Battle of the Brands #3

This week in Battle of the Brands I am comparing eye shadow primers from Smashbox and Urban Decay.

The Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer (full size) retails for £15.00 here. I have the mini version which I got in a set of the photo finish range for wear at my prom last year. I really love all of the products though I must admit of the three, this is my least favourite. 

Don't get me wrong this is a good primer it just dries out so easily and there isn't much product inside the bottle.

It has a doe foot applicator that applies a good amount to the lid which I then blend out. It is much more light weight that the UD primer potion which is a bonus and is also more matches to my skin tone so doesn't make my eye lid look orange before I put on my makeup. 

I swear by the Urban Decay primer potion. I've used it for a coupe of years now and love it but it does have its cons.

Pros include the beautiful packaging, how long one bottle lasts (and I only have the mini) and of course that it keeps eye shadow in place all day.

Cons are that it feels heavy on the lids, you can apply too much and it makes the skin slightly orange which I don't like. 

You can buy the full size Urban Decay primer potion here for £16.00 or travel size for just £8.00 - bargain!

Right: UD primer potion, Left: Smashbox Photo Finish lid primer

My winner is Urban Decay primer potion, despite its cons I love it too much for it to lose and the Smashbox primer just dries out too quick. Have you tried these? Did I make the right choice?

Until next time

xx

Naked 3 Tutorial

Hello lovelies

About a week ago I did a little post on the new Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay, and so I thought I'd also do a tutorial showing how I use this palette on a day to day basis.

Firstly, can we just take a moment to appreciate how well I managed to do the winged liner on this day? I usually avoid any form of eye liner because quite frankly I AM TERRIBLE at applying it. However, with a lot of concentration I pulled it off. Yay me! To find out more about what product I used, keep your eyes peeled next week.

Lets jump straight in there! As a base I used MAC limited edition Morning Frost paint pot and all shadows are from the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.

I put Nooner (my favourite matte from the palette) all over the lid up to the crease using a standard fluffy brush.

Next, using my Real Techniques crease shadow brush I smoked the look out a bit using the beautiful Blackheart. This colour is a dark almost black colour with flecks of rose gold in it which add a nice shimmer to this otherwise matte shade.

To smooth it out I pushed some of Buzz over the centre of the lid adding that little bit extra to the look.

Finally, to highlight using a clean fluffy brush I used the lightest colour in the palette, Strange. This is great for the brow bone or the inner corner. 

In case you were wondering I used the Benefit They're Real mascara and for the liner I used Sleek brow kit in Extra Dark. I like to do a light line with the powder and then when I'm happy, define it with the creamy product. 

A short n sweet post for today. What'd'ya think? If you try it out do tweet me a picture! I would love to see you're no doubt better attempts than mine. 

Until next time

xx

Naked 3!

Hello lovelies 

Oh my goodness it's the 21st January and this is my first post of 2014! So we're almost one month in and i'm finally getting around to saying HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Today I've got a post that I have been looking forward to writing for so long. Unless you have been living under a rock you will know that the end of 2013 saw the release of the long awaiting rose gold tinted third addition to the famous Urban Decay Naked palette set.

From the moment I heard about this product it was on my wish list and I am so thankful to my family for gifting it to me at Christmas. Best. Present. Ever. 

I thought I would wait a while before reviewing the shadows though, because who wants to read yet another post when you're in the middle of a hype? Not me. I've given myself time to use the product (and trust me, I've been using it pretty much every day) and to decide if it was worth all the begging (it was).

*Sigh* So beautiful...

OK, starting with the packaging, similarly to Naked 2, it's an embossed, metal container in a beautiful rose tinted shade with gold writing. It's perfect for on the go because it's strong and protective, but also a pain because it's rather big. I personally think the casing is unattractive on the Naked 2 palette in comparison to others but with this one the slight change in colour makes all the difference, besides it's much more secure and sturdy so I wont complain. A four out of five UD. Well done. 

