The Makeup Revolution 25 Window December 2016 Advent Calendar
I think I underestimated how long it would take to photograph, test and evaluate all of the products contained in the December 2016 Makeup Revolution advent calendar. Saying that, not only have I thoroughly enjoyed trying things out and learning more about them, but it’s been fun to open something other than tiny chocolates on the run up to Christmas!
So it’s taken me a while to write this post and complete all the images I needed for it (and by a while I mean it has taken weeks of photograph, both taking and processing and swatches and product testing). Weather (for lighting) and health (I have had two very nasty bouts of colds in the last 6 weeks) have also been against me.
So I do apologize now for the video that I made, I am still uploading it because I put so much effort into it!!! But the quality isn’t that good, so you have been warned! I wish I had a soft box! I will place the link at the end of the post for those who want to see it. But the main thing is that I truly hope you like my photography, I have spent many hours on these images…
Where to start! I will begin by telling you all how impressed I was with the way in which the products were packaged, and how fabulous the design of this calendar was, even though there was nothing hugely special about it. The black and rose gold colours made it stand out and it wasn’t over the top like some brands are. You would have thought it would have been heavier too, but the whole set was contained in a large stand-able box, with a fold in the centre so it could be stood up or lain flat as well.
The nature of the rest of my post will be to go through the items within this years calendar (2016) and to give each item the attention it deserves. It will be numbered by how it came out of the box, and if I have used it the item will be reviewed individually. Any product information will be contained in the photographs, if you would like further information on anything please leave me a comment declaring the question and which number of item.
After all of the 25 items have been listed, I will give an overall impression and opinion of the best products. And finally I am going to end with some swatches and colour correct photographs for you.
Full List Of 25 Items
1. Lipstick – Beige in Colour
A very nice colour of lipstick, one I will use again.
2. Brush – Foundation
This brush can double in use and is easy to store and clean because of its size. It has white bristles with a subtle hint of pink from the centre. Looking more glamorous than you would think for the price, it’s an ideal item for handbags.
3. Anti Shine Balm
4. Strobe Balm
5. Lipstick – Hot Pink
6. Brush – Face Brush
This brush is great quality and has lovely soft bristles. Great size for your handbag or for taking on holiday. The rose gold is a lovely addition for a little glamour.
7. Baked Blush – Hard Day
8. Lipgloss
9. Lipstick – Nude in Colour
A great neutral shade of lipstick, ideal for many looks.
10. Mono Eyeshadow – Paper Luxe
A wonderful pale eyeshadow which is ideal for layering looks and a great base coat for eyelids.
11. Lipstick – Purple
12. Eye Primer
13. Bronzer
14. Mono Eyeshadow – ‘New Tral Red’
Such a nice shade of red, it had great staying power through a whole day and I was impressed with the quality.
2g Pot of Eyeshadow.
15. Compact Mirror – black colour with slogan ‘join the revolution’
16. Baked Highlighter
18. Brush – EyeshadowA lovely little brush, great size for doing eyeshadow on eyelids.
19. Mono Eyeshadow – Velvet Luxe
Great travel size.
2g Pot of Eyeshadow.
20. Mini Angled BrushPerfect travel size brush, soft bristles.
21. Baked Blush – Bang Bang You’re Dead
22. Liquid Highlighter
23. Lipstick – Deep Red
24. Lipstick – Cherry Purple
25. Redemption Palette
Contains 12 Colours ranging from a silver/white through browns and golds to black (see swatches below).
Staying power was very good, tested over an 8 hour day. The darker colours were more visible, easily blend-able.
Contains a double brush inside the palette.
Only weighs 14g so ideal to carry around or on holiday.
There was only one thing missing from this wonderful variety of makeup items, and that was a makeup bag to put it all into!
The Items I Am Most Impressed With
The three items that I have enjoyed the most from this advent calendar are the Redemption Eyeshadow Palette, the Mono Eyeshadow Pots and the Mini Brushes.
When you look at how many items you receive for the price paid, I think the calendar is an excellent idea and a great way of trying things new. What you can use for the money as well, is pretty excellent, there isn’t anything that I definitely won’t use ever. And if I find I won’t I can always gift them away to friends and relatives who would use the products.
So let me talk about the colours in this calendar, I am now going to show some swatch photographs of the lipsticks and the eyeshadows. I know that some colours won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s important to outline what you are getting, and packaging sometimes gets in the way of that. I will show Lipsticks, Two of the Mono Eyeshadows, and the Redemption Palette.
My Overall Review is 4/5
Value for Money 4/5
Quality of Products 4/5
Variety Included 4/5
Thank you for reading this review today, I hope that you have enjoyed the post and the many many photographs too. I had a lot of fun making them!
Anyone who would like any further information on any of the products please leave me a comment. You can check out the Makeup Revolution website the link is below, as is the link to my video.
✩ Sabrina ✩
Check out the Makeup Revolution Website here https://www.tambeauty.com/en/Revolution-Makeup/b-6.aspx
Check out (sorry for the quality) the products video over on my YouTube here https://youtu.be/0LGSWk_3k0Q
At the end of 2016 I took myself off to my local TKMaxx store because I felt I needed to tidy up some areas of my home. Some much needed storage was needed in the bedroom and the bathroom.
