There's only a few days left before H&M Beauty hits the shelves and shakes the highstreet. Gone will be the older beauty products, only to be replaced with newer, smarter looking, better ones. I got my hands on some and I'm more than happy to share my two pennies with you.
It's been some time now that H&M's venture into a proper beauty range has been announced and I've been waiting patiently for the launch in order to show you all those lovely new shinies you can get your hands on. But first, let me share the one thing that peaked my interest. H&M is sharing the same manufacturer as MAC, same way Bourjois shares with Chanel. The added bonus, besides the very enticing price tags? They're offering cruelty free products and I've put them to the test.
Let's start with the packaging. Blacks for the eyeshadows (palettes and singles), bronzers, blushes and powders, glossy whites and golds for concealer pens and lipsticks. You could easily mix up your MAC foundation with the new H&M one, as they look exactly the same. Everything is sleek, sturdy and worthy of praise compared to the old range that was just tacky and cheap.
After putting ever single product I bought to the test I can tell you I'm impressed. Fair enough, there are some hits and misses but in general the new beauty line is worth the praise, so let's pay them some individual attention.
- All-day Liquid Foundation - 30ml - Porcelain - £7.99 (SPF 15 - Flawless finish): Colour-wise I have to admit it's the first time I've seen such a wide variety of shades and was impressed to find a shade paler than Porcelain (it's called Alabaster). The foundation is applied better with your hands rather than a buffing brush and blends smoothly, as for longevity it lasted about 6 hours on my oily skin, which I find remarkable.
- Radiant Concealer Pen - 1,5ml - Ivory - £6.99: I know it's called radiant which puts it under the highlighting concealers category, but I bought one colour darker than the foundation because I wanted something inbetween a highlighter and an actual concealer pen. Unfortunately this is one of the miss products for me. The texture is watery, doesn't stay long and gave me no coverage or radiance whatsoever. If you want a good concealer stick to well-known brands for a pen.
- Custom Concealer Trio - 2,5ml - Light to Medium - £7.99 (blendable shades, buildable coverage): Unlike the pen, this concealer trio is exactly what I hoped it would be. Not only it offers three shades to cover all your needs, it also blends seamlessly and stays long and put. Its only minus is it's too heavy for the under-eye area.
- True Matte Finishing Powder - 9gr - Ivory - £7.99: There are two varieties of powders, one to add a glow to the skin and the other to matify. Of course I opted for the second one. The reason I picked Ivory instead of Porcelain is because I prefer a neutral undertone powder than a pink one as it suits better my Mediterranean pale but neutral complexion. The powder has a little extra fallout when used but it's light on the skin and indeed made my skin less shiny, although I had to apply more than once during the day. Then again I have to do the same with any powder, so it does gain my seal of approval. Comes with a mirror on the lid.
- Solar Flair Bronzing Powder - 8gr - Sheer Tan - £6.99: If you've used the H&M bronzers from the previous line then you know they already had a recipe for success. The new ones are even better, as they've shed the extra shimmer the old ones had but still give a great colour pay-off. I'm thoroughly impressed, to the point I packed this one with me to take on my holidays. Another one with a mirror, hurrah!
- Pure Radiance Powder Blusher - 5gr - Tawny Peach - £6.99: The only hexagonal packaging of the lot comes in the form of a blusher. I picked a light peachy colour that compliments all skintones and is subtle enough if you prefer a non-makeup makeup approach. Perfect for a beginner, light to medium pigmentation so you can't go wrong and apply way too much. I'll be going back for a muted pink when I'm back.
- Eye Colour Palette - 7gr - Smoky Nudes - £9.99 (Instructions inside for 3 looks - Natural, classic and night): If you've read my previous post then you've already seen this palette there as a sneak peek. The reason I picked this one over the bronze one (there are many colour combinations mind you) is because I wanted something with an equal selection between matte and shimmery shadows. There are many looks you can recreate with this palette and you will get a nice colour impact if you use some form of eyeshadow primer, but if you don't then expect a mediocre performance. The shadows are powdery but the fallout is not as bad as other highstreet brands I've used, so all in all it's a good palette for its price tag. Has a wide mirror on the lid, perfect for travelling. What I personally believe is that it's a great pick if once again you're a beginner and you don't want to spend a bag of cash on high end brands while experimenting.
- Dipliner Ink - 2,5ml - Jet Black - £4.99: I usually buy eyeliner pens for the sake of convenience but ultimately a dipper is much better as long as you have some extra time. This one comes with a precision tip, leaves a very thin line of colour and sets almost straight away. It's not waterproof but doesn't budge and didn't irritate my sensitive eyes. Thumbs up once again.
- Cream Lip Colour - 3,5gr - 010 In a Nutshell (nude) & 041 Candy Apple (bright red) - £7.99: Give me nudes and bright colours on the lips and I'm instantly in love. These two babies are insanely hydrating, pigmented and glide on oh so easily. The bad thing with them is that they don't stay put because of their creamy texture. You need to carry them with you in your handbag and reapply every time you eat, drink or talk to much. I personally don't mind, although I prefer staining lip lacquers to them. What I do love about them though is that you can swap from one to the other throughout the day, using the nude for a morning/afternoon look and the bright orange red for a night out.
- Brush Cleanser Spray - 100ml - £2.99: Not much to say about this cleanser. It's handy for spot cleaning your brushes when you're lacking free time to do a deep clean and leaves a light scent on the bristles. Great if you know you'll be away for some time and you want to keep your brushes in a good condition, which is exactly what I did when I packed it along with the rest before I left for my holidays.
- Nail polish - 8ml - Cloudy Sky - £3.99: There is only one thing I look out for when I buy nail polish and that is longevity. If it chips after a day or two then I don't care if it's highstreet or highend, it's rubbish in my eyes. This one surprisingly survived longer. It was the fourth day that I noticed some signs of tip wear and the fifth when it first chipped. And don't you be thinking it didn't get properly tested, as I had to clean my bathroom and wash the dishes. I can't guarantee for the whole range but I know the one I got was definitely a keeper.
Dora
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