I think we've established at this stage that one of my favourite things about going on holiday, is getting to have a browse and shop in Duty Free! I love that there are savings to be had on everyday essentials but also that there are some duty free exclusives that can't be bought elsewhere! Even if you aren't travelling yourself but know somebody who is, you can avail of the discount prices by using the Reserve & Collect option, whereby you browse the site, reserve your products and then the person who is travelling can collect the order and pay on the date selected. The brilliant thing about this option (which I only recently discovered) is that even if your local airport doesn't stock a particular brand, if you reserve in advance, you can choose from any of the brands stocked in World Duty Free. Who doesn't want to make a saving on Fresh, Diptyque or Jo Malone, for example? I'll definitely be taking advantage of that next time I fly! Today's post is all about a World Duty Free Exclusive: Clarins Travel Essentials Palette; a palette that has eye, lip and cheek options!
I remember when my friend was flying to Lanzarote for her wedding, she realised on the plane that she had forgotten her makeup bag! Instead of going all bridezilla, she decided to buy an all in one palette that would cover her for the week rather than double up on all of her usual makeup from back home. That was the first time that I paid any attention to a palette of this kind and I did wonder if it really would cover all bases, but she ended up loving it. I received this Clarins Travel Essentials Palette just before I spent a long weekend with my husband's family, so I decided the ultimate test would be to bring it with me as my only palette!
The palette itself is made from a pretty sturdy plastic and is housed in a soft faux-velvet pouch, which I know some people feel adds a luxe touch - I'm non-plussed but it does protect the plastic from chipping. Inside the lid is a decent sized mirror and the first layer of the palette contains a powder, a blush, 6 eye shadows, a mascara and 3 lipsticks. Underneath that is a pull out drawer, which houses a kohl liner, a blush brush, 1 lip brush and a mini eyeshadow brush. All of this for £39.90 is pretty good value!
The eyeshadows were what grabbed my attention immediately. The bronze on the top left is a dream to use - creamy, pigmented and a stunning shade. Underneath that is a pale pink that has a slight sheen - it's ok as an inner eye highlight but not one I would personally wear all over the lid. That said, it has a beautiful texture and is moderately pigmented so it's pretty easy to work with. The bottom left shade is a beautiful cream matte - the perfect base or brow highlight shade to just lift the brows slightly. The top right shadow is a grey matte - I was unsure about this shade initially as I don't often wear grey on my eyes but I liked it along my lash line or in my socket to deepen the look in the evening. Again, the texture is soft and easy to blend. Below that is a shimmery taupe-silver that is really buttery soft, pigmented and easy to apply. The final shadow is a pale pink shimmer, which like the other pale pink, isn't to my personal taste but it does work well with the others in the palette. Overall, I think it's a pretty good selection of shadows and something to suit all tastes and eye colours, they are all easy to work with and I was able to create both day and night looks with them.
The blush is a pretty neutral nude that works well with both a smokey eye and a nude eye. It just adds a little hint of colour to the cheeks without being too obvious. I really like all three lip shades, although I do think it would benefit from having a nude included. All are very comfortable to wear, creamy in texture and have a satin-gloss finish. I also appreciate that there is a separate plastic shield over the lipsticks to prevent any transfer onto the mirror or any kickback from the shadows.
There is a mini Wonder Perfect mascara, which I like because it's easy to get right to the roots and it adds definition, although not as much volume as I would personally like. It's very black, layers well and doesn't smudge or flake. Also included is a kohl, which I used along the lash line to add some definition.
Overall, this is a great little palette and whilst I did need some extras (highlighter and brows), I was pretty impressed with how versatile the looks I was able to create with the shadows were. For a hand luggage only trip, this is pretty ideal.
Have you ever travelled with just one palette? Do you think this would cover all bases for you? I'd love to hear!
Don't forget to have a browse of the World Duty Free site before you fly to check out the huge range of brands on offer!
Thanks for reading!
No comments
Post a Comment
I really love to read your comments & appreciate all of them!