When I was asked to review Love Island’s official makeup range, I’ll admit I didn’t really know what I was getting myself in for. Having watched the reality TV show all of once in my lifetime – the episode when Georgia watched Josh come back from Casa Amore with someone else – my exposure to the show has been limited.

Little did I know the collection – which is called Love Burst (ahem) – would be more going ‘out out’ than work-appropriate. Featuring bronzer, creamy eyeshadow and glittery lip gloss, it’s a complete and utter shimmer fest. In fact, my face remained glittery throughout the week – even after washing.

So how did I, someone who typically wears minimal makeup (think liquid eyeliner and the occasional lipstick), fare for a week? 

Day One

Wearing: On Show bronzing powder, Nudinium cream eyeshadow, Crazy Love and Crushing It eyeshadow (from the Thrill palette) and Pillow Kiss lip balm.

On Monday morning, I was extremely tired. Underestimating the On Show bronzing powder – which is extremely bronzed – I ended up with two dark streaks along my cheeks. I feared for my white towels, but after a bit of rubbing in, my face looked more acceptable and I swiftly moved on to my eyes.

As someone who prefers a simple flick of black liquid eyeliner, this was un-chartered territory and added a lot of time on to my typical 10-minute makeup routine. I opted for a creamy eyeshadow base called Nudinium, which is described as ‘ultra-shine, ultra-impact’. My eyelids immediately turned into Glitter Central and, unfortunately for me, drew attention to the fact I hadn’t plucked my eyebrows – so I had to get the tweezers out. 

To tone down the shimmer, I whipped out the Thrill eyeshadow palette – there are two in the collection. I added Crazy Love and Crushing It, which are both matte browns, on top of the Nudinium to attempt a smokey eye. I kept it quite toned down because, you know, work, but it could definitely be built upon to create a dramatic, after-hours look. 

Finally, lips. I was conscious that this was the most makeup I’d worn in a long time, so I swerved the intense-looking lip stains and opted for a scentless, yet hydrating lip balm called Pillow Kiss. I was a huge fan of the balm, but the packaging – a white tube with a pink plastic heart hanging off it – looked like it belonged in a Barbie set.

Day Two

Wearing: Make A Splash lip stain and Heart Stopper highlighting powder.

On the second day, I decided to brave the bold lip and, to my surprise, I liked it. It’s quite an earthy brown shade – the official name is Make A Splash – and as soon as I arrived at the office the compliments came flooding in. My boss likened me to Drew Barrymore in the 90s, which is a look I’m proud to be associated with.

The lip stains, which are described as ‘super luscious, non-drying, matte lip paint’, did exactly what they said on the tin (or electric blue packet, which is what the collection arrived in). However, they did dry my lips out a tad so I had to pile on the lip balm.

It was quite difficult to apply the lip stain because it has a lip gloss wand rather than a lipstick, however once it was on, it was there to stay. I didn’t have to reapply it all day at work, despite numerous cups of tea and a greasy pizza for lunch. Does this have more staying power than the average Love Island couple? I’d put money on it.

Due to the lip stain, I decided to give eyeshadow a miss – or else I could end up looking like Ronald McDonald – but I did give the highlighting powder called Heart Stopper a go. I ended up using it instead of the bronzer because, despite being a highlighter, it’s quite dark in colour.

Day Three

Wearing: Just The Two Of Us lip stain, All Heart eyeshadow palette and Heart Stopper highlighting powder.

I’ll be honest, this was my least favourite look. Any lip stain that’s lighter than your actual lip colour is always going to look a bit weird – and this made my teeth look yellow. The shade is called Just The Two Of Us but, rather ironically, when I put it on and turned to face my boyfriend, he shuddered. The candy floss shade also brought back memories of using foundation on my lips as a teen and that is not a look I want to recreate.

Given the intensely pale (and sadly, crispy) lip situation, I went for a bolder, darker eye using the darkest shades from the All Heart eyeshadow palette. I steered clear of the slightly reddish shade called Back At The Villa, that I feared would make me look like I had an eye infection.

Eyeshadow 1 – 0 lip stain. 

Day Four

Wearing: Close Up lip stain, Nudinium cream eye shadow, Copper Crush cream eye shadow and Heart Stopper highlighting powder.

This was the day I made the most effort – I curled my hair, sported sparkly eyeshadow and wore a bright red lip. I was in full Love Island mode and loving life.

I started with the creamy eyeshadow and used two different shades on top of each other: Nudinium (which is a sparkly beige colour) and Copper Crush (which is equally sparkly, but more coppery – funnily enough). I also put the bronzing highlighter on my cheeks and the world’s brightest red lip stain on my lips (shade: Close Up) which again, stayed on all day. I reapplied on my bottom lip once after lunch, but only because there was a tiny bit missing. Honestly, these darker lip stains have serious staying power and are probably the best bit of the range – I’d definitely recommend to friends.

One thing I did notice about the cream eyeshadow is that when the wind blew, my hair kept getting stuck to my eyelids. People in the office told me I looked “very glam” though, so it’s swings and roundabouts. 10/10 would wear again.

Day Five

Wearing: Fireworks lipstick, Maybe Baby eyeshadow and Love Smash cream eyeshadow.

Ground control to Major Tom, this lip shade went very wrong. Described as a “creamy, iridescent top coat with buildable intensity”, Fireworks is sparkly AF. I imagine this ‘top coat’ would be good for festivals (or teenagers?), but it’s not work appropriate so I wiped it off before I left the house and opted for a berry red lip stain instead (shade: Sorry Not Sorry).

On the eyeshadow front, I went dark and sparkly with another in the cream eyeshadow series, a darker brown shade called Love Smash, on top of a more matte eyeshadow base called Maybe Baby.

The Verdict

It was a rollercoaster ride, with highs including deeply coloured lip stains and lows owing to anything remotely shimmery. Product prices range from £13-£25 – pretty expensive for a collection that looks rather basic – but it is 100% cruelty-free, which a lot of brands can learn from.

While I won’t be tuning in to the show, I am grateful for this makeup range – available from the official Love Island shop and loveburst.com – for taking me out of my comfort zone, introducing me to lip stains which last forever and showing me it’s fun to rock eyeshadow.

I’m not a full convert, but I will be making a few permanent additions to my makeup bag.