MAKE-UP OR BREAK-UP

Most of the time, our blog is about sharing kick-ass beauty products, but from time to time, we do come across some that don’t quite hit the mark. To save your dollars we like to share these occasional duds, and this post is going to be one of those.

As self-confessed frugal fashionistas, we’re always on the prowl for affordable beauty buys. With their comfortable and wearable fashion, Factorie is slowly growing as a fashion front-runner in Australia’s retail market, and with the launch of their own beauty range, Make up, Make out, we wanted to see whether they could take their success from wardrobe to vanity.

We hate to be Negative Nancys, but we have a rumbling of complaints against all the products in their range, and if you read on you’ll know that smell was a nit we kept on picking.

Yet to find Hermione’s beaded handbag, compact palettes are something we can never have too many of. With the magnetic packaging, mirror and brush, from first glance, Factorie’s eye shadow palette fits the travel-friendly brief. But unfortunately, it was one of those “not bad, but not great” picks. Vegas Nights* lives up to its name with 6 fairly shimmery shades, however, it would have been nice to have some matte shades thrown into the mix to balance out all that shimmer. When first applied, we were surprised by their pigmentation and how easily they blended, but we can’t say the same about their staying power. While the specks of glitter hung around, the pigment faded as the day went on, and it was the same story with the contour palette*. The contour powders were a little more pigmented than the blush and highlight shades, but just like the eye shadows, they failed to stand the test of time.

The highlight of the mini polishes are their soft and broad brushes, which remind us of some of our faves from Rimmel. Pigmentation was not too bad, but the streaky finish meant we needed 3 coats to make it wearable.Our biggest gripe with the nail lacquers are once again, their smell. The smell of acrylic paint was overpowering and always a big no-no when it comes to nail polishes.

If packaging was the only box they had to tick, Having a Ball Lip Balm* would come out on top. But let us not be deceived by these cute balls. The balms in Coconut Charm, Passionfruit Flirt and Watermelon Crush smelt nothing like we had hoped they would. Dipping into the lip balms, we were transported back to our childhood, and it was not a good thing. The scents were more play-doh than fruity.

Have you tried anything from the range? What’s your verdict?

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 ♥ M + K