Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette

Winged liner has always been an enemy of mine. I know most girls say that, but I am at times genuinely afraid of it. I think i'm always hesitant to blog about looks that require winged liner because when it comes to being a beauty blogger, you're judged a lot on your ability to apply make-up instead of how you review the products. That's totally fine, but I started this blog because I enjoyed writing about beauty, not to show off my make-up artistry skills. Long story short, i'm a bit crap at applying make-up. I'm getting better, but don't expect any mind-blowing too soon, but i'm certainly working on it!

That aside, this Too Faced Cat Eyes palette has been the perfect practice palette for winged liner. It contains nine different colours that can be used to achieve three key looks, all finished off with a feline flick. 

Three of the shadows (Leopard, Jungle Love and Panther) are designed to be wet/dry liners, so they can either be used as a shadow or a soft liner with a dry brush or something a bit more intense and gel-like when the liner brush is wet. I love this idea, as you can control the intensity of the flick this way. Here is my review of the three example looks you can achieve with this palette:

Day

This is my favourite look out of the three, as I believe its the most natural. It's really soft, natural and I love the shimmer of Purr on the brow bone. When I applied Tigers Eye as the liner it didn't really seem to show up, but it seems to look really intense here? Weird. I love how this understated look is achieved with just three colours. Really simple yet equally beautiful.

To achieve this day look, you apply Purr all over the lid, blend Tigers Eye into the crease and using Leopard as a liner.

Classic

I'm not too sure about this one. I can see where I needed to blend a bit more, but i'm just not a bit fan of the recommended crease colour. I really love the double liner though, the intensity of Pussy Cat is just gorgeous, and although Jungle Love looks black in the photo, the pink above it really brings it out. I'd prefer this to be paired with some silver for a twist on a classic smokey eye instead of trying to incorporate a bronzy tone.

I used Meow all the way up to the brow bone, Tigers Eye in the crease, followed by a line of Jungle Love with Pussy Cat lined above it.

Fashion

I only have one picture of this one, as after I took this picture I itched my eye and smudged the entire thing!! I would say this is more of a classic cat eye than a fashion one, with the purple and pink liners used in the Classic look to be a bit more high-fashion.

I achieved this by bringing Kitten all the way up to the lash line, then blending some Panther in the outer V and then using it as a wet liner to create the flick. I finished it off with some Kitty Glitter in the inner corner. The Kitty Glitter used in the tear duct is absolutely gorgeous but so powdery, so I really had to pack it on in order to get a substantial amount of shimmer to show up. However, this is definitely what I would wear for a night out :)

Overall I think this is a really versatile palette. Although these are the looks they recommend, there's a great range of shades so you can really play around. They are also very pigmented, meaning that I can practice my flicks for as long as I want without even making a dent in the shadows. It's quite pricey at £35, but these are good quality shadows that are built to last. Now excuse me while I attempt to perfect my flicks!

Do you have any tips or tricks to achieve perfect winged liner? Let me know below.

You can purchase the Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette for £35 here!

Urban Decay Full Frontal Lipstick Stash

Two posts in one month, things are already looking up for Sophie Says! Haha.

It's safe to say that lipstick is my favourite beauty item, ever. Everything about it is just so easy - no frills packaging, quick to apply, easy to swatch and review. That is precisely why i'm so excited about the Urban Decay Full Frontal Lipstick Stash* - a selection of gorgeous limited edition and best selling lipsticks in little travel sizes. It's the perfect set for any lipstick lover, giving a great opportunity to experiment with reds, pinks and neutrals. 

Gaaahh! It's like a treasure chest! As amazing as the lipsticks are, I was even more impressed with the full-sized 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Ozone - the first invisible lipliner i've ever tried and originally retailing at £13. It's only been recently that i've given their lip pencils a try (Have a look at the review here), and so far i've been really loving them, with this one being no different. It's great if you like to switch up your lip colours and don't want to invest in a million different shades of liner, but of course its only ideal if the lipstick shade is highly pigmented and doesn't need any extra hep from the liner. 

Look how cute these little lipsticks are! When I first saw them, I wasn't convinced as I thought the bullet would just snap when applied, but I was definitely wrong. The bullet distributes a lot of colour without cracking. They're perfect for nights out or when you want to just chuck one in your handbag and go.

How strong are these colours? That's with a single stroke! Words can't describe how great these shades are.

Ladyflower

When swatched on my arm its quite a dusty pink, but its actually a pretty bright fuschia. This would be a pretty great day colour, and it was actually the first colour I wore from the collection as I was instantly drawn to it. Very pretty!

Crush

I'm so impressed with this! It's by far the brightest pink I own. It's definitely more of an evening colour and goes perfectly with the invisible liner - there's no need for a coloured liner to intensify this even further! 

Illicit

This would usually be my go-to colour as its described as a sheer baby pink. It's a bit frostier than I would usually choose for myself, but its a great day colour for when you want to keep things natural but don't want to go completely bare. 

