Brand Focus: Ardell Beauty

This post contains gifted items

I couldn’t even tell you when I first started wearing Ardell lashes but I would hazard a guess that it was back around the early 2000s. Twenty years. My god, that’s actually frightening to think how many years have passed but it does make me feel good to see just how much a brand has remained in my life. Ardell is quite well known for it’s lashes and I’m sure you would know about the Wispies – they’re the dream natural lash for any girl. In the last year or two, Ardell have branched out to bring a whole beauty range for us to fall in love with and as it happens, I have quite a lot of it to show you. I think you will be pleasantly surprised! Fun names, gorgeous shades and some key products that have become permanent fixtures in my daily routine, Ardell Beauty is a bit of a beauty game changer.

Starting off with the pencils and pens, we have a collection of products that are not only handy handbag essentials but that make light work when it comes to application. The Eyerestible Shadow Sticks are one of those hero products. I do have quite the assortment of shadow sticks from various brands and I find them to be ideal for that 5 minute makeover in the morning. A quick flick over with the creamy shadows and a soft blend with a finger or brush, they settle down into a smudge proof and long lasting colour that lasts all day. I have the shades Gun Metal and Rude Touching; a deep charcoal and a warm bronze and both shades work so well. I do have quite oily eyelids but I can get a good few hours of wear before any fading and creasing.

As a brow addict, I am always on the look out for that perfect brow pencil. I have just two requirements; a pencil fine nib as a spoolie on the pencil to brush my brows into place. Ardell Beauty Brow-lebrity has ticked both boxes for me here and with four shades, it’s also got everyone else covered. I find the Medium Brown shade to be perfect in colour for me and I’m already on my third repurchase. At just £8 a pencil, it’s purse friendly and it works like a charm and the waxy pencil mimics those fine hairs with ease.

When it comes to eyeliner, I love a good felt pen liquid liner rather than using a traditional liquid liner. I still haven’t mastered liquid liner but I can draw it on with a pen with no problem. The Ardell Lash Boostier is a lovely liner. The product is carbon black whilst the nib practically draws the line for you. The formulation contains a serum that helps promote healthy conditioned lashes and makes them look and feel stronger. If a gel liner is more your thing, then the Ardell Beauty Wanna Get Lucky pencils are a nice alternative. They do come in several shades so you can really jazz up your make up look with a pop of colour. I do find that as their formula is so creamy that I get some breakoff of the product when applying. They do dry down but on my oily lids, they can get extremely smudgy especially if it’s warm so a proper prep is advised.

I love a good primer especially an illuminating one and I have found a good one in the Ardell Beauty In Her Prime. Silicone free, it’s a lightweight formulation that hydrates throughout the day and gives the flawless appearance that I need from my base. It doesn’t pill or bobble with any of my foundations and it looks dreamy with a glowy foundation. It’s a winner. The primers don’t just stop at the face, as Ardell have made sure that your eyes are covered too. Deemed as one of the best eye primers by my Mum, the Ardell Beauty In Her Prime Eye comes in two finishes; matte and shimmer. I adore the shimmer finish as it really enhances any shades with shimmer, glitter or sparkly elements and makes them pop. The matte is more of a day to day go to and it does keep shadows in place all day.

I wasn’t sure if I should include the mascaras within this post but I have to be fair. I have tried every mascara that Ardell Beauty have in their range but the only one that has worked for me is the Mega Volume Never Flat mascara. Whilst I don’t usually tend to go for a larger brush such as the one in the Mega Volume, it does give me massively fat and long lashes so I can deal with it. What I have found with the msacara formulas with the other options is that there is no pull when bringing the product through your lashes, like the mascara is too dry even though its wet. With this, I can’t get the desired effect and they just made my long lashes look almost stubby.

Now we are getting down to the nitty gritty and have reached the point where I share my absolute loves – highlighters! The Ardell Beauty Attitude Adjusters have been used and abused as of late. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it but I do really like a good highlighter and have one or two in my collection. The liquid highlighters come in very handy. They can be worn on top of makeup, underneath it, mixed with primer or foundation, mixed into body lotion, added to your decolletage, arms and legs. There is literally nothing better in life than a metallic shimmer to your skin and with all of these shades, you can change your look to suit. The deeper shade is my favourite with a tan whilst the second shade is my go to face highlight.

I have included Ardell Beauty Metallic Lip Creams in this post even though have been discontinued now as I just wanted to show the formulation and how pretty the shades are. A pointless paragraph but I’ve taken the images and I’m using them!

Have you tried anything from Ardell Beauty? What do you think? For a brand where the majority of the products are under £10, I’m pretty impressed!