Walking in a Winter Wonderland? | Wonderland Review | AD-Gifted

Wonderland Makeup describe themselves as a high-end, cruelty-free cosmetics brand with affordable prices without compromising on the quality. The range has come after 12 years in the industry working with major beauty brands and quite frankly I find their mission statement refreshing. Although luxurious makeup is a lovely thing to have, price isn't everything and there are definitely some fab products that I have found on a budget (watch my top 10 under £10 and top 5 under £5). I was really kindly sent a selection of products, including the primer, a nail polish and a pigment. They also have lots of other products, including a range of blushes which look lovely, foundation and lipsticks, and prices range from £6 to £15. This makes Wonderland Makeup comparable to brands such as Topshop, The Body Shop and Milani, all of which deliver extremely good quality products for the price.





Starting off with the Studio Finish Primer*, which is one of the brand's more expensive products at £15. Having normal skin, I still get a little oily around the sides of my nose and on the T-Zone, so a mattifying primer is something that I always have in my routine. I had been using The Body Shop Instablur Primer, which has an extremely thick silicone texture, but in comparison the Studio Primer is a lot more lightweight, smooth and silky, more along the lines of the consistency of Maybelline Baby Skin. It is oil-free and really glides over the skin and doesn't cling to any dry patches either as it is suitable for all skin types. As I have already found a few primers that I love, the Studio Finish Primer didn't necessarily wow me. It does keep oil at bay for a few hours on my normal skin, but if you have oilier skin I'm not sure how well this would work. I have, however heard quite a few people compare it to the Smashbox primer, and indeed the packaging is quite similar.

Next, we have one of their loose pigments, which is such a throwback as pigments were all the rage back in the day with Dazzle Dusts, and since then they lost popularity until recently where they've had a bit of a comeback. The MAC Pigments are extremely popular, but they're pretty expensive, so the Wonderland Pigments are perfectly priced at £6.50. There is a huge range of shades, from neutrals to brights, and I received the Wonderdust Loose Pigment* in Candy, which is a mid-toned pink with more of an orchid/purple iridescence. It is really finely milled, and doesn't contain any chunks of glitter, which is great. Pink is one of those shades that I never would have chosen, but with such an extensive makeup collection, I like that I don't have anything else similar, so I was more than happy to give it a go. I was disappointed with the pigmentation of Candy on the eye, and I really had to layer it to get any colour, even with a wet brush. It did work a lot better over the top of other shadows, and paired really nicely with some of the shades I have in the Soph X Makeup Revolution Palette. Being a pink, I thought the shade would also work really well as a lip topper, and it looks great over the top of a bright pink lipstick. I apply it to the centre of the lips using a lip brush to tap into the metallic lip trend! One thing I do really appreciate is the packaging of the pigments. The glass has a really nice weightiness to it, which makes it feel a little bit more luxe. Usually pigments are the messiest of makeup products, but there is a little plastic lid covering the sifter, that keeps everything clean. I have found however that you really need to dip your brush/finger into the pot to get enough pigment to give you some decent colour payoff.

Unedited swatches, swatched from the product in the sifter.

Lastly we have the Nail Polish in Grape Crush*. The nail polishes are £6, which is slightly more than your average drugstore polish, but not quite in the region of Nails Inc/OPI etc. Grape Crush really is a beautiful shade. I have a couple of deep berry polishes, but this one is really interesting because it retains that deep purple tone and it keeps it looking really vibrant. The brush makes it easy to apply (does anyone else usually get absolutely covered when using these dark shades?), although it takes 3 coats to get the colour opaque, but the formula isn't too thick and it dries fairly quickly too. My nails stayed pretty chip-free for a good few days with a top coat, and I have absolutely no complaints about these polishes. There are so many lovely shades to choose from too, from the more subtle whites, nudes and pinks, to glitters and brights.

Overall it has been a mixed bag of thoughts towards Wonderland Makeup. I did really enjoy the Nail Polish, as it performed just as well as others at a similar price point, and there are a couple of other shades that I have my eye on, such as Thistle, Must Be Minted and Myth. I thought the Studio Finish Primer was good, but not a standout product for me and you could get a similar product in the drugstore for half the price. I was a bit disappointed with the pigmentation of my Wonderdust Loose Pigment, although I'd still like to try some of the more neutral shades like the golds and coppers, and I've seen some incredible swatches (like these from Bella Beauty Blogger's review!) so maybe Candy was a bit of a dud shade. I definitely will use it as a lip topper however, as that seems to really work well. Overall, despite the claims, for me this doesn't feel like a high-end brand, and that goes for product performance and the packaging. Maybe there are products in the range that really are outstanding (I know they are quite popular among makeup artists) but for me I'm yet to try anything that puts them as a front runner at their price point. That being said, if you are looking for a cruelty-free alternative to your drugstore favourites without delving too deep into high-end prices, Wonderland Makeup may well be the brand for you. If you want to give them a try, Wonderland are offering a generous 15% off using the code Bloglife15 (not an affiliate btw!).

Have you tried anything from Wonderland Makeup?

- Post features PR samples (*) -