Becca Backlight Priming Filter

Hi everyone! If you've been reading my posts before then you might have realised by now that I'm primer obsessed, I really buy into the hype and I think they are so necessary to help makeup sit better on my skin. I got the Becca Backlight Priming Filter for Christmas, I've been really wanting to try more Becca products, my favourite YouTuber Jaclyn Hill always talks about them which is kind of where my fascination started plus they always seem to have really good reviews on their products. This is one of the products that she raved about which really made me want to try it so I was so excited to get it as a present!

One thing I really love about Becca is how nice the packaging is (it should for the price!), the picture really doesn't do this justice, it comes in a really lovely frosted glass bottle and I think it just has that luxurious feel. 

It's basically described as an illuminating primer that is "the ultimate foil for dull skin showing signs of fatigue". Any products that claim to help with dull skin have me sold because that is one of things I really don't like about my skin, it just constantly looks tired and dull. It's also claimed that this primer has "ultra-subtle, soft focus pigments that blur the visibility of imperfections - refracting and diffusing light to lend skin a flawless lit from within look". I absolutely love that description, it just sounds like it will give you really lovely radiant looking skin and who doesn't want that? This is why I was so hopeful that it would live up to expectations!

I really love the thick consistency of this primer, it's so creamy but at the same time once it's blended it doesn't feel heavy on the skin at all. It's got a really nice champagne colour before you blend it, but it doesn't add any colour to your skin at all which is a bonus for me as I'm so pale at the minute and I don't want to look like my makeup is too dark for me!

You can see in the pictures what it looks like halfway through blending and then once it's fully blended. I absolutely love how it looks on the skin! I was really hoping it would live up to it's promising description and I'm so happy that it did. It looks quite shimmery in the photos however I don't think it sits shimmery on the skin, just really nice and radiant. I completely get the "lit from within" claim, it looks like you have really nice radiant skin, not that you are wearing a product that is making your skin like this. The one thing I will say is that whilst it makes the skin appear naturally glowy, it wasn't as moisturising as I thought it would be. It is moisturising don't get me wrong but I thought it would be really hydrating, when I first used it I was a bit disappointed but that day my skin was SO dry however since I've been far more consistent with a skincare routine and keeping my skin moisturised I noticed the biggest difference. My skin is still dry so if you do have dry skin I would recommend this however if it's crazy dry I would probably opt for a primer really focused on hydrating your skin. 

This was bought from Cult Beauty for £32, so it's a really expensive primer which I wouldn't really want to use everyday just because repurchasing it often would be so pricey! I think though, if I'm going to be using this a bit more sparingly it's perfect for nights out or occasions because it will make you look so glowy and radiant, or in the summer when you want that really dewy look. As far as affecting the longevity of my makeup I really don't think that this makes a difference, it just changes the appearance of my makeup instead. I would still definitely recommend though if you love the glowy look, let me know in the comments if you've tried this product and what you think!

Too Faced Hangover Primer

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to finally be writing this post because it's a product I have been after for ages but I couldn't buy it anywhere in the UK until I was having a look on Debenhams recently and saw that they had it in stock and it is the Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face primer. I have wanted it for so long because the description of it matches exactly what my skin needs perfectly, plus Too Faced has never disappointed me, it is probably my favourite brand! It isn't cheap at a price of £27 so I was really hoping it would be worth the money (spoiler: it really doesn't disappoint!)

Even before I had tried it or read any reviews on it this primer appealed to me so much, first of all I'm primer obsessed I know some people aren't too bothered about them but because my skin is problematic I think a primer can make the world of difference to how my make up looks. 

"It's infused with coconut water, probiotic-based ingredients and skin revivers that work together to boost skin's radiance, promote elasticity and help hydrate while locking down make up for fresher, longer and more flawless wear". 

For someone like me who has very dry, dull skin this sounded like my saviour, I'm always looking for hydrating, radiance boosting primers so this sounded perfect for me.

The packaging is so pretty which is just a given for Too Faced, but the interesting thing is that it looks like a very tall squeezy tube with a very big lid however this actually comes with a pump which I think is so useful because it means you can use up every last drop of product. Also you get 40ml of product which is a little bit more than the usual 30ml so whilst it is expensive you do get more product.

