EMPTIES LATELY: MAKEUP HITS & MISSES FEAT. HIGH END & DRUGSTORE

It's truly a sign of spring coming when we start clearing out our wardrobes, houses and makeup vanities. I thought I'll come to you with my recent empties (and couple of - can't use this stuff anymore's). We've talked skincare empties last week - POST - and today, we'll concentrate on makeup. There's a lot to go through so without further blabbing, let's have a look what I loved (and not so much) in the recent months.

PRIMERS

I have couple of primers to share with you today. Primer is an important step for me, it preps the skin for foundation and should extend the wear of your makeup. I say should, because none of the examples below did that.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - RPR £29.00

I liked it but didn't love it. Yes the gel formula glides on the skin and smoothes it out slightly but I expect the primer to extend the wear of my makeup and this one just did not. There's a lot of better ones out there, Too Faced Hangover and Becca Backlight Priming Filter to name the two that work so much better on my dry skin. I didn't find Laura Mercier smoothed my pores too well either. It's a very basic primer with a hefty price tag. I may try a different one as this one will probably more suited to combination skin, but for now, I love my current primers too much, too even consider getting a new one.

Freedom Makeup Priming Water - RPR £6.00

Obvious duper for Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water, this fine mist refreshes before makeup application and even takes away the powdery textures when applied over makeup. I didn't think this extended my makeup wear, but I loved using it especially in warmer months. For dry skin types you should enjoy the extra level of hydration it gives. I personally used it quite a lot and quite enjoyed it. I really want to try Smashbox one next, but with quite a few face mists currently in my drawers, I probably should wait. Freedom Priming Water also worked as a mist to moisten the eye brushes for pigment application and at this it was excellent. It's very comparable to MAC Fix + in this aspect. Thoroughly enjoyed using and at the price point, very recommended.

FOUNDATIONS

I have a couple of super lightweight formulas to share with you, both of which I enjoyed using. There's one that disappointed me a little, due to how quickly I've used it up, but both have a light formulas which will suit dry and dehydrated skin. None will offer you an incredible coverage, but are great as a daytime base.

Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue* - RPR £27.00 - POST

I adore this stuff. For days where I'm into minimal makeup or for hot summer days, this is the formula I always choose to go for. Super lightweight, it also works as a moisturiser. It has a super light coverage but with right tools it's build able to light medium. I find a fluffy flat top works best with it and offers better coverage than any other method of application. It evens out the skin tone well, but for redness cover you'll need a concealer. For those minimal makeup days and when my skin is looking particularly well, that's my go to base. I went through few of these already and already have a new one which was kindly gifted to me during an event.

L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion - RPR £14.99 - POST

(SAVE 15% with Feel Unique - CODE 2F6KMW43VB)

I've waited for what seemed a long time for this foundation to launch in UK and got it super quickly when it has. I loved the build able medium coverage with a super dewy finish which I prefer. It's really a great foundation for every day use. The shade was ever so slightly too dark (shame on you L'Oreal) but due the sheer formula it was easy to make it work. I love the packaging and application was a joy. I used the same brush as I would with Complexion Rescue - POST - as I prefer this particular brush for sheerer finishes. Let me explain why I don't think it's worth it's price and consequently why I will not repurchase. There's very little of the foundation in the cushion and I kid you not there was none left after 4 weeks of use (not even every day!). Because of the sheer formulation, I used to built it up ever so slightly but that's still not excusable for the foundation to finish in less than a month. Shame as I really enjoy the finish it gave my skin.

POWDERS

This little pot was a true joy to use and lasted surprisingly well. I remember getting it from America having watched one of Tati tutorials and never looked back.

E.L.F HD Undereye Setting Powder - RPR £4.50

It's with the true sadness I say goodbye to this little guy which served me so well in the past. It's a super finely milled brightening under eye powder. The price is incredible as the formula is actually really good and sets under eye concealer well. There's a little bit of micro glitter within this powder, which sounds worrying but it's never showed on my skin. Great for baking or gently sweeping the under eyes with. It's so inexpensive but totally worth trying. If your budget's low but you want a quality setting powder for your concealer, I highly recommend giving this little gem a try, especially given E.L.F is now widely available in UK.

BROWS

It can't come as a surprise that I'd have not one but five brow products emptied. I rarely do makeup in my empties for one and second I use a lot... LOL. I love good big brow and have been blessed with natural brows that are actually quite amazing (especially given the horrendous plucking in my teens, right of passage right - looking at you crazy beautiful teens of today with perfect contouring skills and I sigh).

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Permament Taupe - RPR £4.99

This is where my real journey with brows begin. I used cheap & cheerful pencil before this until one day I saw it being used in a tutorial. I managed to buy it (it was constantly sold out) and started my journey with learning to fill in my brows. It's not as easy as it sounds and I only just recently became happy with my brow shape. So if you're struggling with your brows, my advice is, don't give up. Formula is perfect and waterproof and colour will suit blondes well as it's truly greyish taupe. I haven't finished this one up but it's now old and dry so I decided to let go. I'll remember it with fondness as at the time, there were no brow pomades available in drugstore.

