Beauty Products Worth The Hype

Every week there appears to be a brand new super hyped 'must have' product doing the rounds on blogs and YouTube, so it's difficult to try and keep up especially with influencers seemingly having a new set of favourite products every single month. I have to admit I'm a sucker for beauty hype and I very often find myself jumping on the bandwagon to purchase hyped products to see what the hype is all about but I'm not always in agreement with the buzz surrounding such products. Today I've collected a selection of very hyped beauty products which we stock here on Luxplus, which have all been featured within the blogosphere during the last twelve months and I've put them through their paces to see if they are worthy of their hype?!

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch

No makeup look is complete without a good quality, skin perfecting primer and the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer has holy grail status for many. The primer is packaged within a red plastic pot with a gold metallic lid and is suitable for all skin types. It's not just bloggers that love this primer as it's even won an award for its skincare and makeup hybrid formula which gives the illusion of a 'second skin'. It has an invisible texture which melts into the skin leaving a imperceptible veil on the surface, filling in and smoothing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and pores whilst managing to be lightweight enough to allow the skin to breathe. Good pore blurring primers are an instant confidence booster as they help my skin look more perfected and even before I apply my makeup. The Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Primer works fantastically at perfecting my skin so my makeup looks and performs better so in my opinion it's definitely worth the hype as it genuinely does feel like a skincare product on the skin which I feel is what makes it so unique.

Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil

The Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil originally launched with just two shades; Honey and Raspberry which were both limited edition but Clarins decided to make them permanent following their popularity as well as introducing a third shade; Red Berry. The Oils are infused with the power of plant based active ingredients to nourish and enhance your lips' natural beauty with a glossy, crystal-like non sticky shine. The oils also contain a blend of hazelnut oil, mirabelle and organic jojoba oils for a comforting yet soothing effect and their unique fusion formula is directly inspired by Clarins' expert face and body oils.

I already own the Honey shade which doesn't impart any colour to the lips but I'd heard some great things about the tinted versions so I was intrigued by the Red Berry shade in particular. The Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oils really do feel divine on the lips and offering both nourishment and shine, whilst the Red Berry shade imparts a subtle berry tint which is very wearable. I love how comfortable the Clarins Lip Oils are on the lips, and although they have a glossy finish they're not at all sticky like a lip gloss but they work nicely layered over matte lipsticks for a hit of moisture. I cannot recommend them enough as they're nourishing, easy to wear as well as looking very pretty on the lips so I would deem them as being very worthy of their hype and well worth a try.

Mascara Worth The Hype

The Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Waterproof Mascara was *the* mascara for the last two summers especially for those going on holiday, due to the long lasting waterproof formula. Waterproof mascaras are generally difficult to remove but in my opinion a waterproof mascara holds a curl in place for longer. The Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Waterproof Mascara claims to give your lashes clump-free, 360° Volume thanks to its unique brush which is inspired by professional hair styling brushes, with spherical bristles that perfectly wrap lashes for 360° volume and straight bristles to create clump free definition.

The brush has natural bristles which look a little messy in their placement but that's down to the combination of spherical and straight bristles but they really do catch every single lash, and I've found is best applied in a zigzag motion on both the upper and lower lash lines. I didn't expect this mascara to impress in regards to volume and separation as I thought it would be more about the longlasting curl and longevity, but it does an amazing job at making my poker straight lashes look voluminous and separated as well as holding a curl after using my lash curlers. Due to the waterproof mascara, it doesn't flake, crumble or smudge but it's not difficult to remove either making it the best budget friendly waterproof mascara I've tried and of course worthy of the hype.

Makeup Revolution

Makeup Revolution are a very hyped brand within the beauty community thanks to their budget prices and their ability to quickly churn out products. In my opinion Makeup Revolution products are very hit and miss and perhaps more so than the average drugstore beauty brand, but I'm still always up for trying their new products. Makeup Revolution like to copy higher end products and the Awesome Metals Eye Foil Sets are obvious copies of the Stila Magnificent Metal Foil Finish Eyeshadows. I decided upon Pure Platinum from their shade lineup as it looked to be the most versatile, but the Makeup Revolution shade range is quite limited. The Eye Foil Set includes a small circular metal dish, a small bottle of liquid primer and the eyeshadow itself. To use the Eye Foils you start by putting a drop of the primer into the dish and scoop a small amount of the shadow to the dish and mix it together with the primer and apply to the eyelids with your fingertip.

