard with! It’s an ultra-matte warm brown shade and I have a pretty hefty dent in it already so looking forward to hitting pan on this one! 

So, that’s what I have been loving this month! I would love to hear if you have tried any of these or what you are loving! 

Danielle xx

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My Custom Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadow Palette

Anastasia Beverly Hills single eyeshadows have been on my radar for the longest time but although most ABH products are available to buy from Cult Beauty and Beauty Bay, unless you wanted a customs charge, the eyeshadows were out of reach for those of us on this side of the Atlantic! That was until shortly before Christmas when the ABH website expanded to include a UK site with eyeshadows ripe for the picking! EDIT: also available (and usualy on offer!) now at Look Fantastic!

The Anastasia pre-made eyeshadow palettes don’t appeal to me (part from the Mario Dedivanovic one which wasn’t sold here!) as they have too many shades I wouldn’t use/are too warm toned (Modern Renaissance I’m looking at you) so I was in my element picking the shades I knew I would get use out of for my custom palette!

After much Google swatch stalking, I started adding to my basket even though I thought £10 was a bit much for a pan. That was until I got to 4 pans and saw the price drop to £30 and the bundle offer pop up - £30 for 4 pans plus an empty palette or £50 for 8 pans and a palette and you can clearly see which offer I went for – it was Christmas after all! 

Anyway, here is my run down of the shades I got and swatches! As far as I am aware, the entire single eyeshadow range comes in a variety of finishes – satin, velvet, shimmer, metallic ultra-matte, titanium and duo chrome and being a creature of habit I went for mostly matte shades! I also think this was my last big makeup purchase before my try not to buy started up but more on that next week!

Lace

The lightest and I’m sorry to say it - most disappointing shade from the ones I picked – Lace is a light beige with a satin finish (I think!) that just does not show up on my lid at all! I’m pale and this is extremely sheer on me no matter how much I pack on!

Sateen

A gorgeous shimmer champagne frost that is so soft and pigmented and doesn’t give any fall out.

Birkin

A warm beige mauve ultra-matte that definitely stands out as the warmest in this palette and is a gorgeous transition shade.

Chiffon

A warm brown with a metallic finish and almost khaki undertones, like Sateen it’s really smooth to apply and beautifully pigmented. 

l-r: Lace, Sateen, Birkin, Chiffon

Stone

An ultra-matte light ash grey neutral taupe that I like to put all over the lid.

Warm Taupe

An ultra-matte soft brown that is also in the Modern Renaissance palette and was one of the only shades I was drawn to! Another one that I either put all over the lid or position more towards my crease.

Ash Brown

An ultra-matte dark cool brown that I use in my outer V and can double up as an eyebrow shade for me.

Smoke

An ultra-matte charcoal brown I use as an eyeliner. 

l-r: Stone, Warm Taupe, Ash Brown, Smoke

All the shadows are high quality, pigmented and last well throughout the day (I use a primer). The palette that came in the bundle is such high quality too! It feels sturdy, has a clear lid and the magnets feel strong. I definitely think if you are interested in getting some ABH shadows, wait until you have 4 or 8 you want because it’s a much better deal than buying 1 or 2 at £10 each. I like the shadows and they have a huge range of shades but I definitely don’t think they are worth spending £10 each on! The bundle deal I got puts the shadows at £6.25 each not including the palette which is on a par with Makeup Geek now they have increased their prices and I think that’s where they sit for me although overall I do prefer the Kat Von D matte formula! 

 

In hindsight, I do wish I had picked up a few more shades that weren’t matte but saying that I use mattes daily so I probably wouldn’t be getting as much use out of the palette if I had!

So, that’s my 8 pan palette! Let me know if you ordered anything off the site or what your favourite shades are! The singles are also available on Look Fantastic here!

Danielle xx

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Five Things I’m Loving | November 2016

I can’t believe I haven’t done one of these posts since March! This is the reason I could never commit to a monthly favourites! Anyway, there are a mix of products here, some are new to me within the last month and others are on their last legs and I love them so much I thought they deserved to feature in a post other than an empties!

