Urban Decay - Naked Basics Palette - Review

Ello lovelies!
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Today i'll be reviewing one of my favourite Christmas presents, the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette! I'm generally a shimmer shadow kinda gal, so my collection is pretty bare when it comes to matte eyeshadow shades. Lately i've been digging through my collection to find my odd matte shades to experiment with so getting this little beauty in my stocking was a welcome addition!

Being the addict i am, this now means i own all three Naked palettes... This one is significantly smaller than the previous two, housing only six matte shades and its ickle size means it can fit in the palm of your hand, making it perfect for travel. The shades come within sturdy feeling plastic casing and has a large mirror inside, again handy for on the go. My only gripe with the palette is that it basically contains three (half of the palette) highlight shades; Venus a demi-matte perfect for highlighting, Foxy a yellow toned matte highlight and W.O.S a more pink toned shadow. Personally, W.O.S and Venus would of been plenty as Foxy is already in Naked 2.

The other three shades are perfect for creating an assortment of matte looks, I've been really enjoying using them to create a "Pin Up" type eye using winged eyeliner and a pop of glitter for some variation. Since Christmas this has been sat on my makeup desk permanently and i expect it'll stay there for the foreseeable future, because even if i don't often create a full look with this palette, some of the shades are extremely handy. Naked 2 makes a fantastic transition colour for me, W.O.S has become my go-to matte highlight and I've been loving using Crave to deepen any smokey eye I've been wearing. Texture and pigmentation wise they are great, but we don't really expect anything less from Urban Decay. It is, as the name suggests a really nice basic palette.

For any matte lovers out there, this is a must have. But if you own Naked 1, 2 or just aren't too fussed on mattes you may want to skip Naked Basics. But overall i am pretty damn pleased i received this as a gift as i can see myself getting a ton of use out of it. Price wise at £20 it isn't bad, if you consider how much a single MAC eyeshadow or even how much a single Urban Decay will set you back, you are only really paying a little over £3 per shadow, so not bad at all!

Do you own any of the Naked Palettes?

xox

LUSH - Let The Good Times Roll - Review

Hey lovelies!
Lush skincare and I have had a love / hate relationship over the years. Skin Drink used to be my all time favourite moisturiser before discovering Oilatum, then i had a series of disasters including a really nasty reaction to their Serum Bar, Full of Grace. So my skincare routine has been Lush free for quite a while now up until a month or so ago when i picked up a few bits, including this little beauty.

I believe this product was from their Christmas collection, but due to its popularity is has now become permanent.

Let The Good Times Roll is described as a "gentle facial wash", which to be honest, i feel is a little misleading, gentle facial scrub may have been a more apt description. This is my second tub as I've been using this as my daily facial exfoliator, and I've been loving it! The exfoliant part is lovely and fine, not at all coarse or scratchy and exfoliates like a dream. The oil in it also means unlike a lot of other facial scrubs, it doesn't dry out my skin, but it doesn't leave it feeling oily or greasy either. Just the perfect amount of scrub and hydration.

I feel the chunks of popcorn in it are a bit novelty and i just tend to pick those out when i find them. But it smells AMAZING, i don't like that they've compared it to the Popcorn lip scrub (because i think it is VILE) because this buttery popcorn scent is gorgeous and nothing like the hideously salty lip product. And like it promises, the scent does linger on the skin which i really like.

For normal to dry skinned lovelies i would wholeheartedly recommend giving this a bash. If you are on the oilier side, I'm not too sure it would work for yo, but at around £6, its not too expensive to experiment with. This product alone has restored my faith in Lush skincare products and I'm definitely up for picking up a few more! I'm actually back to really enjoying their toners!

You can check this little gem out in store or on the Lush website here.

Whats your favourite Lush product?

xox

Christmas Gifts, the Beauty Bits! + Boxing Day Sale

Ello lovelies!

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! I had a lovely one and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the bf and the family, but with all the good food I'd be suprised if i can fit through the door by the end of the week the amount of cheese and crackers I've consumed, ooops! Present wise, I've spoilt rotten this year. I was absolutely over the moon with everything i received and i had to say the boyfriend did an absolutely AMAZING job! So i thought I'd leave out the smellies, chocolates and other bits and bobs i got and share with you the beauty goodies!

·  Disney Scented Candle

·  Large Yankee Candle - Red Velvet (ERRRMERRRGERRRD. I love my boyfriend)

·  Lush - Bubblegun and Mint Julips Lip Scrubs

·  Too Faced - Sweet Indulgences Palette

·  Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel Mask

·  Disney Villians - Nail Polish set, eeee!

·  Clinique - Bold Eyes To Go (Soooo excited to try Bottom Lash!)

·  Urban Decay - Smoked Palette

·  Urban Decay - Naked Basics Palette

·  Mac - Soft and Gentle

·  Lush - Snow Fairy (and a whole load of other lush bits not pictured)    

And if that wasn't enough...

 

Oh Manifesto, why you smell so good? I knew i was getting this bad boy as i did the majority of my Grandmas shopping! Its a more sophisticated scent that i usually go for, but its beautiful!

Since my trip to the USA i have been bitching every time i spotted Marc Jacobs Dot after regrettably passing it up at the airport. Apparently men do listen! My lovely other half got me a mahoosive bottle, bless him!

Now on to the sale stuff...

