Nothing excites me more than a brand new Makeup Revolution release.. what can I say? I’m an addict. When I saw that they’d launched a collection of matte blushes, I was extremely excited to try them, especially as I don’t like shimmery blushes. The Makeup Revolution Matte Blusher Collection consists of six shades, with each shade costing just £3 which is insane as each of these blushes contain a very generous 8.9 grams of product.

 

 I really love the packaging of these blushes.. slim, circular plastic compacts with clear lids so you can easily see which shade is which. The packaging feels very sturdy, and has a nice and secure closure so I’d be more than happy to carry one of these in my makeup bag without worrying about it getting broken or opening and getting damaged.

 

I really like the range of shades they’ve chosen for the collection, as they’ve not gone for the typical pinks and peaches.. there is genuinely a shade for all skintones, and as you can see from the photos above, there’s some seriously bright shades which you rarely see within the drugstore and certainly not at £3 a pop. I really hope they extend the shade range even more, and perhaps consider ‘duping’ some of the crazy shades within the new Urban Decay Afterglow Blush Collection.. I’d love to see Makeup Revolution create a purple blush like Urban Decay’s Bittersweet.

 

 

All six shades of the Makeup Revolution Matte Blusher Collection are incredibly pigmented and you only need to tap your brush into each blush very gently as the pigment is so strong. The blushes all feel really silky and smooth, with an almost velvety consistency which only kicks up a little bit of excess powder when using a fluffy brush which really surprised me, as cheaper blushes tend to be quite powdery. I find all six shades easy to apply, but the three bolder shades (New Rules, Dare and Divine) do need a little more extra work, but that’s the same for all brands with bright blush shades in my experience. The weartime is very impressive at a minimum of four hours across all shades, but I can clearly see them on my cheeks upto six hours later, albeit a little faded but for £3 you really can’t complain.

 

Until trying these blushes, Sleek were my favourite drugstore brand for blushes but these have definitely taken over.. they are incredible blushes, and the shades are all so pretty. My favourite shade from the collection is Beloved as I love a good peachy coral, but I really like how Divine looks against my pale skin. I have to admit I’m a little intimidated by New Rules as it’s almost red, and reminds me of a slightly pinkier version of MAC’s Frankly Scarlet Blush. I cannot recommend these blushes enough.. £3 is beyond amazing for blushes of this quality, and you can buy all six shades for £18 which is the price of just one MAC Blush, and the pigment and quality really does give highend blushes a run for their money. Even though I’m a real matte blush girl, I’d love to see Makeup Revolution release a collection of shimmery shades too, especially after being so wowed by their Matte Blusher Collection.

As I finished YR11 over a month ago, I have had a lot more time on my hands and tried to do more things that I never do. One of these things is baking. The recipe I'm about to share with you is my perfected chunky chocolate cookies! - They are just THE BEST COOKIES EVER!

 

 

 

200g butter

300g caster sugar 

1 large egg

275g self-raising flour

75g cocoa powder

a little dash of milk 

a large bar of  [any kind] chocolate ( I also use chocolate buttons as well ) 

Sometimes I add Daim bars instead of choc for a yummy toffee crunch!

Pop your oven on to 200 degrees celsius 

Cream together your butter and sugar 

Crack in your egg

Stir in all the dry ingredients

Add a dash of milk if your mixture is looking dry

Break up all of your chocolate and throw it in, using your hands to get it into the dough

Line 2 trays with baking paper (the cookies will spread in the oven so don't place them close together)

Pick up a 10 small handfuls of cookie dough and place them onto your trays

Pop them into the oven for 11 minutes - I have found this to be the perfect baking time.

 

When you get them out they will not look cooked, it is vital you know this, as it will be very tempting to leave them in for longer and then they'll be hard and overcooked once they are cool. Just take your cookies out after 11 minutes and leave them to cool for about 30 minutes.

 

Now enjoy a deliciously warm, melt in your mouth cookie.

 

Hope you enjoyed this different type of post I would normally write. If you enjoyed this, leave me suggestions of posts you would like to see in the comments.

 

I’ve tried a lot of different beauty boxes over the years, and so far my first Cohorted box has impressed me the most; and one I will be purchasing every month.