Revlon Volume + Length Magnified Waterproof Mascara RRP £9.99

I picked this up ages ago (definitely longer than I care to remember!) but it seems the longer its open the more I like it! I know mascara is a very personal choice but I’ve found this does exactly what it says and gives me both length and volume as well as separation and definition! I love that it has bristles instead of a plastic wand and it is impossible to get clumpy lashes with this! I've tried so many time to get close ups of my lashes but its impossible – if you have any tips please leave them in the comments!

Vichy Quenching Mineral Masque* RRP £14

Vichy recently came out with three new face masks and I was sent the Quenching Mineral mask which could not have come at a better time for my skin! Every year I have the same problem where my usually oily skin goes haywire with the change in weather and becomes dehydrated and patchy in places. This mask feels amazingly cooling and refreshing and has been helping to regulate my skin! It contains thermal water from the French volcanoes, vitamin B3 and glycerin which all work to soothe and hydrate my skin leaving it feeling plumper and smoother!

The mask itself has a non-greasy, lightweight gel texture that sinks in quickly. It’s scented of green tea, jasmine water and bamboo and smells amazing! I know some people are sensitive to scented products but I personally don’t mind! The mask is also allergy tested and paraben free. I've been keeping this on my bathroom windowsill to keep it as cool as possible and it is a real treat to apply! I use it over the top of my trusty Vichy Aqualia Thermal serum and the two are a dreamy combination! The Vichy Quenching Mineral Masque is available from Boots, Escentual and Feel Unique!

Smashbox Photo Matte Eyes palette RRP £38.50

Another all matte eyeshadow palette, I know! But it’s another palette I love and after giving all the attention to the Kat Von D Shade + Light and Urban Decay Ultimate Basics I thought it was time to talk about this one! I adore the shade range in this and there isn’t a shade I wouldn’t use – even those couple of pinker shades! It has a great range of cool tones as well as a few warm and the shades can be used wet or dry and as shadows, liners or brow products. The brush that came with it is probably one of the better brushes I've received with a palette!

Clockwise top l-r: Desert, Heirloom, Dune, Vanilla (large pan), Canyon, Suede, Earthy

Clockwise top l-r: Wheat (large pan), Grounded, Rosehip, Haze, Blackout, Ditch, Jolt

I would say that this palette isn’t just as pigmented as the Kat Von D or Makeup Geek shadows I’ve tried but it’s of the highest quality, the shadows don’t fade and they last all day on my oily lids with a primer. Smashbox do mattes really well, they are never patchy and there are no disappointing shades in this palette! I ordered directly from the Smashbox website and they always have discount codes available! I can’t get enough of Smashbox at the minute and have a lipstick set on my Christmas list!

Bed Head Small Talk RRP £9.50

Another oldie but a goody and this has actually featured in a post before! I always come back to this when my hair starts looking a little straggly and I'm trying to hold off going to the hairdressers. It makes the ends of my hair look so much thicker and healthier and helps seal my split ends until I wash my hair again. It also acts as a thermal protectant and just generally makes my hair easier to blow dry and straighten! I’m not normally a fan of fruity scents but I love this and even though it’s a cream it doesn’t add oil or weight to my fine hair!

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anita RRP £24

This is one of the newest lipsticks in my collection and one I can’t believe took me so long to get! The Audacious line is very hyped within the beauty blogging world and now I can see why! This lipstick is so creamy and opaque with great lasting power! I struggled to pick a shade but eventually went with Anita which is a rosy pink and I definitely don’t think this will be my last! It also has quite possibly the most satisfying magnetic lipstick closure!

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.

Have you tried any of these products before? Tell me what you’ve been loving recently!

Danielle xx

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Introducing Vincent Longo Cosmetics

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend if you were up to anything for it! Today I have a little brand focus centred around Vincent Longo Cosmetics! This was a brand I hadn’t heard of until I started seeing them pop up on my Instagram feed and I’m so glad I got the chance to try them out! Founded in 1995 by you guessed it, Vincent Longo, the cult cosmetics range has been reintroduced to the UK market and is stocked exclusively at Cult Beauty. Presenting innovative formulas and award winning products, read on to see what I think of the items I was sent!

