Review: Bourjois Overview

As I was walking out of Priceline with my Bourjois gift in hand, it  occurred to me that I had quite a few of their products and that it might be fun to do a little overview of the brand as it's a little more expensive then some of the other Priceline brands so it might be harder to test out their stuff sometimes. Over the years I have owned many of their products and a long time ago they used to make my favorite lipstick of all time which sadly is no longer a thing. However a few months ago they did release a very similar limited edition product of the same nature which was awesome.

Bourjois is a French cosmetics company originally launched in 1863 and a lot of their products fit into a very vintage French theme, including their many gift make-up bags, two of which you can see in the corners of the above photo.

One of their super popular products is their healthy mix serum foundation, which I am indeed a huge fan of as it doesn't cake, doesn't oxodize, and applies like a dream, on the other hand the other foundation I have is their full coverage flower perfection which when I had a tester of it was amazing but when I purchased the bottle it turned out to be largely horrible and had every problem a foundation can have until about a year after purchase I tried applying it with a sponge which largely fixed every issue, and when used correctly is actually very good and as the name suggests smells quite nice too. I would say that overall their foundations are very good, including their bb creams but will sometimes need to be worked properly to get the most you can out of them. 8/10

As far as primers go I have never been disappointed in their formula which are largely silicon based but they have certainly improved their packaging as their first primer was packaged in a plastic tine and was both unhygienic and also very small so it didn't last long. However likley their foundations and bb creams their primers now all seem to come with pumps which makes them much easier to use and their still amazing. 10/10

I have also tried several liners, both pencil and ink. The teal pencil liner is one of my favourite liners I have as it stick on like glue but is super smooth to apply, the only down size is unless their is a special it is very expensive for a simple pencil eye-liner. 10/10

Their ink liners are really great also, but sometimes they are not waterproof which can be an issue, the ones I buy are the marker tips which i find to have the smoothest application (from any brand) and easier to use then gel liners or traditional liners. The only problem I had with this is that the bottom one in the picture, the liner feutre was a gift in a make-up bag and was apparently almost completely dry when I got it. So it only lasted about a month and has after taking this photo gone straight in the bin. However the other one is super black and super smooth at application though a bit smudgy. Overall their ink liners aren't the greatest in my experience if your looking for longevity but there are certainly worse ones out there. 5/10

Probably Bourjois mascara is the one product I always seem to have on hand, not necessarily because they are amazing but because they include them in every gift pack, however the volume seconde above I actually did buy and it is absolutely amazing and reminds me of Loreal Telescopic in that it can grab even the tiniest lashes. They do dry very quickly once applies and so I fiund they do not smudge quite so much and many other brands and are also much darker with none of the grey tint that i have found in other mascaras. 9/10

Another of their famous products is their round pot blushes which smell amazing and almost like a rose pastry rather then a blush, however in the past I have found these to be terrible - dry and very very difficult to use, hence I threw away the few I had because they were just too hard. However this one above which I received last week in a gift (spend $19 or more and receive a make-up bag with the happy light serum primer and blush) it would seem that either I was getting terrible duds or they have fixed their formula as this one is very soft and  easy to apply and still smells amazing. 6/10

Their lip products are one of their highlights also, however their Rouge Edition Velvet matte cream is the only one I own at the moment just because I have many lipsticks and have cut down purchasing them, However I have never had a problem with any of them, they have always been smooth, soft, long lasting and (except for the matte products) not drying. 9/10

Overall Bourjois products are a little more expensive but they make up for it in quality and they also have sales and gifts such as the one that's going on right now. So if you have been holding back now might be a good time to take a whirl on the Bourjois carousel. 

Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

Browsing the isles at Priceline (as you do) I came across a stand displaying the new Stay Matte Primer from Rimmel, as I didn't currently have a primer after recently finishing up the MUA Matte Primer this one seemed like a good one to try. The product was advertised as "Ultra lightweight formula that minimizes pore appearance.  Controls shine for up to 8 hours.  Won't feel heavy or greasy".

This sounded promising, also since Rimmel has a big focus on matte products I figured they would probably know their stuff when it comes to mattifying skin. My first impressions however were not too favorable, it's a thick lotion like consistency and when applied it felt a bit sticky and quite heavy/thick. The squeeze tube packaging is quite nice though and makes it easy and clean to get the amount of product you want.

The mattifying aspect of it worked for only a few hours and by lunch time the effect was wholly worn off, it did keep my foundation on so in that respect it worked fine, but I honestly prefer a more matte look  and this certainly did not live up to that claim.

As you can see from these photos it is incredibly thick and if you do pick it up I recommend using as little of it as you can otherwise you will feel like there is a thick waxy layer between your skin and makeup which to me felt very uncomfortable. I will use this product up but will not be repurchasing. If you have a suggestion for a better primer below please leave a comment!

Review: Models Prefer Mattifying Primer

I recently started running low on my first primer i ever got; the Burjois Flower Silicone Primer so i decided to go looking for something similar but maybe with a tad more usability; the Burjois primer is in a tub and you have to dig it out with your fingers; not great. I loved the use of silicon in the primer however; it gave the most wonderful silky smooth feeling and meant that my foundation could just glide on.

The reason i choose to test out the Models Prefer brand primer is for several reasons; the brand has been showing up more and more as i read through various blogs so i was interested.  I also liked the idea of a mattifying primer as i hate to look shiny, just very unappealing to me. Thirdly, Models Prefer was at the time doing a gift if you spend i think over $20 or $25 so a nice way to try out the brand. (I picked up this and a eyebrow pencil to get a free eyeshadow duo)

The primer is a clear gel consistency and goes on incredibly smooth, one pump is usually enough to suffice as it spreads out a lot when you massage it in. It does a pretty decent job in terms of mattifying your complexion but i found that i could use a touch up maybe 6 hours in but for me that's not a huge problem.

I found this quite impressive for the price, it obviously decreased shine, helped reduce pore appearance and make my make up go on super easy and clearly made it last longer. I was happily surprised. The only down side i guess is that the bottle is a little small but price wise i think it probably makes sense. Also, i love the fact it's silicone based but i know this is a problem for some people so be aware of that.

I think for the coming heat of the summer or those going to the beach for the holidays this would be a great primer to help keep the shine down, it makes your makeup stay on surprisingly well and doesn't have a waxy effect I've noticed in some other primers. Perhaps not the greatest primer in the world but by far not the worst, and for only $12.95 (Priceline) it's certainly worth a try if your looking for something like this.

What's your favorite primer?