Frontcover AW11

I wanted to squeeze in time to review a couple of sets from Boots' fastest selling brand, Frontcover, as they are currently on 3 for 2 alongside lots of other Boots gift sets. The first set from this years AW collection is Moon Dust* which retails at £16. The set comes with six pigments, two holographic glitters, a Shadowbase and a double ended eye applicator. Many of the Frontcover sets come with helpful hints and directions from makeup artists, making them ideal gifts for makeup beginners, as well as those who have a little more skill wielding an eyeshadow brush and can truly appreciate the flexibility of these kits. 

Here are the pigments and glitters swatched on top of the Shadowbase:

   

L-R: Periwinkle, Moondance, Lime Lime, Coal Hoal

L-R: Coinage, Saddle Brown, Burnt Carrot, Doubloon

As you can see, Coinage is absolutely stunning. It's really quite similar to MAC's Amber Lights, but packs considerably more punch in the pigmentation department. The pigments are all buttery soft and easy to work with. However the holographic glitters, Doubloon and Periwinkle, feel rather gritty to touch. This may not bother some people, and they are very pretty, but they would almost certainly irritate my eyes.

I'm a little perplexed by the inclusion of the Lime Lime pigment as, even with the MUA directions, it doesn't seem particularly cohesive with the rest of the set. Any thoughts?

Next up is the Gilt Edged* set which retails for £25. It promises 'Glitter, shimmer and shine all over from your head to your toes'...which is slightly obscure as the set doesn't include nail polish - but I suppose there are possibilities for experimentation with your own nail polish and the pigments and glitters included in the set.

  

As before, the set comes with a dual ended applicator and also an applicator for blush - both pretty useless in my opinion, but perhaps useful for someone starting out in makeup. There is a Peachy Peach Domed Baked Powder Blush, which is a little disappointing in pigmentation, but offers a pretty sheen. The Shimmer Stick is very similar to NARS multiples with an easily blendable, silky texture which gives a healthy glow, only let down by slightly chunky gold glitter. I'm not a lipgloss kind of girl but the dual ended lipgloss included has a nice dose of colour and is surprisingly not particularly sticky. 

 L-R: Peachy Peach blush, Pink Frost lipgloss, Peach Sparkle lipgloss, Shimmer Stick

L-R: Chunky metallic pencil end 1 and end 2, Burnt Carrot, Doubloon

Also included are the Burnt Carrot pigment and Doubloon glitter, a Shadowbase and a super pigmented, creamy dual-ended metallic pencil.

Of course in any gift set or palette, high end or low, there always seems to be one or two duds that are a little lacking pigmentation or not to something you'd usually opt for. However both sets essentially work out as about £2 per item which is fantastic value considering some of the items are really excellent quality. 

Have you tried any Frontcover makeup before? What do you think of the new sets?

xx

*PR Samples