Soap and Glory 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil and Brush (Hot Chocolate)

I recently raved about the Anastasia Brow Wiz (review here ) because I loved it and I still do but the fact that I could not walk into a shop or department store to buy it here in the UK made me seek alternatives which were more accessible. That's when I stumbled across the Soap and Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil and Brush which is a remarkable dupe for the Anastasia Brow Wiz and I just had to get it and try for myself and I fell in love..

Packaging
Just like the Anastasia Brow Wiz, the Soap and Glory Brow Filling pencil comes in a slim pencil-like packaging with the brow pencil on one end and a rather nice spoolie on the other end. The packaging is strikingly similar to the Brow Wiz but it just has gold-like inscriptions rather than the Brow Wiz's rose gold one. I really like the nib of this brow pencil as it is very narrow and thin and delivers very precise strokes that truly mimic the eyebrows. Sadly, there are currently only two shades: Blondeshell and Hot Chocolate and of course, I chose Hot Chocolate (a dark brown shade) which is such an amazing match for me and it is also very similar to Dark Brown/Brunette from Brow Wiz.

Formula
The formula has a waxy consistency which I really like but it's not as soft as the Brow Wiz; it just feels a little harder which I don't mind at all. It applies really well and I find that it lasts really well on my brows although I secretly think that the Brow Wiz applies and lasts a little bit better than this but honestly, it is hard to tell. I can't really complain with the formula at all.




Application
Straight forward as always; I just draw in little strokes to my eyebrows starting from the tail and then going with lighter strokes towards the beginning of my brows to get a more natural and realistic brow and the Soap and Glory Brow Filling Pencil really helps with that. I have used it many times on it own but on some occasions, I go over with a brow powder and gel just to set everything in place but honestly, you really don't need all that with this pencil as it works really well on its own.

Price
It retails for £8 which is amazing as it is just about half the price of the Anastasia Brow Wiz and although it is may seem a little pricey for a drug store product but it is really good as expected with Soap and Glory products which I don't really classify as complete drug store products. I kinda see them as mid range products or drug store products on the higher spectrum. Incidentally, this is my first makeup I am trying from the range and I am impressed although I notice their makeup range doesn't really cater for people with darker skin  :-(. You can buy this in Boots who currently have a 3 for 2 offer on all Soap and Glory Makeup although I think this shade "Hot Chocolate" has been sold out several times because of popular demand (at least in the Boots near me).





Comparison with Anastasia Brow Wiz
1. They  have similar packaging; slim packaging, brow pencil and spoolie at the end.
2. They have pencils with narrow nibs which delivery really precise strokes for a natural brow.
3. They have a waxy consistency/formula.
4. The Hot Chocolate in Soap and Glory and Dark Brown/Brunette in Anastasia Brow Wiz are very similar
5. The major difference is the availability of shades; the Anastasia Brow Wiz has about 9 shades to choose from while the Soap and Glory version has only two.
6. Another difference is in their price; Anastasia Brow Wiz retails for about £15.50 while Soap and Glory Brow Filling Pencil retails for £8.
7. You can buy the Soap and Glory version in Boots and a few other stores while the Anastasia Brow Wiz can only be bought online in the UK (you can find it on CultBeauty)

Personal Thoughts
While Anastasia Brow Wiz still has a special place in my heart (like MAC Brow Pencil in Stud), I will be using and enjoying the Soap and Glory 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil in the interim because it delivers similar results and it is much cheaper and easily available. I hope you enjoyed this comparison and let me know if you have every tried this brow pencil from Soap and Glory?..See you in my next post...x

Revlon Colorstay Concealer Review (Deep/Fonce)

I recently wrote about the Revlon Photoready Foundation (review here) where I showed a sneak peek of the Revlon Colorstay Concealer which I have been enjoying. As mentioned in that post, I had never tried any foundation/concealer from Revlon for various reasons but when I saw this concealer in store, I knew it would be something I would enjoy after swatching it of course. So, now on to the review....

