Makeup geeks unite

Hey everyone! Today I am reviewing some goodies I got from Makeup Geek...

I am not the kind of girl who rushes into a relationship. I like to take my time and really get to know a brand before I'm willing to invest my time and money in it. I will buy a couple of items and see how things go. If I'm impressed, I'll usually go on and buy a few more. If I have tried a variety of different products and I am enjoying how they are applying/looking that's how I know that this is brand-love not a brand-fling.

I've never purchased anything from Makeup Geek before, so I took my time carefully selecting the products that I wanted to try. Makeup Geek are an online, cruelty-free brand. They were founded by YouTube beauty guru Marlena Stell in 2008 and since then have accumulated almost 800'000 likes on Facebook and 2.6 million followers on Instagram. Pretty impressive, right?

I made my order on the 4th of January and received it on the 19th. Two weeks from dispatch in the US to arrival in Perth is very fast! I was surprised that this order arrived before another I have made from Colourpop (which still hasn't come in case you're interested).

I ordered three eyeshadow pans (AUD $7.50 ea) and one liquid lipstick (AUD $15 ea). Two of the eyshadows were duochromes in the shades Phantom and I'm Peachless. The liquid lip is called a "plush lip matte" in the shade Soccer Mom. The last eyeshadow is a pressed sunset orange called Sin City. For these four items I paid roughly AUD $37. In addition to this I paid AUD $7.50 in postage, so all up around AUD $44.50.

As for the products themselves, I am intrigued but I am not sure if I would make a second purchase. The duochrome eyeshadows are insanely cool. They really do look as though they change colour on your eyelids. The formula was very easy to blend and had a lot of pigment. Unfortunately, because the colours I chose were so light, I struggled to see how much I was applying and I think I may have overdone it. Obviously, that is my fault and not a criticism of the eyeshadow. At $7.50 per pan, I'm just not sure if I could buy anymore. Are they cool - hell, yeah! Do I need them desperately in my makeup collection - um, probably not.

The packaging on these pans really rubbed me the wrong way too. When you buy a single eyeshadow from Stila it comes in a cute circular pan with a clear lid - cute and convenient! In comparison, these eyshadows came in a cardboard slip and did not have any sort of cover over the pan to protect the shadow. This makes them messy and delicate. The pan size wasn't exactly huge either - about the same size as those in a Colourpop palette. It is important to note however, that a single Stila eyeshadow will set you back AUD $26... which makes Makeup Geek look pretty damn good.

I love the colour of my 'plush lip matte' liquid lipstick and can definitely see myself wearing it religiously. It's a beautiful soft pink that isn't too light (I'm not a fan of light colours on lips, possibly because I don't like my lips being the same colour as my face). BUT, oh my word - what is up with makeup brands claiming their lip products are matte when they aren't?? Maybe I have the wrong idea of what 'matte' means... if you have a concrete definition, please comment it below!

This lipstick definitely had a shine to it and did not dry down completely. It did stay on for a reasonable amount of time but not long enough to compete with Stila Stay All Day (sorry, I'm obsessed). I don't actually mind this product not being 'matte' - it felt hydrating on my lips and much more comfortable than other liquid lips. The lipstick not drying down completely meant that it didn't crumble on my mouth and leave me with patchy lips either. So, I loved this product - longer lasting than a gloss with better coverage and more comfortable than a matte liquid lip! It's a winner for me.

But, as always, decide for yourself!

Trying to capture the duochrome colours on camera was very difficult - I think I might have to try it on video instead!

In conclusion, I have a feeling this might be more of a brand-fling than brand-love. I am curious to try the duochromes in a few darker colours. I feel like I could buy the whole range of plush lip mattes and love them all too. I will tentatively make a second purchase and maybe try some of their other products as well. Hopefully this brand isn't a player looking to break my heart but wants a girl to value and love in a committed, long-term relationship. But, we'll see....

The Makeup Geek website is amazing to scroll through - I highly recommend checking it out just for the tutorials and looks if you can't afford to/don't want to buy anything. https://www.makeupgeek.com/

The final word:

Duochrome eyeshadow pans - AUD $7.50 ea

Fun to play with, not a must-have

Great pigment and easy to blend!

Packaging is cheap and flimsy

Pans are small in size

Would like to try them in darker colours

Plush lip matte - AUD $15 ea

Love the formula but I don't think it is matte?

Hydrating on lips and does not crumble

If the postage doesn't bleed me dry I will buy more of these!