I absolutely love the consistency of this, it is so light and creamy but still very moisturising. I also have to point out that this smells AMAZING. When I first used it I couldn't get over how good it smelt, it has the most refreshing coconut scent however it isn't too overpowering at all, I feel like my face smells so good after I've used it! I 100% agree with everything the product claims to do, it makes my make up application so much nicer, I find it so hydrating but it also gives a really nice radiant glow, I wouldn't say it's very dewy however this may because my skin is dry but it is a really natural glowy finish. I do feel like my skin is a lot softer after wearing it as well, but it really does make dull skin like mine look so much better. I've been using it with the Too Faced Born This Way foundation and I think they are a match made in heaven! This is also perfect for when you've had a rubbish nights sleep and you can see it on your face, so I agree that it helps solve your 'beauty hangovers'. I don't feel like it necessarily made a difference to the staying power of my make up, however it did help my foundation apply so much smoother and created a much nicer base for application which is a big plus for me.

This could definitely be my new holy grail primer, if you are like me and have dull skin that needs a boost than this will be perfect for you and I would suggest you go and buy it now because you will love it! It isn't cheap but I think it is definitely worth the price, I'm so happy I've found a combination of products that give my skin a nice glow in winter because normally my skin looks awful and dry and it is so hard to find products to help combat that. Let me know in the comments if you've tried this product and what you think!

NYX Angel Veil

Hi everyone! If anyone of you read my previous post you will have seen that last weekend I was in Manchester doing some Christmas shopping, the great thing about visiting bigger cities to go shopping is that I can get hold of some products that I might only be able to find online and I don't know about you but I'd much rather see something in person before I buy it rather than get it online. I recently discovered NYX and I've loved the products that I have tried but I could only find it from the NYX UK website or on Selfridges, so when I was in Manchester and saw they had a stand in Boots I was so excited! I'm really into primers at the minute, I think when you have problematic skin like me a primer can make such a difference to your make up so I definitely buy into them, I'd heard about NYX's Angel Veil primer before and people seemed to like it so I picked it up in the shop and I have now tried and tested it to share my thoughts with you!

This primer basically sells itself on giving you that smooth velvet looking skin that everyone loves, one thing I think is lacking however is that it doesn't say what skin type it would work for and normally I've never had an issue with this however in this case sadly I did. I think it's important to bear in mind that I have dry skin and it is nearly December so it's very cold and my skin has lost all hydration and is now extra dry and when I used this primer I felt like all it did was dry me out further and I was so self conscious because you could see all my dry patches, the flaky skin on my nose stood out when normally primers I use can disguise this along with my foundation.

The primer is white and has a fairly thick consistency, once blended it becomes invisible but you can feel it on your fingers after application, you know when it's blended in but it almost has a powdery feel? I definitely had that, it was such a shame because I had such high hopes for this product and the name Angel Veil to me kind of gives off that healthy glow look but it was so different from what I imagined and I think this is down to lack of information that I could find about it.

It did have it's good points though, I felt like my makeup wasn't going to transfer at all, I could definitely tell it was going to stay put. The biggest issue was simply the fact that my skin is so dry and it just didn't work for me however if you have oily skin I think you would really like this because it will give your makeup that satin look, in the areas on my face where my skin is relatively normal my makeup did apply smoother. At £12 as well it wasn't really a splurge so I think it's worth trying if your skin is oily because you might love it, it just sadly didn't work for me. I'm still on the hunt for my new favourite primer as nothing has beat Illamasqua's Hydra Veil yet however I've got the Becca Backlight Priming Filter as one of my Christmas presents so I absolutely cannot wait to try that! Let me know in the comments if you've tried any NYX products and what you think!

Illamasqua Radiance Veil

Hi everyone! Apologises for the lack of posts this week I've had the worst flu all week, the kind where you have zero energy to even get out of bed so I've been off work and uni and thankfully I am starting to feel a bit better because it was not a good week! Before I start this post I just wanted to point out I am reviewing the sample size of this product in case anyone thinks that the product itself is just really tiny, this week I made an order to Beauty Bay and it allowed me to pick a free sample because I spent over a certain amount of money and I was so excited to see that you could get a sample of Illamasqua's new Radiance Veil primer. Hydra Veil is my all time favourite primer and I was so excited when they released Radiance Veil because I hoped to love it as much as Hydra Veil! 

On the website Radiance Veil is described as 'part primer part illuminator' and it also states that 'vitamin C provides moisturising benefits whilst the fine shimmer particles inject light onto the skin'. Being someone who has very dull skin this appeals to me so much, I love luminous skin that looks really healthy and glowy so I had really high hopes for this product and I really wanted it to be amazing! I was really glad I was able to get hold of a sample because at £32 it really isn't cheap, I find it harder to part with more money as well over a primer as oppose to say a foundation and because this is a new product there isn't much out there on how it actually performs. I really have jumped on the primer bandwagon though I love them and I think they make a big difference for me.

