It’s a weird one for me because I don’t really know how I feel about this brand. I’m all for good quality afordable makeup and Makeup Revolution fits that bill perfectly. The product selection is huge and there is something for everyone – the average buyers like me get to try out trend products without breaking the bank, professionals can find super cheap additions to their kit and makeup virgins are able to build a very decent starter set by picking up just a couple of the brand’s palettes.
It’s the dupeing thing that bugs me. Sure, they’re not trying to sell a fake Urban Decay, Lorac or Kat von D palettes. They’re more like the Topshop version of the super expensive Gucci shoes. We could call it the inspired makeup I guess. But then looking at my very modest collection of four my two favourites are actually the inspired ones. So I’ll start with those:
Makeup Revolution Eyeshadow Pallet Iconic Smokey (£6.00) – this is a dupe for The Urban Decay Naked Smoky Eyeshadow Palette (£39.50). I first tried applying the shadows without an eye primer and the lasting power was absolutely rubbish – they were gone in a matter of hours. Having said that, it can easly happen with some of the high-end shadows too. With a primer (I used The Nars Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base £19.50) it’s a completely different story – they lasted beautifully all day without any creasing or smudging. I’d say pigmentation is better than average. It’s not a high end palette and as long as you don’t pretend that it is I think you’ll be very happy with the results. My favourite thing about the palettes is the shade selection – they really are great shades for creating all kinds of smokey eye looks, but it’s not like I can give Makeup Revolution any credit for that. And that’s the thing – the inspired makeup feels right and so wrong at the same time.
Makeup Revolution Beyond Radiance Palette (£8.00) – from what I gather this is a dupe for The Hourglas Ambient Lighting Palette (£59.00). I own only one of the original Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light (£40.00) and I think I actually prefer the Makeup Revolution’s version. It’s a very sattle product that instantly livens up your face and gives you that glow from within look. I wouldn’t say it’s a highlighting palette but you could potentially use the middle shade as a very gentle highlight – it has a bit more shimmer than the other two. Using this palette has actually made me think about look in-to buying the original Hourglass palette so maybe there are more benefits in the dupeing thing for the original brands than I realise.
Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour Palette (£8.00) – I’ve never really been able to ace the contouring thing so I bought this in attempt to get some practice without spending a fortune. Most of the shades are actually too dark for me as contouring powders but they work well as bronzers. And the two sparkly shades are not as horrible as they look – ther’re actually both quite nice highlighters. It doesn’t work as a countouring palette for me but that’s my own fault for choosing shades that don’t suit my skintone. If these shades work for you I think you will really like this palette.
Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette Sugar & Spice (£6.00) – this is definitely a more traditional than other Makeup Revolution blush palettes. My most used are the two shades on the top left. And similar to the countouring pallette the two shimmery shades are not actually that scary. They can look nice as toppers with your blush- just make sure you’re not too heavy handed. It’s a good palette to try if you like switching up and mixing your blush sahades since there are quite a few to choose from.
Something that all of the palettes have in common is obviously the packaging which I actually really like – the palettes are very sleek, reasonably sized and all of them have a huge mirror inside. Something else I noticed with all of the powders is that there is quite a lot of fall-out and they can be a bit hard to blend, but the pigmentation is still there so they’re well worth those extra minutes you’ll have to spend blending.
Have you tried any Makeup Revolution products? How do you feel about the inspired makeup thing?
