UD Basics Palette Review/Look

Hello.

Urban Decay knew what they were doing when they created this Naked Basics palette, let me tell you!

If you saw my Urban Decay Haul, you'll know that I actually picked the palette up as part of a package. It was coupled with the UD Flushed Palette, which to be honest was the one I was most interested in. I thought the Basics Palette would just be a nice bonus...

Wrong. The first time I used it I knew it was going to become a firm favourite of mine. I love how all but one (Venus) are matte shadows and the colours all compliment each other so well.

The ultra cute sizing of this palette makes it even easier to reach for when it comes to travelling. It's ideal for me, being between homes as a Uni student! The next time I go back to my student house I doubt I'll even bother lugging back my Naked1/2 palettes back with me...instead I'll grab this little guy!

I've literally been using the Basics Palette almost everyday since I first cracked into it and I've developed a bit of a system in terms of how I use it.

My favourite eye look at the moment, pictured above, is achieved by using all 6 of the eye shadows. And yes, I know my skin isn't great on the photo but what can I say? I have troubled skin :( So please ignore the spots and what not and look at what I think is a pretty natural eye look :P

I work along the palette in the order they appear from left to right.

1) I apply Venus to the inner corners, blending it across to about mid-way of my eye.
2/3/4) I blend Foxy, W.O.S and Naked 2 across my eyelids, building the colour and adding a bit of depth
5) I work Faint into the crease of my eye to create a subtle definition. I find using a good blending brush (like the Mac 217) ideal for this part.
6) When I'm happy with my eyelids I use a angled-eye brush to line my upper lashes with a bit of Crave to create a slightly thicker lash line without the intensity of a liquid/gel liner.

Done.

It's a very quick simple everyday look...sometimes I skip step 6 depending on the occasion.

I love how blend-able the eye shadows are, as always with Urban Decay, and I would recommend this palette to anyone. If you haven't tried Urban Decay eye shadows before I'd say this is a good one to start with and it's not a bad price at £20 :)

New Urban Decay Palettes Haul!

Hello. So if you saw my recent beauty wishlist you'll know that I firmly had my eye on the Urban Decay Flushed palette. As soon as I heard about it I knew I had to have it, being a big fan of the Naked palettes. However when I wrote the wishlist I never expected that the next day I would end up purchasing it!

Going shopping with my best friend is always dangerous. We both love makeup and we have a habit of encouraging each other to buy more! So, when we went into Debenhams I knew I was in trouble. I saw so many things I'd like to own, but when I saw the two newest Naked palettes wrapped together in a bargain bundle I couldn't resist!

In total the two ended up costing a pretty sweet £30 because I had £5 to spend on my Debenhams' beauty card. Get in! The palettes are just adorable...so tiny!

The Flushed palette is beautiful. I love how it allows you to carry around a bronzer, highlight and blush all in one. It's so compact which would make it ideal for travel purposes. I was also impressed to find that the fastening is magnetic. Not sure why, but this instantly appeals to me...I love magnetic things!

On first impressions the products seem really good. I was a little worried that the bronzer would be too dark and a little harsh on my skin tone but actually I'd say this is the most build-able of the three. It doesn't come on really strong and took a few swatches to get the colour in the photo.

As for the highlight colour, I think it's really pretty and everything you'd require in a highlight. It applies to the skin really well and leaves a nice shimmery soft finish.

The blush is possibly the most pigmented of the three and a little bit appears to go a long way. Keeping to it's title, it gives a nice 'flushed' pink look. Love it!

The Basics palette, for me, is a nice bonus at essentially £10. Don't get me wrong, I liked the look of it when it first came out but I wasn't sure if there was much point in me buying it because I already have the two Naked palettes. However when I saw just how small it was, and super cute, I gave it more than a second glance. I was pleased to see that it only had one of the same shades as the other Naked palettes, 'Foxy', yet on comparing the two back at home they do seem to differ in colour? Odd.

I always love Urban Decay's eye shadows and these are no exception to the rule. I like that this palette offers 5 matte shades, with the only shimmer being 'Venus', because the bigger Naked palettes are a little skimpy on their mattes. The practicality of this palettle is a traveller's dream. Being a uni student I'm always packing a travel makeup bag to head home etc and I think I'd be pretty happy with just taking this little guy as my only eye shadows. I reckon it possesses the potential to create a fair few decent eye looks...including a nice smoky eye among it!

All in all I've really excited about owning these!

