This month’s brand spotlight is Makeup Revolution, a brand that has recently made its way onto Ulta’s shelves.  There was a lot of excitement around this brand since it was super affordable! For those not familiar with my Brand Spotlight posts – I choose one brand to try out for the month and try as many of their products as possible (whilst sticking to a reasonable budget). Since this brand was so affordable (and BOGO 50% off when I was ordering), I was able to pick up quite a few products. So let’s get into these reviews…

Individual Products:

Retro Luxe Matte Lip Kit: This was a lip kit that came with both a lip liner and liquid liner. I got it in the color Regal, a deep red with an orange undertone. This color would be absolutely perfect for fall, I am sure you will see me wearing it in future posts. The liquid lipstick formula is great for the price and is long wearing (as a liquid lipstick should be) and not super drying. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t drying at all but most liquid lipsticks carry that unfortunate component. This lasts at least 4 hours (every time I’ve worn this, I myself was taking it off after that amount of time – not because I needed to re-apply) and applies smoothly. I would compare it to the Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip (by packaging and formula). It’s definitely not moussey like the Kat Von D and the Balm liquid lips, so don’t be expecting that kind of finish. This comes in 5 different colors and is totally worth the price, especially considering you get a lip liner and liquid lipstick.

Price: $9

Matte Blush : I was completely blown away by the pigmentation of this blush. First of all, you get a ton of product and second of all, you will barely need to touch it with your brush! The blush is long lasting and comes in 3 different shades. I got mine in Beloved (a bright pink shade) but I am currently eyeing the Nude (a more neutral toned shade) for my next purchase. I like wearing this blush with a more neutral eye look but think the Nude would be perfect for a cool toned smokey eye.

Price: $5

Vivid Baked Highlighter: If I’m going to be honest, there are better highlighters at the drug store. This one emphasized the texture on my skin which was my biggest con against the product. It also didn’t last very long for me and after about 2 hours of wear, I didn’t see much of a highlight left on my skin. The highlight itself does look nice (I picked up Radiant Lights) but I do think it’s a bit too light for my skin tone. If you have more fair or porcelain skin, this would look gorgeous on you but beware – if you have any texture where you are highlighting, it will be brought out even more. This comes in 5 different shades and also comes in a huge compact so plenty of product.

Price: $6

Blur Primer: This primer was by far my least favorite product from this brand. The primer itself has gold flecks in it (they do not show up through your foundation) and the bottle it comes in is perfect for application but it’s so difficult to blend your foundation on top of this primer. I’ve never had to spend more time trying to blend and make everything even than I did whenever I used this primer. I used this with multiple liquid foundations (Clinique’s Beyond Perfecting, L’oreal Pro Glow to name a few) and every time had a similar issue. This made my foundation look patchy and my skin felt very oily with it on. I would not recommend this or ever re-purchase this product.

Price: $15

Pro Fix Oil Control Make Up Setting Spray : When I am judging setting sprays, I judge them on these characteristics : the spray itself (or the mist), the smell and the effect, landing a 2/3 on my scale. The spray itself is great and helps deliver an even application on the face. The spray does help control oil and is great to have for the summer. Now the category where it fails – the smell. I really dislike the way this spray smells. It just smells like straight up chemicals and almost has a bleach like component to the smell. The smell goes away pretty quickly after you use it but it was strong enough that I don’t think that I will keep using it. If you can try out the product in the store and find that you don’t mind the scent, then by all means, get this product. I’ve been using it on really hot days when I needed my makeup to last and as a setting spray, it does work well, I just can’t get over the scent.

Price: $8

Palettes:

Fortune Favors the Brave Ultra 30 Eyeshadow Palette: This eyeshadow palette surprised me when it came in the mail because of how small the shadows were. I honestly was expecting a pretty large palette (somewhere around Morphe size) so when this came in and I saw how small it was, I was a little disappointed. Now, after using it for a few weeks, I think I’ve come to like that the shadows are small. You get a ton of different colors and shades this way for a very affordable price and these aren’t the kind of colors I use every day anyway, so it’s not bad to have them in a smaller palette. The color payoff on these shadows is nice (not the best, but you can definitely work with it and create some great looks) and the variety of the shadows is pretty great. My biggest problem with this palette was honestly the packaging. Not sure if I got a defective palette but every time I need to open this I feel like I’m either going to break a nail or break the palette itself. There are a ton of colors for every day wear but I tend to reach for this palette when I’m going for a brighter look or something with a pop of color like a green or purple. If you are looking to break out of the daily neutrals, check out this palette.

Price: $18

Ultra Brush and Contour Palette: The blush colors in this palette reminded me a lot of the Morphe 9N Naturally Blushed Palette and I was expecting the pigmentation to be the same but it did not quite reach my expectations. There is a lot of inconsistency in the blushes. Some are super pigmented (mostly the mattes) and others, like the shimmers, don’t have a lot of color payoff and are a bit difficult to work with. I don’t think this one is quite worth the money since there are better affordable blush palettes out there. This is a bit disappointing considering how amazing the matte blushes are from this brand. Also, side note – not sure why the word contour is in the name of this palette – it’s just blush shades.

Price: $10

Iconic Pro 2 Eyeshadow Palette: Last but not least, it’s my favorite product out of this whole haul. I’ve already convinced at least 3 of my friends to buy this palette because I’ve been raving about it so much. This palette is seriously the bomb. The pigmentation of the colors is unreal especially considering the price of this palette. You can create anything from a warm toned to a cool toned looks with this palette. The shadows are so rich and buttery and you barely have to touch them with your brush to get major color payoff. If you get anything out of this post, it’s that you need to buy this palette.

Price: $12

Overall thoughts – I became a fan of Makeup Revolution after doing this Brand Spotlight. The price is right for all the products (except the primer) and the Iconic Pro 2 palette alone, makes this entire haul worth it. I will be on the look out for new launches from this brand and will be happy to try out their products.

Brand Favorites: Iconic Pro 2 palette, the matte blush and the liquid lipstick kit.

Brand Dislikes: the Blur Primer.

Have you tried out any new brands lately or been too scared to try something that you would like me to vet? Let me know in the comments down below.

Up next – Briogeo hair products!