Make up Revolution | Iconic Elements Eyeshadow Palette.

Makeup Revolution are fast becoming one of my favourite brands, especially for eyeshadow palettes. I was kindly sent Makeup Revolution's Iconic Elements palatte*. At first, I wasn't too excited to try out this palette purely because the colours aren't what I usually go for. All of the shadows are lighter shades and are a matte finish (there is only one shimmer). I usually opt of darker colours and I love shimmery eyeshadows so I thought I wasn't going to get along with this particular palette! But then I tried it. Yes, I took back all my worries because I must say, I am so impressed!

This palette creates a beautiful more subtle eye look. I think these eyeshadows look perfect with a red or dark lipstick- I'm wearing my new favourite, MAC Dark Side ;) . I absolutely love the white eyeshadows as they create the perfect highlighters for the brow arch and inner eye. My favourite shades out of the palette are the brown ones as look amazing. It does take a few times to build up the shades to make them pigmented though which is the only downfall of this palette.If you want a simple yet stunning smokey eye that is perfect for daytime, this is the palette for you! 

I can't say that this palette from Makeup Revolution has converted me into a matte eyeshadow lover as I am a true glitter junkie. It's certainly worth having in your collection though as the shades are the most beautiful, wearable colours.  And for just £4 (!), where can you go wrong? Makeup Revolution are definitely an amazing brand and SO affordable too!

Do you love Matte or Shimmer shadows?

Leah, x

March 2015 Favourites & Life Lately

Yay, our blog reached 1000 followers yesterday! Thank you everyone that reads our little blog. Creating Beyond The Velvet has been one of the best things we have done in a long time and we love writing it. Thank you everyone for following our blog, it means so much to us!
March was a good month for spending our money on things that we didn't really need but every girl needs to treat herself once in a while, haha. Let's have a look at our favourites for last month!

We bought our mum Makeup Revolution's Ultra Blush Palette - £6 (full review here) for Mother's day and she let us share it with her. Neither of us have owned a blush palette before but all of the colours are so pretty in this palette and perfect for spring and summer. I especially love the highlighting shades and this palette has some darker blushes for all the contouring junkies out there! We're also loving Shop Moon Child! Shop Moon Child sell gorgeous jewellery with a mystic gothy vibe and I couldn't help but buy the Cosmic Chain Choker - £4.99 (full review here). This choker is so unique and I love the different coloured stones.

We bought Maybelline's Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara - £7.99 a few weeks ago after hearing so many good things about it and it has definitely lived up to the hype! This mascara is just like Benefit's Roller Lash mascara which is double the price of Lash Sensational mascara. After being sent Yves Rocher products we have fallen in love with the brand, especially the Serum Vegetal Night Cream - £21* (full review here). I have really noticed a difference in my skin since using this night cream as my skin looks hydrated, moisterised and so much clearer! As a complete lipstick junkie, I need to added L'Oréal Paris Color Riche Lipstick - 703 Oud Obsession which is a true 90's inspired lipstick!

This colour is my dream nail polish. I'm a fan of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Colours - £6.99. Red Zin is the perfect red shade. I've been wearing this polish for a few days and it's hardly chipped. The colour is so intense and pigmented. I love the look of this polish too as it looks so glossy and almost gel like.

My new favourite eyeshadow palette is Yves Rocher Quad Eyeshadow Sumptuous Colour - £12.50 in Red-hot brown. The shadows are so easy to apply and are really pigmented. There is also no drop out during the day and they are so long lasting without creasing.These eyeshadows create the perfect smokey eye look. I will do a full review later on this month :) Yves Rocher are such an amazing brand!

☾ Life: Leah got here first ever tattoo! It's a small half moon on her wrist and she's so in love with it. It's so perfect and will definitely do a post on it soon but you can see it on our instagram :) We're both going to get 'twin' tattoos and we can't wait! Life had been pretty boring lately other than feeling super shit and down about things haha sorry to be depressing!

☾ Music: My love for Alice In Chains is stronger than ever and I'm constantly listening to 'Dirt'. That album is just perfection.

☾ Watching: The Following is finally back on again and I'm obsessed, especially as Joe has came back in it again. We've both started watching The Walking Dead and as you can probably tell, we're both obsessed. We're now watching season 3 and oh my god Daryl is just amazing. I'm so inlove with him ❤ We're also watching Bates Motel which is just amazing!!

☾ Reading: I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open to read before I go to sleep but I'm reading the 'Fallen' series. I'm still undecided about these books but I just need to know what the hell happens at the end, haha, x

What are your favourites from last month?

Love Rachel & Leah, x

Sugar & Spice | Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush And Contour Palette

I've never owned a blush palette before and I actually got this for my mum for Mother's day but she let me review it as she's so impressed with Makeup Revolution's Ultra Blush Palette - £6 that is perfect for highlighting and contouring too! I always love Makeup Revolution palettes as they're so cheap and high quality. The mirrored compact is always great for touch ups during the day too!