You can see in the pictures this product has a very thick consistency so a little goes such a long way and it doesn't pick it up too well but in the second image you can see how shimmery the product is, almost comes off metallic. To be honest and I was really disappointed to feel like this I am just really not sold on it! Because my skin had been very dry due to being ill I was hoping it would be as moisturising as it claimed to be but I didn't feel like it gave me any moisturising benefits at all and my skin still felt almost cracked and uncomfortable. It definitely does give a radiant glow to the skin though although I feel it is a bit too shimmery for me and I actually found that it didn't give too much luminosity once foundation had been applied. It's a shame because I love their other products so much and I really wanted to love this as well but I just didn't. 

I think for anyone with normal skin or anyone who just doesn't have dry skin it would be really good for you if you want that shimmery glow but anyone with dry skin I don't think it is the best fit for them. For me personally it just didn't work but everyone is different and I do think if you have good skin then this will help emphasise it and give a nice glow. It states on the website that this can be mixed with liquid foundation to customise a luminous finish, I haven't tried this yet but I think for me this would put better use to this product as oppose to just using it as a primer. I will definitely be sticking to Hydra Veil which I am still in love with and would recommend to anyone as a saviour for dry skin, let me know in the comments if you have tried any of Illamasqua's primers and what you think!

MAC Prep + Prime Natural Radiance Dupe // Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer

Hi everyone! I've been wanting to do this post for a while and I eventually got round to it, basically I've had the MAC Natural Radiance primer in the shade Radiant Pink for ages now and at first I wasn't loving it, considering it is expensive at  £29.50 so I was pretty disappointed. However as you do you go back to it a few weeks later and start to like it which I did! It is described on the website as a 'silky gel emulsion' that claims to give a 'beautiful glow'. I'm obsessed with a radiant glowy look and I think with a good foundation it does work really well. It has a bit of a mild glittery sheen to it (very mild!!) so if you don't like even a tiny amount of glitter then you won't like this but I don't mind it and I really like the feel of this primer on the skin and it does give you a nice glow. It's also great because you get 50ml in the bottle which is a lot and a little does go a long way so it lasts absolutely ages so if you are willing to pay the price it is a good investment. However I was in Superdrug recently and I saw the Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum primer which claimed to have a very similar effect and for £10.99 you can't really go wrong although it is in a smaller bottle and it has only 15ml which is a much smaller amount.

As you can see from the picture I have been using my Bourjois primer all the time and I'm nearly out so I may have to repurchase. Anyway I actually love the Bourjois primer as it's affordable and gives a really similar effect to the MAC primer, a nice healthy radiant glow and this one has no glitter in at all so a lot of people may prefer this down to that alone. 

In the swatches above the MAC primer is on the left and the Bourjois primer is on the right, you can see they are different in colour, whilst the Bourjois primer comes in one colour alone there is two shades for the MAC primer, radiant pink and radiant yellow, I have the shade radiant pink and I think this is the only shade that the Bourjois primer would work as a dupe for. The MAC product is lighter in colour whereas the Bourjois product is more peachy, however both are sheer so to me once blended into the skin there is no colour difference between the two. 

Again in the picture above MAC is on the left and Bourjois is on the right, you can see that when you begin to blend it there is a noticeable difference in consistency. I find the MAC primer a bit thicker and it rubs out quicker to be more invisible as you go on whereas the Bourjois primer is more watery. Once fully blended again they create a very similar radiant glow, I do find the MAC one is a bit better and I prefer the consistency but both do a very similar job. the Bourjois primer is a great dupe and it is much more affordable. I also find I'm reluctant to use my more expensive products on what I think are 'wasted days' for your make up, so if I am going to work or university and I still want to wear makeup but don't want to waste my more expensive makeup then products like this are great! 

I do think however it is really important to consider that although it is £29,50 for the MAC primer you do get 50ml whereas the Bourjois primer is £10.99 which is obviously a lot cheaper however you only get 15ml and you can see from the picture that I have nearly used all mine and haven't had it for too long whereas I've had the MAC primer for almost a year now and I've still got loads left! So it's definitely a factor that whilst the MAC primer seems more expensive off the bat it's definitely an investment as you will hardly ever have to repurchase. However if at the time you want something affordable then the Bourjois primer is great and I would definitely recommend. Hope you enjoyed reading this post, let me know in the comments any good dupes you've found I'm always looking for more!xxx