Top 5 Revolution Beauty Dupes

Revolution Beauty, formerly Makeup Revolution, is one of my favourite budget beauty brands. Revolution are a cruelty free, British, makeup, skincare and haircare brand currently sold in Superdrug and Ulta Beauty. Their products are both affordable and great quality and they also carry some amazing 'dupes' for many luxury beauty items. Today I am excited to share with you my top 5 favourite beauty dupes from the brand.  

Makeup Revolution Ultra Pro Glow and Ultra Pro HD Palettes

After trying a lot of Makeup Revolution products over the last few years I knew I had to try their new Contour and Highlight palettes. It is well known now that Makeup Revolution create 'inspired by' products for very affordable prices so I was excited to see these palettes. They immediately caught my eye as they look very similar to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour and Highlight palettes!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette

Anastascia Brow Definer

As someone who is obsessed with the Anastasia Brow Wiz I had a mix of excitement and worry when I got an email from Cult Beauty that the new Anastasia Brow Definer was in stock! Of course I had to try it straight away so I ordered it immediately! When I arrived I was shocked at how much bigger is it compared to the Brow Wiz. It has an angled pencil which means it is easy to create the shape you want in one easy swipe.

My Wedding Day Makeup

One thing I was certain of as soon as we started to plan the wedding was that I did not want to pay someone to do my hair and make up for the big day. I realised quickly that I just wanted to look like me and the best way to achieve that was to be my own makeup artist. Although this is something I felt strongly about I was almost embarrassed when people asked "So who is doing your hair and make up?" (a commonly asked question of a bride to be) and I had to tell them I was doing my own! They all seemed shocked as if there is no way a bride can do her own make up?!?

A Food Festival, Halloween Horror, Universal Orlando Resort and a Sephora Splurge!

Welcome to our first ‘Review of the Week’. We will not be posting these on a regular weekly schedule as, believe us, our lives are not interesting enough to do that! However, when we have something fun happening or a particularly busy week we would love to share it with you all!

A couple of weeks ago we took an impromptu trip to Orlando, Florida on a top secret mission that we will be sharing with you in the new year. Until then let us fill you in on some of the fun activities, eating and shopping we did while we were there.

We set off on Saturday morning at 10am and had a great flight in which we watched Jurassic World (fab movie!) and The Age of Adeline (excellent film, many tears were shed!). We touched down at 3.30pm at Orlando International Airport and were whisked off to our Hotel, Radisson at Celebration. We had every intention of having a night out but the truth is we were so tired that we fell into bed super early, exhausted from a busy day travelling

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

We had a full itinerary for Sunday! We purchased tickets at the gate and headed into Epcot Food and Wine Festival at around 10am. We enjoyed the obligatory Starbucks (Christmas drinks are now available!) before the stands opened and 11am we started to eat our way around the world! Wow! We had some amazing food! We have inserted a sample  of what we managed to consume above so that you can get an idea of just how much we managed to get through! If you are in Orlando during Food and Wine Festival we cannot recommend this enough as it was a really great day out. We really enjoyed the food we sampled and it was so lovely to wander around Epcot World Showcase in the November sunshine and pick out the food we wanted to taste. We especially enjoyed the cheese and wine trio at the end of the day! Once we had eaten our fill we headed back to our hotel for a nap as we had a very scary evening ahead….

Universal Halloween Horror Nights

We purchased tickets in advance for Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) as the night we attended was the very last night and we didn’t want to risk missing out. We arrived about 45 minutes before the gates opened and joined the line with lots of suitably dressed guests! As the park opened fireworks were set off and we heard chainsaws jump to life! Halloween Horror Nights is an annual event at Universal Studios in both Orlando and California. The park is divided into ‘Scare Zones’ – or themed areas where scarily dressed actors frighten this life out of you (both with and without chainsaws!) They also have themed ‘Houses’ which are based on both popular horror films and original ideas. This year they included Freddie vs. Jason, The Walking Dead, Insidious, The Purge and an original house themed around the 25^th Anniversary of HHN. We managed to see every scare zone and walk through 6/9 of the themed houses before jet lag got the better of us and we were forced to stagger home to bed dreaming of zombies….zzzzz

Shopping Craziness at Sephora

No trip to the USA would be complete without a visit to Sephora We already had a list of items that we wanted to check out and of course once you start browsing you are always seduced by other pretty items you decide you can’t live without! We were excited to see that some of the holiday sets were already released and we picked up the Sephora Favorites  Superstars  $75 and Sephora Give Me More Lip $59 (apologies that we are unable to link to this but it does not currently appear to be available online) .We love these sets as they offer fantastic value for money and are a great way to try products without having to splash out on the full size item.

