Blue Soup Reviews is an influencer and ad free space. I am passionate about great products and sharing *honest* reviews of cosmetics, make-up and beauty trends.  Here, I talk about products that are so good they need to be shared.

Perfume Review: Louis Vuitton

I’d heard Louis Vuitton were releasing a perfume line in 2015(ish), and to be honest my expectations were low. I knew it would be expensive and I couldn’t quite understand why they were introducing a new product into an already overcrowded market, especially as Louis Vuitton had not done a scent before. (Unlike other big fashion housed, Chanel, Givenchy, Dior ect who have been making perfumes for years).  In my mind, it was a simple case of stick to what you are good at, and let other companies get on with the rest. So a couple years went by and although I love this brand, I would say I actively chose not to engage with this product… especially when I saw how much it costs.

Eight months ago, however, I was gifted a full perfume set. It sat on my bedroom table until I ran out of my usual off the shelf ‘La Belle est Vie’ by Lancôme, and thought I’d give the LV scents a go. I was blown away!

The scents are very distinct, strong and bold. There is an organic feel to the perfume, and it is as if the scents come to life. You can sense the quality and draw out immediately what has gone in to making each individual scent. It is quite fantastic. Of course, everyone has their own view on what smells good and what doesn’t. Louis Vuitton have on offer a range of very bold scents and to be honest they may not be for everyone. It is definitely a case of trying before you buy and picking for yourself rather than gifting a scent to another person who may find it repugnant.

But what I really wanted to talk about here is the quality of this product, which I would rate as 5 out 5 starts. The price of this product is representative of its quality – however off putting it may seem. I would never openly spend this amount on perfume, but I feel it is necessary to start talking about quality products that may cost more but are far more environmentally friendly in the long run. This is the only scent I have ever worn that lasts on the skin for over 24 hours and potentially longer. The bottle itself does not come with a spray top, as the scent is designed to be tabbed onto the skin rather than sprayed. The bottle is made from glass not plastic, and I think daily usage on average from the bottle 200ml could last over a year. It is a luxury product, that is to be enjoyed and cherished when used, and it is those qualities along with its longevity that we should be buying for.

I am passionate about products like this because I think they hold the potential to change buyer experiences and needs. It is essential that the fashion and cosmetic industry start to take seriously their responsibility to produce products that do not impact our environment. This is the first product I have used in a while that i feel has been made with craftsmanship and with longevity in mind. Yes it is expensive, but the average cost of the off the shelf perfume is £50 and I wonder how many bottles each person goes through a year. Would that total the price of one bottle of Louis Vuitton, I can’t say for certain. But what I can say, is if you are looking for a new scent for 2019, under £200 then go and test out one of the 9 new scents from Louis Vuitton – you will not be disappointed!

Contour Pallet Review: Anastaia Beverly Hills

Some tips for using the the ABH Contour set:

1. Highlighting under your eyes slims the face and attracts attention to the eyes without having to do heavy eye makeup. It can achieve a very pretty and refreshed look.

2. Eyebrows are very, VERY important for an overall structured contour look. Shape them to your face, rather than copying a shape from a Victoria secret model.

3. Do not over do it; there are six colours in this contour that does not mean they all have to be used to contour. In this case less is more!

Brand Swap Review: NYX v Nars

There were a few reasons why I wanted to try a brand switch to NYX. One was that many of their products are featured in beauty reviews and, the second reason is the cost of their products. They are significantly cheaper than their counter parts and this makes a really big difference, because it means that you can buy more products for the same amount of money… and this is exactly what I did.

I really wanted/needed a new concealer for highlighting, a banana setting powder and I wanted to try a new setting powder. I had planned (and still do) to opt in for the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer in COFFEE and AMANDE (£23.00 each), the Nars Light reflecting loose setting powder, (£27.00) the ABH banana powder in a contour powder set (£39.00). In total this would have cost me £112.00. I have used these brands for many years and I love them, which is why I keep on going back no matter how much they cost, but I’d heard such good things about NYX I knew it was worth trying a little brand swap.

