Veil Cover Cream- A Miracle Worker?

It has been a few months since I got my hands on the Veil Cover Cream Demonstration Kit* and the reason this review has been so long in the making is that I've never tried a product like it so had to learn how best to use it and really put it to the test. The kit contains 20 different shades of the cover cream and a translucent setting powder. If you've never heard of Veil before- you need only Google it and proceed to sit in awe at the before and after shots.

The shades I found to work best for my skin tone were natural medium and medium, although I did delve into some of the scarier shades like yellow and green for colour correction. I was pleasantly surprised with the sample size of each shade because you need only the tiniest amount of product per application so I can see even the Demonstration Kit lasting a really long time. The product has an unusual texture- its solid in the pot but turns into a thick cream on fingertips. The heavy duty consistency means that it camouflages imperfections but also blends extremely well into the skin really nicely and feels light. Other products such as blush also apply well on top. It smells slightly waxy but its not unpleasant or off-putting.
Veil Cover Cream is a product that falls out of the typical makeup categories. It is neither a foundation or a concealer; it can work as both simultaneously and either or. I've used it on top of my foundation in place of my usual Collection concealer and it did the job nicely. For best effects though, I think Veil Cover Cream should be applied as as a complete base in itself. Most effective application is with fingertips in a patting manner and then blending the edges with a really soft brush such as the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. 
Before I go on to sing this product's praises finish-wise, I'll give a quick run down of a couple of negatives I encountered. Firstly, I didn't get on too well with the translucent powder because it is loose and I had trouble getting the right amount on my brush. I instead opted for my Rimmel translucent pressed powder and that mattified perfectly well. Secondly, I didn't think it was as good at covering fresh blemishes as it was in covering marks and scarring. 
With regard to finish, this product really surpassed my expectations. While the scarring I have is mildish and now mostly confined to one cheek, I regard this cream as an absolute miracle worker in covering my red marks. Not only does it last the whole day, but it doesn't become greasy or crease around the eyelids; quite a feat for my skin. The versatility of this product is just so impressive: it can be used for an all out flawless makeup look, a quick fix for popping to the shops, a crazy Halloween look or, according to their website, tattoo covering. This is the most airbrush-esque, camouflaging product I've ever come across. If you have any kind of old acne scars or discolouration I would 100% recommend you try this. 
*This item was kindly sent to me for consideration for review. All opinions are my own.

Benefit The Bronze Of Champions

I think every beauty blogger/ makeup lover is partial to a bit of Benefit. From their unique packaging to their quirky names and overall quality, they’re definitely a popular high end brand. Their beauty kits are an especially big hit- and for good reason. You get to try out a selection of minis for the price you would pay for one full size product. And in all fairness- the minis aren’t even that mini- you more than enough to give the product a good test run.

 ‘The Bronze ofChampions’ Total Bronze kit for eyes, lips and cheeks contains some of Benefits best love products: Hoola Bronzing Powder (with brush); Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Hoola; Watt’s Up! Highlighter; Creaseless Cream Shadow in Bikini-tini; Longwear Powder Shadow in Thanks a Latte; and They’re Real! Beyond Mascara.

The products come in a handy little box (magnetic- so it can stand upright on a shelf without things falling out), some ‘Tips and Tricks’ cards and even a large mirror (which I have actually just this second discovered- I’ve been missing out all this time!)  This also means that the kit is perfect for travelling.

Watt’s Up is one of the standout products of this kit. It is so creamy and silky. It has become my second favourite highlighter (after MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle). The only gripe I have is that if you apply a little too much, it visibly ‘sits’ on the skin rather than sinking in.

Hoola bronzer is another ultimate favourite of mine. I might cry when this runs out. Its the best product I’ve found for contour. You can apply it really subtly or go all out. The Hoola lip gloss isn’t such a winner. It is nice enough but not being a fan of lip glosses, I wasn’t blown away.  It also doesn't give much colour pay off on my lips because they’re quite a deep pink. It does smell really good though.

I never had much drive to try Benefit eye shadows as there isn’t a ton of hype surrounding them so I was very pleasantly surprised with Bikini-tini and Thanks a Latte (loving the names also). The cream eye shadow is a beautiful base which definitely prevents creasing (major thumbs up from me and my oily eyelids). It is similar in colour to Watt’s Up but lighter and pinker and the formula isn’t as dense but can be built up. The powder eye shadow is also impressive: well pigmented, has a beautiful gold base shimmer and a long wear time.

Finally, They’re Real Mascara-which I posted a rave review of last year but have since had mixed feelings towards. Yes, it volumizes, lengthens and frames the eyes exceptionally well but on me, it smudges and is such a pain to remove. I’ve found Lancome Bi-facil or Bioderma are the only things that can get it off without residue/ too much hassle.

I’ve done a little FOTD to show you what the products look like on. On the left I’m just wearing my usual base and on the right I’ve used all the products from the kit.

While I don’t solely rely on all these products on a day to day basis, they’re certainly lovely and the kit gives good value for money. It has allowed me to discover brilliant products I wouldn’t have otherwise tried and the quality of each product is of a high standard.

Have you tried any of these? Which Benefit Kit would you recommend I try next?

Quick Updates & Blog Makeover!

Hi everyone!


Hope you're all good! I can't believe I'm at 42 followers, it's amazing thank you! I've had a super busy week as you can tell with my lack of posts but I'm going to try and pre-write a few tonight so I'll have a few to publish during the week. 

One of the reasons I haven't been posting this week is that I've been working really hard on this new layout. I have honestly chopped and changed about 5 times but I am now really happy with what I have. I am so happy with how it has turned out, I think its more 'me' now!

I've also added my own twitter and bloglovin' buttons in the sidebar, and let me tell you- writing the HTML for those was not a walk in the park!

I only have two more tweaks before I'm finished and that's adding a 'Hair' page and a 'Disclamer' which shouldn't be too much trouble. I've also changed the header (quite an obvious change), the background, the sidebar background (not sure if I'm 100% happy with this yet), I've added a little divider between posts and I've changed my signature.

So I thought I'd mark this little occasion with a post to share the before and after pictures, so here they are:

Before:

 

After:

So now that I've got the perfect layout, I'm back to posting yay! Can't wait to get into it as I've got so much to show you all, starting with my Soap & Glory haul yesterday. 

That's all from me for now!