June Favourites!

Hi everyone,

 

It's June favourites time! My favourites may seem a tad dull this month as they are things I've been using on a pretty much daily basis, but they are amazing!

 

Nivea Express Hydration Primer

This is my second pot of this beauty, I didn't like it at all when I first bought it but about half way through the pot I was hooked. It's a really refreshing primer that makes the skin feel hydrated and smooth. A fantastic base for make up.

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

An essential piece of kit for my day to day make up, I love using it for my brows by mixing Faint and Naked 2 together. It's also great for a 'put together' eye look.

 

Stila Smudge Stick in Damsel

I freaking love this eyeliner, I got it the Stila's In The Light palette and wasn't that fussed about it when I first got it, I've now discovered tight lining with it! It's a beautiful rich, saturated chocolate brown colour which stays put! I find it really defines my eyes beautifully without looking to harsh compared to when I use black liner.

 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Shade 52

I adore this foundation! It offers light/medium coverage, is fairly moisturising and really great for everyday wear.

 

No 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighting Powder

This has got to be my favourite highlighter at the moment, I even prefer it to MAC's Soft and Gentle. It's a subtle champagne colour and is more satiny rather than shimmery. Love it! So sad that it was limited edition.

 

MUA Blush in Bon Bon

My favourite everyday blusher, a subtle and natural looking pink blush which I feel really suits me. Did I mention it's only a pound?!

 

NYX HD Concealer in Light

I've really been enjoying this for under my eyes recently, due to the shade being a bit too light for me I find it really brightens up my eye area and blends in well. I have noticed a tiny bit of creasing with it but that was after a day of work in a hot environment and it hadn't been set with a powder or anything.

 

What were you favourites this month?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

Urban Decay Wizard of Oz Glinda Palette Review and Swatches

Hi everyone,

I recieved this palette last weekend and Iive been trying it out all week so I thought I'd let you know what I think...

 

Picture heavy!

 

This is a limited edition palette from Urban Decay to celebrate the release of the new Wizard of Oz film, this palette is called Glinda after the 'Good Witch' in the film.

This palette contains six full sized eye shadows, two of which are duo shadows and the shadows can be popped out of the palette and swapped with other shadows if you want to. This palette also comes with a half size 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Rockstar, a Super Saturated Lip Crayon in the shade Glinda and a card with instructions on how to recreate Glinda's look.

 

This palette retails for £35 which I think is a total bargain as each individual eyeshadow would retail for  £14, the half sized liner is worth around £7 and the lip crayon is worth £14.

 

Here are the swatches of the shadows...

 

All of the shadows in this palette contain shimmer.

 

Tornado - A deep royal purple shade, think Cadburys purple. This looks beautiful packed on to the eyelid and used a its full strength or it's pretty when used in the crease and sheered out a bit.

 

Aura - Aura is a duo shade, it consists of a light, blue toned irridescent shade and pale pink irridescent shade. These shadows look beautiful and mysterious, they could definitely make a look a bit more magical and would look really pretty as a highlight or patted over a darker colour to make it more interesting.

 

Magic - This is a soft baby pink with a kind of golden sheen and some golden shimmer.

 

 

 Illusion - A soft peachy colour with a pretty satiny sheen. I've been enjoyed wearing this all over the lid with Tornado in the crease.

 

Oz - Oz is another due shade, one side is a metallic pale gold with silver glitter in it and the other side is a slightly bluey silver with silver glitter in them. Both are very pigmented but there's a little fall out with the glitter.

 

South - This my favourite shadow in the palette(neutral obsessed! :D), it's a cool toned, dark, metallic taupe. I love it!

 

All the shadows are really nice quality, they're all pretty buttery and have good colour pay off, the only thing I'm not crazy about is the glitter in the Oz shadows.

 

The liner that's included in the palette is call Rockstar which is a kind of aubergine colour, it's creamy, easily to smudge out and long lasting.

 

The Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour is in the shade Glinda which I believe is the same as the shade Naked in their permanent line of these lip colours.

Glinda is quite a natural colour, a pinky beige which is slightly shimmery.

It's quite a creamy consistency and lasted nicely on my lips.

 

Overall, I'm happy with this palette, it's great value for money and a bit different to UD palettes that I already have.

 

Pros

- Good value for money.

- High quality eye shadows.

- Really good quality eye liner in an interesting shade.

- Full sized lip product included.

- Sturdy packaging,

- Ability to swap eyeshadow pans out.