So thanks too the amazing NYX MUA’s who helped me decided through all their products and talked me through testers for over and hour I ended up with the following products:

NYX Pro Foundation Mixer – £8.00

NYX High Definition Finishing Powder – £9.00

NYX Make-Up Setting Spray – £7.00

NYX HD Studio Photogenic Concealer – £6.00

NYX Studio Finishing Powder – £9.00

In total this cost £39.00, and I couldn’t believe that huge saving I’d made of £73.00 even though I cam out of the store with more products than I initially wanted. But lets move one and get down to the products,

So I will start with the absolute MUST HAVES. The HD studio photogenic concealer is honestly one the best products I have ever tried. No word of a lie. The first time I tried this to highlight my face I could not believe how quickly it simply blended straight into the skin. Like, within minutes I’d highlighted my whole face, with ease. This is so important because I have a little time limit on how long I will spend on my make-up every day. (I’m going to blog about my everyday make-up routine soon), but it’s a max of 30 minutes in total. So the fact that I can apply this product and blend it within minutes is a big bonus. Especially as the ABH cream contour product is a little heavy and a little thick. It takes time to blend it in and even after that, the final finish isn’t always perfect. I love my ABH contour pallet but, making this brand switch has really changed the way I do my make-up everyday for the better. At £6.00, this product is an absolute must have, especially when compared to the Nars creamy concealer I wanted to try as an alternative at £23.00. 

The second product I love is the NYX banana powder, which I use to set my highlight. Again, this product is value for money with this product because the size of the powder is about double the size of the ABH banana powder. The consistency of the powder is also super light, like a setting powder, and so it blends beautifully over the highlight. I really can’t get over how wonderfully this products work, especially as the price of it is so reasonable.

My third favourite product of my little NYX collection is the matte setting spray. This is a cult beauty secret – everyone loves this product and now I know exactly why. Its brilliant! A few squirts over the face is refreshing and it makes sure that your make stays in place from day to night. And its only £7.00 – I can’t believe it.

So as you can see from my product list there’s another product I haven’t spoken about yet is the Pro Foundation Mixer, which I bought as a try it and see kind of product. I spent a lot of time chatting about this product in the shop with the NYX MUA’s. It’s a new product and it is designed to be mixed into your foundation. I didn’t buy it for that purpose, however. I picked it up because it is so so dark. I am very conscious about creating shadows when I do my contours, and to do that you need a darker product, which is usually hard to find for deep skin tones. But this is so dark its very much like a black/brown. The texture of the product is very fine, and liquid like as its supposed to be mixed with foundation but what I found is that a few drops can be blended in on the face to contour. Very excited to do a few practice runs with this product. From me it already gets 4/5 stars because NYX have provided a product right at the other end of the tone spectrum, that girls and guys with very dark skin tones can use. Thank you NYX!

Now, as promised my reviews will always be honest – revealing the good and the bad. And so I have to be honest and talk about the products I loved as well as the products I didn’t. for me that was the Studio Finishing Powder. On the NYX website this product has decent reviews 3.3/5 stars, not the best but decent, and it is listed as a Fan Fav. At £9.00 it was one of more expensive products I bought, but compared to its brand alternatives from Laura Mericer and Nars, who’s finishing powder start at £27.00 this is still a bargain. BUT, for me with this product I felt that it was a let down from NYX. The texture of this product is, to put it kindly, pretty terrible. It’s too light, which means that you have to use a lot more of it to get a good result. I also felt that the packaging was also quite cheap. You guys may disagree with, but I am reviewing this product as someone who usually uses the Nars alternative, which costs a bit more but it is definitely worth it. In fact, the two products just don’t compare and I personally feel in this case it’s not worth the saving. Sometimes it is worth sticking to quality brands which cost a bit more, but that’s ok if you are saving in other areas. Also, I don’t think I am being to harsh because the product only has a 3.3/5 star rating from NYX customers. There is clearly a reason why that is not higher…

So there you have it! There are products I will be swapping for NYX and there are products I will be sticking too. I’m always trying new products, looking for the very best out there so stay tuned to see what I bring to the Cosmetic Collective!

Foundation Review: Nars Sheer Glow

A product I have been using for many years and could not recommend more is Nars Sheer Glow Foundation. I thought it would be a great product to talk about because after using it for several years I feel I know the product very well and I’m able to speak honestly about. This product has a fantastic reputation, with a google rating of 4.3/5 from over 6000 reviews which is pretty excellent, but heres what I really think about Nars Sheer Glow…

