Hello everyone and welcome to my April 2021 Beauty Favourites! I can’t believe we are already in May, I feel like this year has flown by… However, we also don’t have much to show for it again as it’s only now that things are starting to open up and restrictions are being eased in the UK.
I’ve had one of those months where I’ve bought quite a bit of new makeup! Some months I barely buy a thing, others lots of interesting stuff comes out and I want it all. Not everything I bought this month was brand new out, some is just new to me. A few places have had some pretty decent codes this past month; 20-25% off and some fantastic gifts with purchase. I’m not normally into gifts with purchase, but Cult Beauty had one the other week that piqued my interest.
There were quite a few bits in there I’d wanted to try for ages, sometimes years! However, in this country we don’t get mini sizes of much and with skincare I don’t always want to buy full size in case I don’t like it/I have a reaction to it. There were a few full sizes in the free gift, but lots of minis to try.
Anyway, let’s get into my April 2021 Beauty Favourites, I have found one divine base combination, a new favourite concealer and some fantastic new lip products!
DISCLAIMER: Product links are affiliate. This means I earn a small commission if you buy through my link, but it costs you nothing extra. Thank you for supporting my blog, so I can continue creating content!
MAYBELLINE FIT ME! LUMINOUS AND SMOOTH PRIMER – £8.99 from Look Fantastic
I noticed this primer quietly released at Beauty Bay and Look Fantastic, I love the products from the Fit Me! range I’ve tried before, so I thought I’d give it a go. At £8.99 it’s a bargain and it could have turned out like the Fit Me! concealer which has become my Holy Grail for covering acne.
It’s not quite at Holy Grail status just yet, but this primer has definitely earned its place in my April 2021 Beauty Favourites as it’s really excellent. Lightweight, hydrating, it has SPF 20, helps with longevity, doesn’t cling to dry patches, smooths everything out and keeps my foundation from settling into pores.
I’ve tried this primer with 4 different foundations/skin tints so far and it’s not fluke. It’s been fantastic with every product I’ve tried it with! I’ve had some acne that’s healing recently, which means it’s going through the flaky stage. It manages to make it so my foundation doesn’t cling to any of the dry patches. Some base products make you notice dry patches you didn’t even know you had, but I’m happy to report this does the opposite. It smooths everything out and keeps you hydrated.
It’s not greasy or difficult to spread, it’s just a lightweight cream that rubs in really easily. I use a pea sized amount and it covers my whole face. With some primers you need quite a bit of product because they don’t spread well, but this one isn’t like that.
I’d say it’s quite similar to the Estee Lauder Futurist Aqua Brilliance Watery Glow Primer. When you first squeeze them both out they look almost identical, the Estee Lauder is a little thinner. As you spread the Estee Lauder it gives a cooling effect that you don’t get with the Maybelline. However, in terms of performance and application they are incredibly similar. No silicone feeling, lightweight, long lasting, hydrating. I don’t think you’d be able to tell the difference when both applied and this is a third of the price of the Estee Lauder one!
NABLA COSMETICS SKIN REALIST TINTED BALM – £26 from Beauty Bay
When I saw this product announced, I knew I had to buy it and try it! I am loving skin tints and tinted moisturisers at the moment and the description of this had me dying to try it!
From the first application, I knew that I would love this product! For a skin tint, it actually has pretty decent coverage, but texture and application wise, it is very lightweight and easy to blend. Skin Tints don’t normally last as long as foundation, but this one does. I can easily get a full days wear with no caking/separating/pooling in my pores. The finish is naturally radiant I would say. It’s not super glowy, but not flat matte either. You look like you’re having a really healthy, glowy skin day.
Transfer wise, it’s pretty good. It does transfer a little bit, but compared to some other tinted mosturisers it’s minimal. And if it does transfer, it doesn’t move around too much or look obviously like a chunk has gone. Both cream and powder products apply flawlessly on top of it and it doesn’t need setting.
This formula is a hybrid between skincare and makeup. The claims are that after 4 weeks of constant use your skin will be plumper and this skin tint is supposed to help with collagen and elastin in your skin. Now, I’m not sure that there will be drastic changes in plumpness and lines in 4 weeks, I do tend to take those types of claims with a pinch of salt, but every little helps!
BY TERRY CELLULAROSE CC SERUM – £61 from Look Fantastic // KEVYN AUCOIN STRIPPED NUDE SKIN TINT – £36 from Look Fantastic
Next up on my April 2021 Beauty Favourites is this combination of dreams. I’m sure I’ve mentioned either one or both of these products before in my favourites. However, this month I’m mentioning them together because they are the most incredible pairing.
Longwearing, just enough coverage, healthy, radiant, smoothing, makes you look like you have skin sent from a goddess. I cannot tell you how in love I am with these two products together!
I was already totally in love with the By Terry CC Serum, it’s such a gorgeous product. If you are suffering from lacklustre skin, then this is the perfect product to put life and glow back into your skin.
With the Kevyn Aucoin Stripped Nude Skin Tint I liked it before marrying these two products together, but I wasn’t blown away, nor did I think it was the best thing ever. It was always pretty on the skin and long wearing, but the finish along with the By Terry is glorious.