Eye of Horus Dual Brow Perfect* - RPR £15.00

Sadly I can't recommend any of the two sides of this brow pencil. The shape reminds me a lot of ABH or recent Benefit launch and the shade was also perfect, light taupe. However that's where it all ends for me. The pencil side was super dry and keep breaking. I must have used it a total of 3 times until it just broke and that was the end of it. It's a real shame and maybe I had a bad batch here, but it really put me off trying anymore. It's not the cheapest product at the end of the day. The second side hides a clear brow gel. The brush is small enough and makes for an easy application. However this gel isn't strong enough to keep my long and unruly brows at bay. As you can see, in theory this is a perfect product , sadly in practice it just didn't work for me.

Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil - RPR £20.00

I have received a sample of this pencil included in one of magazines before the launch of the new brow range by Benefit. The formula is creamy enough and coats the brows well. What I'm not a huge fan of is the shape of the pencil, I prefer the thin ended ones and sadly the shade. I got mine in 02 and whilst light enough, it's also very yellow in tone. I would have preferred more taupe in this. It's definitely not a bad product and would suit someone with really light brows much better. Mine are very cool toned and this was visible a bit. I used it up, as again, it's not a bad product, but I won't be repurchasing. I loved it for a bit but after a while it stopped working for me.

Benefit Gimme Brow - RPR £18.50

I never understood the hype behind this product. That is until I tried it. I get it now. It definitely earned the cult status. As with the pencil Gimme Brow was included in one of the magazines and I got mine in 01 Light. I adored this. It's a brow gel formula that works great at brushing the hair due to super mini wand and it coats the hair with fibres, making your brows appear fuller. I loved to use it at the front of my brow, brushing upwards. Brilliant little product that's certainly worth the hype. Is it worth £20.00 mark? Probably not but I'll surely repurchase it as some point.

ModelCo More Brows - RPR £13.00

A cheaper version of Gimme Brow with the formula similar as it coats the brows with lots of fibres making them appear fuller. It's also pretty great at keeping them at bay and I loved using it. So much I have now a new one, this time in the Light shade which is more suiting to me, but I remember using Medium and I made it work. The wand is also small making for a precise application and I really thoroughly enjoyed using it. Worth checking out, if you fancy Gimme Brow but not willing to splurge on it just yet.

EYES

As usual few mascaras and even a liner in my empties. I loved one of the mascaras and liked the other so it's mostly positives here. Which ones will I re-purchase, if any?

Clinique Quickliner For Eyes Intense - RPR £16.00

Must be a first black liner I've ever finished up. I don't use black liner too much, I prefer beige in my waterline and rarely do a line on my lids due to how hooded my lids are. However this was the most pleasant liner. It smudged perfectly and also kept at bay all day long. I tend to use it in the outer corner as a way to make my eyelashes appear fuller and also as a base for darker colours. I really enjoyed using it but I'm still on a lookout for something which would last on my waterline a tad better for intense evening looks and this is not it. I liked it but I won't be re-purchasing it. If you have any recommendation for super lasting waterline black liners, I'm all ears :)

No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara - RPR £11.50

Surely not the cheapest drugstore mascara, nor is it the best out there. Mascaras are such personal choice and what works for one, will not for others, however this mascara, whilst ok in general, didn't wow me entirely. It had the luck of being used at the time, I preferred to keep my lashes very natural and it works great as such. Lashes are super defined, there's a slight lengthening action going too, but simply not enough volume. To be fair to it, it's not really advertised as such and as I mentioned before, it's your personal choice, so I'll leave it up to you. It's just not enough for me.

L'Oreal False Lash Sculpt Mascara - RPR £9.99

(SAVE 15% with Feel Unique - CODE 2F6KMW43VB)

Slightly cheaper than No7 and simply the best mascara I've used in a while, drugstore wise. It coats the lashes entirely making them appear fuller, it lengthens slightly too plus given your steady hand you can easily sightline with it due to the original plastic brush. It's funny how wowed I was when I first used it, but I found that you need to change this mascara ever couple of months tops, as it stops wowing the moment it goes a little dry. I'd still repurchase if I had the need but with few mascaras still waiting tests, it won't be for a while.

LIPS

I only have one contender here and sadly it's a disappointing one. For a lipstick hoarder, a total miss in this category is truly hurtful, especially when you actually like the formula and the shade.

Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour - RPR £14.00

Super creamy and opaque formula should make this gloss a perfect one to use. Sadly this was not the case. I've gotten in in one of the beauty boxes but what a true disappointment this was. The crayon stick broke all the time. The formula was too creamy and soft to make it in this format and I think Urban Decay knew that as it's not available anymore. You'd expect more from the brand and it's probably the biggest disappointment in terms of lip products from the brand. I love their lippies usually so it's such a shame this one couldn't work better. I'm not the one for using lip brush when it's not really needed and glossy formulas need to be re-applied easily throughout the day, so it's a huge no from me.