Who says you need to leave glowing skin to the summer months? I have some new products from Collection Cosmetics to show you today which are great for a year round glow, along with new shades in their existing products. I really enjoy Collection's range because they're not too hard on the wallet and they're stocked exclusively at Countdown supermarkets, making them honorary groceries :D
These Gorgeous Glow Blush & Bronzing Blocks are a recent addition to Collection's range and they're an excellent option for anyone who loves Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Bricks but doesn't want to drop a wad of cash on them - Collection's version retails for just $16.99NZD. The colour pay off they deliver is sheer, buildable and easy to blend, with the mix of colours allowing you to customise the final result. With the Blush Block, for instance, I'll sometimes use all the colours mixed together as a blush and other times just use the middle three as a highlighter. These last around nine hours on me.
The Blush Block is a gorgeous mix of pink and coral shades, most of which have a duochrome sheen added - gold in most cases, but the ivory shade has a pretty pink shift. The strips are really too small to be used individually, though as mentioned above, you can mix and match the final colour by concentrating your brush on different segments. Altogether the different shades make up a light coral shimmery pink. The level of shimmer present is quite flattering and didn't cause any emphasis of skin texture.
The Bronzing Block has an array of softened gold and warm brown tones, coming together to create a shimmery light bronze tone which would suit fair-medium skintones. The shimmer is certainly present, giving a soft, luminescent glow to skin - though if you loathe any sparkle in your bronzers, it's best to steer clear of this one. I think all of the colours mixed together could pass as a highlighter on deeper complexions, while the two topmost colour strips iwould make a pretty highlight too on paler skin - next on my list of things to try!
I'm wearing both the Bronzing Block and Blush Block here, accompanied by Makeup Revolution's contour palette.
I've used Collection's Lasting Perfection (RRP $25.49NZD) foundation before and really loved it, but unfortunately the colour I chose at the time was just too dark for me (Ivory). They've since updated their shade range and added in some lighter shades, including Porcelain, which I believe is now the lightest in the range. This is a multi-tasking foundation, promising to prime, conceal, cover, smooth, protect and mattify. Phew!
Before & after Lasting Perfection foundation (no concealer or powder)
Lasting Perfection blends into skin nicely without the aid of a primer and gives medium coverage and a matte finish. It lasts most of the day on me, with some shine appearing on my t-zone after around seven hours; after that it slowly fades away over a few more hours without visible breakdown or separation of product. Sadly, Porcelain isn't a perfect match for my NC15 skin, but it errs on the side of passable - hopefully Collection will expand the shade range again in the future!
To be honest, I'm a little sad that Collection revamped their entire colour range in the Lasting Colour lipstick (RRP $16.50NZD) line instead of just adding in new colours - there were some amazing reds in there! Still, there are some fabulous new colours to be found in the eleven replacement shades, including Rose Wood, a pretty warm nude.
Collection's lipstick formula goes on super smoothly and has medium-buildable colour pay off. They promise to make your lips 20% more hydrated - I didn't notice any hydrating properties, but it wasn't drying either, just an all round comfortable lipstick. Rose Wood lasted three hours on me.
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Lani
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