I’ve recently joined a Facebook group for makeup addicts, and on there have met lots of lovely ladies who are just as makeup mad as me. I’ve also been lucky enough to get to know some fellow beauty bloggers and youtubers, including the lovely Beth Elenor, a Youtuber and blogger. If you don’t already follow her channel, I suggest that you take a look. She’s fun, chatty, and puts together lots of fabulous reviews. (In case you’re confused – we’re both called Beth!)
After chatting about our blogs and getting to know each other a bit better, Beth and I decided to collaborate for a very special blog post. For our collaboration, we decided to do a blogger box swap. The idea was that we’d each send each other a care package of a few makeup items; this could include anything. For our spending limit we settled on £20 so that we could buy each other a few nice things.
Let’s start with what I put in my box for Beth
Before I reveal what was in my box from Beth, I’m going to tell you a little bit about what I put in the box for Beth.
When we were chatting, Beth mentioned that she wanted to try a wind-up highlighting stick, so I got her the Collection Speedy Highlighter in Pearl Sheen. I picked this because I have the No.7 one myself and on close inspection realised that both are literally identical. From the shape to the finish; these two highlighters differ very little. Both have a beautiful pearly sheen when applied, are easy to blend, and are wonderfully subtle and natural-looking. I wanted to be able to buy Beth a few different things, and as Collection’s highlighter was cheaper than No.7’s and identical, I went for that.
I am a real Makeup Revolution addict, so for the next product I picked their Iconic eyeshadow palette. From Beth’s YouTube tutorials, I knew she liked experimenting with eyeshadow so thought this would be the perfect product. What I love about the MUR palettes is that unlike most other budget-friendly brands, they’re beautifully creamy and highly pigmented.
The next thing I picked up for the beauty box was MUA’s Pro-Base Prime & Conceal Palette. I don’t have this product myself but I’ve heard so many good things about it, that I just had to get it. I opted for the cream version instead of the powder one because cream products tend to be easier to work with and last longer too.
For the next item in Beth’s box, I picked a Rimmel Lipstick called To Nude or Not to Nude. I picked this because I am a real fan of Rimmel’s lipsticks when it comes to budget-friendly makeup; they’re creamy, apply easily and last well. Plus they don’t dry your lips out – what’s not to love?
I also choose a Makeup Revolution highlighting powder called Golden Lights. I have this myself and love it. It’s such a pretty highlighter that gives a lovely natural glow and is super easy to blend. I have this myself and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.
Last but not least, I picked Beth a mini eyeshadow from Seventeen. In the past year, Seventeen have really upped their game when it comes to their products. I haven’t tried this shadow myself because it’s new out, but I thought it would be ideal for Beth.
To find out what Beth thought of her blogger box head over to her blog or YouTube channel.
Now, onto what was in my beauty box…
When I excitedly ripped open the parcel from Beth, I was greeted with six packages wrapped in pretty pink paper. All of which had cute little messages attached to them, explaining why Beth picked each one.
The first package from Beth contained Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette Iconic Two. As I mentioned above, I’m a real fan of the MUR palettes, they’re fantastic. I already have Iconic One, so was delighted to unwrap number two. Made up of 12 shimmery shades, the Redemption Palette Iconic Two is so pretty – it’s a perfect dupe for Naked 2.
The next item I unwrapped was Collection Speedy Blush in Tickled Pink. Coincidently, this is from the same brand that I got Beth’s cream highlighter from. I tend to mostly use powder blush – Smashbox and The Balm are my favourites, but I’ve been wanting to test out a cream blush for a while, so this was a great choice from Beth.
When I unwrapped my next little parcel I was pleasantly surprised as out rolled three pencils from beauty brand PS from Primark. One of these was a lip liner – something I’ve never used before, and the other two were lip crayons. I haven’t tried Primark’s makeup before, but I must admit I’m impressed with these beauties – full reviews to follow soon. Of the three pencils, the two lip crayons are my favourites – the colours are ideal for me.
Beth also chose me a PS eyeshadow and concealer double-ended brush. I’m a little bit makeup brush mad right now, so this was a great pick. I just love how pretty this cute little rose gold brush is and cannot wait to test it out properly.
I mentioned to Beth that I’m a neutral lipstick wearer but would love to branch out, so she aptly brought me a lovely bright liquid lipstick from Makeup Academy, called Whipped Velvet. I tend to opt for regular lipsticks over liquid ones because I prefer the consistency, but after testing this out, I’m really quite impressed with it.
The last package I unwrapped was a New Look baked eyeshadow in a beautiful bronze colour. I’ve never tried New Look’s makeup before but I’ve been wanting to for a while. Beth did so well with this colour, it’s perfect for me. Highly pigmented, subtly sparkly, and wonderfully nude, this powder based eyeshadow is seriously impressive.
I have loved every second of planning my first blogger box swap, it’s been so much fun. I’ve made a lovely new blogger friend, got to shop for beauty products for someone else, and have got lots of lovely new makeup to try out. I’ll definitely be doing another blogger box soon, as it’s such a great way to make new friends and try products that otherwise you’d never try.
Lizzie Harrison
Would love to do something like this! xx