The Ultimate Travel Palette?

M&S Limted Collection Face Palette

I bought this palette a while back in Marks and Spencers after admiring it for a while. I don't normally think of make-up when I think of M&S, despite the fact that I own a couple of makeup pieces from there. I swatched this in the shop and instantly fell in love with some of the shades. It is split in to two draws and features 18 eyeshadows, 3 blushers, 12 lipgloss/lipsticks and a bronzer. I also love that it has such a large mirror which is perfect when doing my makeup on holiday. 

Top Draw

Eyeshadow Swatches

The eyeshadows are generally pigmented, soft and blendable; and I love that it has so many different colours, including a couple of matte browns. Unfortunately, my swatches don't do some of the shades justice, but they really are very pretty (my favourite is the moonstone/shine colour in the top left! There is a range of finishes, including; matte, shimmer and glitter. there is a little fallout with some of the shades, namely the glitter, but I can easily overlook that! I would recommend just getting this palette for the eyeshadows. 

Blushers (top draw)

There are three blushers in this palette, which make beautiful everyday shades. There is a peachy coral,a baby/light pink and a brownish orange. Honestly, I truly can't see myself ever using the bottom shade, but it would probably look a lot nicer on someone with darker skin (I'm very pale!) Although I love the top two shades and find them pigmented, the pans are just too small for a blusher brush in my opinion, without getting blusher in the shadows.

Bottom draw

Lip colours

In the bottom draw, there is 12 lip colours, a bronzer and 3 applicators. The only applicator that I would use out of the three would be the lip brush (unless you rock the stripy look- then totally give the blusher/ bronzer brush a go!) But, to be honest the brushes in most palettes are not of much use, so... 

I do think that the lip colours could be more of a variety as some are very similar, however, there are some very nice colours and I have used some of these several times, despite preferring conventional lipsticks.  

Bronzer, swatched and blended out

For me, the bronzer was a complete miss, I found it far too orange and the powder went in the lip colours every time I tried to apply it. 

Overall, I think this palette is great for travelling as the variety of eyeshadows lends itself to many different looks. I also love some of the lip colours and blushers, so I do think that it is a must have for anyone who regularly spends a weekend away. Oh, and I was saving the best for last... it's only £12.50! 

Packaging: 7/10

Eyeshadows: 9/10

Blushers: 6/10

Lip colours: 7/10 

Bronzer: 4/10

Price: 10/10

Revlon Shadowlinks

Melon, Oyster and Plum 

So, I'd seen these a couple of times in boots before and had been intrigued- but a little too busy to stop and gaze at the colour selection! So, about a week ago, I was in Boots when I saw their 3 for 2 offer, so of course I had to pick some up! Normally they are £2.99 each which I don't think is too bad a price. They contain 1.4g of product (or 0.05oz) - and lets be serious; how often do you use up an eyeshadow? They had a large colour selection, with a turquoise colour taking my eye; I decided against it as I sadly have far too many blue eyeshadows for a blue-eyed gal- but maybe next time, eh? 

(My rubbish swatching!)

 I decided on a matte purple- Plum; a metallic white- Oyster; and a satin coral- Melon. The oyster really caught my eye for an inner eye shade and the purple looked lovely for barbecues etc in the summer and autumn. I was most excited about the coral shade as I had wanted to create a pretty summery eye a couple of weeks earlier, only to find that I was severely lacking in any coral eyeshadows. Melon is a gorgeous orange with gold duochrome, oyster is a glittery white, whilst plum is a mauve mid-dark toned purple. 

For me, the biggest disappointment is the oyster. I had to swatch a few times to get the colour to show up properly and I felt that it was a bit patchy, however, I think it looks lovely all over the lid over Benefit's eye cream in bikini-tini. With a primer, (I used Urban Decay's primer potion) these shadows are pigmented and have good staying power. I tried using the melon shade with a primer and it just brushed away when I tried to blend- you definitely need an eye primer with these! 

 

Un-Linked!

What initially attracted me to these was the clever packaging- I thought it would be perfect for travelling, plus, I'm a sucker for funky things like this! I do love the packaging, it's sleek and simple and feels quite sturdy.

 Final Verdict- I'm certainly going to buy more of these! I love the design and the colours and when worn with a primer, these are lovely eyeshadows! 

Thankyou for reading, what are your thoughts on these and what colours would you recommend? I know I want to try 'Taupe'!