Packaging

I kinda have a thing for concealers with a doe foot applicator because I feel it delivers a better way to apply the concealer although doe foots may not be the most hygienic but I still love it. The Revlon Colorstay Concealer is really simple and I like it that way. I have not experienced any spillage as it closes really securely. I chose the shade Deep/Fonce which incidentally is the darkest shade so if you are darker than my skin tone, you may not find any suitable shade but then again, it depends on what you use concealers for. I generally have two kinds of concealers; A thicker, closer-to-my skintone and full coverage one for my dark blemishes while a lighter shade with a light-medium coverage is ideal for highlighting or concealing my under eye circles. This concealer falls into the latter category

Coverage/Application/Longevity

I would classify it as a light-medium coverage concealer which surprisingly conceals my under eye circles but can also work on my blemishes which makes it a rather nifty duo concealer for me. However, I prefer to use it to concealer mu under eye circles as it does a rather good job. Although I don't have any fine lines, I can imagine this concealer won't settle into fine lines because it does not crease at all all day in fact  I hardly remember it is there. In terms of lasting power, it is a little hard to tell and this is why. My under eye circles are really not bad at all and I can actually do without using concealers (except on days when I keep very late nights) so it lasts pretty well under my eyes and does a good job of concealing.

Price

It costs about £6.99 which may seem a little pricey seeing that you only get 6.2 ml of product but I think it's worth it. We have already established that Revlon makeup products are never really the cheapest but there are always offers in Boots and Superdrug so it is never really full price per say.  I got mine on a 3 for 2 offer so I am glad I picked up two so I have a nice little back up.

Personal Thoughts

I am so glad that I picked this concealer up even though I am not a huge fan of the Revlon Photoready Foundation which I bought at the same time. I definitely recommend this Revlon Colorstay Concealer if you are looking for a light-medium coverage concealer as it does a good job especially as an under eye concealer as it does not crease and feels super light. Hope you enjoyed this review and I would see you in my next post...x

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat Review

For a while now, I reserve painting my nails for days when I have ample time to paint them and wait for them to get dry. I rarely succeed because I always manage to smudge them in the drying process either because I have to scratch my head or do something which I should have done way before painting them. The whole process just ticks me off so I just chilled for a bit with the nail painting shenanigan. I realised that all I needed was a good top coat which was long lasting and fast drying because that would mean my nail polish would not get chipped within a few days and the chances of getting them smudged mid-dry would be less. I have tried so many top coats including high end, mid-range and drug store brands but none beats the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat which I just recently tried. I know this top coat has been raved about in the blogosphere for a few years now and I can understand why. It’s an absolute game changer and it gives the best results to my nail polish/varnish and ticks all the boxes: Glossy nails (yes), no chipping (yes), Fast drying (yes) and I can’t get enough of it. All I do is paint my nails with my nail polish of choice (I am currently loving Barry M Nail Polish in Bright Red) and I add one coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat and I am done. It dries within seconds (ok just a little less than a minute) and I am good to go.  For £9, I don’t think it is too expensive especially for the quality you get and you get 14 ml which would last a pretty long time.  It’s definitely one to try if you have not. See you in my next post...x

Weekend Trip to Glasgow, Scotland

I mentioned that I was in Scotland in one of my previous posts here and I thought it would be nice to share a few snippets of my trip with you. I had never been to Scotland prior to this trip so I was really looking forward to it. I totally love the Scottish Accent and a few of my colleagues at work are Scottish and it's always a joy hearing them speak...I digress. I was very much a tourist and wanted to do touristyyy things although I did not get to do much because it was a really short trip. I went by Coach via National Express and it was a smooth journey mainly because I travelled in the night and it was much shorter (8hrs instead of the normal 10hrs). I basically slept all through and when I was awake, I entertained myself with my iPad and iPhone which were fully charged thanks to my RavPower Deluxe Series* (review here and giveaway here). 




I went to Glasgow which is such an amazing City with lovely architectural buildings strewn all over the city. I stayed in a flat just 10 minutes away from the City Centre so I was able to walk down to explore the city and do some window  shopping. Their malls look amazing and the architecture just seemed like something you would find in Paris or Rome (Ok, I am just chatting shit now) but you get my drift...they are just so beautiful. I was surprised to find there were a lot of people in the city centre; I am not sure why I imagined it would be a chilled little city. It was fully buzzing like London would be on a good day. As always, I headed straight for their High street (where all the shops were) which was around Buchanan Street and every shop you can think of was right there!!They also had their shopping mall called Princes Square and it was so gorgeous; the building just looked so exquisite and vintage at the same time.  It took a lot of willpower and self control not to lose it but I only purchased my Whistles Small Shiny Croc Clutch (review here) *pats self on the back*. There were also so many artistic people on the high street like the man coated with gold paint freestyling on air..no gravity at all and the Scottish Lad playing a musical instrument while balancing on a tight rope (I don't know what they are called). I loved every bit of the buzzing street.