 

Cons

- The micro glitter in the shade Oz.

- Limited edition.

 

Are you thinking of buying this palette?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 



January Favourites

Hi everyone,
 

Time for January favourites!

 



Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation in 52 Vanilla

I love this foundation, it gives great coverage, doesn't get cakey and still looks natural. Love it!

 

Benefit Bad Gal Lash

When I first got this I wasn't a fan, but now it's dried out a little I love it for building volume and then using another mascara to lengthen and seperate. I might buy the full size when I've finished this sample...

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I've been really liking this for a simple matte eye make up look for work and I've been loving the shade Crave for using as a liner :)

 

Maybelline Color Tattoo On and on Bronze

An amazing product for a really easy eye make up look for when you're in a rush. I also love using this for a base for powder eyeshadows.

 

Nivea Caramel Cream Lip Butter

 This has been the my go to night time lip balm recently, It's really moisturising and smells and tastes like sweet popcorn. I only really like using this at home and I don't want to contaminate it with germy fingers in the tin when I'm out.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Nude
I've been using this in my waterline everyday this month, I think it really makes me look more awake and my eyes look brighter.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light
I repurchased this last week, it's wonderful! It offers great coverage and doesn't looks cakey, I don't use it under my eyes though, only on my face.

Urban Decay Nail Polish in Sidecar
I recently got the UD set of Naked nail polishes and this is my favourite of the lot. It's a kind of sheer nude polish with beautiful silvery glitter. I love it! It looks pretty and subtle.

Stila Eye Brushes
I got these two brushes in a set at Christmas, they are just perfect! So useful, great for precise application and blending.

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx



So Excited!

Hi everyone!

 

Just a quick post to share my excitement with you! My amazing boyfriend has treated me to both of the new Urban Decay Wizard of Oz palettes! :D They arrived this morning and I've just taken pretty pictures of them so I will be reviewing them in the next couple of days.

 

 

I was thinking of buying one these to giveaway to one of my followers for reaching over 100 followers, let me know if you'd be interested in one of these as a prize and which one!

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxxx



FOTD - In The Pink

Hi everyone,

 

Here's a pretty basic and natural look that I was wearing last weekend, I went for bright neutral eyes and a creamy, soft pink lipstick.

 

The Products I Used



 

Face

- Maybelline Dream Lumitouch Concealer in Ivory

- Bourjois 123 Foundation in 52 Vanilla

- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle

 

Eyes

- Urban Decay Primer Potion

- Stila In The Light Palette - Kitten, Sandstone, Bare, Champagne, Bliss

- Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Nude

- Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara in Black

 

Brows

- MUA Clear Mascara

 

Lips

17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in Barely Blush

 

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

Collective Haul - Urban Decay, Odile & Fleur, Soap and Glory, Maybelline, L'Oreal, 17!

Hi everyone,

I've got a bit of a haul to share with you today, some of these things were gifts and the rest of them were bargains!

 

Odile & Fleur Earrings

I was just mooching around Boots and came across a reduced jewelry stand and these earrings just seemed like such good bargains, it'd have been rude to not buy them! I particularly love the pair of earrings shaped like wishbones! I think they're really sweet and original! I've even picked up an extra pair of the wishbone earrings for my next giveaway!

 

Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean Cleanser

Whilst in Boots I decided to pick up a bottle of my favourite cleanser, It was on offer at £6 as it was and I also had a £3 off voucher, can't complain at getting it for only £3! I got this cleanser in a Soap and Glory gift for Christmas and it's been love ever since!

 

 

17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in Barely Blush

I love 17's Mirror Shine lipsticks so when I got a voucher for 50% off a 17 Supreme Shine lipstick I just had to buy one! I plumped for the shade Barely Blush, a soft natural pink, a review is coming soon!

 

L'oreal Colour Riche Nail Polish in 502 Purple Disturbia

I bought this beauty for an amazing £1.20 from Fragrance Direct! It's a beautiful plum polish with shimmer in it. I really love the formula of these polishes!

 

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Ivory

I've heard a lot of good things about this concealer recently so when I saw it for £1.99 on Fragrance Direct I had to order one so I could see if it was as good as my L'oreal concealer. This normally retails for around £6.

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Last but not least, my favourite item in this haul! My very generous boyfriend treated me to this. It's such a dinky, cute palette and being the UD junkie that I am, I just HAD to have it :D I really am looking forward to using it!

 

Have you treated yourself to any new beauty goodies recently?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Urban Decay Naked Nail Polishes + Swatches!