I'm sure that full reviews will follow once I've become accustomed to using them! In the meantime, let me know if you have these? What do you think? Or, are they on your wishlist?

NOTD: Barry M & Andrea Fulerton

Hello!

So, I found a couple of nail polishes stashed away in a vanity case that I'd completely forgotten about! Not sure how...but I feel like I've got new stuff! :)

Barry M: 167 Lavender Blue. I immediately liked this colour and it has a nice shimmer to it. The purpley-grey shade is a winner in my opinion, so I chose to paint the majority of my nails with this. I applied two coats to give the colour payoff in the picture. 

Barry M: 166 Orchid. As I had also stumbled across this polish, I was keen to use them both so I decided to use this lovely shimmery pink shade for my accented nails. Again I applied two coat.

I must say the Barry M polishes applied like a dream...some of the best ones I've used! I love how the formula is quite thin, yet not runny, and this makes application really easy. The varnish literally glides onto the nail and it seemed to be fairly quick drying too! Big thumbs up to Barry M!...Might have to invest in some more of these nail polishes!

Lastly I added a clear topcoat for extra shine and protection, using Andrea Fulerton's Gloss Up Overcoat. Again I'd forgotten about this but I'm a big fan of this brand too...

Petrol in water

Especially the Andrea Fulerton Trios...The one above is my absolute favourite! Look how it turns out when you layer the polishes...

The picture doesn't in fact do the colour the justice it deserves...SO PRETTY! :)

bareMinerals Matte foundation

Hi everyone. Hope you all had a good Valentine's Day?! Personally I've never been one to do anything special for it...it's just another day in my opinion...but this year I went speed dating with a few friends. 

Yep, over 40 dates in one night...I reckon that might be me done for the year?! Haha. Anyway it was a good laugh, but no...I definitely didn't meet the love of my life, nowhere even close! :)

Sticking with the sickly theme...I thought I'd add a little love to my photo and include a couple of roses! They are mine, but no, I didn't get them for Valentine's...they were weirdly just kicking around! 

I've been a bareMinerals fan for a couple of years now, with my first foundation purchase in 2011. Being an oily skinned gal, I opted for the Matte version...which came on the scene that year I believe? So at the time I remember quite a bit of hype around it.

I was ever so excited when I got it for Christmas that year and couldn't wait to try it. Sadly, on first use of the product I was really disappointed. Back then, I wasn't as beauty obsessed and didn't have a good skincare regime going on. I had never moisturized! I know, crazy!

So on first using the bareMinerals foundation I found that by buffing the product onto my skin, using the Sigma F82 (love love love this brush), all it did was cling to the drier areas on my face, like nobody's business!

Anyway, after using a facial scrub and picking up a moisturizer, I found the product to apply much easier and it gave a nice complexion.

Then, for some reason I went off this foundation...possibly when summer hit. I don't particularly think this is the best option for those hot, sweaty days. Whilst using the Matte version, it does an OK job at keeping oils at bay for a few hours but generally I've found liquid foundations are a lot better at this.

I like the light-feel to this foundation and I get why it might seem like a good idea for summer days, but for me it doesn't have the staying power. I mean after all, it's basically powder.

However, I've recently got back into using this foundation on days where I don't want to apply my fuller coverage Chanel Perfection Lumiere. BareMineral's gives a nice light build-able coverage and generally can get your skin looking pretty flawless....

...But note that I said CAN. At the moment my skin troubles; spots, acne, seem to be clearing thanks to some prescribed medication...so I'm enjoying using the foundation. However, when my spots and acne was at its worst...I personally wouldn't have even considered using bareMinerals- simply because it wouldn't provide enough coverage and it doesn't have overly great staying power.

In my opinion bareMinerals is a great foundation for those that have pretty flawless skin to begin with. It'll do a fab job of evening out skin tone, covering a little redness and maybe even dark circles...but if you have much more to cover, then this wouldn't be advisable.

Like I say, I'm loving this product at the moment, but we do have a love-hate relationship. I love it and it loves me when my skin is behaving, but throw outbreaks into the mix and it remains firmly in my makeup storage!

Let me know it you have tried this/use bareMinerals? What do you think?

Outfit Combos: Peace leggings

Hello.

So I had a request a while back, over on YouTube, to show how I wear my 'peace' leggings from Boohoo.com. The leggings in my photos have since sold out, however the outfits would work with similar metallic styled leggings or trousers. 