Sugar and Spice blush palette has eight beautiful shades that consist of matte and shimmery blushers, merged baked blusher and highlighter. Some of the blushers are popping pink and others are more muted which are perfect for contouring. I especially love the merged baked blush as it's so unique and kind of reminds me of Max Factor's new cream puff blushers. All shades are extremely pigmented - even the highlighter! They are so easy to blend and you can build it up if you want it really extreme. This really is the perfect contouring, blush and highligting palette and it only cost £6! This palette would make the perfect pop of colour for the spring and summer too.

I would definitely recommend this palette to all the highlighting and contouring junkies out there. The blushers are the perfect colours and look so beautiful once applied. They are so long lasting and pigmented. There is a shade for everyone in this palette and I think it would suit every skin tone. This is the first blush palette I've tried but I can tell I won't be searching for another one anytime soon.

What do you think of Makeup Revolution's Ultra Blush and Contour Palette?

Love Rachel. x

Follow us!

Bloglovin' | Instagram | Twitter

Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette Iconic 3 | Swatches & Review

Makeup Revolution is becoming one of my favourite makeup brands right now. The blogging world went crazy for Makeup Revolution and I'm sad that I've only just discovered there products now! I was so impressed with the Flawless palette that I went ahead and bought the Iconic 3 palette.

 This palette was only £4 so I was worried incase the shadows weren't pigmented but as you can see all 12 shades are so pigmented and high quality! The palette has a mix of pearl, matte and shimmery shades so you can create so many beautiful looks with the iconic 3 palette. Many people say this palette is the perfect dupe for the Naked 3 palette and I definitely agree as the shades are so similar!

The brush that comes with the palette is completly useless but I can't really complain as I always use my Real Techniques brushes anyway. Even the white shadow is so pigmented and is a great highlighter. The shimmery shades are so beautiful and actually look shimmery instead of looking like glitter. I love the darker shades in this palette too as the blend so easily and can be built up. The quality of the eyeshadows are amazing as they stay on all day and the don't crease for hours.

I really love this palette and I've been using it everyday since I bought it last week. You can create so many eye looks with it so you can go subtle or dramatic. I literally cannot go wrong with this palette as it's such a steal at £4! 

Do you think the Redemption Palette Iconic 3 makes a good dupe for the Naked 3 palette?

Love Leah, x

January 2015 Favourites!

The first month of 2015 is over and in my mind a new year always calls for new makeup. I've practically spent all of my Christmas money on makeup over this past month. If you read Beyond The Velvet, you will know how obsessed we've both been with MAC makeup and Benefit skincare so this post contains a lot of Benefit and MAC ;)

Makeup Favourites 

Makeup Revolution Ultra Flawless Eyeshadows - The blogging world is full of reviews on Makeup Revolution products and I couldn't wait to get my hands on one of their products. This is the Ultra eyeshadow palette and I couldn't be happier with it. This palette only cost £8 and it includes 32 pigmented eyeshadows. The shades are stunning and you can create so many eye makeup looks with this beautiful palette. I  don't think I could find a palette better than this one. Watch out for a full review on this palette soon!

 Benefit World Favourite Neutrals Kit - I won't ramble on about this kit too much as we've already wrote a review on it here. I have mixed reviews on this kit but saying that the cream eyeshadows are just amazing. The powder shadows could be more pigmented but when they are built up they look amazing. The kit also comes with cute little 'how to' cards for the perfect day and night looks.

MAC Lipsticks - I've discovered MAC lipsticks and my purse isn't happy. So far I've got seven in my collection and I'm feeling the urge to buy more. You really can't beat MAC when it comes to lipstick can you? You can see our review on these four shades here!

Favourite Skincare

St. Ives Apricot Scrub - I have oily skin and this is a great product to use as it's for blemish prone skin. This scrub smells amazing and it isn't harsh at all so it is great for sensitive skin too.

Benefit Foamingly Clean Facial Wash - I'm currently in love with Benefit skin care. I've never used any Benefit before so I bought the mini kit before I splashed out on the full sized products. The facial wash was on of my favourites in the mini kit and I just had to buy it. I use this everyday and it doesn't upset my skin in the slightest. It also doesn't leave my skin with that tight feeling either. I've definitely noticed a difference with my complexion since using this. I can see myself buying this again once it runs out.

St. Ives Microdermabrasion Scrub - I bought this to smooth out my skin as I am still left with acne scars after suffering with acne two years ago. This is a great scrub and it isn't harsh at all unlike the Botanics microdermabrasion scrub. I use this most days and it really is helping my skin smooth out.
  
Other Favourites This Month

YSL Black Opium Perfume - I've already done a review on this lovely perfume (see it here). My sister got us this after her holiday and it was a great suprise. The bottle is stunning and it looks great in my collection. The perfume itself is perfect for any floral/vanilla scent lover like us!

 Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polish in 'Mad Women' - This is a great polish and the colour is just stunning! This polish has a gel finish and I am yet to buy the top coat that gives the polish a gel like shine. Sally Hansen do amazing polishes and this one is no different.

That's are favourites for January 2015! What have been your favourites for the past month? 

Love Rachel & Leah, xx