Urban Decay Electric Palette

Hi everyone!
I hope you're all having a lovely Sunday and not having to rush around buying last minute Christmas presents, which I have to do! I've just had a birthday (I'm now 23.. ahhh!) and I thought i'd write a post about an amazing present I got from Rob - the Urban Decay Electric Palette.

It's so amazing!!! I've wanted this palette for so long, and I think Rob finally got the hint after I dragged him to the UD counter in our local department store for the millionth time to swatch the colours on my hand. I've watched a lot of Youtube tutorials around it, read all the blog posts, so you can understand my excitement. The Electric Palette is a palette of 10 brighter-than-bright eyeshadows in a variety of finishes - matte, satin and shimmer. There are exclusive colours like Freak (neon green) and Chaos (cobalt blue), although each colour is equally incredible (My favourite being Fringe, which I didn't actually use in this look!). Each shade is made with their Pigment Infusion System, resulting in shadows with incredible colour payoff with serious staying power. The palette also comes with an amazing double-ended brush and a huge mirror on the inside of the lid, making application really easy. 

Tada! Here's me, looking seriously creepy. It's hard to know how to pose when you're wearing this sort of make-up! This was my first attempt at some crazy colour combinations from this palette, and I have to say that I am totally in love with it. I used this tutorial by Emma Pickles (my all-time favourite beauty blogger!) although it looks a lot different with my tiny eyelids. I chose to not wing it out because basically I thought it would look really rubbish on me, but i'm amazed with the results.  In hindsight I can see areas for improvement, but overall I am impressed. The colours blended well and you need hardly any product at all to create this vibrant look. I used Jilted, Urban, Freak, Thrash and Revolt, alongside Blackheart and Strange from the UD Naked 2 palette. I mainly used the double-ended brush, although I did use a fluffy brush from Eco Tools for blending. I finished off the look with some Magenta Lip Pencil from MAC, followed by MAC's Heroine lipstick. I don't know how often i'm going to use this palette, although I really want to as the colours are just insane. I'm definitely going to experiment with more YouTube tutorials and try to come up with combinations on my own to try out. So if you loved experimenting with colour or just want a make-up look that's bound to turn heads, the UD Electric Palette is most definitely for you.

Get your hands on the Electric Palette here for £38 or at your local Urban Decay counter. 

Urban Decay Black Magic - 24/7 Glide-On Double-Ended Eye Pencil Set

Hands up anyone who loves a good old-fashioned kohl liner?! I know I certainly do! Ever since I started wearing make-up I always loved to run a black kohl liner on my waterline (back when I thought I was super edgy!) and I love using one to create a soft feline flick or make my lashes appear thicker and darker my smudging a small amount into the lashline. Being a massive fan of black liner and Urban Decay, you can imagine my excitement when I was able to take home their new Black Magic 24/7 Glide-On Double-Ended Eye Pencil Set* to try.

From a company that is just as obsessed with black liner as I am, Urban Decay have released a set of four double-ended pencils for Christmas, with one of their signature black shades on one end a colourful shade on the other. It's no secret that their eyeliners are super pigmented, creamy and long-lasting, so I was just stupidly excited to get my hands on some new colours! The set also includes two shades, Black Market and Eggplant, which have recently returned after becoming temporarily discontinued, as well as Black Velvet, which contains their new 24/7 Velvet Glide-On formula. 

I apologise for the crappy quality of the photos - I took these when I was in the midst of moving out and I was rushing/stressed, so these are definitely not my best! Anyway as you can see, it has the gorgeous multi-coloured smokey packaging, which is absolutely beautiful. Each pencil's barrel is also perfectly matched with the shade of the liner, making it perfect for when you need to grab one on the go! 

The set contains:
Black Velvet - Rich, smokey black matte
Smoke - Deepest grey matte
Black Market - Charcoal black satin
Tornado - Dark eggplant pearl
Perversion - Blackest black matte
LSD - Navy shimmer with bright turquoise micro-sparkle
Zero - Zealous black cream
Demolition - Deep brown matte

I can't believe that there are so many different versions of black liner! My favourite by far is Perversion - it's pigmented, creamy and industrial strength black. I love the subtlety of Demolition, but i'm excited to use Tornado as purple tones compliment blue eyes really well. These would make a great Christmas gift for a Urban Decay junkie, or a good taster set for someone who wants to try out some of their products. What I will say though, is that once it dries it really dries. My usual make-up remover didn't take it off, so I had to resort to a specific eye make-up remover. Slightly annoying, but it is exactly what you want in a liner. Basically, this set is awesome. Coloured liner is a perfect way to put on a fun twist on your regular make-up routine, and I can't wait to get playing with these!

