Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette Review

The Urban Decay Naked palette is one of my favourite makeup products due to the high pigmentation and beautiful colours of the shadows. I love using it to create a smokey eye, but find the fact that it has only two matte shades slightly annoying. As a result of this, I went out and purchased the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette.

This compact palette has 6 full-sized eye shadows (5 matte and 1 shimmery highlighter), and a good sized mirror. The shadows have the same amazing pigmentation and colour payoff as the original Naked palette, and are soft without being powdery at all. They are really lovely to use and blend really easily, making it quite straightforward to create the look that you want. I tend to only use neutral eyeshadows and so I love the shade range. It allows for a mixture of looks- the darker end of the palette can be used to create an intense smokey eye, whilst the lighter end of the palette is perfect for everyday use. I particularly love the shade 'Venus', a satiny highlighter that gives a pretty but subtle shimmer and opens up the eye when used in the inner corner. The packaging is sleek and the palette is a good size for travelling with- I now choose to take this when travelling instead of lugging around the original Naked palette!

I absolutely love this palette and think it would make a great starter palette for people who are beginning to experiment with eyeshadows.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder- Review

The recent warm weather in the UK means I have found myself reaching for a bronzer during my makeup routine a lot more than I usually would. Throughout the whole of last year I used Rimmel's Natural Bronzer in 'Sun Bronze' (022), but thought it looked a bit too orange on my skin when I tried it again a couple of weeks ago. As a substitute I thought I would retest the Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, and I am so glad I did- I am now absolutely in love with this product.

Despite having extremely pale skin I actually use the darker of the two available shades (52), and surprisingly do not find that it is too dark. It is also not orange in the slightest, which I often worry about when using bronzers. It gives a nice subtle glow to the skin, making it seem more tanned and awake than usual. At first I was slightly put off by the heavy amounts of glitter apparent in the bronzer, but thankfully this is not noticeable when applied, meaning it can also be used for contouring the face without any shimmer-related issues. My favourite thing about this product is definitely its smell. It smells of really sweet chocolate and is absolutely gorgeous- it makes me really look forward to using it! I quite like the packaging too as it is nice and compact, and so can easily be carried around in a makeup bag with no risk of it being broken (unlike the Rimmel Bronzer...). The bronzer itself is even made to look like a small bar of chocolate which is adorable.

Overall, I am really impressed with this product- yet another one from Bourjois to add to the list of favourites! What bronzers have you tried and been impressed with?

The Liebster Award

I got so excited when I checked my comments yesterday and saw that two people had nominated me for The Liebster Award. This is basically an award given to bloggers with under 200 followers, to help publicise their blog and to let their followers learn a bit more about them. Apparently Liebster means "sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome" in German so this is a really lovely award to recieve! Thankyou so much to Keli and Kirsty for nominating me, please go and check out their blogs!

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.

2. Display the award on your blog.

3. Answer 11 questions which were provided to you bu the person who nominated you.

4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself. 

5. Nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, (who have less than 200 followers.)

6. Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.

7. List these rules in your post. Feel free to copy and paste. 

8. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated, that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it.

Here are my answers to the questions I was asked (as I was nominated twice I just randomly chose one of the sets of questions!):

1. What do you do for a job? I don't have a full time job as I'm actually still a sixth form student- I finished my AS exams last week and am now starting my A2's. I do have a part time waitressing job though!
2. What couldn't you live without? Ridiculously cheesy but I honestly couldn't live without my family and friends. Item wise though, I probably couldn't live without my phone which is really sad...
3. What's your favourite makeup product? My favourite makeup product is mascara- and my all time favourite mascara is either L'Oreal False Lash Flutter or L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes. 
4. Do you have any pet hates? I hate it when people chew food with their mouth open (eugh please no, so disgusting) and when people walk really slowly because it's the most aggravating thing ever. 
5. If you could be any animal, which would you be and why? Probably a dog because all they do is sit around, sleep, eat and play- such an easy life!
6. If you could change anything about your past, would you? Nope!
7. Do you have a favourite blog? I have quite a few favourites actually, including Kirsty and Keli's blogs, Vivianna Does Makeup, I Covet Thee, Annie Writes Beauty and all of the ones nominated below!
8. What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to read books/magazines, listen to music, watch New Girl/Nashville/Pretty Little Liars/Revenge, read blogs and go out. 
9. Do you have any strange/weird obsessions? I don't think so, unless you'd count Taylor Swift as a weird obsession? 
10. What's your favourite smell? I have absolutely no idea, probably the smell of chocolate hahaha!
11. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I hopefully would have just finished studying English Literature at University, and would maybe be beginning to work in the journalism industry!

