Like many, I love to watch beauty gurus and makeup channels on YouTube and over the past few years so many have launched their own products, to the point it can be quite overwhelming and pricey. I had never personally purchased “merch” from any of my favourite creators and always tried not to get sucked in to the overly hyped reveals and launches of influencers products, as hard as it can be at times. I guess you could say as much as I love to watch and support their content I wasn’t quite brave enough to spend my own coin on their products. I’m not quite sure why but it nerved me in case I didn’t like the products or, it in case it wasn’t as good as the Instagram promotions or YouTube reviews, as well as a few other nerving concerns. Anyone else ever had the same internal problem with considering to purchase influencers products, or is it just me?

Being from the UK myself, I always like to find UK channels and creators. One of my favourite UK creators who I have be a follower of for a few years is Holly Boon, her talent as well as personality drew me in. Over the past few years she has grown massively which enabled her to launch her own cosmetics brand called HNB Cosmetics.

Even after watching her grow her brand and knowing I wanted one of her products so badly, because they genuinely appeared high-quality, I was still nerved to actually go for it and buy something! Call me a pussy, like wtf is my problem!? It’s just make-up! So this Christmas my boyfriend brought me her eyeshadow palette (because clearly I am a pussy) and I added one of her lip glosses to the order. Best decision ever, I have been using the lipgloss every damn day since, it is my go-to, my holy grail! I originally wanted the shade “Obsessed” but it was sold out so I opted for the lighter nude shade called “Stop It!”. The formula is spot on, its non-sticky with a slight pigmented undertone.

I have loads of drugstore eyeshadow palettes which I did use regularly until the Dare To Be Different palette entered my life and, I have not touched another palette since and I will 100% be purchasing it again when I run out. No doubt that is going to be soon the way I have been abusing it!

The palette consists of 12 colourful and neutral shades and their instagram page is popping with so many inspirational looks from different creators. I’ve had fun playing and experimenting with the palette already and have had compliments on the different looks I’ve created so far, even though I’m far from a skilled MUA. I love that the colour story has simplicity yet speaks so loudly, with colours to compliment any outfit or mood.

Being a pink lover I was most excited about using the pink shade “Babe” which is so pigmented and blends lovely however, it can leave a bit of staining after removal. I did expect this as I know eyeshadows which contain a red or pink pigment can possibly cause staining depending on the skin type. My favourite and most used shade has got to be the shimmery/glittery white called “Angel” and it literally is like the dust from an angel, OMG it is to die for! I even use this shade for highlight on my cheek bones when I’m feeling a bit extra and want to glow like the heavens.

Now, let’s talk formula…
The consistency of the formula is soft and buttery-like, you do not need much of the product on the brush as it is very pigmented and blends like a dream. There can be a bit of pay-off in the pan depending on how much you swirl your brush around but you genuinely don’t need to do that as the eyeshadows pick up well.

I wanted to mention the attention to detail and care that goes into the packaging. My palette came wrapped in bubble wrap which was sealed using a little sticker of the brand logo as well as a message saying thank you. I thought this was super sweet and probably only took 5 minutes to create but, added that personal touch that some brands simply overlook at times when it comes to customers.

Like I mentioned earlier on, I haven’t purchased “merch” from any creator before as this was my first time and I am also a massive fan of Holly’s so I understand this can appear slightly biased, I want to assure you it is not. Besides the above, if I genuinely didn’t enjoy or like the product I would express what it was that I didn’t enjoy but, I loved the products and think they are worth every penny and I will definitely be purchasing from HNB Cosmetics in the future.

Just an endnote:
I want to say thank you to Holly for creating such amazing and lovable products as well as inspiring many to get creative even if you are not a professional MUA or beauty guru. Also thank you for inspiring me to play with make-up more and to even write about it!
Keep doing what you’re doing!

Thanks to everyone for reading and click the link below to visit her website:
HNB Cosmetics.