NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes Review

Hi!
Today I am reviewing NYX's Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade Cannes. I love how these shades have been named as they are all after cities. I'd love to be able to wear each colour in the city its named after. I bought this from ASOS for £5.50 but you can also get it from Boots and other places online.
I hardly ever wear lipstick because I struggle to find colours which suit me. However, I have been wanting to try the matte lip trend for a long time. I've heard lots of good things about these lip creams so I'm going to give them a try.

First of all, it smells amazing! It smells like Vanilla. It applies smoothly and evenly. It takes a little while to dry completely matte. It doesn't feel too drying. It looks darker on the lips than it does in the tube. For me this is a my lips but better shade. I wore this whilst wearing no other makeup 😮 but it actually made me look quite put together. I can't wait to wear this with a full face! The only bad thing about this product is that it didn't last that long so I had to keep reapplying it.

Not a great photo but you get the idea!

I am definitely going to try some of the other colours in this range! This was a really good introduction for me to the matte lip trend. Overall, I'm going to rate this 4/5.

Thanks for reading,

Ellie

MUA Elysium Palette Review & Swatches

Hi,
Today I will be reviewing MUA's Elysium palette. I love how affordable MUA is and how their makeup is such good quality for the price. This palette contains 10 shadows and costs £6.
Elysium is an unusual word, it comes from classic mythology to mean the place people go after they die. The colour names follow this theme.

With flash

Without flash

So lets start on the swatches, the first five are more suitable for the daytime, while the next are better for a more glamourous night look:

L-R: Air, Cherub, Charm, Astral, Grace

Air: Air is a subtle matte nude colour. It is not very pigmented but would be good to brighten up the corners of your eyes.
Cherub: Cherub is the least pigmented shade here. In the palette it is a very sparkly light pink but it comes out more nude and less sparkly on the skin.
Charm: Charm is a matte dusty rose colour. It looks darker in the palette. I think if you are pale (like me!) then this could also double up as blush in a pinch.
Astral: Astral is a rich, deep glittery pink in the palette, which translates to more of a peach on your skin. I was the most excited about this colour, so felt a bit let down by the real colour.
Grace: Grace is the most pigmented of this five. Its a dark shimmery brown that comes out the same on the skin as it is in the palette.

L-R: Refine, Entrance, Adore, Smoke, Seraphic

Refine: Refine looks like a dark terracotta pink in the palette, but shows as more a mauve on the skin. I've found that it is good for putting in the crease.
Entrance: Entrance is the most pigmented of the shimmery shadows in this palette. It is a brown with hints of gold but seems to lean towards purple on the skin. This pairs well with Refine.
Adore: Adore is a dark purple with a hint of shimmer which is not really visible on the skin. It is the most pigmented shadow in this palette.
Smoke: Smoke lives up to its name, it is a smoky grey colour on the skin, however in the palette, it is a matte black. It is not very pigmented, so you would need quite a few layers to get an opaque black.
Seraphic: Seraphic is a beautiful shimmery bronze which is the more or less the same in the palette as it is on the skin, although maybe less shimmery.

This palette also comes with a double ended eyeliner and highlighter pencil. I have not used this yet although from swatching, neither are very pigmented and the highlighter is very soft as the tip broke just from swatching. I was not pressing very hard. Personally, I don't think the highlighter suits my skin tone, but for others I'm sure it would be fine.

These eyeshadows need to be worn with a primer because they do not have good staying power and tend to crease easily. I have noticed a massive difference between wearing them without primer and with. I've been using Urban Decay's eyeshadow primer which has also enhanced their colour.

In previous MUA palettes, I've found the shadows to be more pigmented and have more staying power. However, with primer this is a really pretty palette which gives you the freedom to create both day and night looks.

Overall, I would give it 3 stars.

Thanks for reading,

Ellie