My questions for bloggers:

1. What is your favourite film?

2. Who is your favourite singer?

3. If you could only use one makeup product for the rest of your life, what product would it be?

4. What was/is your favourite subject at school?

5. When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

7. If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would you meet?

8. A lifetime's supply of clothes, a lifetime's supply of shoes or a lifetime's supply of makeup?

9. What is your favourite book?

10. What would be your ideal day?

11. What is your worst habit?

I nominate (please check out their blogs!):

1. sophdoesnails

2. Couture & Dior

3. The Urban Fox

4. Kimiberry

5. Ashhgemm

6. Finders Keepers

7. That Curly Girl

MAC Viva Glam 1- Review

It's definitely no big secret that I love red lipstick, and having spent much of my precious revision time this past month sitting on the MAC website and staring longingly at Viva Glam 1, I knew what had to happen when I spotted the MAC store in Covent Garden.

Since its purchase this lipstick has been worn as many times as physically possible, and it has definitely already secured its position as one of my top 3 favourite lipsticks of all time. It's a gorgeous deep red colour with cool brown undertones, and is a lot darker than the classic bright reds like Ruby Woo. I tend to prefer matte lipsticks due to their extreme lasting power and intense pigmentation, and this is lipstick is certainly no exception. When applied at 10 in the morning it lasts all day, including through eating and drinking- even then it requires a good scrub with my makeup remover to try and get it off in the evening. Matte lipsticks are very often extremely drying, but so long as I use a lip balm before applying, I do not find that it is uncomfortable to wear. I also love the almost velvety appearance of this lipstick- it applies really smoothly and does not require a lip liner to keep it in place.

Swatch of Ruby Woo (top) vs Viva Glam 1 (bottom)

Although MAC lipsticks are more expensive than the average lipstick I believe that they are definitely worth the extra money, and have a feeling that Viva Glam 1 will remain a firm favourite for quite some time.

Benefit Watt's Up vs. Girl Meets Pearl

I have a bit of an obsession with highlighters at the moment, and Benefit is definitely one of my favourite beauty brands out there, making a comparison between two of Benefit's most coveted highlighters a perfect second blog post idea. I tend to only apply highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones during the day, but apply it softly along the bridge of the nose and underneath the brow bone as well when I'm going out in the evening.

Girl Meets Pearl is a beautiful highlighter with warm, yellow undertones and gold sparkle. I find it more suitable for the evening as the shimmer is a definitely a lot less subtle against my pale skin tone than Watt's Up- the glitter is really pretty for night time! The packaging requires you to twist the bottom in order to release product through the 'grid-like' lid at the top. I personally find this a pain as I always end up with too much product left over in the lid, which makes such a mess.

Whilst I love Girl Meets Pearl, Watt's Up is definitely my favourite of the two. It is a gorgeous champagne highlighter, with just the right amount of shimmer to give a natural looking glow. It is a lot softer than Girl Meets Pearl, giving more of a dewy finish. This means it can be used both during the day and of an evening. I like the fact that it is a stick highlighter as it makes it so much easier to apply than Girl Meet's Pearl does, and also makes it easier to use the right amount of product. At the bottom of the tube is a small blending sponge which I have tried using it before but gave up- I found it so much easier just to blend out using my fingers. Blending is important with this highlighter though as the stick applicator means you can easily end up with a sharp, sudden line of highlighter running along your cheekbone!

