British Beauty Invasion

Let me preface this post by saying that it's going to be primarily pictures with fairly little text. I can hear you guys groaning from "Ughhhh, PICTURES? You just expect me to look at pictures of fun and wonderful makeup without words to accompany them?? Please be more inconsiderate." /s

I just received a box of goodies from my Cool British Internet Friend (from here on out, CBIF) and I wanted to get this posted immediately before I decimate all of these products by playing with them all weekend. I'm one of those people who has had such great experiences with people on the internet that it's sometimes hard for me to remember that there are assholes out there that want to screw people over. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe I know how to weed out the creeps, but CBIF is indeed one of the awesome people and was so incredibly generous in her offer to send me some goodies to play with. I did pay for a lot of the stuff, but CBIF also included some items that weren't working for her so that I could try them out. CBIF, you know who you are and again, thank you for being the coolest.

How did this all start? I saw a post on Reddit about some Kiko palettes that reminded me of a Chanel palette that I wanted but at a fraction of the cost (and with about three times as much product). After some chatting back and forth, CBIF agreed to get me said Kiko Palettes since they aren't available in the US. Then it kind of exploded into other great brands that are available in England (well, the UK) but not in the US and things got kind of magical.

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks: Fuchsiaristic, Nudist, Bashful (L to R)

First up are these three gloss sticks from Soap & Glory. Now, Soap and Glory is not exclusive to the UK, but the US doesn't carry all of their products. You can buy these from Sephora, but the color Bashful is not available in the US (Fuchsiaristic & Nudist are... which I did not know! Learn new things every day). 

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks: Fuchsiaristic, Nudist, Bashful (L to R)

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks: Fuchsiaristic, Nudist, Bashful (L to R)

In the swatches, Fuchsiaristic and Bashful look fairly similar, but in real life, they aren't very similar at all. Fuchsiaristic (which pulls crazy neon coral on me... and I like it) is much more orange based whereas Bashful is much softer and pink. You can see that the gloss sticks are very shiny and I'm really digging that they have shine but that they aren't sticky like a typical gloss. My biggest complaint with lip gloss is the stickiness that they have, but these are completely different. After a few hours, the shine does fade, but nothing a quick reapplication won't fix. 

Bourjois Color Boost in Peach on the Beach and Red Sunrise

These lip colors are something that I had never heard of, but I'm really happy that CBIF sent them. Bourjois is a brand that many of you will probably recognize since it used to be sold in the US and more specifically, Sephora. However, Sephora stopped carrying them a few (...probably more than a few) years back. You can still get Bourjois products in the US, but you have to find an independent store that sells the items or buy them through Asos. 

Bourjois Color Boost in Peach on the Beach and Red Sunrise

Bourjois Color Boost in Peach on the Beach and Red Sunrise

I've only swatched these colors, so I can't tell you too much about them. They apply beautifully to my hand and Red Sunrise stains my skin. They are advertised as waterproof 10 hour color and that they have a gloss finish. They seem really nice, so I'm excited to play.

Soap & Glory Fabulipstick

These were the other two items that I was originally planning on getting. Months back, I saw British bloggers and internet folk swatch these and talk incessantly about how amazing they are. I love matte lips (ok, I just love lip color) and I heard that these were some great matte lipsticks. These are another product of Soap & Glory, but these lipsticks are not available in the US.

Soap & Glory Fabulipstick

Soap & Glory Fabulipstick in Pom Pom and Blush Pink (L to R)

Like I said, I got this box of goodies last night, so I haven't been able to use everything even though I was tempted to put it all on my face at once. I didn't even swatch these until I took the photos so that you could revel in their pristine beautiful condition with me. Aren't they gorgeous? 

Soap & Glory Fabulipstick in Pom Pom and Blush Pink (L to R)

So far, these feel great on my hand and I'm hoping that they feel just as great on my lips. 

Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow

Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow

Another Bourjois product! I was really happy to see a lot of Bourjois since it's a brand that I do truly like. I used to buy Bourjois when it was available in the US. Then, when I lived in France, I used to fawn over it but was far too poor to ever buy anything.

Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow

 This cream blush has the best texture that I've ever felt on a cream product. I don't own a lot of cream blushes because I find them to be sticky or too dense to be used effectively, but this is fantastic when swatched. It has a slick feeling to it when first applied, so I assume that it has silicone in it, but it dries down to a powder. Absolutely wonderful.

Kiko Color Fever Palettes

Kiko Color Fever Palettes

Kiko Color Fever Palettes in Unexpected Rosy Taupe and Coral Burgundy (L to R)

And finally, we're to the Kiko palettes that prompted all of the madness. Is it cheesy to say that I was a little taken aback when I first opened them because I thought that they were that pretty? Well too bad, because that's how I felt. The colors are gorgeous and they swatched nicely on my skin. I love that the palettes don't come with applicators because they are a bit large and I think an applicator divot would have increased the size in a bad way. Just a huge mirror in the palette and I like it!

Kiko Color Fever Palette in Unexpected Rosy Taupe

Unexpected Rosy Taupe has a bit more shimmer to it than the Coral Burgundy palette does, but these are fantastic neutral colors that I can reach for every day. The darker brown shade didn't swatch well on my hand, but I think it will apply well to the eye. I swatched these products last, so my hand was a bit raw and had remnants of other products; not great on my part, sorry!

Kiko Color Fever Palette in Coral Burgundy

And this beauty. If you are in the UK and don't have the Naked 3 but love rosy shades of makeup, I would highly suggest picking this little palette up. All of the colors are beautiful and you could easily create a multitude of looks using this. I am actually going to film a Valentine's Day makeup tutorial with this palette this weekend for my international crowd! 

If you guys have any questions about the products, please let me know as I would love to help you get better acquainted with these products.