KVD Vegan Beauty True Portrait Liquid-To-Powder Foundation Review

I won’t lie, I have tried products from this brand when it was Kat Von D, however, I never bought a product because it was her brand, just when someone had really recommended something and to be quite frank, her as a person put me off trying other products. But it has now been taken over by someone brand new and renamed as KVD Vegan Beauty – hurrah! 

Therefore, I really wanted to try something from the brand which I haven’t previously and so opted for the KVD Vegan Beauty True Portrait Liquid-To-Powder Foundation. It retails for £28.00 for which you get 30ml of product and there are 40 shades to choose from, so I went over to the trusty Foundation Matrix and it estimated I should be Light 012, and so that is what I ordered. (At the time of writing this, and I imagine for many months to come, makeup has been taken off the shelves in department stores, and so you cannot get colour-matched nor can you try out products, which makes me really sad, but I know it is not important in the grand scheme of things!).

The KVD Vegan Beauty True Portrait Liquid-To-Powder Foundation comes in a cool-looking white bottle, which you need to give a good shake to before use. You unscrew the cap to reveal a small pointed nozzle, and you squeeze the rubber part of the bottle (where the foundation shows through) to release it. Remember to go careful, you don’t want to be covered in foundation! 

Upon first use, I immediately noticed how well it covers my redness and enlarged pores, especially for a medium coverage foundation. To say it goes from a liquid to a powder finish, it is very lightweight and comfortable to wear and I found that I didn’t need to wear a setting powder as if I did, it would be too much of a powdery look for me. I also found that this was long-lasting, which is a plus, and gave a matte finish – I tend to normally prefer a more dewy, luminous finish with my foundations but at the moment with the warmer weather, I have found my skin needs something more mattifying and so this has been a superstar for that!

The KVD Vegan Beauty True Portrait Liquid-To-Powder Foundation states that this foundation is for those with normal to oily skin, and if you suffer from oily skin, I would definitely recommend you trying this out, as it helps massively with my T-Zone which normally gets shiny later in the day, but this has combated that amazingly well. If you have dry to super dry skin, then I would say give this one a miss and try something more hydrating rather than mattifying. 

You can find the KVD Vegan Beauty True Portrait Liquid-To-Powder Foundation online at Boots here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx

Trying Out Avon Makeup For The First Time In Years

I used to love flicking through the Avon catalogue when I was a teenager as it was my only real access to makeup and beauty at the time (I’m 36, so back in the day, makeup was nothing like it is now). During lockdown (yes, lockdown has a lot to answer for when it comes to all my makeup purchases!!!!), my neighbour asked if I would like to take a look at her colleague’s Avon catalogue. Yes, yes, of course I would, take all my money now! I did get most of these items on some kind of offer, but their offers change all the time, so I will be stating the full price the products are on the website. However, I found some real gems and so here are some of my favourites from my Avon order… 

Also back in the day, Lauren Conrad used to be an ambassador for Avon’s Mark line and we couldn’t get it here in the UK at the time, so when I was flicking through the catalogue I decided to try out a few products. The first is the Mark Show Glow Glow Powder Highlighter (okay, so this is going well as I can’t even find this on the website anymore! Maybe it will return.) in the shade Pink Sand. It comes in black and rose gold packaging and the shade is a champagne pinky tone, which is right up my street. This is a delicate highlight and so if you are wanting a full blingy look, this is not the highlighter for you, but if you are wanting a pretty glow to the skin, then I would definitely recommend trying this out as it is great for lighter skin tones and is very wearable.

 Carrying on with highlighters, (I am such a sucker for a highlighter), we have the Mark MagiX Finishing FX Stick (RRP £6.00). I opted for the shade Ice Princess, and there are others available, but I adore this sweet light pink with a hint of gold colour. I have really been loving cream products this past few months, and this works beautifully on the cheek bones, giving the skin a healthy glow, but a more natural finish that isn’t cakey or heavy on the skin. The FX Stick comes in a twist-up container and you get quite a good amount of product for your money. 

As I hadn’t tried anything for such a long time, I wanted to order a variety of items including a mascara, and so I opted for the AvonEuphoric Mascara in the shade Brown Black (RRP £9.00), and is also available in Black and Blackest Black but as I am quite fair, I wanted to try a lighter shade for a change. It comes in cool colour-shifting packaging and the wand itself is in an hourglass shape, which reminds me a little of the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, except with more bristles. I am really impressed with this mascara, the formula is creamy and doesn’t flake or budge and it coats my lashes evenly, adding volume and length.

 Next up is the Avon True Eye Enhancing Shadow Crayon (again, I cannot find this on the website at the moment), in the shade Soft Peach. I really enjoy using eyeshadow crayons for quick pops of colour on the eye when I don’t have time to use regular eyeshadows as they are super easy and quick to use. The formula of this one is soft and creamy and is full of shimmer to give a gentle metallic look and the soft peachy pink is a really pretty colour. I would definitely try out more of these if I could find them online.