The Black Woven Tub
The Grund Box (Triple Clear Plastic)
The Debut by Danielle – Two Tiered Organiser
My Overall Review Scores Are;
I hope you have enjoyed the reveal of this advent calendar, and if I use and am impressed with any of the products in the future then I shall do a follow up post.
In October I went to Paris with my best friend who is a makeup artist. I took her advice on products as I went around Sephora with her on the Champ Elysees. I treated myself to several lovely items, some pencils, and a gorgeous makeup bag, as well as some makeup remover, all of which I am very happy with the quality of.
I sampled some great perfumes while I was at Sephora too. I placed the sticks into my bag, and it made all of my purchases smell gorgeous!
I was very lucky as well that when I mentioned I was a blogger while paying, I was also given some samples from Nuxe to test. Once thoroughly tested I will be doing a separate blog post on them.
Here are the sample swatches of the pencils that I bought (top to bottom).
My Questions
I was most impressed with the MUA eyebrow pencil and brush, easy to apply and soft. I can imagine me using it again, especially when applying a full face of makeup.
If you want to follow Megan on social media for great makeup tips and photographic posts then please click on the links below to see her various pages.
Recently I was especially lucky to win some Elizabeth Arden products all the way from Dave Lackie in Canada. It’s always exciting to get post but more so when there is an airmail sticker on the front!
I prefer the more nude and brown shade of lipstick, the pinker shade just doesn’t go with my complexion sadly. However the brown compliments both the colour of my skin and lips, and enhances my natural look. See for yourself in my swatch and application on my lips below.
Here are the two swatches and lipstick shades next to one another, as you can see a complete contrast, one subtle and the other vibrant. They are soft but have great staying power, a lipstick that looks like a gloss.
I want to thank Dave Lackie for holding such incredible competitions on both Twitter (where I won) and on his blog. If you wish to check them out for yourself the link is below 
Recently I was sent some Chanel samples, and I was so impressed with both of these scents that I have decided to review them and explain what goes into making each of the fragrances.
Chanel ‘Coco Mademoiselle’ is a more bold perfume designed for the confident woman. This scent features notes of Jasmine, Rose and Orange. An oriental and fresh smell that is meant to be worn by those who are strong and independent. The inspirations behind the fragrance stem from the personality of Gabrielle Chanel, and the vibrant and sensual notes of it make this perfume unique. I loved that it smells like nothing that I own already.
Both of these perfumes are rather different in taste but I enjoyed wearing both of them. I feel that the Chance Eau Tendre is more of a scent that I would wear for shopping and time spent with loved ones, where as I am more likely to wear Coco Mademoiselle on a ‘date’ night.
Thank you for reading this review today, I hope you have enjoyed my opinion on these two scents. And remember that perfume smells different on everybody’s skin, so make sure you try before you buy by visiting your local perfume shop or cosmetics store. And don’t forget to #TakeYourChance on perfume to find one that suits you 🙂
I was extremely lucky recently when I won another bloggers competition where she was giving away a Limited Edition Urban Decay Eyeshadow Vault. I didn’t own anything like this so I was amazed at the quality and the amount that I received in this prize.
The vault was rather heavy when I unpacked it, and it was displayed in such a professional manner, with a sleeve covering the box. I was pleased to find inside 20 individual eyeshadow pots and the vault itself decorated in a unique way. The lid even stays up by itself! I will list the pots and names with colour variants later on in this post, but for now I want to review the box as a whole.
I won this incredible looking vault as a prize, which was a collaboration between Urban Decay and the blogger Michelle at her blog Thou Shalt Not Covet (link at the end of this post) but this Limited Edition vault is worth approximately £195!
My two favourite shades out of this whole collection are Solstice and Rockstar (swatches above). I love how deep and vibrant these two colours are, one red based and one purple based.
Here is an example of the size of the pots in my hand.
These pots are great for taking away with you if you plan to wear one shade of eyeshadow for a weekend for example. The convenient sizes and shapes make for easy transportation in makeup bags, then you can store the whole vault together in the mean time. Though I now need to get a bigger makeup drawer after getting mine!
Thank you so much for reading this review, I have been impressed by the quality of the Urban Decay Eyeshadows, and I want to thank Urban Decay and blogger Michelle for the opportunity I had to win this great prize. You can find the links to the websites below.
This seller also sells a set of a sun, moon and star, as well as just a star and moon. I like the pieces in my next picture because it means you can add a further earring of your choice if you have a third piercing, or that you can just wear the two stud types if you only have two piercings in your ears.
More earring stud styles available from this amazon uk seller include Hearts, Stars, Moons, Circles, Triangles, Round with Silver or Cubic Zirconia and other symbols and shapes (such as the feathers/leaves in my image below). You can see the full range by visiting the sellers amazon page (links at the end of the post).
Here are some images of the earrings in my own ears to show sample sizes, I do have quite small ears, you can normally find specific sizes on the sites that you purchase jewellery from.
Another site that I have previously purchased earrings from is Cherry Diva. They have a variety of sterling silver items for sale. These arrow earrings are fabulous, unique and highly detailed, I like that these kind of earrings can make your ears seem unusual because of the shape and orientation. You can wear them at whatever angle you please to suit your lobe shape.
If you’re headed abroad it’s always interesting to find some local and contrasting products to what might be available to you back home. I was very grateful to my friend for getting me these pieces to try!