Vincent Longo Water Canvas Creme-to-Powder Foundation in Porcelain #1* RRP £43.50

When I first opened this I thought it was actually a powder and it was only when I touched it that I got my first experience of the beautiful VL crème-to-powder formulation! The foundation is so cooling and refreshing to apply it’s unlike anything I've tried in the past. I personally don’t like the Vincent Longo Water Canvas Sponge* that comes with it – it doesn’t give enough coverage for my liking so I’ve been using my Zoeva Silk Finish brush which gives me a gorgeous buildable medium coverage that is very natural and skin like. I do still like to conceal any scars or marks first before applying this then the foundation works really well to even out my skin tone.

The foundation is so lightweight and not cakey at all, it’s formulated with 75% microwater and seaweed extract to protect, nourish and lock in moisture so I can imagine this would be perfect for those with drier skin. Saying that, it also works amazingly well on my oily skin due to its oil free formulation. I only have to top up my powder at lunchtime which is standard for me and it’s a very subtle shine that comes through.

I didn’t see many swatches when I was trying to decide my shade so screenshotted this helpful guide Cult Beauty had on their Instagram stories a few weeks ago! I decided to play it safe and go with Porcelain as I am usually the lightest shade in foundation when I have no tan on and this is a perfect match for my skin!

Taken from Cult Beauty Instagram Story

As well as being oil free, the water canvas foundation is non comedogenic, hypoallergenic, fragrance free and cruelty free. The only bad thing I have to say about it is it’s so bloody expensive! I was also sent the Vincent Longo Water Canvas Travel Compact* RRP £12.50 which is airtight to maintain the moisture content of the foundation and its worth mentioning that it is recommended to keep the lid closed tight between applications to prevent evaporation of the product!

Vincent Longo Water Canvas Creme-to-Powder Blush in Swan Lake* RRP £33.50

Like the foundation, this has the beautiful creme to powder formulation that again is a dream to apply. I started by using my Real Techniques Stippling Brush with this but I don’t like the shape of it so switched to my trusty Zoeva Cream Cheek brush which makes it so easy to build up the pigment.

The shade itself is a lovely natural pink and it lasts so well on me unlike other cream blushes I’ve tried giving such a healthy flush of colour! It looks matte in the packaging but I do detect a few hints of shimmer in the swatch however these aren’t noticeable on me when I’m wearing it! Like the foundation its oil free, fragrance free, non comedogenic, hypoallergenic and cruelty free.

Vincent Longo Water Canvas Creme to Powder Foundation in porcelain and Blush in Swan Lake

Vincent Longo Pearl X Eyeshadow in Novalei* RRP £19

This is my least favourite of the bunch simply because it’s not a shade I would go for with my boring neutral eyeshadow tendencies! Saying that, it’s probably the most unique item of makeup I have in my collection and though the colour isn’t very ‘me’ the formulation is! It’s really smooth, nicely pigmented and the packaging has a very satisfying magnetic closure! Sadly not a shade I will be reaching for though!

Vincent Longo Lip/Cheek Gel Stain in Baby Boo* RRP £18.50

I have been loving this stain since I got it! I've been using it more on my lips than my cheeks as I find I can go overboard easily but I appreciate the duality of the product. At first glance I thought this looked a little like a tube of fake blood and expected it to be very dark and gloopy for some reason! Like with the foundation and blush, when I felt this formula for the first time I was surprised yet again. Its water based and gives a beautiful sheer wash of colour to the lips that can be layered for a deeper colour payoff.

It dries in quickly without drying out my lips and it’s so lightweight I can’t feel it yet its super long-lasting and water resistant. A pet peeve of mine is when my lip product wears off and my lips end up looking like the same colour as my foundation. With this I am guaranteed a subtle lip stain that lasts hours through eating and drinking! My lips have been drier than normal recently and this has been perfect to give me some colour that sticks around and that I can layer my favourite lip balm over to keep my lips hydrated.

