Mini Reviews – Beauty Products I’ve been trying recently

Hiya everyone, today I’m sharing some mini reviews of beauty products I’ve been testing recently. I do plenty of reviews for products, where I dedicate an entire post to the one product. However, I try so many products, I simply can’t do a dedicated post for every single product I try.

So, I decided that when I have a few products to review I’ll do one of these mini reviews. Where I review 5/6 products for you guys, but not as in depth as my usual reviews would be. It will just be an overview of what I think and whether I think the product is worth it or not.

Let’s get started on my mini reviews for March!

DISCLAIMER: No affiliate links in this post, all products purchased by me.

PUR COSMETICS 4-IN-1 LOVE YOUR SELFIE FOUNDATION & CONCEALER – £32 from Pur Cosmetics

Pur Cosmetics were on my list of brands to try in 2020. So far, I’ve only tried this foundation, but I hope to try more products from them. This foundation comes in 100 shades, yes 100! So you should definitely be able to find a shade.

However, I actually found it quite overwhelming trying to find a shade. I know I’m a fair neutral skin tone, but there are about 4 fair neutral shades. They do break down every shade into warm, cool and neutral, which is great. I went with LN2 in the end as LN1 looked too pale even for me. It was the right shade and this suits me perfectly. Just keep in mind it can be confusing.

I love the packaging of this foundation! It’s 2-in-1, so you can either use the pump or unscrew the top for a large doe foot. This is advertised as a foundation and concealer, so that’s why there’s two ways to apply it. However, I actually only use the doe foot, even if I’m using it as foundation.

I typically only use this as a foundation and I really like it. It didn’t blow my socks off, but it’s really nice. It’s long wearing, high coverage (which you can sheer out) and it’s weightless on the skin. It’s more on the matte side, but it doesn’t look flat and lifeless. Overall, this is a good foundation and it’s worth a try. I’m not a full coverage lover, so I use a tiny bit and make it more of a medium. If you like full coverage, you’ll probably love this as it’s easy to get that coverage.

E.L.F FLAWLESS CONCEALER – £5 from Boots

Next up in my mini reviews is this Flawless Concealer from E.L.F. This is super affordable and I really like this concealer. I got the shade Fair Beige and I don’t know if this is the same for all shades, but it’s almost got an ashy tone to it. It works with my sin, but it does look a little strange compared to other concealers I own.

This is lightweight, the coverage is really good and it covers spots really well. I don’t like it under the eyes as I find it slightly drying, although it’s not overly drying. I just have very dry under eyes.

This concealer lasts all day on me and barely needs and attention throughout the day. The shade range is pretty darn good for a drugstore brand. E.L.F is quite hit and miss for me, some products I think are great and others are duds. This concealer is a hit for me, I’ve found myself wearing it quite a lot recently as I’ve been dealing with a lot of breakouts.

KIKO COSMETICS SKIN TONE CONCEALER – £5.99 from Kiko Cosmetics

My husband bought this for me for Christmas and since I was testing so many products, I didn’t try this until February! However, this concealer is lovely. It’s got great coverage, it’s not drying at all and it looks really beautiful on the skin. It’s also really easy to blend.

The shade range isn’t great, but if you can find a shade, this is well worth a try. They also do a green shade to correct redness. I want to try that one next as I get a lot of redness around my nose.

I went with shade 02 Ivory in this concealer and it’s a really good match for me. It’s a creamy shade that doesn’t look ashy, too warm or too cool. I do wish they did more shades though as there’s only 9.

ESSENCE THE HIGHLIGHTER – £2.50 from Wilko

I recently grabbed a few Essence products as I found out that Wilko is the only official stockist in the UK. I got this highlighter and a couple of the blushes. Our local Wilko didn’t have much on display, but what I did manage to buy, I’m loving!

This highlighter is beautiful! I already mentioned how much I love the blushes in my Best Drugstore Blushes post and the highlighter has bowled me over too. It’s that perfect champagne gold that I love so much. It’s soft, blendable and pigmented. You only need to touch the brush in and you have enough product… For me that is, I like a natural highlight. You can build this up though.

