Freedom Makeup Haul and First Impressions

I'm always on the look-out for some budget friendly makeup and I honestly can't turn down a bargain, so when I discovered the makeup brand Freedom was sold in my local Superdrug, I had to give it a try. Not long after picking up a couple of their products, the brand was actually kind enough to surprise me by sending me even more Freedom makeup, which was completely unexpected yet I'm very grateful for. I've now accumulated a small selection of their products to try, so I thought I'd do a first impressions and mini-review post about each one that I own.

Audacious Mattes 12 Eyeshadow Palette
This palette comprises of solely matte eyeshadows like the name suggests, and I honestly feel as though it has filled a gap in my makeup collection. These beautiful yet shimmer-less eyeshadows can be used in a variety of ways to create stunning looks, whether you want something more on the natural side or a much bolder alternative. I often feel as though I'm lacking in matte eyeshadows but this palette completely solved this issue, providing a variety of shades that are all I could ever need. I think that this allows for a great deal of versatility and makes this palette an essential for any look that you want to create. Despite being a budget palette, I was surprised by how the powders are creamy and insanely pigmented, feeling much more luxurious than the £4 price tag would suggest. Each one applies evenly and can be blended out to provide a gorgeous shadow across the lid. I've definitely been loving these so far and my first impressions are nothing but positive.

As you can see from these swatches, the pigmentation of these shadows is insane and definitely not what I was expecting. I was particularly blown away by the paler eyeshadows, which are usually faint and powdery when they come from the drugstore, yet it seems like Freedom have really mastered their eyeshadow formulations!

Pro Contour in Medium 2 *
I was initially sceptical with this product as I was sent quite a dark shade, despite being relatively pale myself, yet I've actually enjoyed using these two powders. They aren't nearly as dark as I expected, meaning I can use them to create a bold yet beautiful look on the skin. The leftmost one is actually a gorgeous shade that compliments my complexion well, and so I find myself regularly reaching for it. The other powder is considerably darker and so I use it sparingly, although it still creates a lovely look once on the skin and will be particularly gorgeous when I have a tan. Despite being branded as for contouring, I find that the warmer tone in these powders makes them more suited to bronzing the skin, but they're lovely regardless of this. They're very pigmented but I sometimes find that they aren't the easiest to blend out, although this could be due to any makeup underneath and not this product itself. Like with all bronzers, I also recommend using these as eyeshadows for equally gorgeous looks, so if you find that the shades don't best suit you then there's always another option.

From the above swatches, it's clear that both bronzers are greatly pigmented and a lovely colour, although they're both far from my natural skin tone. However, I've still loved experimenting with these and they look much more natural when blended into the skin and applied with a light hand.

Pro Studio Strobe Cream *
This product claims to provide the 'most subtle and natural illumination and highlight for the skin', so I was definitely excited to try it out. Summer is the perfect time to add more dewiness to your makeup and creating a radiant, almost 'lit from within' look, and this product sounded like it was perfect for the job. The strobing cream is quite thin, meaning it doesn't feel heavy or cakey on the skin, and I also find that it doesn't feel greasy, so this may be the perfect product for people with oily skin. It's really soft and blends smoothly into the skin, providing an even layer of the product across your face. This strobing cream is definitely quite shimmery when applied in very large amounts, so I'd recommend only applying it to the target areas opposed to all over the face. Freedom also states that this product can be used both under and over makeup, so it'd be interesting to see how the finished look varied depending on this. I'm definitely looking forward to trying this product some more and I'll make sure to report back to you with a full review in the future.

From this swatch, you can see how the cream first appears to be an opaque white and lacking any glow, but don't worry as the colour fades and the glow appears once you blend it out. It's hard to tell on camera but I actually had some of this cream blended out by my wrist, with the fact that it's barely showing up proving that this glow is more of a natural one.

Pro Melts Lipgloss in Masterpiece *

This is a new shade in the range and a beautiful one at that, being a vibrant, almost fluorescent pink that is perfect for creating a statement lip. First of all, if you buy any of the Freedom liquid lipsticks I'd be careful as this product has a tendency to leak, which is probably down to the cost-efficient packaging not being the most effective and the runny formula. Despite this, I think it is a wonderful product and is definitely an intense liquid lipstick. The pigmentation is indescribable, with this product having more colour payoff than I've ever seen from a lip product before, and even just one coat provides an opaque layer of product on the lips. True to its form, this liquid lipstick dries in a few seconds and then becomes very matte, not budging for the entire day, making it a very long-wearing option. I'd say that this is probably too bold for me and is definitely out of my comfort zone, but if you love wearing a more daring choice then this product will definitely be for you!

Pro Glow Meow Bronzer
I think I've saved the best 'til last with this haul since I've absolutely fallen in love with this product and it's now a firm staple in my makeup bag. When swirling the different shades together, a lovely bronzed nude colour is created, which is perfect for adding warmth and dimension to the skin, yet the addition of shimmer also brings light and a glow to the face. It's impossible to go overboard with this product and even just the slightest of it can really transform your look and make a huge difference. I also love how you can pick out each individual shade to use as your bronzer, blusher and highlighter, all of which look lovely and are conveniently stored in this cute and compact product. I honestly struggle to critique this product and I've adored using it practically every day, so if you're looking for a beautiful, multi-purpose face product then look no further.

The swatches above show what the outcome is when all three shades are swirled together, which is a beautiful and quite natural bronzer shade that gives the skin a glowing, radiant appearance. Next to this are swatches of each individual colour, and as you can see the pigmentation is insane and they all compliment one another nicely.

I hope you liked hearing my first impressions of these products and hopefully you have been persuaded to try some of them out. If you'd like to know more about any product in particular then let me know, and I can produce a full review once I've tried them more. Thanks for reading this blog post and for the continued support, as it's greatly appreciated. Have a nice week and I'll see you again next weekend with a new post!

Love from Daisy, x

All products marked with an asterisk (*) have been sent to me for review, yet all opinions are completely my own and not influenced by the brand in any way.