I do find the packaging of the products a little simplistic for such an expensive price point but the quality of the products more than makes up for that! Vincent Longo is currently exclusive to Cult Beauty and can be found here! (Discontinued brand!)

Have you tried anything from the brand before? Do you like the sound of anything here?

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own.

Danielle xx

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Wishlist Purchases #5 ft. Urban Decay

If you are a regular reader round these parts you may have noticed that this week and the last two weeks posts have been “Wishlist Purchases” aka haul posts. I promise this is the last of them for a while! I have definitely went a bit mad on the spending over the last few months and with a few new releases or launches of brands that have been previously been unavailable in the UK, I have treated myself big time!

I told myself when I first started seeing the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette popping up on Instagram before its release that I didn’t need it, that I could wait to Christmas etc. However, when an email telling me I had £10 worth of Beauty Club rewards to spend at Debenhams, I took it as a sign! (Side note – most of the £10 probably came from my Kat Von D splurge!).

Anyway, onto the palette and I have to say I was slightly disappointed when I first opened it. Don’t get me wrong, the outer packaging is lovely and I really like the change to a square palette instead of a rectangular one but it feels and looks quite cheap and plastic-y, something you can see especially in between the shadows. I feel like this is going to be quite a mixed review already because although I do really like the palette overall, some things, like shadow quality, fall a little short for me and I’m very glad I got this for £28.50 instead of its usual £38.50.

The Naked Ultimate Basics has a really nice mix of twelve eyeshadows with cool and warm tones that’s bound to keep everyone happy and a double sided mini brush. I've only used the brush once and I don’t really rate it, I never use shader brushes and it’s tightly packed and feels quite hard. The opposite side is fluffier but is quite stiff and I prefer something bendier to apply shadow all over the lid so will probably only get a bit of use out of this as an inner eye highlight brush.

I’m never happy with my swatch photos but I think you can see what I mean about difference in quality between some of the shades. All swatches are done on my arm with my finger and I don’t use primer for them.

Swatches l-r: Blow, Nudie, Commando, Tempted, Instinct, Lethal

Blow is the only shade that is not completely matte, it has a very soft sheen and I’ve been loving it as a subtle inner eye highlight. It’s very similar to Skimp from the Naked Basics 2 palette.

Lethal hasn’t swatched well either but I’ve been using it to darken my outer corner with Instinct all over the lid and it applies beautifully and is a nice change from my usually taupey browns with its hint of burgundy (it is very similar to Punk from the UDxGwen palette)!

My most reached for shades along with these have been Tempted, Lockout and Faith!  

Swatches l-r: Pre-Game, Extra Bitter, Faith, Lockout, Magnet, Blackjack

Pre-Game is a shade I probably wouldn’t reach for as an eyeshadow but like Foxy from the Naked Basics 1, multitasks as an under eye setting powder!

I think Extra Bitter has probably swatched the best out of all the shades – it definitely looks the most pigmented but unfortunately this just isn’t a shade I would go for.

Blackjack looks awful in the swatch, when you are used to the likes of Blackout from the UDxGwen Stefani palette it falls a little short. I use black eyeshadow every day to line my upper lid and add a little definition and use the shadow wet so it does perform a lot better this way.

Overall, I have been enjoying this palette but I definitely do not think it’s a necessity if you already have any of the previous Naked Basics palettes and I find that both of those palettes shadows are more consistent. I will be getting my use out of this palette but I’m glad I didn’t pay full price because I think overall I would have been more disappointed with it.

What do you think of this palette? Did you buy it?

See my last wishlist purchases posts here:

Wishlist Purchases #1

Wishlist Purchases #2

Wishlist Purchases #3

Wishlist Purchases #4

See my wishlists here:

Wishlist #1

Wishlist #2

Wishlist #3

Wishlist #4

Danielle xx 

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