Eye shadow

Acti-Labs - Vendome Eye Shadow Palette

We love to make new discoveries here at TheAmazingBlog particularly when they offer us an affordable price-point and great value for money. The British beauty brand Acti-Labs pride themselves in doing just this. They carefully select their high concentrate of botanical ingredients from the south of France, where they  create their state of the art and performance-led products. None of their products are tested on animals and their factory in France has even received a Government Environment Award for low carbon footprint. In having their own laboratory, it means that they can offer exceptional value products at laboratory direct prices.

We particularly like the Acti-Lab’s core philosophy of  ‘using science to get the best out of nature’ and ‘medically inspired products for home use’.  Although this brand is probably best known for their skincare, we decided to venture into exploring some of their makeup.  They very kindly sent us their Vendome Shimmer Palette that comprises of twelve shimmering and neutral shades of eye shadow. This glamorous Vendome Shimmer Palette is very easy to use to mix and match. What we liked best, is that like other Acti-Labs’ products, this palette is infused with completely natural ingredients like vitamin E, kaolin and jojoba. Not only do the shades apply smoothly, the added vitamin E  helps to protect and nourishes the skin. Also included in the palette are a mirror and a two-sided brush, which is perfect for application and blending.  

While everyone has different steps in their makeup routine, we recommend applying your primer first before applying your eye shadow to achieve a longer-lasting effect. After choosing your colours, Acti-Labs recommends starting with the lightest colour working up to the stronger shades, blending until you achieve your given look. To get this elegant and versatile Vendome Shimmer Palette buy here,  it’s a steal at only £15! We can’t wait to try more…

Rouge Bunny Rouge - Aubades and Serenades

One of The Amazing Blog’s favourite pastimes is walking up-and-down the aisles of the cosmetics counters and seeing all the perfectly uniformed new products. While sifting through the rows of make-up, we seem to find ourselves looking at the collections of foundations. We're always searching for a lightweight formula that matches our skin tone during the peaks of summer and winter. This is where Rouge Bunny Rouge’s Aubades and Serenades Colour-Matching Concentrate come in, and their shade of ‘Sonnet’, we couldn’t resist. The Amazing Blog has previously written about many of this company’s products, including the Rose Bunny Rouge eyeshadow, Impalpable Finishing Powder and more.

Long gone are the days of a mismatched foundation. We know finding the perfect foundation for your skin tone can be quite difficult. Rouge Bunny Rouge’s Colour-Matching Concentration helps adjust your foundation with its much-pigmented solution.  The product is easily blended and used year round. As the Colour-Matching Concentrate customises your foundation, your skin will absorb the additional benefits of the product, too. The ingredients within the formula are free of oil, fragrance and parabens. Instead, Rouge Bunny Rouge uses panthenol and vitamin E as a soothing agent, witch hazel to tone and purify and Pansy Extract for moisturising.

Rouge Bunny Rouge advises its users to apply the product after the face has been cleansed and primed. Pump a small amount of this product and your foundation on the back of your hand and then mix the liquids together. To test the colour before applying to the entire face, lightly tap your finger into the liquid and swipe on the jawline. Then, begin blending upwards toward the cheekbones. Continue adding more Colour-Matching Concentrate if necessary, to achieve the right skin tone. What could be easier? You can purchase the product at their website for €44.00.

Winky Lux Coffee Collection

We always need new make-up,  even if our make-up drawer is overflowing. Collectively we've lost count of how many mascaras we own (what an admission!) We at The Amazing Blog know how hard it is to resist new and exciting products, and recently we've fallen for some new products from Winky Lux. You may well remember their adorable Lip Pill Kit that we wrote about here. Based in New York City, Winky Lux is always up-to-date with the latest make-up trends and best of all, they make them affordable. Their newest innovation: coffee-scented make-up!

Both the Coffee Bronzer and Coffee Palette products have a slight waft of a coffee fragrance when you open the palettes.  We have to say the scent on the Bronzer is much more subtle than that of the Eyeshadows, but they're still a fun gimmick. We also like the cute packaging,  with the toffee-coloured boxes,  illustrated with flowers, and cups of coffee. The Bronzer is in an elegant gold casing compact and comes in two shades Mocha and Latte. We tried the deeper Mocha colour, which doubled as a contour powder for us. It has a buttery consistency and because it is matte, it's easy to wear and gives a soft bronzed look. It also comes with a mirror, making it easy to apply on-the-go.  

The Coffee Eyeshadow Palette is covered in wonderful colourful floral illustrations, making it a decorative addition to your dressing table. We were impressed with how authentic and pleasant the coffee scent is in the eyeshadow, but more importantly, we like the strength and the lasting quality of pigments in the powders. All nine shades have a velvety texture and blend nicely on the lid. The Coffee Eyeshadow Palette is every neutral-lovers dream, with matte, satin and shimmer finishes. The colours range from light beige tones into latte browns and finally darker espresso greys. With this variety of coffee shades, we recommend keeping this versatile eye palette as a staple in your handbag, for either a subtle day or a more enhanced glamorous night-out look.

If you want a different kind of coffee fix, the Coffee Bronzer is available to purchase here for £20 and the Coffee Eyeshadow Palette is £25 here. Winky Lux is also available on ASOS, Harvey Nichols and FeelUnique.com.