You can get your hands on the Urban Decay Black Magic set for around £25 online or at your local Urban Decay store later this month! :) 

Benefit's 'Stay Don't Stray' vs. Urban Decay's 'Primer Potion'

If you're going to indulge on a new item for your makeup bag, be sure that it's a primer. A slightly dull purchase, I know, but trust me.

I may have said this before, but i'll say it again - think of a primer as a base coat for your face. That sounds wierd, but a good base coat ensures that nail polish effectively sticks to the nail, fills in any lines for a smoother finish and helps protect the skin. This applies to primers; it fills in fine lines to give the appearances of smoother skin, it eliminates the need for frequent touch-ups, and allows makeup to glide onto your face with ease (which essentially means you use less product - meaning it's also quite cost effective!). However, there aren't just primers for foundation, primers for eye makeup are equally as important, ensuring that your shadow has that 'freshly applied' look right until removal at the end of the day.

Primers aren't the most glamorous of products, but they should be a staple in every girls makeup kit.
Therefore, I have chosen to compare two best-selling eyeshadow primers to see what one comes out on top:


"Stay Don't Stray"
This top-seller from my personal favourite brand Benefit doubles as an eyeshadow AND concealer primer. It promises to keep concealers from creasing, and shadows stay "vibrant and true". It already has a celebrity following (Such as Pretty Little Liars' Ashley Benson) and comes in a neutral shade that adapts to every skin tone.

The primer comes in a 10ml tube with a custom airless pump. It's a compact size meaning it would fit easily in your bag, with a removable cap.

What's good about it...
It holds my makeup for the entire day. Also, the idea that it doubles up as a concealer primer makes it seem like you're getting more for your money. I'm usually not a fan of multi-use products as I feel that they concentrate more on being a mediocre product for all instead of a great product for a single use, but this is great.

What's bad about it...
The pump! It claims to be custom made to ensure that only a tiny amount is distributed, and the instructions on the Benefit website say that the pump needs to be pushed 'gently', however this is simply not an option. The pump is quite stiff, and it distributes far too much product meaning that a lot of it is wasted. The diagram on the packaging illustrates that only 6 tiny dots are needed, and the amount that is distributed is enough for maybe 3 or 4 applications! It is also priced at a whopping £19.50, which I believe is a bit overpriced as you're wasting over half of the product.



Primer Potion
Awarded a 'Highly Commended' in the 2012 Beauty Club Awards, Urban Decay's primer potion is a well known product in the beauty industry and is used by makeup artists and beauty lovers alike. Promising that eyeshadow will remain crease-free, the primer comes in a neutral nude that's slightly lighter than 'Stay Don't Stray'.

The primer that I have is actually travel sized, and was included as a bonus product with their legendary Naked palette, meaning that the size is much smaller and it has a wand for easy application that isn't featured on the original product. The original product is 11ml, and comes in a squeezy tube with a super-thin needle nose tip to ensure that you don't waste any of the product.

What's good about it..
Right from application at 8am up until I removed my makeup at 8pm my eyeshadow stayed put. Towards the end of the day I start getting a bit sleepy and carelessly rub my eyes, and when everything else smudges my eyeshadow stays strong. I also like the applicator wand on the travel sized bottle as it allows the product to be distributed sparingly and evenly without having to use your fingertips (I have a thing about using my hands to apply products - it's almost OCD!), and the thin nozzle applicator on the original product is great for avoiding wastage. I also like that it is priced at £14.50, which I believe is a reasonable price for the results it delivers.

What's bad about it...
Honestly, there isn't lot I can say about this product. The only negative I would say is that it woud really have an edge over other primers if the wand was kept instead of the nozzle, as it was a surprise that the packaging and applicator was completely different on both sizes.

The Verdict
They both do the job well, however due to distribution and the actual cost of the product the Urban Decay 'Primer Potion' is the favourite. Benefit have perfected the product, but the packaging needs a bit of work, where as you get more for your money with the Primer Potion - not just by using less due to effective dispensing of the product, but you get 1ml more primer for £5 less.

Which one is your favourite? Or is there another eyeshadow primer that you think beats them both?

Review: Models Own angled and eyeshadow brushes + eyelash curler!

As a lover of make-up, i've come to realise that a good brush is almost as important as the make-up itself, and have since then been on the hunt for new additions to my brush collection (Which at the moment is extremely small!). After aboout 15 minutes walking up and down the make-up brush section of my local Boots, I decided to take a chance and try out some of Models Own.