After the 'snapped in the suitcase Anastacia Brow Wiz debacle' of Summer 2015 we invested in a new and intact Brow Wiz and kept it in its box for travel purposes this time (in case of snappage! ) We also managed to get hold of the coveted (and pretty much sold out) Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Jaclyn Hill Palette $49. This is a limited edition palette with Pearl/ Champagne Pop/ Blushed Copper highlighters, get it fast as it is sure to be popular! We were also delighted to be able to get our hands on the new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette which is sooo beautiful! It is available in the UK from Space NK and although it is a little pricey at £65, in our opinion it is worth it as it has been used every single day since its purchase!

We will be dedicating a whole post to some of our new Sephora purchases soon including photographs and reviews once we have tried and tested them for you all! Watch this space for details!

 

An Epic Universal Orlando Day

 

To finish off our incredibly busy week we decided to dedicate a whole day to visiting the Universal Parks - Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios the day before we flew home. After an early lunch at Bread Box we started off in Islands of Adventure which was so much quieter that it was in August when we last visited! We rode some of our very favourite attractions including Spiderman and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey before jumping on the Hogwarts Express to Universal Studios and riding Escape from Gringotts. We couldn't leave without paying a visit to Mummy and Transformers (another two of our fave attractions!). We left in the early evening totally exhausted after a packed day of having fun!

Universal Orlando Resort

 

 

We spent our final morning at the newly rebranded Disney Springs (AKA Downtown Disney) where we had our traditional final day lunch at Earl of Sandwich and a quick look at how the Disney Springs building work was progressing since we last visited. We always seem to end up there on our final day as it is a great place to have a leisurely wander and lunch before heading to the airport.

 

By early afternoon the time had come for us to head back to Orlando International Airport to return our hire car and start the long journey home.

 

We had an amazing visit to Orlando and despite only being there for one week on this trip we managed to cram a whole lot into our 7 days! We hope you have enjoyed reading about our visit and we look forward to sharing our Sephora purchases with you very soon.  

 

USA Beauty Haul - Sephora and Ulta

While we were holidaying in Florida during August we could not resist a trip to the beauty stores (lets be honest we made about 5 trips but who's counting!) We always like to check out the products that are US exclusives or difficult to come by in the UK and we got our hands on some treasures!

Lets start with Sephora (also known as the Mother Ship!). Our first trip to Sephora was at our favourite Orlando shopping destination, Mall at Millenia, where we picked up some of the excellent Sephora brand make up brushes. We have tried some of these brushes in the past, I own a crease brush and a blending brush, but we had not tried the Pro Brushes nor the Value Sets so we were interested to take a look at what was on offer. I had the Sephora Small Pro Stippling Brush on my must have list and snapped up one of those up along with the Pro Tapered Crease Brush which is amazing for a precise crease shadow application. Another must purchase was the legendary Beauty Blender. Now I realise I am a little late to the party on this one and I know it is available in the UK but it's sooo much cheaper in the US and for this reason I thought it was time I gave it a whirl. After 3 weeks use I can safely say that it has changed my foundation/concealer life! I am loving it for blending foundation, CC cream, tinted moisturiser, under eye concealer - you name it! I also picked up a new Beautyblender Solid Cleaner as Mimi said I used all of her last one (!). Another potentially life changing item was then secured - the Anastacia Brow Wiz. Until tragedy struck! On the flight home the holy grail item was safely packed in my make up bag in my case however when I got home I noticed that it has somehow snapped in half during the journey. I see a repurchase on the horizon.

I really wanted to try one of the Fresh Sugar scents and after smelling all of them settled on Fresh Sugar Lemon which is a lovely blend of their traditional sugar sent with lemons thrown in. I love it! Finally, when approaching the cash register and making my way through the aisle of temptation I grabbed hold of the Elizabeth and James Nirvana perfume duo and the cute Sephora TSA Approved Travel Bag to use on the flight home.

Next it was off to Ulta where I stocked up on my favourite L'Oreal Color Riche Balms which I now own in every colour with duplicates of my top two! I was very restrained in Ulta and only picked up a couple other items including the NYX Skinny Mascara that I wanted to try as a bottom lash mascara. So far so good! (lets be honest here, I bought two!) Of course it wouldn't be a trip to Ulta without throwing in a few - okay SIX - nail polishes into the mix! I love these L'Oreal nail polishes and Essie is our favourite nail polish brand so we had to get our hands on some new shades.

Special mention to the Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation. I have seen some Beauty YouTubers praising this product and it is so affordable I thought I would give it a try. It is now my daily go-to foundation and I wish I had picked up a spare!

Since having LVL Enhance lash treatment I have steered away from waterproof mascaras. Therefore, when the new Covergirl Super Sizer Mascara caught my eye I was tempted to give it a whirl. You are supposed to 'twist' the brush as you apply at but that seems a bit weird to me so I have stuck to the traditional application method! The fine wand grabs hold of and makes all of your lashes stand out and it holds a curl nicely. So far, so good!

Usually when we travel to the US we find lots of things that are not available in the UK however I think that the UK beauty market is getting much better and we seem to be able to get our hands on most things and most brands that they have in the US with a few minor exceptions. This meant that I did not purchase nearly as much as usual - good for my bank balance!

Look out for our Bath and Body Works haul coming soon!

Have you tried any of the above mentioned products? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Elle x

Holy Grail Products

Elle’s Picks

 

 

Maybelline Instant Anti-AgeThe Eraser Eye Concealer (light)

Since discovering this concealer on a trip to Ulta in 2013 I am unable to do without it as part of my daily make up routine.  As your eye area ages the last thing you need is a thick under eye concealer that gathers in fine lines and makes you look tired and older. That’s why I love this concealer. The formula is nice a light and it never creases or looks cakey on me. I know that some reviewers are not a fan of the sponge applicator but I rather like it as it helps the product to glide on easily and gives just the right amount of coverage. It is a daily make up must have for me!

Max Factor Masterpiece MascaraWaterproof (black) 

I literally could talk for days about mascara! I am on a seemingly endless quest for the perfect mascara for my (short stubby) lashes. However while my search continues I am (almost) satisfied by the Max Factor Masterpiece. It has to be waterproof and it has to be black. The brush is not too thick and it disperses just the right amount of product. The product is a good consistency in that it is not too wet a formula and being waterproof it really holds a curl once I have used my Shu Eemura eyelash curlers (another holy grail product…) I recently purchased the Max Factor Masterpiece HD Waterproof to try and I will report back to you on how it compares to the original.

Lanolips 101 Ointment

My addiction to lip balm is a joke in our family and I can safely say that in over 20 years my lips have never been free from some kind of lip balm, lipstick or lip product! My obsession with Lanolips is such that I actually have two on the go at any one time. I keep one on my bedside table and one in the living room next to my chair so that I have quick and easy access at all times! Lanolips is an Australian product with 100% pure Ultra Medical Grade Lanolin. It is a natural substance taken from freshly shorn sheep’s wool. That may sound weird but believe me, it makes for a wonderful product that melts onto your lips and keeps them hydrated for hours. Its great for those no make up days and it makes a fantastic travel companion, especially if you are flying long haul.

 

Mimi’s Picks

 

Anastasia Brow Wiz

 

It's hard to believe that until a year or so ago I didn't even touch my brows!!!!! Now I can't leave the house without them preened! I am a sucker for hype so even though I was a brow virgin I thought I would give it a go. I have never looked back! I have tried all the "dupes" and honestly, nothing comes close to this product. I log straight onto Cult Beauty whenever I hear the dreaded winding click!!!! I love how easy this is to use, just twist up the pencil, use a light hand and brush out with the spool  end. The best part of this product is it does not move. EVER! I purchased this in Sephora whilst in Orlando and it's safe to say that if the brows can't be defeated by 100 degree heat they can tackle anything!

MAC Lightscapade

I bought this highlighter on a whim years ago when they released it as part of the Hayley Williams collection and it is still going strong. This is a beautiful soft icy highlighter which is often hard to find without looking chalky or glittery. Unlike my other favourite (MAC Soft and Gentle) this highlighter really can be worn any day and with any look. Try a quick sweep for a subtle glow or pack it on for an ultra glowy look! If this ever does run out (I've had it 2 years and there's barely a dent) I would be running to MAC to repurchase!
 

Nuxes Lip Balm

 

This was a hand me down from Elle who bought it and wasn't so keen. However, as someone with perpetually sad, chapped lips this is exactly what I crave. I mainly use this at night before I go to bed and in the morning just before I put my make up on. It is so thick and soothing on the lips and works great under lipstick. It has a very unusual scent almost like oranges which I love. This really helps me out if I want to wear a bold lip. I scrub my lips using the Lush lip scrub, lather this on and I’m good to go! 

What are your ‘Holy Grail’ products? We’d love to hear from you!