I also popped into the George Square and took some photos as you do.  Most of the pictures were of the BF and one would think he was the tourist here whereas he is the one living right there in Glasgow *sigh* and that's why I have only few pictures of me. Even though the weather was beginning to act dodgy, people were optimistic and sat around in the little park there having their lunch and drinks like though the clouds were not threatening to rain...I totally loved that!! I am really terrible at remembering all the names of places I went to but it reminded me so much of Paris and I am not sure why but I think the buildings had a large influence on that. I even saw the Clanadonia Band play authentic Scottish music which my boyfriend liked so much and was dancing along too. It was really intense and you could see the passion in their faces and voices as they played and danced to their heart’s delight.

I love how friendly Scottish people are and how jolly the seemed. It’s very different to Londoners; I guess it was mainly down to people seeming more relaxed and not too much in a hurry. I am so guilty of always being on the move/rushing/hurrying here in London and trying to navigate my way to work and back; sometimes I fail to just chill, relax and soak in the atmosphere. Sadly, I was only in Scotland for a few days (the weekend) and I had to head back to London but I will be a frequent visitor in Glasgow and I will for sure bring you along (via my camera) with me...Have you been to any parts of Scotland?..x

Video: What's in my Clutch/Evening Bag?

I am sure everyone is having a fab weekend and I thought I should add a little video/blog post to your already awesome weekend. I shared with you on Monday my little haul from Whistles where I purchased two items which had been on my wish list for the longest time. So here's a little post and video on the contents of my Whistles Clutch for an evening out. I thought it would be nice to do a little different video instead of my usual talking videos and although it is not perfect, I am quite pleased with it. You can watch the video here and subscribe to my channel here as well.


I never try stuffing my clutch because I always want to look chic and effortless and it is very hard to pull that off when you have a bulging clutch so I keep it down to the barest essentials. I just pop in my Whistles Card Holder and here I keep my Oyster/Travel card, Bank card and ID and that's  me sorted on the wallet front. Next is my Chanel Les Beiges Health Glow Powder (review here) which is perfect for touch ups and does not interfere with flash photography in case I need to take some selfies or other photos.



Next is my Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki Brush which is an all rounder but perfect for touch ups. I like that it's retractable because the last thing I want is my clutch getting stained with powder/foundation. My Perfume Atomiser from Flo always comes with me because it is always nice to smell fresh and I always top this up with my favourite fragrance or a nice mix of all my perfumes in my little perfume collection featured here. On this particular day, I wore a red lip and it was none other than MAC Ruby Woo which I have a love-hate relationship with but it has been love for a while now. Last are my Keys and my iPhone (not pictured here) which is really always in my hands. That's it folks..what are your clutch essentials?

Budget Makeup Brushes: Wilko Makeup Brush (Premium range)

I know I have featured the Wilko Makeup Brushes here and here on this blog but I bought them back in July and I have slowly but surely built up a little collection of these brushes and it took a little while to do so; not necessarily because they were expensive (they are not at all) but mainly because they were always out of stock. All that has changed now (I think) but I bought all these brushes over 3 months on separate occasions. If you are on a budget but you would like to try out some inexpensive brushes apart from the ones on Ebay, I recommend the Wilko Brushes as they are surprisingly good quality and I have been totally besotted with them.  There was not very good lighting so I had to resort to my aritificial lighting which I am still trying to learn how to work it effectively





Packaging
I love the fact that they all come in individual packaging which means they are easy to travel with and their shapes can be retained after it has been washed. It's important to keep the packaging especially if you know you are going to be travelling. Other than that, I don't think there is anything much to say about the packaging as it speaks for itself.

Bristles/Washing/Shedding/Drying
All the bristles are made from synthetic hairs and they are really soft to touch and on the skin. I really like that about the Wilko Brush. Although I would say the consistency and density of the bristles differ, as expected, depending on what kind of brush you are dealing with for example the Blush brush is way fluffier and less dense than the Powder Brush. I have washed them all a few times and I have experienced no shedding whatsoever which is rather impressive. They also wash well which is music to my ears but they don't dry quite as fast as my Real Techniques brushes but they are still much better at drying than many other brands I have tried. They are also well designed (although they copied Real Techniques Core Collection Design) and feel very sturdy which makes handling really easy and you know your brush isn't going to get destroyed if it accidentally falls on the ground or when it is being washed.