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend treated me to this lovely nail polish set last week and here are my thoughts on them...

 

Please excuse my horrible cuticles! Swatches are of two coats of polish, apart from Creep which is three coats.

 

Pros!

- Beautiful packaging!

- Mini nail polishes but with decent sized brushes

- Nail polishes have fairly thin, opaque formulas(apart from Creep)

- Decent value for money(£21, so £3.50 per polish)

- All polishes are quick drying, which is a big plus for me!

- A nice mix of light and dark shades, i just wish they'd have made a 'Baked' nail polish.

 

 

Cons!

- Creep is a bit of a fail, it needs at least 3 coats for a decent coverage, might be nice over a black polish but it isn't great on its own.

- Only available online.

- Naked does have a tendancy to be a tiny bit streaky!

 

I think that the polish Sidecar really steals the show, it's a beautiful subtle nude glitter that looks very understated and chic whilst being girly. :)

 

This is quite a simple review but I'm not great at reviewing nail polishes, I just had to share these beauties with you all though!

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

 



My Secret Santa Swap Gift

Hi everyone,

I know that Christmas is well and truly over and that I've had my Secret Santa gift for almost a month but I've been meaning to do this post and I can't wait to show you what I received!

 

The Secret Santa swap that I took part in was organised by the lovely Sammy from Bellini Beauty.

 

I was so lucky to have Kelly  from Kel Loves... as my Secret Santa!

 

Here's what she bought me...

 

 

Kelly bought me an Urban Decay palette! :O I was sooo excited when I opened all my gifts and I left the palette till last thinking it was a bar of chocolate or something as it was so big and when I saw it was a UD palette I did freak out a little bit. :)

The Urban Decay palette that i received was the Dangerous Palette from last Christmas and it's beautiful! It comes with 6 eyeshadows, a mini eyeliner in Rockstar and a mini primer potion in Greed. This palette was something I almost bought when it was released and I'm so happy to have it in my collection.

 

Kelly also bought me...

Nivea Lip Butter in Caramel Cream - This lady must have done her homework and read some of my wishlists on my blog because I'd been wanting to try these little lip butters for ages but I'd been on a spending ban so couldn't treat myself :(

Burt's Bees Super Shiny Natural Lip Gloss in Pucker Berry - I was really excited to try this as I love Burt's Bees lip balms and this did not dissapoint. It's a lovely shiny balm/gloss, that's very hydrating, not at all sticky and has a yummy sweet, fruity, citrus scent/flavour.

Soap and Glory Mist You Madly Body Spray - Kelly had obviously cottoned on to my obsession with Soap and Glory from reading my blog and she bought me this lovely body spray. I already have one of these body sprays in my handbag so it was the perfect gift :)

Essie Polish in Tour De Finance - I love essie polishes so I was very happy to recieve this one, it's a hot pink with quite subtle purple shimmer in it, I've worn it on my toes and it's lovely to apply and such a beautiful colour!

 

Thank you very much for my gifts Kelly and thank you to Sammy for organising it, I'd love to take part in a Secret Santa Swap again as I really enjoyed the whole experience :)

 

Have you done a Secret Santa Swap before?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Wednesday Wishlist

Hi everyone,

 

After being on a spending ban for a while it's a nice feeling to be able to spend money if I want to. I would like to be more careful with my purchases though, and only buy things that I really want and products I've done a bit of research on.

 

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream - £10.50

I love the scent of sugar crush! I have the scrub and the body wash but I can't wait to get my hands on the body butter! I think I'll wait until there's a 3 for 2 on and there's two other products I want.

 

 

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer - £6.49

I've heard that this is a really well pigmented, creamy concealer and is even good for under eyes. Really want to try it!

 

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation - £10.99

I want to repurchase this foundation! I've run out and really want to get myself another bottle, it offers great coverage and is pretty long wearing.

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - £20

Even though I have both of the Naked palettes I would love to buy this. I think it'd be great as an easy everyday palette, for filling in your brows, creating a really simple every day look, creating a smokey look, using the black shade as a liner. A very versatile and travel friendly palette!

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

November Favourites

Hi everyone!

Long time no see...

I've been a bit rubbish with blogging recently and the lack of decent light isn't helping!

 

But anyway here are my November favourites....

 

 

 

Urban Decay Vice Palette

This is such a beautiful palette! My boyfriend was kind enough to treat me to it at the end of October and I've been loving using it. The shadows are amazing quality and there's a great mixture of neutral, bright and jewel colours.

