Review: Collection Lasting Perfection Foundation

I was in a bit of a rush picking a cheap temporary foundation recently and I quickly chose Collection’s Lasting Perfection Foundation (£5.99) based entirely on my love for the concealer equivalent of this product which is wildly raved about. I’ve tested this over a few weeks now and my expectations were initially low; however I have been pleasantly surprised so far and I use it daily at the moment. The packaging is nice considering the product is so cheap and it comes with a pump as standard. It has SPF 20, not great with flash photography, but good news for skin protection.

It claims to provide 16 hours of long-lasting full coverage. For me this certainly lasted on my skin all day and provided a nice full, matt coverage. This definitely isn’t for those girls who like a natural looking finish though; it can occasionally go a tiny bit cakey if not blended fully and it can highlight some lines and wrinkles but overall it does have a nice finish to it. It is oil free so great for those of you who have oily or combination skin! I have dry skin and find if I have particularly dry patches it can highlight this but this is mainly down to skincare and preparing my skin in advance, it’s nothing a little bit of primer won’t sort!

My main problem with the product is the colour range. There are only six shades available so it may not suit every skin tone. I went for number 2 – though number 1 didn’t look much lighter at all! This is a little too dark for my pale skin tone and can look a little orange if not blended properly (ew) but I’ve began mixing this with a little leftover maxfactor foundation that was far too light for me and have found the perfect combination for my skintone.

All in all, this is worth every penny! If you like a heavy-duty high coverage foundation that lasts all day then you have nothing to lose. My advice would be is to make sure your skin is in good condition and to spend a little time making sure this product is blended completely! With a little perseverance I made this product work for me and now I’d definitely repurchase this as a go-to product when I need a little more coverage.

Too Faced: Look of Love Kit

I was in town doing a little bit of shopping yesterday and making the most of the nice weather! I popped into Boots to pick up a new mascara as my usual favourite Too Faced lash injection mascara was running out. When I got to the Too Faced counter there was a special offer which caught my eye - the too faced look of love kit! I had never seen this kit before so I assume it is a fairly new addition to the Too Faced range which I absolutely adore. The kit contains a full-size lash injection mascara, a full-size shadow insurance eyeshadow primer, a small tube of primed & poreless primer, a full-size lip-gloss, a kabuki brush and a compact containing a mirror, two eyeshadows and a blusher. Priced at £36, I was almost instantly convinced into purchasing it as the contents itself is worth nearly £80 if purchased separately!

From my own experience of this product, and from reading other reviews of this product, the Shadow Insurance does exactly the same job as Urban Decay's popular primer potion! It could even be said that as it is in a tube it is much easier to get the most from the packaging as opposed to Urban Decay's rather problematic packaging that requires the effort of de-potting to the most out of it. This kind of product is what I would say is a must-have, especially if you wear eyeshadow as part of your everyday make-up like I do and want it to last all day long without touch-ups!

As previously mentioned, the lash injection mascara has been my favourite mascara for about 6 months now! It gives my eyelashes amazing length and volume without being clumpy or turning flaky! Admittedly, it does smell quite strong when applying but once applied to the eyelashes there is no smell whatsoever. It usually retails at around £16 so was definitely a great deal as part of this kit, although it does last a very long time.

This lip-gloss in the shade barely legally is possibly a new favourite. It is a gorgeous shade, doesn't feel too sticky and has a slight plumping effect. The plumping effect does leave your lips feeling a little tingly but not sore like some other plumping glosses can feel. If anything, i'd compare it to that pleasant tingle that products containing menthol gives! Apologies for the swatch, I haven't quite gotten used to using my camera for things like that!

The compact was what pushed me to buy this set! The two eyeshadows are gorgeous neutral shades which could be used both for everyday make up or for getting glammed up for evening. The blush looks a little harsh in pictures and in the pan, however, once applied it blends beautifully, although it may not be suited for all skin tones.

As for the face primer, I haven't had a chance to test this out properly but it seems to be of a nice consistency, although the tube supplied in this kit is rather small! To be fair, primer isn't the sort of product I use everyday so I'm not too disappointed!

Overall, this kit is fantastic value-for-money considering all the products it contains, which are all of great quality and that I will definitely be using every day!