High end or bust?! Phase Zero reviewed

Two weeks ago I wrote about Love Me Beauty’s new range – Phase Zero (article here), I mentioned that I had ordered some samples to test out, and today they finally arrived. They claim to be high-end quality, comparable to the most luxurious of brands, but are sold at “factory prices” for their members. We’ll be the judge of that!

First Impressions

We got off to a bad start with how long it took to get here, but once it arrived, I was pretty happy. It looked super cute in a little bag. Things were finally starting to feel more high end. If you didn’t read the last article, I ordered two liquid lipsticks, two lip toppers, and a set of six shimmer eye shadows.

I’m into the presentation. The white plastic on the top of the lipsticks is already dirty, but apart from that I think it’s all really cute. So let’s get down to business – testing!

Eye Shadows

Of the six eye shadows, I used four. They’re all shimmers so I had to grab some mattes elsewhere for my base and transition shades. I chose to use the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, they’re not as bronze as these shadows, but they’re cool toned and look quite nice together.

I used a dry, flat brush, and applied Pink Champagne to the inner 2/3 of my lid, Mush-a-boom to the outer 1/3, and Smoke along my upper lash line. I used Mush-a-boom and Smoke again for my lower lash line, but very sparingly. Lastly I grabbed Pearl, and applied it to my inner corners and one finger stamp to the very centre of my eyelid as a highlight. The shadows had some definite pros and cons, just from one application.

✓ Moderately creamy – didn’t need to use a wet brush or finger to apply.

✓ Pigmented – they’ve nailed that spot between transparent and overwhelming. These show up, but are forgiving if you screw up.

✓ Long lasting – so far they have been on for approximately six hours and no signs of wear yet.

X Some fall out – might not have happened with a wet brush or finger, but there was a lot of fall out on my cheeks after applying. Came off easy enough though.

Lips

The lip products were so fun to try. Let me just start by saying that. I LOVE glitter. Got that? Cool. Back to objectivity.

Let’s start with Pink Suede, the lighter of the two liquid lips.

It’s really patchy, guys. :/ You know when you put lipstick on one lip and press your lips together to transfer it to the other one? If you do this with Pink Suede it sort of just vanishes and leaves weird gaps.

Even if you keep your lips perfectly still til it dries, you need a second layer to get the coverage you need, which can get a little drying. It’s workable, but you’ll need to prep with balm and apply two thin to modest layers. One thick one ain’t going to help no one.

It’s also really pale – so much paler than it looks on the site. I’m a so-white-I’m-off-the-scale for most foundations, and only need a tiny bit of mixer to pull off Kat Von D Lockit L42, so I know pale pretty well, and this lipstick is super pale on me!

There are pros too, though! It is a lovely texture, like smearing butterscotch mousse all over your lips. Did I mention it’s scented? Guess what flavour (clue: it’s butterscotch). I used to work in a cinema and that vague popcorny smell is taking me back.

I don’t think I can pull off the colour alone, but overall I am psyched to have this in my collection for doing ombre lips!

Gingerbread.

I love it.

It’s not without its flaws. It’s got a slight patchiness issue, but nowhere near Pink Suede.

It’s a moist, moussey formula, and really nice to apply.

Both of these are transfer-proof by the way!

Gingerbread is the one I have chosen to wear test. It’s been seven hours now, and it’s still flawless, if a little hidden under the lip toppers…

Lip Toppers

These are not what I was expecting at all – in a good way.

I thought they were going to be like my PIXI lip topper – essentially a gloss with some glitter. I was wrong.

They are so thin and watery going on, the only thing I can think to compare it to is a Jeffree Star liquid lip. It feels really nice.

Within 30 seconds it’s totally dried down, and you’re just left with glitter. I really, really love how it looks.

Admittedly, I am shedding glitter like crazy now. If you touch your lips with even the slightest hint of moisture, some will come off. But it’s only noticeable on the thing that isn’t your lip (- finger, glass, etc). Your face will still look great.

Prosecco Kiss is a duo-chrome gold/pink glitter. Holo-lips is lilac/pink/blue, it’s closer to iridescent than it is duo-chrome.

I’ve put both on and recorded the shininess for you 🙂

Shipping

We do need to talk about the shipping times. I placed my order on the 12th March. It only just arrived today, 26th March. There’s no option to upgrade your postage method, and this two week shipping cost me just shy of £4. Maybe it would be understandable if they were abroad, but this was shipped from within the UK!

Now admittedly the eye shadows were pre-orders, being released on the 16th, but normally you send out pre-orders early to arrive on that day. Not Love Me Beauty though – my order wasn’t dispatched until the 19th.

The postage sticker says Royal Mail 48 hours too – so were they lying about the dispatch date? Who knows. The point is, it took way too long to get here. Minus points, Love Me Beauty.

Phase Zero – is it worth it?

I would break down my purchases into four categories:

Average
Pink Suede £3.50 (RRP £12)

Good
Eye shadows £9.99 (RRP £25.50)

Great
Prosecco Kiss £3.50 (RRP £12)
Gingerbread £3.50 (RRP £12)

Amazing
Holo-lip £3.50 (£12 RRP)

So if I were to declare one of these items a must have it’d be the Holo-lip topper, obviously. But without a membership, it’ll set you back £12, plus £3.95 postage. Is it that great? Well honestly, yes, but that would hurt.

Because I ordered six things with a membership I feel like I got my money’s worth. However, despite my overall good impression, nothing else in the collection really seems worth the non-member price.

Everything I ordered I enjoyed and will use again. Plus now Love Me Beauty have come out with new stuff, and will continue to do so, which means I may use my membership more over this three month period*.

So if you just want the one thing, maybe look for dupes elsewhere, or ask a friend to go in with you for a membership, but if you’re looking to get a few things, I would wholeheartedly recommend it!

*Minimum subscription is 3 months at £5 a month. You can cancel anytime but you’ll still pay them the total £15 regardless. After 3 months you can outright cancel though.

I’ve used some affiliate links, I think – but this is an objective review. Pics hopefully serve as proof!

Leah xoxox

Leah Scott

University drop-out, pretend artist, makeup enthusiast. Uses too many brackets when writing. Can’t be stopped.

leahscott.co.uk