The shadows are set out with the lightest highlighting colour ("Strange") on the left through to the darkest crease colour ("Blackheart") on the right. Every single shade is wearable on any skin tone. Each shadow is equally beautiful and easy to use whether it be on a day to day basis or for a special occasion. 

The shadow of my iPhone slightly ruins this picture but I like it all the same. You can see the how pigmented the shadows are in this image, as with all Urban Decay eyeshadows, particularly the shimmery ones. The matte shades, although less pigmented, have just as much colour pay off and used with any primer lasts all day (to me a full day at college, from leaving at 8am to getting home at 5pm).

All in all this is a great palette for makeup lovers of any age, good for any time of day and as always provides fantastic pigmentation and pay off for hours *when used on top of a primer*. I am absolutely loving using it and I recommend it. My favourite day time combination is 'Nooner' all over the lid, 'Factory' in the crease and 'Burnout' dusted on the top. Do you have this palette? What's your favourite look? Do you have a different opinion? Let me know!

Until next time

xx 

Christmas 2013 Beauty Wish List!

Hello

Where has 2013 gone? I cannot believe that it's the 10th of December already! Well with Christmas so close I thought what better to talk about than a couple of products I'll be asking Santa to leave under my tree this year.

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. What makeup junkie doesn't have this beautiful piece on their wish list this year?! I am in love with the eye shadow shades in this, well done Urban Decay. You've done good yet again!

Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick. Now i'm already a big fan of Bourjois products - their nail polishes, foundations, blushers and bronzers are amazing - but their new lipsticks look fantastic, I particularly like the packaging.

Too Faced No Make-UP Make Up. Too Faced is renowned for its cute, elegant packaging and this new palette is so pretty. I think it would be perfect for somebody just starting out also. 

Ted Baker Diamante Bow Make Up Bag. I'm in the market for a new makeup bag and this one from Ted Baker is gorgeous. Retailing at £25.00 from ASOS it is a little too pricey, but ahh, I can dream... 

Clinique Whole Lotta Candy. Chubby sticks are huge in the makeup industry at the moment, we've got the Clinique chubby sticks, the Bourjois colour boosts and the No7 lip crayons. The new mini range from Clinique called 'Whole Lotta Candy' is a fun festive twist on the already amazing chubby sticks. Two Ton Tomato is my favourite.

Taylor Swift 'Enchanted' Perfume. I'm not much of a perfume person but this looks and smells so great. 

So that's all on my beauty wishlist for now. What about you? Comment or tweet me the one thing you'd like the most from your nearest beauty counter. 

Until next time

xx

Urban Decay Naked 2 Review

Hello 

This photo (from my Instagram) has an effect on it to enhance the overall look so you don't get to see the full colours of the shadows, the reflections in the mirror are pretty accurate though. The main part you don't get to see is the shimmer. 

One of the things I really like about this palette is that the shimmery eye shadows, unlike in most from Urban Decay are not over the top. They are subtle but also buildable and I really love that. In my 'Femenine' palette the colours are all all so pigmenty and glittery that it looks too much, glitter ends up all down my face and it looks like I've tried too hard. With this palette you don't get that. It's neutral and classy and gorgeous. 

I was slightly disappointed, however, with a couple of things. Unfortunately, I do not own any other products from the Naked line (I'd really love to own the original Naked palette because I believe it's much better than this one?) so I don't have much to judge on but as a product on it's own I find it hard to create a nice everyday look. There are just two matte colours (Foxy and Tease), other than the black -which is fab for smokey eye or a powder eye liner - so everything else is more of a night time, going out kinda shimmer. 

Also the packaging itself was not impressive. I lurvee the large mirror and the crease brush is okay but the metal casing is not attractive and the shadow brush is not great. I have some really cheapy fluffy brushes which do a much better job! Shame. 

My favourite shadow from this palette is without a doubt Tease. I love the matte brown colour which, when applied to the lid, has noticeable purple undertones. Fabulous. 

Grail or Fail? I just can't decide. How about you?

Until next time
xx