Models own are a budget beauty brand that are best known for their vibrant nail colours and nail art kits. However, the brand also stock a wide variety of eye make-up, lipsticks and even cheek & lip tint! To be honest, whenever I see a Models Own stall I am instantly drawn to the nail polishes, and haven't considered trying the other products, so I was interested to see if their make-up brushes were of the same great quality as their nail polishes.

Angled Blush Brush

I've always chosen angled blush brushes, because I like the definition it gives to the product, as I only like a small amount of surface area covered with my blush. I also think that because you're sweeping the blush up across the apples of your cheeks, an angled brush helps you do that which much more ease than a regular blush brush.

First off, I love the use of the flourscent colouring on both the handle and the brisle tips, I think it's excellent as it would stand out amoungst plain black brushes if you had a large collection. I also think that it stays true to Models Own being a brand full of bright, 'out-there' colours. The best thing i've found about this brush is that it is soo soft! The brisles do not shed, and pick up the colour so well that you only need to tap the edge of the brush into the blush to pick up the right amount. Because it's so soft it's quite easy to forget that you must be gentle with the application in order to ensure that you don't get carry away with the amount you're using, so remember that a little goes a long way with this brush. This is currently my go-to brush for blush application, and it's great for blending too. It's such a bargain, priced at just £8.

What's great about this brush is that it is so soft yet well structured. It enables great definition if you're using a gel liner, filling in eyebrows or it could just be used to cover the whole lid. The angle is great if you want to create cat flicks and even using the corners to add some lighter shadow to the inner corners of your eyes to brighten them. This really is an excellent tool to get into the awkward areas of your eye that other brushes just won't reach! I love it, and it can be yours for just £5.

Sorry for the bad lighting on these photos, the sun was so bright and I even with the curtains shut it was still beaming through them!
I was a lot more disappointed with the eyelash curlers, because I found they were far to bulky for me. For someone with quite small eyes I found that the metal edges of the curler would dig into the corners of my eyes, making it almost impossible for me to curl them! In the end I ended up curling them really lightly so it wouldn't hurt, and the end result was satisfactory, but nothing too spectacular. In future i'll probably need to go for a half-lash curler. I found that the padding didn't do much for steadying the hand, but I like the pop of colour anyway. A bulk standard product for £6.

I will definitely be trying more of their brushes (i've got my eye on the lip brush!), which can be found at any Boots store, on their website here or at asos.com.

Review: Simple's 'Kind to Eyes' Eye Make-Up Corrector Pen

I can't think of anything more irritating than having done your makeup perfectly and then finding you've smudged your eyeliner and/or mascara at the last minute. We've all tried licking our finger and simply rubbing it away, but it tends to leave a dark shadow that closely resembles the eye bags we try so desperately to cover up!

I've always been a fan of Simple. They just prove that you don't have to add harsh chemicals and perfumes to be able to achieve the same results. For those of you who don't know, Simple are a skincare company that specialise in only using the finest and gentlest ingredients in their products in order to achieve flawless looking skin without the nasty additives. Named the UK's No.1 Facial Skincare brand, it's safe to say that Simple produce quality products that are not only good for your skin, but don't break the bank either.

Sorry for the bad quality picture, it didn't look so blurry when I looked back on it on my camera!

The corrector pen has the same features of all the other Simple products: No oil, alcohol, perfume, colour and packed with Pro-vitamin B5 to retain smooth skin. The pen also has a precision tip to be able to correct the smallest of mistakes in the most awkward places. However, what I don't really like is how it says that the pen must be cleaned with a cleansing wipe after each use. Obviously it keeps the tip clean and stops it from drying out, but it just seems a bit of a waste to clean something with a cleansing wipe that can be quite costly if you use the corrector pen on a daily basis.

In order to test the pen, I had to be sure to make 'mistakes' that were visible on camera, however I did also use the precision tip for smaller corrections that aren't so visible.

Before:

After:

Tada! All the little mascara marks were gone in a matter of seconds, which is suprising seeing as I used my They're Real! mascara from Benefit, which is quite tough to get off seeing as its smudge-proof. It also did remove any of the concealer or eyeshadow I had on either, which is an added bonus as there was no need to reapply again. As the pen isn't greasy and is entirely oil-free it's great for anyone that's prone to watering eyes, like me.

The corrector pen costs just £4.99 and will now be a permanent fixture in my make-up bag. This is definitely a must-have item; an essential to ensure that you achieve flawless eyes every time. You can purchase Simple's 'Kind To Eyes' Eye Make-Up Corrector Pen from your nearest chemist, Boots, Superdrug or on the Simple website.