Another item from the Show Glow collection is the Mark Show Glow Glitter Flix Stick (RRP £4.50), which is available in Flickering Pink and the one I have here, Flickering Gold. I do think next time I place an order I will definitely pick up Flickering Pink as these are gorgeous! They come in rose gold packaging and add a wash of shimmer to the eyelids, but with extra pieces of glitter too, so you get a really quick, yet effective look for under £5.00, which I think is a bargain. Just like the other Shadow Crayon, this is super soft and creamy, and they glide onto the lids effortlessly, so you are not pulling on that delicate eye area.

As I have mentioned in other posts recently, I am loving a lilac eye look at the moment and so another item I ordered is the Mark 18HR Artist Eyeshadow Ink in the shade Lasting Lilac (RRP £6.00). There are seven shades to choose from, and I would definitely pick up some more as they were on offer for £3.50 when I ordered mine. These little glass pots contain beautiful creamy eyeshadow which again is so easy to apply, yet always really effective. The shade Lasting Lilac is a pretty slightly metallic shimmering lilac with an undertone of silver, and I adore it! The formula doesn’t budge and stays in place throughout the day, and neither does it fade, which for someone with hooded eyelids, is a real bonus!

The final item I chose is the Mark Perfect Brow Crème Gel Pot (RRP £7.00), which I ordered in the shade Light Brown, and there are five shades to choose from. Normally I would go for a medium brown, but this looked quite dark in the catalogue and it works really well for me. You get a good amount of product and it is a pomade formula and so a little goes a long way. I find this easy to apply on the brows, and it doesn’t harden when it sets, so it looks nice and natural, and I find that it stays in place throughout the day and I had no issues with it wiping off or sliding down my face. Always a winner!

You can find Avon online here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx

Natasha Denona Mini Gold Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

I have really been getting into Natasha Denona products lately, especially her eyeshadow palettes. However, with all things amazing, they do come at quite the price, with her full-sized eyeshadow palettes costing over £100. Luckily for us, she does release the Natasha Denona Mini Palettes, which contain five smaller-sized pans of eyeshadows, with all of the same quality I love from her. 

This is my second Natasha Denona Mini Palette, the first one I got was the Tropic one, as it had some beautiful summery shades in there, and this time I decided to opt for the Natasha Denona Mini Gold Eyeshadow Palette as I loved the warm and cool-toned selection.

 

The Mini Palettes are neat and petite, so great for travelling with and great for not taking up too much space in your makeup collection, and the lids are see-through, so you can see exactly what is in each one without having to open up every single palette.

The Natasha Denona Mini Gold Eyeshadow Palette contains the following shades:

·         Lodge – Matte light fawn

·         Dark Sepia – Deep chocolate brown with gold micro glitter

·         D’Or – Yellow-toned gold metallic with light green and gold micro glitter

·         Bia – Light khaki green matte

·         Antheia – Khaki green metallic with shade-shifting properties 

Throughout all of the mini palettes, I do love that you get different formulas, so that you can create different looks for different occasions. The formula is second to none, and I have found that with some of Natasha’s other eyeshadow palettes, it never fails. The mattes are pigmented and easy to blend, the metallics and shimmers are buttery soft and a little always goes a long way.

I have started trying out some of Natasha’s other products, and so I will share my thoughts with you on those at some point. But for now, with two new colour story releases, I wanted to share the Mini Palette with you as they are a great way to discover the brand if you are new to Natasha Denona’s products.

The Natasha Denona Mini Gold Eyeshadow Palette retails for £22.00 and you can find it online at Cult Beauty here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx

Trying Out Dolce & Gabbana Makeup – Secret Veil & Matte Liquid Lipcolour Review

I do think there is something special and super satisfying about purchasing high-end makeup products. The packaging is always gorgeous and you feel like you have a little piece of treasure. I have never seen Dolce & Gabbana makeup in a store before, but I do live in a small town and so we don’t have a lot of options here. When I saw a Dolce & Gabbana makeup product on the Trendmood Instagram account, I thought it looked absolutely stunning, but when searching online I could only find Harrods who sold it, and they didn’t have that particular product. I am about five hours from London and so I knew I would not get to visit the store and put it to the back of my mind. However, during lockdown, I was browsing makeup and thought I would take a look on Harrods again for Dolce & Gabbana and found two products I really wanted to try and which also looked beautiful, and so of course I purchased them.