I saw a window of time to do this for you today...so here goes! Hope it gives you a few tips on how to wear patterned leggings. Enjoy.

First up, and perhaps my favourite look with these leggings, is what I shall call 'warm but classy'. The knitwear jumper can be found here at Boohoo for a bargain price of £8!

I've teamed the look with my New Look boots that I feel 'dress' the outfit up a little. I can't locate these exact boots but you'll find a similar pair here for approx. £20-£30.

And for a touch of bling I've added one of my old favourite necklaces. Any long-chained necklace would work ...I like this one.

With Valentine's Day around the corner...why not go for 'cute & casual'.

I just love this jumper from New Look...It's super soft, perfect for the horrible cold weather in the UK atm, and it's at a relatively good price at £24.99.

As for the footwear...I've gone casual with my Apple Bottom high topped trainers/sneakers. These may be tracked down on the likes of eBay but otherwise a nice pair of converse shoes or something similar would work equally well!

Next up, 'a touch of denim'?!

So, denim has been very popular of late and when I saw this lovely shirt in Primark for just £13 I had to get it! I sometimes wear it fastened right up to the collar or open like this, depending on what look I want to create. Worn like pictured, the shirt gives a nice casual look yet I added those New Look boots again to dress it up a bit! Depends on the occasion I guess!

To accessorize, I added this gold coloured bird necklace. I possibly purchased it from Primark but I can't remember?! But any short chained, large 'pendant-ed' necklace would work :)

This outfit has the 'military factor' about it haha! I love this look with the black extenuating the splashes of gold found on the peace leggings, military-styled jacket and leafy waist belt.

The tight black tunic-styled top was originally from Peacocks but it's an old item of clothing so you can't buy this exact one. However if you're struggling to find one, here's an example. Again, I have a feeling the belt was from Peacocks but this one would work well.

As for the military-esque or 'biker' boots they were purchased from a local shop called Put Your Foot In It, I know cute name! But these type of boots are quite popular so you can pick up a pair in most fashion retailers, like River Island, New Look etc.

The jacket I got from my sister with its label reading 'Cotton Club'. No idea what shop this implies?! Let me know if you do...but, type in military jacket into the search bar of most fashion stores and they'll appear...I'm sure!

And last up, 'comfy and casual'.

Again, although featuring my Apple Bottom shoes, converse styled footwear would do the trick!

On top I've gone for a fairly baggy top, sticking with the gold theme, with the gold cross design and studded shoulder pads. The world seems to have gone stud-crazy recently, and I have to say I like it! Love a bit of studdage :) The top's from New Look (I do love their clothing) and from looking online they seem to have updated it, here. Only £15 now!

So there we go...these are some of the ways I wear my metallic leggings! Thanks for reading.

Ellie x

Max Factor's Clump Defy

Pictured before going to University :)

Hello! So, I blogged about buying Max Factor's Clump Defy Mascara and as I promised...here's my review of it.

I've been a fan of Max Factor mascaras for a couple of years now...with the False Lash Effect taking 1st place in my mascara collection for the whole of 2012, and much of 2011 tbh!

When I heard this new guy had hit town I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd have him in my collection! Not too sure why it's a male, or why I'm giving a mascara a gender but hey ho! So, when I saw that Boots were doing a special offer, £11.99 reduced to £7.99, it gave me that extra push to buy it.

The brush is fairly similar to that of the False Lash Effect with its plastic spread out bristles and feels pretty similar when applying. However, the Clump Defy brush differs with a curve and the brush head is slightly smaller. It reminds me a little of the Maybelline's Falsie's brush, shape-wise.

When first using the mascara I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Unlike many new mascaras, that are quite wet and perhaps over-coated with formula, I found this one didn't seem to have as much product on the brush as I would have liked. However, as I often find, the second use of a product is always a little easier, especially with mascaras that tend to need a little 'breaking in' as it were.

I've been using this product near on every day now and I really like the results it gives. It really lives up to its name as I haven't experienced any clumping whatsoever! The brush is really easy to work with and makes applying mascara to the tricky parts of the eye a piece of cake.

I usually find the lashes towards the inner corners of the eye pretty fiddly, with most mascaras creating a 'blobby' issue with too much product taking hold. However, this isn't the case for the Clump Defy, making it really easy to restrict how much product goes on. And for this reason, I have to move my False Lash Effect mascara off its pedestal and give the Clump Defy 1st place!

Well done Max Factor, another brilliant mascara!