I tried Love Island-approved makeup and this £30 Boots foundation looked flawless hours later

There are few dressing rooms I want to raid more than the one inside the Love Island villa. To ensure contestants stay as glam as possible, it’s absolutely jam packed with some of the best cosmetics, skincare and haircare products money can buy.

More than 140 coveted brands have entered the villa after Boots recoupled with the ITV2 dating show for a sixth series, including the likes of Fenty, Kylie Cosmetics, Huda Beauty and more. And so, as things continue to heat up between the couples, I thought I’d have a go and do my own makeup using products available in the Love Island dressing room, to see if they’re 100% my type on paper.

I had a bit of a ‘look’ in mind - one that would work for a whole host of summer occasions, be it date night, a wedding guest look, festival or holiday vibe. Think sun-kissed skin, glossy lips and a golden-hour glow - and in doing so, found some absolute gems I’ll be adding straight to my beauty kit.

I started off using the Kylie Cosmetics Power Plush Liquid Foundation , which retails at £29. The lightweight formula offers a medium, buildable coverage that gives an airbrushed appearance, blurring the appearance of my fine lines, pores, and texture without feeling cakey. I really liked the satin finish, which is not too dewy, not too matte, but the perfect in between.

But what impressed me the most was the staying power. The foundation is said to offer up to 12 hours of comfortable every-day wear, but even after a day at work, trying on clothes in the fitting rooms at River Island and a nail appointment on one of the hottest days of the year so far, it still looked flawless when I got home.

Bethan before starting her Love Island transformation

To sculpt my face and add definition, I used the Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in the shade Amber, which has a cool undertone and is best suited for lighter skin tones. The stick works best when warmed up on the back of your hand first, but then glides on so smoothly with great precision. I used it to lift my cheekbones, contour my nose and add a bit of depth to my eyes, too. It blends out so easily with a brush, but also stays put with no creasing or caking when you apply it. Although I do wish I’d added a bronzier shade to my basket to warm my complexion back up, afterwards, too.

Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Skinstick in the shade Amber,

I’m a big fan of doing blush before concealer, because I feel like if you go in a little heavy handed, the concealer really helps to tone it down when you blend it out, so I opted first for the ELF Camo Liquid Blush, because contrary to popular belief, there’s some pretty great affordable brands also tucked inside those beauty stations. These long-lasting liquid blush formulas are £7 each and highly pigmented, so you only need a tiny amount at a time to build to the intensity you want. I used the shade Dusty Rose , which isn’t a shade I’d usually gravitate towards, and in hindsight, I’d have probably picked something a little peachier.

As I had been a little dab-happy with the blush, I went in with the Huda #FAUXFILTER Luminous Matte Liquid Concealer to both brighten my under eyes and conceal any blemishes, but also tone down the pigment on my cheeks. I was a big fan of how this looked immediately after applying but did find that it settled into the lines around my eyes throughout the day, however, I would like to try setting it with a loose powder to see if that would help.

All of the products Bethan used are inside the Love Island dressing room

When it comes to eyeshadow, the islanders have a number of premium palettes to choose from, including the likes of Huda Beauty and Fenty, but it was actually a Barry M 9-pan eyeshadow palette , which cost less than £10, that I used for my look. I was really drawn to the warm, golden tones of this Heatwave eyeshadow palette, which I thought would work really well for a ‘golden hour’ ‘sunset’ kind of vibe.

I love a palette like this because they’re so great for makeup beginners. All of the colours are designed to work well together to create a range of easy-to-create and easy-to-wear looks, with a mixture of matte and shimmer shades to choose from. I used some of the matte neutral colours to add some colour to my lid before sweeping the shimmer shade ‘golden hour’ over the lot, and was really happy with the results. I usually get quite bad creasing on my lids throughout the day, but much like the foundation, it still looked great at the end of the day, which I wasn’t expecting from such an affordable palette .

The Barry M eyeshadow palette makes it really easy to create a cohesive eyeshadow look

Fluttery, fanned-out lashes are a must, and I created mine using the Kylie Cosmetics Wisp Lash Mascara Black. Delivering length and lift, it’s a really lightweight and flexible formula that applies without clumping, but I did find it transferred onto my under eyes throughout the day.

As for lips, I used Mac’s ‘Kinda Sexy’ , which gave me a neutral pinky rose pout, but it felt as though something was missing. The rest of the makeup look was quite satiny, and the matte lip was throwing me off, so I added some of Fenty’s Universal Gloss Bomb Lip Luminizer - a Love Island favourite - over the top, which really made the whole look come together before I set it with The Beauty Crop’s Oui Cherie setting mist (which smells like cherries, by the way).

For me, the standout products had to be the Kylie foundation and the Barry M Eyeshadow palette. While there are definitely some great budget foundations available, you just can't beat a premium base and this one is fantastic, but definitely don't underestimate some of the cheaper products in the villa either, like the ELF blush.

Elsewhere, fans of the show can also find Love Island false lashes, scrunchies, hair clips and makeup brushes as part of a Revolution collaboration over on Amazon. Or they can shop the products in the villa here at Boots.