Hema 2016 Christmas make up collection

Every year HEMA, a Dutch store that does it all, releases some special edition make up products. I reviewed some of those last year as well and when I saw this year’s offerings I knew I had to pick up some items to show you. I find the selection and little bit more limiting than other years, but the two products that I ended up buying are both absolutely stunning.

HEMA Luminous Loose Powder
HEMA High Definition Liquid Eyeliner

Apart from these two products the collection mainly consisted of mascara and nail polish. Both not really the type of product I was interested in. A loose powder highlight though? And a matte finish liquid liner? Yep, those are two items not yet part of my make up collection. The Luminous Loose Powder retails for €7.50 and the High Definition Liquid Eyeliner for €3. Not too pricey if good products of course.

The Luminous Loose Powder comes in a ball shaped compact. It is available in two colors: silver and gold. I have the gold version. I don’t own any loose shimmer powders and while stunning it is not a product I tend to use often. It’s really around this time of year that I would be using this type of product. That is why I didn’t want to spend too much on this.

Inside the compact is no mirror, but there is a powder puff that keeps the powder in place. The lid screws on nice and tightly which is handy so you could put this in your purse if you want to touch up throughout an evening. Still risky of course, but less risky then when this would have a worse shutting system. And can we just look at the stunning shimmers all over the packaging?

When you remove the puff you will find the sifter which doesn’t dispense too much product. I really had to give this a good shake to get enough product out. Again, this is only handy because loose glitter powder could just end up everywhere. Swatching this powder proved tricky as it is a nice and subtle glow. Nothing too glittery, but more of a golden sheen.

A few hours later, when the sun came out a little bit more, I had less trouble getting this on camera. As you can see this powder is shimmer powder with a golden glow to it. This swatch is very full on: blended out and dusted over your chest, shoulders and the high points of your face, this will look splendid especially in low light candle lit situations.

The eyeliner comes in the same stunning glittery packaging as the loose powder. When first seeing this I was rather disappointed to find it wasn’t a stunning glitter liner, but a mere plain black one. So the packaging can be a little bit deceptive in that way.

The eyeliner itself is a traditional eyeliner with a teeny tiny brush tip. The wand is not too long (plus) and the packaging not overly bulky (another plus). But what ultimately drew me into buying this was the fact that this is very well pigmented and to my surprise it dries down completely matte.

The brush tip applicator is also immensely fine. There is quite a bit of product on there, but I find the texture of this to be quite pleasant. It is not too thick nor too runny which makes the consistency quite easy to work with. Another benefit is that it dries down pretty fast and moreover it is incredibly difficult to take off. You really need an oil based remover in order to get this off your skin. On the upside of things, this also means that this liner is smudge proof and does not stamp onto your brow bone or runs out if you are stuck in a rainstorm or need a good cry.

For only €3 you will get a intensely black and fully on matte liner. It is fairly easy to apply. I am a bit of an eyeliner noob and feel my eyeshape combined with my naturally curled lashes doesn’t make it very easy to apply eyeliner. But I found my attempt at using this mildly successful. It goes on opaque in one swipe and just needs a little bit of smoothing out afterwards. The applicator also makes it easy to draw both fine and thick lines.

I used both products in this eye look that I wore in yesterday’s video. I used the powder as my inner corner highlight and here you can see how subtle this powder truly is. It brightens and highlights but it is not the type of highlight that will make people’s eyes hurt. It doesn’t really show up until the light hits it just right.

The liner looks okay. The fact that the line looks wobbly and shoddy isn’t the product’s fault. That would be me and my non-existent eyeliner skills. I like the matte finish and the black intensity this gives along the lash line though and since I have a deepset almost hooded eye you wouldn’t really see that edge much too begin with.

Am I happy with these HEMA products? Yes I am. The highlight is subtle but a stunning options for a Christmas dinner look. The eyeliner needs a bit more practice, but I like the product in itself. It is hard to find a good, affordable matte and intense black liquid liner and this one is therefore an absolutely steal.

What do you think of these?