Rituals Make-Up - Sunglow Blush & Duo Baked Eyeshadow Palette Review

I've been a fan of Rituals products for ages (especially the scent diffusers because they smell absolutely incredible!) but I only recently realised that along with their skincare and home products, they also do make-up. I still don't even know how I missed this! So when the wonderful people at achica.com very kindly offered to gift me some products to review and I found they were selling products from the Rituals make-up range I decided I'd really like to try the gorgeous Sunglow Blush in Pink and a cute little Duo Baked Eyeshadow Palette called Creamy Dusk.

The Rituals Sunglow Blush in Pink is described as 'gemstone make-up enriched with Amethyst which I have to say really intrigued me. I've heard of mineral make-up of course but never gemstone make-up which sounds really luxurious! There's a little note on the box which explains that 'according to ancient Chinese tradition, amethyst promotes inner peace, creativity and balance in the body. Well who knew a blusher was capable of doing all of that! In all honestly though, I know it may be a bit of a marketing ploy but I actually really like the idea, it makes me feel happy applying a product to my face which may well make me feel good on the inside as well as the outside.

 

The blush itself consists of a peachy pink shimmer, a pale pink shimmer, a slightly darker rosy pink shimmer, a brown-y purple shimmer and a light, highlighter shade. Rituals say the Sunglow Blush can be used as a 'natural shimmer for cheeks and eyes' which considering the colour range of the blush seems like a really great idea. This is a real four in one product in my opinion, all the shades can be swept together on to the cheek, the pale, creamy shimmer shade can be used as a highlighter, any of the pink shades can be used separately on the cheeks and all the shades can be used on the eyes. I can already tell I'm going to get a lot of use out of this little palette! 

The colour pay off is absolutely brilliant, plenty gets on to the brush so I'd advise a light hand if you're looking to create a natural look. I chose to sweep all the colours together to apply to my cheeks and just look at how much of a gorgeous, natural flush it gives me! My skin looks extra glowy and fresh and it doesn't look at all powdery, it sinks it to the skin almost as if you are using a cream blush rather than a powder.

The packaging is great too, it feels sturdy and satisfyingly heavy so I feel positive there's no way it would break if I carried it around in my bag. It would be a great little palette to take away with you for a weekend and the large mirror in the lid is extra handy for when you're on the go. 

As for the Duo Baked Eyeshadow Palette in Creamy Dusk, well it's safe to say I already own quite a few eyeshadows but the colour combination of the two colours really made me want to try it. It includes a beautiful dusty pink and a purple-y grey shade, both of which are matte. I don't own many matte eye shadows so already this is a great one to add to the collection. Rituals describes the eyeshadow as being 'precious mineral makeup' 'enriched with pulverised natural gemstones'. It doesn't say which gemstones but again it adds a little luxurious feel and it's nice to know that it's been created with all natural ingredients.

Despite being powder eyeshadows, they're actually really creamy much like the blush. I found that my brush picked up a lot of product and yet the colour blended easily on to the skin without any fallout. I've used this little palette numerous times now to create a pretty daytime look by applying the pink shade to the whole lid and the grey blended out in the socket line and outer edge of the lid. Again this comes with a great size mirror and nice sturdy packaging so no worries about it spilling out all over your bag.

If like me you didn't know that a Rituals make-up range even existed then I'd totally recommend you search out some of their products, I know I will be! I'm really keen on the idea of trying more natural and mineral makeup and Rituals certainly seems like a great place to start. Let me know in the comments below if you can recommend any other mineral makeup ranges I should try!

Rituals Sunglow Blush Pink - Achica price £15.25    RRP £25.50
Rituals Duo Baked Eyeshadow Palette Creamy Dusk - Achica price £11.25    RRP £19.50
achica.com
uk.rituals.com

Ellie x

Ren Skincare - Rosa Centifolia Exfoliating Cleanser & Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel Review

Hands up who knew achica.com sold beauty products?! No me either, but after the very lovely guys from achica.com got in touch with me recently to see if I'd like to review some products from their site, I soon found out they do some really great deals on high end and well known beauty products. I chose a great package deal which included the Ren Skincare Rosa Centifolia Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser and Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel for just £20, a great saving considering that sold seperately they are £15 and £20 respectively.

I'm a big fan of Ren Skincare as they use only 100% plant and mineral derived ingredients. I put enough chemicals on my face from makeup etc so it makes me feel happy that I'm using completely natural products to cleanse my skin. 

I've previously used the Rosa Centifolia Hot Cloth Cleanser so the Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser has been on my radar for a while. I have to admit I was slightly dubious about exfoliating cleansers beforehand, I have quite sensitive skin anyway so I didn't particularly want to make things worse by scrubbing it to bits but I was pleasantly surprised! The cleanser itself is basically a watered down version of the hot cloth cleanser with the added benefit of tiny little exfoliating beads in it. There aren't many beads in it which is probably which it doesn't even feel as if you are using a scrub on your skin. Exfoliating wise it's really great, it's gentle enough so there's absolutely so irritation and my skin felt considerably softer after each use. I really felt like it had got rid of any dead and dry skin, especially around my nose which is where I normally have a problem with that kind of thing.

As for it's cleansing properties however I have to say it's not great, you can't use it anywhere near your eyes for obvious reasons and as for the rest of the face, my skin did feel clean but it wasn't anywhere close to removing all my makeup.  This is definitely a cleanser where you have to give your face a wipe with makeup remover or a face wipe beforehand which kind of defeats the object if you ask me! It does leave your skin feeling fresh and soft however and despite my previous misconceptions about exfoliating cleansers, it's definitely gentle enough to use daily.

I already have a few different eye serums and creams but up until I'd tried the Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel, I had yet to try any kind of eye gel. This one promises to 'treat, revive and brighten the delicate eye area' and helps to 'reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles'. So have I noticed a considerable difference in my eye area? Well not really but it's early days yet. It does feel incredibly soothing and cooling to apply, it sinks in to the skin almost instantly and definitely makes my eyes feel less puffy in the morning. It is supposed to have brightening qualities, unfortunately I didn't see much difference at all but hey, that's what concealer is for! I will say though that it leaves your skin feeling so incredibly smooth, almost like a primer and creates a great base for applying foundation/concealer. I've noticed too that my concealer hasn't creased once since I've started using the Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel so I'd definitely recommend it as an eye primer if anything! 

It's a bit of a mixed review I'm afraid for both the Rosa Centifolia Exfoliating Cleanser and the Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel. I didn't dislike either of them, they just didn't really thrill me either but they certainly both had their plus points. If you are looking for a decent eye gel then I would totally recommend this one, I can't imagine any others would be much different from this one. I think if we've got anything from this it's that I will definitely be keeping an eye on the Achica website for beauty bargians from now on and I suggest you do too!

achica.com
Ren Skincare Rosa Centifolia Exfoliating Cleanser - £15 renskincare.com
Ren Skincare Active 7 Eye Gel - £20 renskincare.com  

* This post is not sponsored. I was kindly gifted the products mentioned to review.*