It it glowy, radiant and make your skin look flawless and like you have no texture issues etc. It’s like magic when these two products come together, I know it’s a pricey base, but I’d pay almost anything for flawless skin as I’ve suffered with acne and texture for years.
KOSAS REVEALER CONCEALER – £26 from Cult Beauty
Kosas say that this is “concealer meets eye cream” and I kind of agree! It is much creamier than many other concealers I own, very easy to blend it while also managing to have really great coverage! I use shade 0.5N.
For me though, it’s the performance of this concealer! For my under eyes, this might be the best concealer I’ve EVER used! Until I tried this, the Shiseido Synchro Skin concealer was my favourite although I still got some creasing/line settling. With this, I have the most minimal settling ever and it never makes my under eyes look dry or flaky. I always get a tiny bit of settling into the fine lines under my eyes, but it doesn’t bother me as you have to be really close to even see it.
I set this with the Kosas Cloud Set and it lasts all day, there’s never any change in coverage. It doesn’t fade or become more noticeable throughout the day. It’s simply stunning. It makes your eyes look so healthy and like you don’t have any darkness issues! I’ve worn it non stop since buying it, with loads of different foundations and it always looks flawless!
There was no way this wasn’t making it to my April 2021 Beauty Favourites! This might be the stand out product of the month!
LAURA MERCIER COLOUR INFUSION BLUSH – £24 from Cult Beauty
This formula has been around for quite a few years, but recently they expanded the shade range. This was one of those products that was always on my wishlist, but new stuff came out, so it kept being moved down the list!
When the new shades were released, it took it back to the top of my wishlist because I needed the shade Passion Fruit in my life. It’s the most gorgeous light pinky peach and perfect for Spring/Summer.
The formula is beautiful, soft and pigmented, but not so much that you end up with one dot of colour. It’s super easy to blend and apply and doesn’t move any of the products underneath. This is a longwearing, transfer proof formula. Once it’s on, it does not budge and masks don’t affect it at all.
Now I’ve got this colour, I’m after more. I’m eyeing up the shades Peach, Watermelon and Rose. Some shades are matte and some shimmer. Passion Fruit has slight shimmer, no chunks of glitter and also not so shimmery it looks like a coloured highlighter. It’s just a light sheen that makes your cheeks look stunning.
YSL ROUGE VOLUPTE SHINE LIPSTICK IN CORAIL INTUITIVE – £30 from John Lewis
Next up on my April 2021 Beauty Favourites, the YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks. They were another thing that have been on my wishlist for years! I finally decided to give in and order one and I’m so glad I did. These lipsticks live up to the hype. They are moisturising, easy to apply, look gorgeous on the lips and smell amazing!
The smell is quite fruity, which makes a nice change because most lipsticks are vanilla. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love me some vanilla, but it’s nice to have a different scent sometimes.
This colour, which is shade 15 Corail Intuitive, is the perfect Summery shade. It’s similar to the Laura Mercier blush above, but slightly more orange toned in the bullet. However, once you apply it, it pulls more pink, at least on me.
These aren’t super opaque lipsticks, more like a tinted balm, but they just look lovely on the lips. They’re so comfortable to wear. They aren’t particularly long wearing, but I’m not into super matte, long wearing lipsticks, I don’t mind reapplying.
Now I’ve got this shade and love it so much, I’m desperate to try more! I already know I’ll be ordering shade 8 Pink in Confidence as it’s my perfect pinky nude kind of shade. Now I wonder why I put off buying one of these for so long as it’s divine and definitely a new favourite formula. Oh and the packaging is stunning! They’re metal and quite heavy, they feel luxe just by holding them!
MAYBELLINE LIFTER GLOSS – £8.99 from Superdrug
At the other end of the price spectrum are these glosses from Maybelline. I’m not the biggest gloss fan usually as a lot of them are sticky. This one though? Not sticky at all! They’re slated as plumping gloss, but there’s no tingling like you get with a lot of plumping stuff. I can’t stand having burning/tingling lips so avoid them at all costs. This formula has hyaluronic acid in and they sit beautifully on the lips, not sinking into any lines.
The formula is thin and easy to apply. Some glosses can be quite thick and you get that stringy look or settling into lines which I think looks awful. These are really lovely to wear. I have two shades; Moon and Reef and they’re both beautiful. Moon is currently in my car, hence I only photographed Reef. They’re both pink, but Reef is more pigmented and less sparkly. It’s more like a lipstick in opacity. Moon is a pale pink with shimmer, it packs less punch colour wise, but is just as beautiful to wear.
I’m super impressed with these glosses, I had heard and read lots about them being amazing, but of course until you try something yourself you don’t know that. I’ve also heard that they are supposed to be similar to the Fenty Gloss Bombs, but I’ve never tried one so can’t confirm or deny that.
In terms of glosses I’ve tried, both high end and drugstore, this has to be my favourite formula. They’ve managed to absolutely nail the formula. No stickiness, great application, no settling, lightweight and thin to apply. If you’re looking for an easy to wear gloss, look no further than these!
And there we have it, my April 2021 Beauty Favourites! For months last year I didn’t buy/try any new lip products as I didn’t see the point what with masks. I know we’re still wearing them, but we can see family in our gardens now without masks, so I’m wearing lip products more! I can’t wait to see what May brings with new releases!