The process of mixing the shadow and primer together is a little bit of a faff but I'd feel the same for both Stila and Makeup Revolution as it's not a product you can just simply apply and go. If you have a makeup spatula, you can use that to scoop the shadow out or you'll have to use another implement so I wish the kit came with something to make the scooping process a little easier. The mixing of the primer and the shadow is easy enough but it's messy too and you have to clean the dish after every use which is less than ideal, as well as cleaning whatever implement you used for scooping and mixing the primer and shadow together. The finished effect is very pretty with a high shine finish but I feel the same effect could be achieved by just spritzing my makeup brush with a setting spray and using a shimmery shadow for a foiled finish. I know the Makeup Revolution Awesome Metals Eye Foils Sets are hugely hyped, but sadly I don't think they're worth the hype especially as you get such a small amount of shadow but they're certainly pretty for the occasional use when you're not short on time.

Real Techniques Bold Metals

The Real Techniques Bold Metals Makeup Brushes are the more luxurious brush collection from Real Techniques and their packaging, presentation and price reflects that. There are currently nine different brushes for the eyes, face and cheeks within the Bold Metals range as well as a makeup sponge. The Bold Metals Blush Brush featured within our Dupes post and we were really impressed by the quality and craftsmanship of the brush so we knew we had to try another from the range and decided upon the Real Techniques Flat Contour Brush. There's absolutely no doubt that the Bold Metals Brushes are absolutely beautiful, and the Contour Brush is no different with a stunning rose gold weighted handle and metal ferrule.

The Contour Brush features densely packed synthetic bristles in a flat angled shape to fit into the natural contours of the face. The head of the brush is quite large so I wasn't sure if it was too big for contouring but it really isn't as you can use the flat surface of the brush or tilt it to use the edges so you can use it in more precise places such as the sides of the nose and temples. The bristles are extremely soft and make light work of blending cream and powder products, and I honestly believe it's one of the best contour brushes I've tried. Not only is the brush aesthetically appealing but it's very effective too, offering professional results so in my humble opinion, it's well worth the hype.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Set

The original formula was designed to protect, help and moisturise the skin up to eight hours and helps relieve chapped, cracked and dry skin. It's a real multi use product which can be used practically anywhere on the body and even on sunburn, windburn, scrapes and abrasions. The efficacy is supposedly down to its combination of petrolatum, a skin soothing beta-hydroxy and Vitamin E. It has a thick balm consistency with a subtle apricot tint which can also be used for cosmetic uses such as making lids, legs and lips shiny, an eyebrow gel to keep hairs in place or as a cuticle balm so it's a great product to own within your collection. Due to the thick consistency, it does need warming before use to make application a little easier so I like to roll the tube between my palms for a few seconds. I really had no idea that the balm had so many uses and I was unsure whether it would deliver all of its claims but I'm so impressed and now kicking myself for not trying it sooner. It does such a great job at hydrating my skin wherever I apply it and my favourite method of use is at night so I can leave it on my skin over night so it can fully absorb and overall I feel it's well worth the hype.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

The Eight Hour Cream Intensive Daily Moisturiser contains the same Eight Hour Cream formula to leave the skin feeling soft, smooth and moisturised upto 8 hours. It works to protect the skin from the effects of extreme weather and climate changes while sunscreens shield skin from the harmful effects of the sun. It contains an SPF of 15 and has a slightly thick consistency which works well for my dry skin, but it might be a little too rich for those with oily skin as it does leave my skin looking rather shiny. Although the moisturiser feels lovely on the skin and helps to keep my skin feeling moisturised, I'm just not sure you'd need both the original Eight Hour Cream and the Eight Hour Cream Facial Moisturiser. I feel that the original Eight Hour Cream offers such intense hydration when used in the evenings that I don't need to use such a rich moisturiser in the day. I really do appreciate that the moisturiser contains sunscreen protection but in my opinion, the facial moisturiser isn't as worth the hype as the original formulation is.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Lip Balm

The Lip Protectant is a stick version of the original Eight Hour Cream and is enriched with emollients, protective sunscreen of SPF 15 and Vitamin E. The Lip Protectant is so much more convenient than applying the thick Eight Hour Cream balm to the lips as you can apply the stick directly to the lips without needing a mirror as it's completely clear. I am a serial lipbalm applier and tend to apply lip balm throughout the day but when using this balm I don't need to reapply as it keeps my lips intensively hydrated almost all day long. I like to apply the Lip Protectant in the morning and the original Eight Hour Cream at night and I do think the Lip Protectant is worthy of the hype as it's such an effective balm.

We would love to know if you've discovered any products which weren't worthy of the hype? Or maybe products which were definitely worth the hype? Let us know in the comments below...