I love both of these highlighters and will definitely continue using them throughout the summer. However, I really want to try a powder highlighter- I'm looking at you, Laura Mercier Baked Radiance Powder. ;)

My Makeup Favourites

Seeing as this is my first ever blog post on my beauty blog, I thought it best I introduced myself by writing a bit about my favourite makeup products of all time. Most of these products have been a staple in my makeup bag for quite a while, and I use the majority of them on a daily basis. Let me know if you spot any of your favourites, or if you want to suggest any alternatives that I might like!


1. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (51 Light Vanilla)

I tend to alternate between the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, using the lighter Serum in the warmer summer months. It is medium, buildable coverage, with a gorgeous apricot smell. It applies smoothly with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush, although I find it is applied much easier when a smaller amount is first used and then built upon. I'm not sure I quite believe in the "vitamin-rich fruit therapy" properties of the fruits used, but it does give a lovely dewy finish which definitely gives the skin a nice glow. It claims to last 16 hours but I think that it probably lasts about 10 hours max when applied with powder- it usually lasts all day at school. 

2. Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (001 Transparent)

I won't go into too much detail about this powder as I think almost every beauty blog out there has discussed it- I love it, it isn't at all cakey and sets my foundation nicely. Just a quick plea to Rimmel on behalf of all customers- PLEASE improve the packaging!

3 & 4. Benefit Stay Don't Stray Concealer & Eyeshadow Primer (Light/Medium) and Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (1 Fair)

I use Stay Don't Stray everyday under my eyes, in order to keep my undereye concealer in place. It means that the concealer goes on more smoothly than usual and lasts for longer throughout the day. I also find that it brightens the under eye area that little bit more, but that might just be me! However, I find that it doesn't do such a good job at keeping my eyeshadows in place- I always seem to end up with an annoying line of shadow in the crease even if I use this primer.
Having used Estée Lauder's Double Wear concealer for a solid year and a half I decided it was time to change, and switched to the coveted Collection Lasting Perfection. I'm so glad I did- the colour is a lot better for my skin tone, and it is much better coverage. It lasts all day and doesn't look cakey- and as an added bonus it is nearly 4 times less expensive than the Estée Lauder one!

5. NARS Blush (Orgasm)

This is one of my most favourite products- I love the sleek packaging and the pretty shimmer that runs through the blush. It looks lovely with both winter and summer makeup, and gives the cheeks a healthy, natural-looking glow. 

6. L'Oreal Paris False Lash Flutter (Midnight Blacks)

This mascara was the result of another switch from high end to drugstore. I was a Benefit They're Real obsessive, but found that it was running out too quickly (I was getting through a tube every 3 months!)- a bit of a problem when the product is £19.50. I watched a video by the lovely EmmasRectangle where she mentioned this mascara, and so I went out and bought it. It is easily comparable to They're Real, with the tapered wand providing extra length to the end lashes, giving a really full effect. I actually think that the mascaras themselves are quite similar and give similar results, but prefer this one due to the lower price tag. 

7. Rimmel Scandal Eyes Precision Micro Eyeliner (001 Black)

I am a massive fan of winged eyeliner, and this product makes it so easy to do. What I tend to do is draw a line along the lashline with black kohl eyeliner, before winging it out at the ends with this pen. It means that the wings are really sharp, and it is definitely much easier to use than liquid liner. I also go back over the pencil line with this to neaten it up. If you haven't already tried an eyeliner pen, I would completely recommend it!

8. Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream (433 Rioja Red)

I had to include a red lipstick in my first post, but I found it really difficult to choose between this lip cream or MAC's classic Ruby Woo lipstick. I chose this one in the end due to its long lasting power- it genuinely lasts all day, even after drinking and eating. I usually apply Barry M's red lip liner (3) first to make the application more precise. It is quite drying but that is to be expected with a matte lipstick, and I don't find it uncomfortable at all if I use lip balm before putting it on.