Hi everyone!

Back today with a little makeup haul! This time from a new (Boot’s own) brand called CYO!

The launch collection from CYO can be found in large boots stores in Northern Ireland. I know for sure it’s in Belfast (Donegal place) and Sprucefield….let me know if you spot it in any of the other Boots stores in NI!

The backbone to this cosmetic line is affordable daily makeup essentials with the main USP being that nothing in the collection costs more than £7.50! Bargain! 😍

Now if you know me you know I love a good bargain! So when the guys at Boots Belfast (Donegal place) contacted me to come in store and take a look at the range I couldn’t let you guys down 😜 Disclaimer* I was kindly gifted the products mentioned but all opinions are my own and HONEST of course!

Having played around with my goodies for a few weeks now I have come to some conclusions; so here are my top 5 picks from the CYO range!

1. Long lasting foundation

With 15 different shades and priced at £7.50 I really haven’t got anything bad to say about this foundation! I’m typically a full coverage foundation kinda gal, however this is classified as medium coverage. Personally I found it buildable. It covered and blurred out most of my acne scars which was my main requirement, whilst being incredibly lightweight on the skin (not cake-y)

It’s non-perfumed and feels quite soft on the skin, not drying either. I wouldn’t say the finish was overly matte, the skin looks smooth, flawless even!

2. Fixing spray

CYO has been dubbed as the next ELF in the press and when it comes to the fixing spray I can see why!

At just £5 it has got to be one of the most affordable on the market! But does it work? In a word YES! I definitely found my makeup stayed in place longer throughout the day. Great for dry skin and in a handy spritz bottle. My only negative with this product is the smell! It smells like alcohol and it’s quite strong, but once it’s sprayed that quickly disappears 🤣

3. Matte and blur primer

Another little £5 product which claims to minimise pores and help makeup last all day.

So what did I think of it? It’s brilliant! I really enjoyed using this! The primer is like silk on the skin! It doesn’t have a particularly overpowering smell and really helps your foundation go on more smoothly! I even think it lived up to its statement about minimising pores! Fab!

4. Eyeshadow quad (Counterfit)

I have a lot of love for this little palette!

Coming in at just £5 (again) this mini palette contains 4 shadows. It’s neat and compact and perfect for travel or on the go! I was SO impressed by the pigment considering the price!

In the counterfit version which I chose, one of the colours could actually be used as a highlight and the other as a highlight/blush so winner if you are packing light or aren’t big into makeup don’t like too many products clogging up your dressing table!

5. J’taime brow and lash gel (fair/medium)

This might just be the best product of them all! Why? Because it’s got MEGA strong hold! I’m a cult user of the Maybelline brow drama, something I have mentioned on the blog before but move over maybelline because this CYO product trumps them all! I like to use a brow gel as I am generally pretty lucky brow-wise, I just like something to keep them in place all day and add a little bit of colour…with this my brows were seriously on fleek! 🤣 They didn’t budge or even come close to wanting to! I will say the brush took a little bit of getting used to as it’s designed for brows and lashes but honestly it’s so good! AND again….£5!

And of course like anything there are going to be products you don’t like and for me that has to be the ‘Three & easy’ eyeliner marker pen. Now don’t get me wrong, what doesn’t work for me might not necessarily be the same for you but having tried it and looked at reviews online this opinion seems consistent. It’s incredibly hard to use, and that’s coming from someone who uses an eyeliner pen daily! (Obvs doesn’t mean I’m any good at it though! Lol)

The nib of the pen; like the name suggests, is divided into three (more like a brush than a pen really!) and this makes it very difficult to get a smooth line.

Credit where credit is due though, this product is incredibly long lasting and difficult to remove (trust me)! It’s disappointing therefore that it doesn’t apply better as if it did I would be obsessed!

Overall I am really pleasantly surprised by the brand! I love the price point and having tried a lot of the range I would say they do exactly what they claim to do! I can imagine this brand will be popular with a young age demographic due to the price point but please don’t let that deter you from giving it a go yourself even if you are older and a bit of a makeup geek like me! Definitely a great range for everyday essentials!

Have you spotted any of the new CYO range? If you have tried any of it I would LOVE to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Emz xx

*Massive thanks to Boots Belfast (Donegal Place) for gifting me these items for review. All opinions are my own.