 The products are pricey, which you would expect from Dolce & Gabbana, and I love a Primark beauty find just as much as the next person, but as I said, I do love owning a few higher end beauty products. The first item I chose is the Dolce & Gabbana Secret Veil Hydrating Radiant Primer (£55.00 for 30ml), which comes in a matte glass bottle with a baroque-inspired gold lid and a pump applicator. This has a creamy texture to it, a little like a lightweight moisturiser and blends into the skin beautifully, leaving the skin feeling refreshed and primed. It has been formulated with Dolce & Gabbana’s Mediterranean Glow Complex, an exceptional synergy of natural ingredients powered by the latest technology to smooth the skin and illuminate the complexion. Once it has melted into the skin, it leaves a velvet-like feel to the skin and therefore foundation applies beautifully over the top of it. It is luminous on the skin, but without having any shimmer or sparkle to it, and it keeps my skin feeling hydrated throughout the day and my makeup in place. Is it worth £55? I would say yes, it is, because not only is it doing the skincare thing, where it is helping to hydrate the skin and protect it, but it also helps to make your foundation and therefore, makeup look better.

My next purchase was the Dolce & Gabbana Dolcissimo Matte Liquid Lipcolour and I am not ashamed to say it was the packaging that attracted me! This is the prettiest lip colour packaging I have ever seen, and the peonies and roses are just beautiful, and I would definitely feel all posh and shwishy taking this out of my handbag to apply on an evening out. Sad, but true. On to the negative, this costs £36.00 – was I mad? Yes, it was during lockdown. However, I don’t regret it because it is something I will treasure for a long time to come, even when the formula has gone out of date. I chose the shade 02 Caramel, and it did look lighter online (why don’t I ever learn haha), and I would have preferred a lighter shade so that I could wear it more on a daily basis, but it is still a pretty pink nude shade and very wearable, if a little deeper for me for during the day than I would have liked. The wand has a flat double-sided sponge applicator that has a slight tip so that you can line the lips with it and so it is easy to apply and comfortable to wear as the formula isn’t dry like with some matte lip colours. The formula made from a nourishing oil concentrate and so that’s why it keeps your lips in good condition whilst providing long wear for most of the day.

I would definitely love to try more Dolce & Gabbana makeup products, but as they are pretty pricey, it will be more of a once-in-a-while treat, but I will be sure to let you know how they perform the next time I pick some of their products up. You can find Dolce & Gabbana beauty online at Harrods here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation Review

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation was released quite a while ago, and I had wanted to try it at the time, but at £43.00 for a 30ml bottle, I wanted to wait and see others’ opinions first. Especially considering they have only released one other foundation previously, which is the Stick Foundation at £27.00. However, I did my research and watched some You Tube videos and decided to try it whilst one of the beauty websites had a discount code.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation is available in 50 shades, and as I was buying it online, I checked out the Foundation Matrix and entered a foundation I already knew suited my skin tone and was recommended to be shade 200W in this foundation. 200W is for light skin with a neutral golden undertone, and whilst I do have more of a red undertone, I still find this works pretty well for my skin tone, especially given there was 50 shades to choose from and otherwise I could have gotten it very wrong! 

Firstly, this is a medium-coverage foundation which gives the skin a luminous finish, and therefore if you have super oily skin, I would not recommend this for you. The foundation comes in a rectangular glass bottle with a black lid and a pump applicator. The formula is quite creamy but still lightweight and helps the complexion to look fresher. With this being a medium coverage formula, I do find that it manages to conceal the redness I get on my cheeks without it looking cakey on the skin. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this being a luminous foundation, for example, if it would have any shimmer in it, but it doesn’t and I don’t know how it does it, but it does give a fresh, healthy glow to the skin and I do love how this looks.

 I find it lasts all day, and I do get a small amount of oiliness on my T-Zone towards the end of the day, but I get that with nearly all foundations, other than matte formulas. I tend not to wear matte foundations all that much because I do prefer a more luminous look, and I just apply a little bit of powder late afternoon if I am going anywhere other than home that day. I really do like this foundation, but I don’t know if I would repurchase simply due to the price and there being so many other new foundations to try all the time. But, if you are looking for a luminous, healthy-looking foundation, then I would definitely give this a try.

 You can find the Anastasia Beverly Hills LuminousFoundation online here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx

My Current Pixi Beauty Picks

Pixi Beauty is one of my favourite beauty brands, as they offer skincare and makeup products, and are always coming out with something new and exciting. I placed a little order online about a month ago now and wanted to share some of my current Pixi Beauty favourites with you all.

The newest arrival from Pixi Beauty is the Pixi Skintreats Dream-y Mist (£16.00 for 80ml), which is a multi-use, deep sleep-enhancing elixir and I definitely needed some of this. I have mentioned this a lot, but I rarely get a good night’s sleep and find it hard to switch of at night, and so this has really helped to relax me on an evening. The formula contains natural aromatics, such as Jasmine and Lavender, which are renowned for their soothing and relaxing qualities. The mist is infused with humectants and antioxidants for maximum restorative benefits and can either be used as part of your skincare routine or spritzed on to your pillow before bedtime for a gentle calming effect. I like to use it both ways, but I especially love the way it feels on my skin, refreshing, but super soothing and it smells absolutely beautiful, as I am a huge lavender fan anyway. The mist comes out finely, but covers the face too, so you only need a spritz or two per use, and so this will last you a good amount of time, especially as you only need to use it on an evening.