 

Here are my favourite shades...

 

Burt's Bees Mango Lip Balm

Such a moisturising lip balm, it really feels like it's doing my lips a lot of good when I apply this. I've been using it non stop! Throughout the day and at night time.

 

Soap and Glory Hand Food Hand Cream

As the weather's been so cold recently this hand cream has been a lifesaver! It absorbs really quickly, smells fantastic and is really good for taking care of dried out skin.

 

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

For the past couple of weeks I have worn this pretty much everyday! It's so gorgeous but I won't go on about it too much as I'm going to be reviewing it soon. :)

 

Avene Rich Hydrating Cream

Since the weather's got colder my Soap and Glory day cream hasn't been cutting it, my skin's been so dry and needed a richer moisturiser before I put make up on. This has been the answer to my prayers, it works like a dream!

 

No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in Mink

This is a really pretty shadow and perfect for an all over the lid colour for a quick and easy look. The colour is a bit difficult to describe, so here's a swatch...

 

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

The Naked Palette Dupe? MUA Undressed Palette Review and Swatches

Hi everyone,

Here's a review on a fairly new release from MUA, this eyeshadow palette is a supposed dupe for Urban Decay's Naked palette.

 

 

For an extremely reasonable price of £4 you get 12 shadows and 9.6g of product in total. So great value for money!

 

Swatches...

(Top Row Shades 1-3, Bottom Row Shades 7-9)

(Shades 1 - 3)

(Shades 7-9)

(Top Row Shades 4-6, Bottom Row Shades 10-12)

 (Shades 4-6)

(Shades 10-12)

 

Overall I'm pretty impressed with this palette, the pigmentation of the shimmery shades is fantastic, they're smooth, soft and easily blendable. The matte shades are less pigmented but they're still soft and smooth, not at all chalky. Even though the matte shades arn't that pigmented 'Shade 5' worked very well for filling in my brows!

 

This palette is very obviously a copy of the Urban Decay Naked Palette and whilst I love the Naked Palette I think this is a very clever and very good thing for MUA to have done, I mean who wouldn't want a cheap dupe for an expensive product? I did compare these shadows next to the shadows from the Naked Palette and they are pretty close dupes. I also used the palette to recreate some of my go to looks that I use my Naked Palette for and the shadows performed very well and looked fantastic!

 

So here's a little summary...

 

Pros

- The Price! £4!

- The shimmery shades are very pigmented.

- The shadows are very good quality for the price.

- It's a pretty close dupe for the Naked palette.

 

Cons

- The matte shades arn't very pigmented.

- The packaging isn't that great, a bit cheap/filmsy but ok for the price.

- There is a bit of fallout from the shadows.

- The applicator that comes with it is a bit rubbish.

 

So there you go! My thoughts on the MUA Undressed Palette.

I hope this has given you some idea of the quality if you were thinking of buying it.

 

I also have one of these to give away in my up coming giveaway! So keep your eyes peeled for that!

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Wednesday Wishlist

Hi everyone,

Here's just a list of some random beauty products I'd love to get my hands on :)

L'oreal Caresse in Rebel Red

I swatched this in Superdrug the other week and I want it so much! Such a gorgeous red!

L'oreal Caresse in Dating Coral

I've never worn a coral lipstick so I feel this product would be a good place to start as you can wear them quite sheer or build them up a bit.

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

Yay it's a new Urban Decay palette! I love their palettes so this one is a must for me, I love the fact that their is a booklet included so I can teach myself how to do a good smokey eye. This does retail for £35 though, so it will be a luxury purchase!

L'oreal Colour Riche Nail Polish in Magic Croisette

I recently tried some of L'oreals nail polishes and loved them! I really want to give this pretty looking polish a try, I think it'd look nice on my toes! 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

August Favourites

Hi everyone,

These are the products I was loving during August!

MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 1

I've been using this powder a lot recently, as it's been really hot and humid I've felt the need to set my make up! The powder is really soft, smooth and feels very finely milled. This product is lovely! Especially for only £1!

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in FBI

I've been loving this concealer lately, it has a great creamy texture and is pretty long lasting.

Impulse Body Spray in Tease

I love this scent! I used to use it loads when I was a teenager and picked up another one the other week. I'm really enjoying using it again.

Essie Your Hut Or Mine

This is such a gorgeous colour! It's a warm peachy pink creamy colour with a subtle gold shimmer running through it.