 

 I am one of those weirdos who checks online on Christmas day to see what offers are on and there were some corkers! After spotting all the (out of stock) ridiculously discounted perfume sets a few days after Christmas last year i was determined to snag a bargain this time round. So with my Christmas pennies burning a whole in my pocket off i went to town pretty early Boxing Day morning. Diesel Loverdose was reduced in Superdrug to £19.99 from around £40 and Especially Escada down to £15 from £32... score!

Boots wasn't as impressive as they were only offering a third off their sets (last year it was half price). But at £13.33 i couldn't resist these, plus i had enough points for one so it really was a bargain. Fantasy, although i am not a Britney fan, is one of my all time favourite scents. And I'd been eyeing Wonderstruck for a while, again not a Swift fan but it does smell amazing.

Think a no buy is in order now...

Did you get any beauty goodies? Or pick up any bargains in the sales?

xox

FOTD: Baby Its Cold Outside

Hey Lovelies!

Its officially two more sleeps until Christmas, eeee! I'm a tad bit excited if you can't already tell. I had a bit of a pamper day Saturday and decided to try out quite a few of the new goodies i picked up lately. And after battling with my camera trying desperately to capture the AMAZING Lit glitter i used, this was the best shot i could get, it does not do it even nearly enough justice. I also gave my Dinair airbrush system another bash, its definitely not perfect but i was pretty happy with the end results. Its really easy to go from not being able to see it to BAM too much, I'll get the hang of it eventually. I plan to do a full review on most of the new products used in this soon and hopefully *fingers crossed* be able to get a decent picture of the glitter, it is absolutely STUNNING.

Eyes:
MUA - Eye Primer
MAC - Vanilla, Omega and Phloof! Eyeshadows
Lit - Clearly Liquid Glitter Base
Lit - Champagne Wishes Glitter
Elf - Black Liquid Eyeliner
Makeup Forever - Smoky Lash Mascara
Anastasia - Brow Powder Duo

Lips:
YSL - Rouge Pur Couture The Mats Lipstick in 203
(I may actually be in love with this lipstick)

Face:
Darling Girl - About Face Velvet Gel Primer
Dinair - Airbrush Foundation
Laura Mercier - Secret Brightening Powder
Mac - Sculpting Powder in Sculpt
Mac – Lightscapade
The Balm - Frat Boy Blush  

(around 50 shots of my eye and this is the best i could get... boo!)

I've found three new products that I've fallen head over heals for; The YSL lipstick, Lit Glitters (need moar now) and my Dinair system. So needless to say i am one happy blogger right now.

Have you tried any of these products?

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

xox

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Ideas! ASOS

Ello lovelies!

So Christmas is only a week away, eeeee! I love to shop online for most of my Christmas presents and its getting to the last few days of online shopping before the big day. This post is in no way affiliated with ASOS but they have become one of my favourite online stores to shop for beauty and today is the last day for free shipping! (paid next day is available up until the 23rd) On top of that, if you're a student you can snag 10% off these beauties with an NUS code. So if you've still got a few goodies to pick up, here's my picks for last minute stocking stuffers!

1. Models Own ASOS Exclusive Nail Polish - £5

2. Benefit 6 Piece Skincare Set - £10

3.Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow Quad - £29
4.Korres Lip Butters - £7
5.This Works Silent Night Sleep Balm - £10
6.Illamasqua ASOS Exclusive Lip & Nail Duo - £21

7.Nars Blush - £21

So that's it! Are you super organised for Christmas or are you a Christmas Eve shopper kinda gal? Let me know!

xox

MUA - Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit - Review

Ello lovelies!

You may remember many moons ago when the Glossybox featured the HD Brow Kit in one of their boxes and the beauty world went crazy for it! I never had a subscription so i watched videos and read blog posts green with envy. Since the initial fuss i've heard less and less about the product, probably due to its £20+ price tag, so i was chuffed to bits to see a high street equivalent in the MUA Brow Kit, priced at a mere £3.50.

It's no secret, I'm a big MUA fan. Since their release a year or so ago they have been constantly releasing new and exciting products, with teeny weeny price tags. So when they had their 35% off (as if it isn't cheap enough already) sale i jumped at the chance to pick up a few new bits.

The kit comes in one shade, which is probably the only downside. I do wish they'd released it in one or two more shade ranges, but you never know, they may well do in future. It contains 3 powders, two brow colours and a highlight and a wax for fixing those odd unruly hairs! As a nice little extra it also contains a little double ended brow brush for application, which isn't great but is perfect for on the go, and lastly a little pair of mini tweezers which is always handy!

Being so fair, the lighter brow colour is the one i reach for although it is a smidge too warm for me. I can't actually use the two other powders, the darker of the two is just too dark and the highlight, for me, is again far too dark for that purpose. Saying that I'm still going to be using them as eyeshadow (i severely lack neutral mattes) rather than my brow to save waste. They apply evenly just with a bit of fallout, which for the price point, I'm not complaining about.

Overall, if you fit the shade range this is a nifty little product to have. I just wish they'd bring out a few more colour ranges as i feel lighter and darker browed lovelies may have issues with this. Would i buy it again? In this colour, probably not... But I'd be happy to see it in a lighter, cooler toned option in the future!

You can check it out at your local Superdrug or online here!

Whats your favourite brow product?

xox

The worst attempt at a no buy... ever!

... I am terrible.

So i splurged on an airbrush system... ooops! And what makes it worse is that I'm so behind on uni work I'm having to stash it away till Saturday! Aaaaaaaah! So looking forward to learning to use this little beauty!

xox