After a brief presentation on the new brand, we discovered that UNE strived to contain 100% natural ingredients in all of its’ products, having no less then 98% in any one product and using organic wherever possible (13 out of their 16 product range bearing the French ‘Ecocert’ certificate). Everything about this brand screamed eco and environmentally friendly, even down to the slidey bulk-free compacts made from 100% recyclable materials.
The range itself, designed for the woman who wants natural make-up that suited her (not someone looking to simply follow the trends), is a gentle mix of neutrals, browns, pinks and purples (for the darker skin tones). No corals or brights to be seen, but in its place some lovely flesh tones, with foundations that boasts up to 14 different shades!
There was a make-up artist on hand to help us pick shades best suited to us, and once we had swatched and played with every item on display, we were allowed 8 of our faves to take home!
I’ve since been wearing my 8 products quite consistently for the last few days and here are my preliminary thoughts on the bits I’ve tried thus far.
Base:
They do two different types of liquid foundation (one for dewy, one for matte) and several powder and mineral foundations. I opted for the Skin Glow Foundation – the dewy one, and the Soft Minerals Powder Foundation as a powder to set it, with the Skin Glow Pencil as a concealer.
Skin Glow Foundation and Skin Glow Pencil Swatches
I’m really impressed with the foundation, whilst admittedly it doesn’t beat my Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation it is still very good, very hydrating, comfortable on the skin with buildable coverage. You can actually get really good coverage with this if you use enough, and it’s definitely better than a lot of the other brands in the high street. However I must stress that it is super hydrating, and the more you put on the more ‘dewier’ it gets, so a good powder is essential to set it if you want a full coverage face without that greasy icky feel. A light moisturiser prior (if any) is all you need if your skin is dry. The Soft Minerals Powder is really good too, gets rid of any greasiness without drying my skin and provides an extra dose of coverage – however it also does worryingly contain Bismuth Oxychloride (as do all their minerals powders) so am a little wary of using this too often. The Skin Glow Pencil is great for counteracting shadows and brightening the face, and is a pleasure to use with its unique square shape and tiny precision pencil nib, but I have noticed it can crease in lines and wrinkles if you’re not careful and the effects don’t appear to be that long lasting.
Blushers:
Breezy Cheeks Blush, their only formulation of blusher which is a cream to powder texture. I like the blusher shades I picked, but I’m still working out how best to apply this – with my fingers or brush? I can guarantee one thing though, you will definitely never risk applying too much as I find myself applying quite a lot to get the colour pay off I’d usually expect from a blusher and still leave wondering if my cheeks are rosy enough. Also it’s so light on the surface of the skin (as cream to powder formulas usually are) it doesn’t feel like it ever sets and could easily be wiped off by accident. Haven’t made my mind up on what I think of this product yet..
Breezy Cheeks Blush in B08 and B03
Eye Shadow:
Glimmer Eye Shadow in G16
They actually have three different formulations of eye shadows, a powder matte one, a cream to powder (natural, second skin like finish) and the glimmer eye shadows (creamy colour that provides a pearly finish). I picked the Glimmer Eye Shadow as it looked lovely swatched, but unfortunately whilst it does brighten my eye lid I have noticed it creasing, and the pigment is practically non existent. There’s just a little shimmer and that’s it. If you were expecting a bronze dazzling sparkle (like I was) you won’t get it.
Lips:
They do three lip products, a lipgloss, a lip balm and a Lip-Toned Lipstick – no lip liner. I was really eager to take home one of the sheer tinted balms as they looked gorgeous but instead settled on these two lip toned lippies. Whilst I love the colour of them, especially the paler pink one (L05), its lasting power isn’t amazing. However it does apply wonderfully and is very creamy, so it’s no prob to quickly slick some on again. But I just found it failed at staying on during eating, drinking, etc. The colours are great though, very prettifying.
Lip-Toned Colour in L02 and L05
Another nice little touch was that you could buy brushes from the range that are actually pretty decent (I got the chunky flat blusher brush)! And pouches to put your compacts in to keep them clean while they’re in your bag!
Ta-daaaa! Here I am with only this range on (except mascara, which is Lancome)!
Lip-Toned Colour lipsticks – L02 and L05
So my final overview of this range, from the pieces I’ve tried (you can also buy mascaras, eyeliners, brow pencils, etc, btw) is that it’s good. Whilst the staying power of the lipstick and glimmer eye shadow isn’t amazing, their bases are great and easy to apply. I’m definitely gonna keep playing around with these bits and I may even do reviews on them again sometime in the future, once I’ve figured out my final opinion on them. But for now I’m really interested in the concept of the brand and think it’s a great step forward for the high street. We’re all really savvy when it comes to make-up and what is in make-up these days so it was about time a brand has cottoned on to this. Plus, the entire range is priced between £4.99 to £13.99 only! So offordable for the lack of fillers it contains.
You can currently only purchase UNE from selected Boots stores and online until September, where it will then be launched nationwide!
Lx
)? So yes, I don’t like toning the brilliance down. What I do use Step 1 for is combing through my lashes after applying Step 2, and softly adding more product without the risk of over applying. Both sides/steps combined result in the clump free, fluttery full lashes you are after.