Brushes I purchased/Cost/Where to Buy
As mentioner earlier, I bought all of them over a period of 4 months and this was so because they were unavailable so I was lucky to snag anyone I saw any time I popped into Wilko. I picked up the following brushes in no particular order: Wilko Premium Blusher Brush, Wilko Premium Stippler Brush, Wilko Premium Concealer Brush, Wilko Premium Smoky Eye Brush, Wilko Premium Foundation Brush and Wilko Premium Powder Brush. Their prices start from £3 and end at £4..which is a rather small amount to pay for the quality you get. You can purchase them directly in any Wilko store (I have to say their availability has greatly improved) and online in Wilko Beauty Website. I am not sure where else they are sold but I will update this once I find out. They also have the Wilko Premium Lip Brush (retractable) and the Wilko Somkey Eye Duo Brush but I did not need them so they were not purchased. In a way I am really pleased they are sold individually because it gives you a chance to only purchase the brushes you really want!




Wilko Premium Stippler Brush (£4) (link here)
This was the first brush I purchased from the range and I have already reviewed it over here. As you would notice from my review, I was not totally heads over heels in love with it because it was a little bit too fluffy and wide to do its stippling functions excellently but I found a way around it. Sometimes, I slip a small loom band (rubber band) under the bristles to compress it and it honestly makes stippling a dream. I love it so much now. It is actually good for stippling foundation if you want a really light coverage and have some patience to work with the brush. It can be sued to stipple foundation and cream makeup like cream blushes and cream to powder foundations.




Wilko Premium Foundation Brush (£4) (link here)
Despite my aversion to flat foundation brushes, I still picked this up because I liked the way it looked and if felt less fluffy. Well..it has not changed my aversion to flat foundation brushes for applying foundation but I can see myself using this for other makeup application routines. I am not sure but the bristles feel a little different to the others and it feels much more stiffer and I am not sure if I like that or not. If you prefer using flat foundation brushes to layer foundation on the skin, you may like this brush but this is personally my least favourite and used brush out of the lot but I have used it to apply concealer/highlighter and it was pretty good so I am not completely writing this off.




Wilko Premium Blusher Brush (£3) (link here)
Again, I already purchased the non-premium Wilko Blusher Brush reviewed here and I really liked it but I thought it would be nice to add this to my collection and I am really glad I did. It feels so fluffy to touch and on the skin and I find that it really picks up and distributes my blush really well. I have also tried using this with loose powder and it is useful for such light applications. I know it's not the ideal brush for loose powder but I really like the results.




Wilko Premium Concealer Brush (£3) (link here)
I love this brush so much and I know it looks so much smaller than a normal concealer brush but it does the job really well especially for spot/small concealing. I like that the handles are really long so it is relatively easy to use. I use this for concealing any dark blemish I have on my face and I currently have two which are so dark that you would never imagine it is on my skin (if that makes any sense). This brush together with my concealer just covers the spot/blemish really well and it has made the application of my Studio Finish Concealer from MAC , which was previously acting dodgy and difficult to apply, now a dream to use. I have also used this to apply my brow bone eyeshadow and it does this really well mainly because the size just fits perfectly on my brow bone. It's a total winner.




Wilko Premium Smoky Eye Brush (£3) (link here)
This is one of my favourite brushes of the lot because it does what it says on the package and that's to create a smokey eye. Obviously, it can't do that on its own but it is a perfect smudger and I find that it is excellent for the crease. It is just the right size and fits well into my crease either to deposit some eye shadow or to blend out any eye shadow already there either ways, I love it so much and I always use it. The bristles are very fluffy and compact and I guess that's the secret behind why it works so well. There is another version of this brush which is dual ended with an eyeliner brush at the end. It's the same price as this and I guess more of a bargain but I prefer this one because I like my brushes to have a bottom to stand on.




Wilko Premium Powder Brush (£4) (link here)
Ladies and Gents, may I introduce the star of this whole collection? This Powder brush is so amazing and I can't believe it is only £4. Its bristles are so fluffy and have remained fluffy after a couple of washes which is really good in my books although it takes a little longer than the other brushes to get dry. I absolutely love this for applying powder especially my MAC MSF powder. It picks up the product really well and deposits it really well and seamlessly on the face for a flawless finish (yes, the whole sentence kinda rhymes). Although the brushes are fluffy, they are very compact and dense and I love that about it. I compared it with my Real Techniques Powder Brush and it's just slightly longer/taller and the bristles are shaped differently to the RT version. The price difference definitely makes it much easier to pick up the Wilko version and it is £4 well spent , I tell you!



That's it folks and I hope you have enjoyed this review and the pictures as you can imagine I went a lil' bit cray....have you tried any makeup brushes from Wilko?