Seche Vite Topcoat

I love this stuff, it's my favourite topcoat ever! It was going a bit gloopy but I borrowed a bit of my sister in law's Seche Vite restore and now it's as good as new! If you're looking for a quick dry and super shiny topcoat, give this a go. :)

Soap & Glory Hand Maid Hand Cleansing Gel

This stuff was really useful whilst camping, it smells lovely too!

No7 Eyelash Curlers

I never used to bother curling my eyelashes much but I started to get into doing so this month and I really enjoyed using these eyelash curlers. They're great value too when the No7 vouchers are around.

Scrubs

I've loved Scrubs for years but this month I've been watching it loooads, It's so funny. If you've not watched it, you're missing out and should definitely give it a go! 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



How Much Does My Face Cost?

Hi everyone,

I've seen this 'How much does my face cost?' tag around quite a lot recently and I was very curious to see how much I've spent on the stuff I stick on my face everyday! :D

So here's what I use pretty much everyday!

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £36

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation - £10.99

MUA Eye Primer - £2.50

MUA Clear Mascara - £1

MUA Powder - £1

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzer - £6.99

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara - £7.19

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle - £21.50

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer in FBI - £12

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara - £8.99

L'oreal Rouge Caresse in Aphrodite Scarlett - £7.99

= £116.15!

Soo that's quite a lot of money to buy just the things I need for a normal face of make up!

I'd love to tag Charlotte from Something Special To Say to do this!

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

July Favourites

Hi Everyone!

Time for my July favourites!

Nivea Energy Fresh Deodorant

This is hands down my favourite deodorant, it smells amazing and fresh and works really well too. I just wish I could find it in a bigger bottle!

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I love this palette and I use it all the time, but this month I've been using it loooads. It's just wonderful. :)

Max Factor Nail Polish in Ivory

This is a gorgeous polish, it applies really well and is an amazing colour. I've been wearing this on my toes a lot this month. Here's a NOTD using this polish.

MUA Eyeliner in Snow White

I've been using this on my waterline this month, it's a lovely creamy pencil and has decent staying power.

L'oreal Caresse in Sweet Berry

I love wearing this for a very easy, casual look. It's very wearable and easy to apply on the go. The taste/scent is gorgeous too! Here's my review on the L'oreal caresse lipsticks

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle
I am in love with this product, it gives the perfect dewy, glowy finish.


Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara
I've been loving this mascara this month, it really does give amazing volume. It's worth a try if you're after a lot of volume. 


DKNY Be Delicious Endless Blossom Perfume
For me this is the perfect summer fragrant, its light, floral and sweet. 


GOSH Light 'N Shine Lipgloss in Shade 05
This is such a beautiful lipgloss, so shiny and shimmery. It has a purpley tint to it and smells like vanilla.


L'oreal Studio Secrets Lip Glow
This is a great balm product that changes to a unique colour when you apply it. I love the warm shade of pink it turns on me.


What are you favourites this month?
Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

My Top 5...Naked Palette Shadows

Hi everyone,

Here's another My top 5... post, and this one is about the much loved Urban Decay Naked palette.

I thought I'd share with you my favourite five shades from the palette and give some reasons why. :)

Virgin

This is a gorgeous shadow for highlighting and using in the inner corner. Virgin is a slightly shimmery ivory colour, it's so soft and easy to blend. I think this is the perfect everyday highlight colour.

Half Baked

This is my go to lid colour for day or night, it's a true gold colour and the shadow is buttery soft and gorgeously pigmented. I love using this colour along with Smog to create a gold smokey eye for going out for the night. As you can tell from the picture this shadow is much loved and I was so happy when Urban Decay put this in their Naked 2 palette!

Buck

Buck is a mid toned matte brown shadow which has great pigmentation. I never use this shadow on my eyes, only on my eyebrows, for me it's the perfect, fairly subtle brow filling colour.

Smog

I use this shadow as a crease/outer corner colour. I would describe this colour as a rich, deep, shimmery, bronzey brown. I do also use this shadow on my lower lash line when doing a smokey eye look.

Sin

Sin was the first UD shadow that I fell in love with, I first of all had it in the Ammo Palette and I hit pan on that pretty quickly. Sin is a really pretty, shimmery champagne colour. It's wonderful as a brow bone hightlight or even as an all over lid colour.

(L-R Virgin, Sin, Buck, Half Baked, Smog)

Which shadows from the Naked palette are your favourites?

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx