When it comes to make up I find myself always reaching for the same products, day in, day out. So when I did my make up declutter a little while ago I picked out some products that I'd completely forgotten were in my collection and put them to the side so that at some point I could give them all a go at once, or one at a time. And for the last few weeks I've been swapping out some of my usual go to products with these to see if I still like it or if it's not the product for me anymore.
Primer is an essential part of my make up routine. Without it my make up is gone in couple of hours. I absolutely adore the Maybelline SuperStay Primer, it works really well with both my skin and the foundations I place over top. However in my collection I found an unopened bottle of the Maxfactor Facefinity Primer. A couple of years ago this was my go to primer because of it's creamy texture, something harder to find amongst the silicone based primers. However I'd forgotten about it as I discovered other primers that were substantially better. And there came a day when I ran out of my Maybelline and I was in need of a primer. So I grabbed this and applied it the same as I would my Maybelline. Immediately there was a very obvious difference between the two. Where the Maybelline was tacky in a good way in which you knew it was going to grip and hold onto any base product, this one was just plain sticky and didn't grab onto the foundation I applied over top. In fact it made my base look patchy and uneven, something that took a lot of work to fix. Whilst I my have enjoyed it back then, I certainly won't be reaching for it again any time soon.
Alongside the Facefinity Primer I also found an unopened bottle of the Facefinity Foundation. Now throw it back a couple of years again and the two were my go to combination. So when I was swapping products out in place of others I thought I'd give this a go. And I really like it. Medium to a buildable full coverage, this foundation allows my skin to look like skin whilst still covering any imperfections I may have. And it lasts all day. It doesn't fade unevenly or look patchy when it comes to removing it, something a few of my foundations have a tendency to do. The only downfall of this product is that it has a habit of oxidising on my skin. So it'll look nice when first applied and for the first half an hour to an hour but after that it does darken slighltly on my skin which depending on the rest of my make up and outfit can look very obvious. Other than that though I could easily see it being added to my permanent foundation collection.
A concealer I very nearly forgot about comes from Rimmel. Their Wake Me Up Concealer used to be a must have for me but just seemed to fade out of my rotation of products as I tried different concealers that the market had to offer. However I picked it out again recently and thought I'd give it a go. I knew that it didn't have the best coverage so I decided to use it on a good skin day. And I regretted it almost immediately. Now I know this product has light reflecting particles that makes skin look more awake but wherever on my face I had applied this looked like I'd doused it in a shit ton of glitter. It was horrendous and I had to do some serious correction before I was happy enough to leave the house. Definitely one I won't be reaching for again.
A setting powder that I had only purchased at the beginning of the year but totally forgot about comes from MUA. Their Transparent Pressed Setting Powder is actually a brilliant powder for those with fairer skintones that struggle to find powders to match their skintone. White in the pan but undetectable on the skin, this not only sets make up in place but leaves skin feeling silky and smooth to the touch without a single hint of cake face. Plus there is no flashback from using this and you can easily use this under the eyes without it looking ghostly or obvious that it's there.
Now I didn't think I had any mascaras that weren't ridiculously past their prime or just plain horrendous until I stumbled across this unopened and very old Rimmel Mascara. The Scandaleyes Flex mascara has been out of circulation for that long that I don't even know what it claims to do. What I do know is that I really like this. The tapered bristle brush distributes product evenly throughout lashes and leaves them looking defined and volumised without being over the top. I really like this for a daytime mascara but would go for something different when it comes to evenings.
This next one was a pleasent surprise to me. I have tons of the Gosh Matte Lipsticks and didn't even realise that I owned this shade. This is the shade Raisin and for a while I'd actually been thinking of buying this shade and had swatched it a couple of times when I was in Superdrug, so finding it already in my collection was a nice surprise. I really like the Gosh Matte Lipsticks as they're creamy, don't feel powdery on the lips, last a long time and don't leave lips feeling like prunes after you've worn it. I haven't worn this shade yet but I'm going to wear it at some point this week, after I've giving a new Maybelline lipstick a trial.
And the last product I rediscovered is another lip product and this one is a bolder shade than Raisin. This is the Gerard Cosmtics Liquid Lipstick in the shade Immortal. I brought this last year to feature in my Lip Product Week and once I'd reviewed it, I put it in with my other lipsticks and promptly forgot about it. This is a beautiful true red shade that I remember quite enjoying when I wore it. However I believe there was something I didn't quite like about it and that's probably the reason I haven't worn it a lot since. However I need to stop wearing the same three lipsticks on rotation so this is one that I'm willing to give another go.
