One of my favourite things as a beauty blogger is to find products that I really love but that seem to have gone under the radar. I am very critical on beauty products, as I feel with so many on the market, we want to make sure that we are spending our hard-earned cash on products that deserve the spend. So when I find something good, that not only I like but that seem to have gone under the radar, it is like hitting blogger gold!!
Over the past few weeks, I have been trailing a number of products from the brand L.O.V cosmetics. While I was trailing these products as part of a collaboration, I honestly feel I have found some gems! In fact there is one product that is very close to reaching holy grail status already!!
L.O.V is available from Shaws Department Stores and pharmacies nationwide including Adrian Dunne, Lloyds, McCabes, Cara, Health Express, Wards Longford, Kissane’s Tipperary, McGorisks Athlone, Walsh’s Loughrea and Donal McGoey Pharmacy Ardee.
18h Long – wear Eyeliner pen
Let me start with what I can only describe as an absolute gem of a product. I am every critical on eyeliners as not only do I want them to be long wearing but I don’t have time in the mornings to spend hours perfecting my flick, so I want my liner to be easy to use too. That is exactly what I got from the 18 hour long wear eyeliner pen. Hand on heart, I am literally blown away by how good it is.
Let me start with how easy it is to use. On first use I found the nib a little on the stiff side and thought that it might be one that you need a steady hand with. However, this literally glided onto my lid. It was so easy to use, especially when it came to creating that steady line on the actual lid itself. The thickness of the nib meant you didn’t have to build up to a decent level of thickness but instead one swipe of the pen did that for you.
Even though it is easy to use, what really blew me away was the longevity of this eyeliner. Honest to god, I have genuinely never worn a liquid / pen liner that stayed as black as this one does . It is black from the minute you put it on to when you take it off. It isn’t just black but it is jet black too!
I can’t sing high enough praise for this liner. This post wont be the last you hear about it from me either, as those of you following me for a while know that when I really love something , you hear about it again and again!
The 18h Long – wear eyeliner pen costs €8.45.
HD Matte Bronzer
When it comes to a bronzer, I always tend to favour a matte bronzer. I find that a matte bronzers is way better for contouring out your cheekbones. It gives a much better illusion of cheekbones rather than a product with a bit of a sparkle in it.
When I initially looked at the colour of the L.O.V HD matte bronzer in the pan, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be for me. It looks a little more on the orange side in the pan. However, it was absolutely beautiful on the skin! It blended really beautifully. I really liked the fact that while it packed a good bit of colour pay off, it wasn’t full on when you first apply it but rather is builds up to your desired colour. I also found that it wore really well throughout the day.
At €9.95, I really don’t think you can go wrong with this. Since I received it for review, I have reached for me it most days, as because it can be worn natural, it is perfect for work.
The Undressed – 12hour Moisturising foundation
This is yet another product that I was pleasantly surprised with. I’m notoriously hard to please when it comes to foundation. I want something long wearing, with a decent level of coverage but I don’t want to feel it on my skin.
I found the Undressed foundation to be a lovely medium coverage. It felt lovely and light weight on my skin and blended in really well. It didn’t sit on my skin but rather felt lovely and light. I found it easy to apply and I didn’t need a huge amount to achieve a medium coverage.
While I did look like I had foundation on, it wasn’t obvious but rather looked quite natural. I would be inclined to say that the finish was more of a satin look. I wore the shade fair dream which is the lightest shade from what I can see and it gave my face a lovely warmth. For reference I would be somewhere around a Mac NC 25 and I found that fair dream was a close match to that, if a tiny bit warmer.
While the shade range isn’t amazing, I think if you can get a colour to match you this foundation is well worth picking up. A 30ml bottle will cost you €11.95.
The L.O.V Forbidden Dramatic Volume Mascara
If I have said it once I have said it a hundred times. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a good mascara and this mascara is my case and point. The L.O.V Forbidden Dramatic Volume Mascara is an absolutely fantastic mascara.
What I love about this mascara is how effortless it is. With one application you can achieve both length and volume. As you can see from the pictures, I have rather stubby lashes but with this mascara I achieved some really decent length! Not only that but I found that my lashes held the length, volume and curl throughout the day! Hand on heart I loved this mascara.
The Forbidden dramatic volume mascara costs €9.95.
The SMOKYaffair Dramatic eye pencil
I love smoking out my under eye to give somewhat of a more dramatic effect to my makeup. During the day while I always wear liner on my bottom lash line, I like it to be a little bit more subtle . While at night I want full on vamp. Thankfully I can achieve both with this liner.
I have been wearing Mystical Ariadne for a number of weeks now and I am really loving it for a number of reasons. First off the colour is different to anything I would normally wear. It is a very dark almost khaki green. It sounds odd but it is actually perfect if you don’t want to go full on black. This colour gives you the smoked out look without the harshness that a lot of black can sometimes give on the bottom lash line.
Secondly I found that not only was this soft on application but it lasted really well though out the day without moving half way down your face! I will say there was one thing I didn’t like and that was the applicator. I am just not sure what way to use it, as it is exactly like a lip brush and was far too harsh to use around my eye. That wasn’t a deal breaker at all as personally I didn’t need the applicator as the liner itself was perfect.
There are only 4 shades available but at €7.95 each I will 100% be picking up more.
Colour and care lipstick
Thank god more brands are releasing normal lipsticks again. I don’t think my lips can take anymore liquid mattes! Right now, while I still want longevity with my lip products, I am all about comfort! I can’t be dealing with dried out lips anymore.
The L.O.V colour and care lipsticks are actually a really beautiful lip product. They feel really creamy on the lips yet are still long wearing. Due to the ingredients, which include kendi oil and hyaluronic acid, they are really comfortable and don’t feather into any fine lines.
They come in two finishes a subtle shine and a semi matte finish. I have been trailing a number of the subtle shine finishes and have reached for them a lot over the past few weeks.
There are 14 shades in the range with Saneia’s Fuchsia and Miriam’s Rosewood being my favourites. You can buy these lipsticks for €11.95.
.
