My experience with Topshop

I try and stay clear from high street fashion brands that have dipped their hands into beauty as a quick and easy way to make profit. The reasons for my disapproval is because they are created by fashion brands who don’t specialise in makeup, unlike brands such as Mac or Nars which were created for makeup professionals. Makeup is a second thought for these large fashion cooperation’s, therefore it is not their top priority. Their aim is to deliver to the masses and in my opinion they tend to fall short on their formulas, longevity, pigment and overall wear ability, plus I’m somewhat of a makeup snob! 

The exception to this rule is Topshop,  I’m sure Topshop’s primary motive for creating makeup wasn't their extreme passion for makeup, most likely they saw an avenue for making money, however I have warmed to their reasonable prices and all round good products  over time. My first purchase from Topshop was about a year ago now in the form of a fantastic highly pigmented highlighter in crescent moon, (sunbeam is better suited to darker skin tones), a beautiful shade that lasted and looked amazing dabbed into the inner corners of the eye. It would probably appear a bit full on for winter and better suited to accompany you on a night out, however at £10 it was totally value for money.

Since then Topshop makeup has blossomed and become even more popular with the masses and fellow beauty bloggers. So I decided to try some more products to make sure my purchase a year ago wasn't just a fluke.  Trawling through the endless pushing and shoving crowds at Topshop in Oxford Street really tested my patience, however I always recommend going into a store to buy makeup instead of online purchasing (unless you are buying a replacement/refill) because you can’t get a sense of the texture or colour of a product via a picture on the internet, in my opinion it’s best to see it in the flesh. After spending god knows how long in the store I finally decided  on Nevada (£8), a pale nude lipstick and a metallic eye shadow quad (£12.50) in Game On,  spending just over £20, (pretty reasonable for 5 products.)

I will whole heartedly say that the metallic eye quad in Game On is one of the best makeup products I have ever bought for £12.50!!  To this day I am completely mesmerised by the gorgeous intense metallic shades, which are ideal for the festive period. In fact the metallic blue shade was used on the catwalk at Topshop  AW13 show to help create a modern look, by teaming a juxtaposition of colours and textures together, overall this looked incredible and screamed attitude! 

I've always admired Kate Moss for her brilliant nude lip, effortlessly cool in my opinion. Searching for the perfect nude however is somewhat uncool especially in a sweaty packed store at rush hour, however I was intrigued by the lipstick in shade Nevada and it instantly reminded me of Mossy so for that reason alone it has to go in the basket. After reaching home somewhat drenched in sweat and looking like a five year old had decided to paint a bizarre rainbow all over my hands I sat down in my boudoir (small, cramped bedroom) to play around with my new buys!

I was warmly surprised by how well these products complemented each other. By keeping the lips nude it helped draw attention to the powerful gold eye that I had created with the palette. Unfortunately my excitement did not last long, in fact it lasted roughly an hour. I was not impressed by the lipstick in Nevada, instead angry and humiliated by the state of my lips. The lipstick had congealed and had turned into a line of thick sludge in the middle of my lips, (not hot,) rather disgusting. I must have appeared to the outside world as if I had some sort of  mouth disease and overall was very embarrassed that I had been walking around university head held high under the impression that my lips looked  extremely kissable in my new lipstick!!  Although I had a bad experience with the lipstick my eyes on the other hand still looked fabulous In fact the eye shadow stayed on for over 10 hours!! So, massive thumbs up for the eye shadow quad.

As for the lipstick I decided a couple of days later to give it another try!! This time I made sure I had spent an hour prior to application with a hydrating lip balm on and had exfoliated my lips thoroughly, I also applied a hydrating lip gloss under the lipstick to stop it from drying out. This process did work however I still felt the need to reapply lipstick every hour and I had to keep checking that the dreaded sludge lip hadn't returned to haunt me. Overall the lipstick is a fantastic shade and complements any skin tone; however the experience has left me somewhat unimpressed by this product and a tad scared to use it again!! With the winter weather approaching I feel a hydrating lipstick is more appropriate, so am still in the lookout for a perfect nude! The eye shadow palette however is an incredible purchase and I have used it on many different occasions to create a dramatic eye, I much prefer gel and cream based eye shadow to powder as they create a fresher more youthful look. I truly praise this product as a cheaper option for a gel/cream metallic eye quad.



Lipstick-Nevada buy online here!
Eyeshadow Quad-Game On buy online here!

Let me know if you love/hate Topshop makeup?
Anyone had the same problem with the lipstick?
If you have any questions please comment below and I will get back to you ASAP!!