Pixi fairly recently released a Vitamin C collection, and Vitamin C is great for the skin to brighten the complexion and so I wanted to pick something up from that range and opted for the Pixi +C Vit Glow-y Powder (£14.00) in the shade Peach Dew (the only shade in this specific collection). This super soft and silky Vitamin C infused radiance powder adds glowy look to the skin and brightens the complexion. The formula is made from natural mineral powder that contains antioxidants to help energise the skin whilst also creating that beautiful natural luminous finish. I love it that Pixi combines both makeup and skincare into one product! If you have deeper skin, then this will work beautifully as a highlighter, however I have a light skin tone and so I couldn’t wear this as a highlighter, but it works beautifully as a blush as corals and peaches work really well for my natural colouring.

My final favourite of the moment is the Pixi Beauty Glitter-y Eye Quad (£14.00) in the shade option RoseBronze. There are two other shade options available, a blue theme and a gold theme, but I am loving lilacs and pinks at the moment so this one had my heart. The packaging is simple, as with the majority of Pixi products, but that is one of the things I love about the brand, as you can see what is in the palettes without having to open them up every time. This cute quad contains four pressed glitters, and whilst they don’t have shade names, this colour theme contains a multi-tonal candy pink, a rose gold/pink mix, a pure red and a multi-coloured pinky lilac. Just the lightest touch will pick up enough glitter per application, so don’t go pressing your fingers in there, as these pressed glitters are exceptional quality and a little goes a long way. I think the red I would save for Christmas time, but the other three are completely wearable year-round and the bottom right is the one I have been choosing the most. 

You can find Pixi Beauty online here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx

Pop Beauty Lightshow Eyeshadow Palette & Prismatic Pop Illuminating Powder Review & Swatches

I haven’t tried anything from Pop Beauty for quite a while – I have only seen them online and not in stores and so it isn’t a brand that comes on my radar a lot. However, when I saw the Pop Beauty LightshowEyeshadow Palette and the Prismatic Pop Illuminating Powder on an American You Tuber’s channel, I knew I had to try them for myself.

The Pop Beauty Lightshow Eyeshadow Palette (£16.00) comes in cool chrome packaging, and the palette itself has a see-through lid, which I really like as then you can see immediately which shades are in there when it is in my eyeshadow palette drawer, rather than having to open each one up. The palette is a nice neat size and so it would be perfect for travelling with, as well as not taking up too much room in your makeup collection. Inside, you have 12 eyeshadows, featuring mattes, metallics, shimmers, glitters and multi-tonal shades. There are warm tones, cool tones, greens, pinks, golds and neutrals, so you are getting a lot of variety for your money. 

There are no shade names with this palette, but the shades included are:

·         Multi-tonal pink, gold, cream

·         Light champagne shimmer

·         Pink and gold glitter

·         Terracotta matte

·         Rose pink metallic

·         Multi-tonal cream, brown

·         Gunmetal grey, pink, gold glitter

·         Multi-tonal cream and peach

·         Cool-toned brown shimmer

·         Forest green metallic

·         Warm, deep red metallic

·         Green, blue glitter

The metallic shades in this palette are something else, they feel like butter when you are applying them to the eyelid, and I love how different the multi-tonal shades are. It really does make for an interesting palette, and I think this could work all year round as you have the more neutral shades with golds and champagnes for summer, and then those deep greens and reds for the colder seasons.

Then we have the Pop Beauty Prismatic Pop Illuminating Powder. This retails for £16.00, which for the size and compared to you being able to get an eyeshadow palette for the same price, I do feel is slightly pricey. There are eight shades available and I ordered Stellar Light as it looked a really pretty soft pale pink on the website, however when it turned up it is actually a rose gold shade, so I was pretty disappointed with that as most of the time I have quite fair skin and tend to go for a lighter highlighter like a baby pink. However, I do have a bit of a tan at the moment, so it isn’t all bad. The formula is ultra-light-reflecting and gives an ethereal finish to the skin, giving you a gorgeous glow to the skin without being glitter-heavy, so enabling a healthy, pretty glow without the disco-ball effect. The Powder feels soft on the skin and very lightweight, with a little going a long way. I will definitely have to look into where I can see Pop Beauty products in a store, as they have lots of products I would love to try, but I would prefer to see the shades in real life, unless it was an eyeshadow palette. 

You can find Pop Beauty online here.

All the Loves,

Kathryn xxx