2015 Make Up Favourites

I haven't written a favourite's post in a while, so as we have just seen in the New Year I couldn't think of anything more fitting than writing my round up of all of my favourite beauty products from the last Year. I scuttled around the house collecting all my favourites; and I managed to choose one eye shadow product, one mascara, one base product and two lip products. 

First up we have my most reached for eye shadow palette, which is the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I use this palette most days. I find it perfect for just an every day look but also a great palette to have as you can create so many different looks with it. The mascara I have enjoyed using the most has been the Clinique High Impact Mascara. This gives good length and thickens the lashes, without looking clumpy. I am quite fussy when it comes to mascara but this is a great every day mascara. I couldn't decide on just one lip product so I had to include two; the first being Soap and Glory's A Great Kisser Lip Balm. I'm not sure if S&G still stock this, as I haven't been able to find it, so I am guessing not. This is a really nice lip balm which gives a little shimmer to the lips, keeps them coated and smells of peaches. I use this on top of matte lipsticks to give a more glossy look. I have a back up tin of this, I am so glad as it doesn't look like I will be able to buy it again! Anyone that has known me for a while knows I have always been a big fan of Cheryl's makeup looks. I bought the L'oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Exclusive Nudes in Cheryl's Nude in hope that I could recreate her lovely nude lip; unfortunately I did not transform into Cheryl overnight (!) but this lipstick is a beautiful nude and one I have reached for the most this Year.

I tried the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation for the first time this Year, and I really love it. After being a huge fan of Rimmels Match Perfection foundation for as long as I can remember, it is great to see they stock another good foundation which is a good match for my skin tone and gives a good medium coverage. 

What are you favourite beauty products from 2015? Any recommendations to share?

Battle of the Palettes: Naked 2 and In The Buff

           W7 in the Buff                                                   Urban Decay Naked 2

I love a beauty dupe, who wants to spend a fortune for an item when you can have something similar for a fraction of the price? I heard that the w7 In The Buff Eye Shadow Palette was said to be a very similar dupe to the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. You can see from my photographs that they are extremely similar in the design of the palette, and the selection of shades they both have. With the w7 palette costing around £4.99-£9.99 (depending on retailer) and the Naked 2 palette a sky-high £38, I wanted to see how much difference the shadows had in quality, colour pay - off, and how long they last. 

I think the Urban Decay Naked 2 shadows are much more shimmery and feel creamy and are very pigmented. The W7 in the Buff shadows are similar in colour to the Urban Decay shadows, but apply much more matte than they appear to be. They aren't quite as creamy or easy to apply as they aren't as pigmented as the Urban Decay shadows. The darker colours in the w7 palette are pigmented but the lighter colours you really have to work at to get any colour pay off from them.  Similarly to the w7 shadows, Urban Decays shadows; particularly the darker shades are very pigmented. In fact, all of the Naked 2 shadows are highly pigmented apart from the lightest shade; Foxy. The w7 palette has some gorgeous shades. I think the shadows blend well together and they last a few hours before fading but I have to be honest and this time, the more expensive product does work better for me, as the Naked 2 palette shadows last around 7 hours.

I think the shadows are similar in colour and design, but I do think the Urban Decay palette has better quality shadows as the W7 palette shadows do not match the quality. I do think the W7 shadows are great and just need a lot more persistence - I would recommend them still for a budget friendly alternative, but Urban Decay wins this battle for me.

Worth The Hype #1

It has been a while since I have blogged about a few products I really, really think are worth the hype that are surrounding them. I have picked just three products today that I own and truly love.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
I think the Urban Decay Naked palette family is hugely well - known in the beauty blogging community, and I have to hold my hands up and say I love them too! This is my favourite eyeshadow palette of all time. The colours suit my skin tone so well, and the shadows are so easily wearable any time. I find the eye shadows great quality which do not crease after a long day. 

Burberry Fresh Glow Nude Radiance No. 01
This is a great luminous base product which is good to use as a highlight or to use all over the face underneath or on-top of foundation. Although it is quite an expensive investment, it does help to brighten the face in a really natural way. I definitely think it is worth the hype.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate in 101
This is probably one of my favourite lipsticks of the year. It is a great matte lipstick which doesn't cling to chapped lips and the colour lasts really well without bleeding. I absolutely love the colour and I really want to try a lot more of the shades in the Kate lipstick range from Rimmel!

Have you tried any of these products? 
Do you believe in the hype surrounding products that you see featured online?

DEBENHAMS BEAUTY BLOGGER EVENT

A few weeks ago, I had an email inviting me to a local shopping centre near the Birmingham area (my home town) for a beauty blogger event at Debenhams. Off course I jumped at the chance, knowing I would be able to have a chat with the lovely ladies at Elemis, Urban Decay and Elizabeth Arden. 

Before hand, I met up with fellow blogger and friend, the lovely Clare from A Bit of This and That Blog. I was a little bit of a silly blogger that day and was so forgetful to bring my camera (complete blogger fail!) so all of the images I have belong to Clare.

We first headed to Elemis, where we chatted to two of the lovely ladies on the counter about our skin care routines and the skin care products we use day to day. We then received a little facial, and were able to try out some of their best selling skin care range. The ladies were so lovely and told us all about their products and what is best for our skin types. 

Next up, make up time. We tootled over to the Urban Decay counter where we had a complete make over, using some of Urban Decay's best selling products, as well as their new eye shadow palette, the Electric palette. I was a little hesitant at first with the eye shadow as I don't tend to use much colour on my eyes, but the assistant doing my make - up kept me at ease and created a lovely purple/silver smokey eye. 

After a cheeky purchase from Urban Decay, we then popped over to Elizabeth Arden where we were given the low down on all of their lip products: a lipology! It was really interesting hearing so much about the care of the lips - I often neglect to look after my lips. I enjoyed having a try with their lip liners and lip glosses - a few of them have crept on my wishlist for sure. 

I had a great time at the event - we were treated to lots of pampering and beautifying! Thanks to all the staff at Debenhams at Intu Merry Hill for having us! We were very well looked after and provided with nibbles, drinks and were even given some samples to take home with us! 

All Images Belong To Clare. You can see her original post here.

March Favourites

March 2014 Beauty Favourites

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

One of the products I have been completely loving in March is The Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay. I was actually super lucky and won it from a giveaway back in February by the lovely Daniella (thanks so much!) and I can completely understand the hype about it. It is super pigmented, the colour range is beautiful and I have loved experimenting with more rosier toned shades rather than my normal neutral eyes.

Jelly Pong Pong Duo Bronzer in Caribbean Sun
I am a big fan of blush, but find it super difficult to find bronzing products which look natural on my very pale skin. Although this blush and bronzer duo is probably aimed for the warmer Months, I really love the bronzer as it looks so natural and not muddy on my skin. The blush is also a very lovely flush of pink too.

Soap and Glory You Wont Believe Your Eyes Serum
 I suffer with dark and heavy under eye circles, and no concealer can hide them. I have actually had this for well over a year now but forgot about it in my stash and rediscovered it a few weeks back. I look a lot more awake in a Morning after I have applied this the night before. I love the cooling sensation from the roller ball applicator too!

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil
This is the first facial oil I have ever used and I am so glad I have finally jumped onto the bandwagon! I love that it is a rollerball applicator which makes it super easy and non-messy to use. My skin feels so much different since bringing this into my skin routine, its definitely become a firm favourite of mine.