• At £32.00 this product is a steal! The wonderful thing about Nars is that their foundation is designed for skin-to-skin application. This means that applying your sheer glow with your finger not only means a better coverage, which is well blended, but that one pump will cover your whole face. A bottle of sheer glow can last you a very long time, months in fact. So lets say one bottle over three months is around £10.70 – thats really not bad. 
• The science behind this particular product really is brilliant. Nars have developed this product over many years, and the glow you get from this foundation is un-matched from any other foundation I have used. It does what it says on the tin – this foundation will make you GLOW. Nars are very committed to providing top-notch products, which is why they are a market leader in the make-up business. I think this is something that is really important, especially for a product like foundation which is contact with your skin. Ladies and gents, its important to be kind to your own skin, even if you are using a coverage product every day. A big step in the right direction is using quality products, that won’t clog your pores and will allow your skin to breathe. One of Nars’ key objectives its to maintain the translucence of the skin, which allows the skin to breath but also insures that your coverage looks as natural as possible. This is one of the reasons why sheer glow looks amazing on the skin – because its doing all these little jobs for you. 
• Another reasons why I’ve stuck with sheer glow for the past five years or so is because I have found it to be better than tinted moisturiser. I think this is an important point because, I don’t have great skin and I am weary of the effects of a full coverage look on my skin 6 out of 7 days a week (I always have at least one day off from make-up). I have friends who can pop on a good tinted moisturiser and their skin will look naturally glowy and beautiful. Tined moisturiser are on average cheaper than foundation, and the application time is about half as long. However, I have found it next to impossible to find a good tinted moisturiser for deep skin tones. To be fair, Nars does have a good range of shades in their Pure Radiance Tinted Moisturizer, but I found that the coverage just wasn’t good enough. You end up applying maybe three layers, before you get the coverage you want and by then, half the bottle is empty. When I bought my first bottle of sheer glow, the MUA showed me how the product works according to layers. One layer, I have found, gives me the same coverage as say three of the tinted moisturiser, but with that famous glow. 

It’s clear that I am a big fan of this product, and without seeming biased towards the cult beauty classic I will say one not so positive thing about the product. That is getting the right shade and blending it in properly. Because of the glow that it gives, if you apply a shade that is not right for you it will be pretty obvious. The same goes for blending; if you don’t quite manage to make sure this product is well blended into the skin, the in the product makes this very obvious. So, to avoid both these scenarios have the MUA apply the product to your face (not hand!!!), with a full coverage. Perhaps, head off and do the rest of your shopping and give the product an hour or so to set. As you build up a slight sweat and the product blends further into your skin, you’ll see if it is the right shade for you. This is so important, because picking the wrong shade in this product will mean you won’t get the full effects. This also means getting advice in choosing the right shade – and not picking it yourself if you are buying this for the first time. Whenever I go to re-stock on my sheer glow, I always ask the MUA to double check the shade I am getting is still right for me … I’m Benares by the way! 

Another thing I will say about sheer glow, is that this product is not for everyone. Some people find it too heavy on the skin, others too light. Some people find the glow too much, as it makes them look oily rather than giving them a glow. I have a friend who tried sheer glow and saw no glow. But I don’t think that this is too the products detriment. Make-up is all about finding the right product that works for YOU. Don’t be afraid to try new products, and that can be as simple as going to make-up counters and ask the MUA’s for testers or if they can apply the product for you. 

This style collective is all about sharing what I have found to be the best products, because my make-up collection has grown on recommendations from friends, dermatologists and MUA’s. I use products that as a non-MUA I never would have heard of, without it being talked about with friends and people in the business. The Blue Soup Cosmetic Collective is all about sharing this knowledge with you… 

Kiehl’s Review: Rose Arctica Cream

I am in love with this cream and I cannot recommend it more. At £47.00 it is pricey, but its totally worth it… and heres why

• Infused with lavender, the cream is soothing and light. I find that after I wash my face in the morning, I like whatever moisturiser I use too make my face feel refreshed and light, not dry and puffy. 
• You really do only need the tinniest bit to get a full coverage on the face. This is one reason why I think spending £47.00 on this lotion is worthwhile because it will last if you use it properly. 
• It’s Youth regenerating, which means that it will combat those early signs of ageing in a soft and delicate way. Nothing abrasive or damaging will happen with this cream!
• It smells LOVELY and the packaging is pretty great too. 

£47.00 for a moisturiser is quite a lot, but I do think that with this cream you instantly feel that you are getting a quality product and I think that makes it worth it. Remember that, protecting your face with quality products makes a huge difference to the overall look of your make-up… And here at Blue Soup we only share the products we love, and we will never give a biased review in the form of ads. Also don’t take my word for it… pop into Kiehl’s and ask for a tester and try it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.