I’ve been super impressed with Essence so far, their blushes and highlighters perform like high end. Definitely worth £2.50!

COLOURPOP BLUSH CRUSH EYESHADOW PALETTE – $14/£11.70 from Colourpop

I love Colourpop so much, they are so great for the price. Their eyeshadows are bomb and this palette is no exception. There’s one shade that is a bit crumbly in here, the second shade in, but I think it’s probably meant to be a topper shade.

The mattes are beautiful and blendable, the shimmers are smooth and easy to work with. This is such a great palette for Spring. I’m really into pinks and mauves at the moment, so I keep finding myself using this palette.

It’s also super easy to get Colourpop to the UK now. You have to spend $50 to get free international shipping and you can now add the customs charge at checkout, so it comes straight to your door. I would love to get every Colourpop release, but since there’s a limit for international shipping, I have to wait a bit, then do a big order.

L’OREAL PARIS BROW ARTIST PLUMP & SET EYEBROW GEL – £7.99 from Superdrug

I’m a diehard Hourglass eyebrow fan, however, their brow gel is £26 for 3ml. 3ML! Clear brow gel is something I go through pretty rapidly because I use it every time I do my makeup up. Be that a full face or a 5 minute makeup look.

So, I went on the hunt for a drugstore alternative to my beloved brow gel and I found this L’Oreal one. It’s got 5ml of product in it and is less than £8. The brush is small and really easy to use and get every hair. It doesn’t leave your brows crispy (something I HATE) and it keeps them in place all day.

It’s quite a wet formula, but it’s not sticky at all. I have officially made the swap and this will be my brow gel from now on! Never thought I would say that. My eyebrow pencil on the other hand… never. Hourglass is the best. But you win some, you lose some. I’m saving some £££!

PHYSICIANS FORMULA EYE BOOSTER GEL EYELINER TRIO – £11.99 from Boots

I have to say, I have been thoroughly impressed with every Physicians Formula product I’ve tried. These eyeliners are no different. They’re smooth, pigmented, easy to apply and last really well on my water line. I love that you get a matte, shimmer and satin in this pack too. I only wear brown eyeliner, so for me this is every type of eyeliner I could want. Sometimes I want matte, sometimes I want shimmer.

These are all gorgeous. The shimmer one doesn’t have big chunks of glitter, so I’ve never had a problem with anything falling in my eye. The formula is lovely and creamy and once it sets, it is not going anywhere!

I’ve used all of these non stop since I got them and I love them all. I love that the tip is slightly smaller than a normal eye liner as I find it easier to apply. Highly recommend these eyeliners if you’re on the lookout for some new ones.

OLAY RETINOL24 NIGHT EYE CREAM – £34.99 from Boots

This is the first product I’ve ever tried from Olay as usually they have drying alcohols and fragrance in their products. However, I was on the lookout for a retinol eye cream and this one is really nice. I looked at the Neutrogena and ROC ones too, but went for this one as it was half price in Boots at the time.

I use a mixture of higher end and Korean/Japanese skincare. Korean toners/essences and cleansers seem to worh the best for me. With serums and oils I prefer ones I’ve found here. I use Herbivore and Paula’s Choice a lot. The Paula’s Choice 1% retinol is the retinol I’ve used for years and I love it. However, it’s too strong for around the eyes. Eyes are the first place that show signs of aging, so I don’t want to have a young looking face and wrinkly eyes!

It doesn’t say how much retinol is in here, but it is near the top of the ingredients and it is proper retinol in there. This is a lovely cream, it’s not overly drying and it hasn’t given me any flaky skin. It doesn’t have a scent and is quick to sink in. I’ve used this for over a month now, but with retinols it takes a long time to see results. It’s a bit too soon to say whether this reverses the signs of aging, but I’m going to continue using it and I really like the fact it doesn’t sting my eyes.

And there we have my mini reviews for March! I’ll be doing these mini reviews whenever I have a lot of different products to try. Some months are a bit dry with makeup releases, but then others there are tonnes! For those months, mini reviews will definitely help me get through more products, so I can let you guys know what I think!