 

 I had so much trouble trying to order the box last month, as the site crashed over and over again, and by the time it was back online all the boxes has sold out. I was really disappointed by this, but tried again this month and was lucky enough to get July’s Cohorted box. This month the boxes didn’t sell out even nearly as quick as the previous months, it seemed that they had added more boxes available to buy. I hoped that this wouldn’t affect the quality of the items in the box, but I fear it might have slightly…

 

July’s Cohorted Beauty Box Contained;

 

This palette by Diego Dalla Palma is my favourite item within this months Cohorted box, and one that I’m really impressed with. It contains 6 eyeshadows, a lipstick and an eyeliner – a beautiful collection inspired by Snow White & The Huntsman. This isn’t something I would usually pick up myself, however I actually love it and know I’ll get use out of everything within this palette – and I think that’s the beauty of these kind of boxes. The lipstick, which is aptly named ‘Wicked Queen’ and is worth £15 alone, can be picked up separately from here. It’s a bright, blue toned red, which is great for making your teeth look whiter, and would look lovely on all skin tones. This has very quickly become my favourite red lipstick, due to its gorgeous shade, high pigmentation, comfortable formula and great wear time. The 6 full sized eyeshadows included in this palette are also right up my street, with 3 shimmery shades, and 3 mattes – perfect for both a day time or night time look. I love how they’ve named these shades – Snow, Shield, Mirror Mirror, Fairest, Destiny and Battleground, as they fit really lovely with the theme. A black eyeliner is also included, named ‘Dark Night’, which has a long wearing formula and is soft enough to apply comfortably, but also hard enough to get a good, defined line. This palette retails for £25, which is more than the cost of the Cohorted box, but if the contents were sold separately, it’s actually worth over £100, which is incredible value.

I’ve never actually faked tanned before (shock, I know), but it’s something I’ve been wanting to try out recently, so I was glad to see this St. Tropez lotion within this month’s Cohorted box. It’s a gradual 4 in one tan, which is said to help with tanning, toning, firming and moisturising your body. I’m trying to lose some weight at the moment, as well as toning myself up so this again, has come at the perfect time. St. Tropez are one of the biggest players in the Tan ‘game’, so I think it’s a great brand to be included within the Cohorted box. I’m impressed that it’s a full sized bottle (150ml) and is worth £20 – considering the box itself is the same price, so you’ve already made your money back with this product alone. I’m really looking forward to giving this a try, I’m hoping it will give me that summer glow that I’ve been yearning for. 

I’m a huge fan of anything matte, whether that’s lipsticks, eyeshadows or sports cars, so I was excited to see this nail polish from Nails Inc within the Cohorted box. This bright, hot red shade is from their London collection, and is named Gatwick – after the airport, which is the one I actually usually travel from. As all matte shades, this won’t last as long on your nails as a regular nail varnish, as the consistency is completely different. It dries really fast, so you need to be quick when applying so you don’t get streaks, but again this is another general trait of matte nail varnishes and isn’t specific to this Nails Inc polish. You’ll only need two coats of this as it’s really pigmented and is fairly thick. I really love this shade and the finish, so I’m looking forward to wearing this, and pairing it with the Wicked Queen lipstick from the palette also in the Cohorted box.

 

This Gucci body lotion is my least favourite item within the Cohorted box, and one that I’m actually really unimpressed with. Firstly, mine was really dirty, and seemed like it had been sat in a box in mucky, dusty box in a warehouse for years – I don’t think that matches up to the ‘luxe box’ that Cohorted offer. Secondly, this size lotion isn’t actually available to buy alone, which makes me think that they’ve just separated all of the perfumes and the accompanying body lotions from a gift set (like this) and sent those out. Since there was no sample of the fragrance, I think that defeats the object of the lotion, as it’s supposed to be used to layer up the scent. I’m not a huge fan of body lotions anyway, and I don’t like the scent of this at all, it’s too floral and over powering for me. Unfortunately Cohorted, I’m not impressed with this product and won’t be getting any use from it.

 

I’ve got mixed opinions on July’s Cohorted box, I really can’t make my mind up on it or not. The box itself retails for £20, and this month’s it is worth over £63. That is great and all, but I don’t think that it compares to a lot of the previous boxes, usually worth about £90. Don’t get me wrong, I really love the palette, and I know I’ll use the nail varnish and the St. Tropez tan, however I just don’t think that this box matches up in terms of quality and products to the previous months. Cohorted have had a lot of complaints about how quickly the boxes sell out, and how they’re aren’t enough available to everyone. I fear that they may have compromised the products inside this month’s box, so there was more available to sell. Good business for them of course, but not as good for me as the consumer. I’m going to try and get my hands on the August box and see how that compares, I honestly hope that this month has just been a blip, but we’ll have to see…

  

 

What do you think of July’s Cohorted box? Would you have been impressed with the contents? What’s your favourite beauty box?