 Gash

Wow, I love this colour. It's a shade darker than a classic red and is really flattering. The invisible liner helps stop the product bleeding, but when it comes to such a statement colour, I think a visible line to work with would be a lot easier. 

Liar

This is probably my least favourite, although when photographed it doesn't look too bad. It's a pink-brown nude, that I would imagine was included as its supposed to be a universal nude, but i'm just not a fan of the colour on me. It's too brown, where as I like my nudes to be a bit more pink. However, I would imagine it would be a great nude shade for slightly darker skin tones, perhaps. 

F-Bomb

This is a seriously glamorous red. It's great, but its a bit too intense for me. Would be amazing for someone with amazing lips, but mine are pretty flat and would require some over-lining which you can't really do with an invisible liner and its at risk of looking really fake. 

Overall I am so impressed with this. It's such a fun little kit with serious pigmentation. They're long-lasting, hydrating and have such intensity the little bullet will last for ages. It's great for someone who's torn between shades or wants a little taster of some of the shades available at Urban Decay. It's not something i'd repurchase as there are certainly better colours for me than others, but it would make a great little gift (whether it be for yourself or not!) that I would recommend to any lipstick lover.

Unfortunately I don't have the release for this, meaning that i'm going to be really annoying now. It's not available yet in the UK, but should be available in the next few weeks in the US, so it won't be too long before it'll be hitting the shelves in your local Urban Decay counters or online. It should be around £24.

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Collection

Well hello there!

Once again, it's been a while. I've been finishing up my time at Good Housekeeping (they asked me to return to help out for another week after my holiday!) and i've come back to Southampton where lots of exciting things have happened. I got engaged, although technically that happened a few days before I left for GH, and was offered a position as Editorial Assistant at Childrensalon. So i've spent the past few days flat-hunting for myself and Rob in Tunbridge Wells, and yesterday I found a flat, which (subject to referencing!) will be mine in a few weeks. So yeah, it's been busy. But now I have a couple of weeks before I start and i've got loads of goodies to blog about - starting with this lot! 

Urban Decay is a brand we all know, but in my opinion, most people just associate it with their Naked palettes. So when I had the chance to try out their new Pulp Fiction collection*, I was excited to see what they had to offer that wasn't from their Naked range. The collection was inspired by Mrs Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction, and gives beauty lovers the chance to recreate her edgy look. Consisting of an eyeshadow palette, lip-liner, lipstick, nail polish and glittery eyeliner (Which she didn't actually wear - nice plug, UD!), its got a little bit of everything to commemorate the film's 20th anniversary.

The eyeshadow palette (£17.50) contains five super-pigmented colours, a double-ended brush and a step-by-step guide to achieve Mia's look. As an avid Naked lover, I was excited to try this the most as I knew the quality of the shadows would be amazing.

The packaging is amazing - completely different to any other eyeshadow packaging i've seen. On the front it features the Ezekiel passage, with "Be cool honey bunny" stamped on the back. The inside features some lovely black blood splatters - apparently the blood was originally going to be red, but it was thought to be too gruesome! To be honest, because of the intensity of the outer packaging, the colours were not what I was expecting. However, looking at pictures of Uma Thurman in character, the eye colours are quite similar. 

The lip pencil, appropriately named 'Mrs. Mia Wallace', is a deep blood-red version of their 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils (£13). It's really creamy, highly pigmented and has a gorgeous matte finish once applied all over the lips. I think this is a bit darker than the shade she wore, but it's gorgeous all the same and looks perfect with the matching 'Mrs Mia Wallace' Revolution Lipstick (£15). 

I'm annoyed, as in the light the lipstick looks like a burgundy shade but it's really a gorgeous deep red. It's a lovely creamy formula and is entirely waterproof, making it perfect for a night out. 

Wow, my lipstick skills need some serious work! I have to admit, I wasn't the biggest fan on the shape of the bullet, as it made it quite difficult to get precise lines without having to use a lip brush. I can't seem to find mine, so had to make do with what I had. But as you can see, the finish of the lipstick is gorgeous. It transfers a lot - onto glasses, food, Rob's cheek - but it doesn't smudge or lessen the intensity of it. I can't wait to wear this on a night out, or even during the day if i'm feeling particularly daring! I think the classic colour makes it perfect for every skin tone.

I really enjoyed recreating her eye look, as it isn't too crazy and out of my comfort zone. I completely forgot about taking a picture of the step-by-step guide, but to achieve the signature look you begin with 'Righteous' from the lash line to the brow, then apply 'Tyranny' all over the lid. Then apply 'Vengeance' in the outer corner, and use 'Anger' as a soft eyeliner which can be brought out to a wing. Complete the look by applying 'Furious' on the brow bone as a highlight. In hindsight, if a good primer is applied beforehand 'Righteous' isn't really needed, but its nice to use the whole palette. What i'm most impressed with is the eyeliner - I can't believe how easy it was to apply and how highly pigmented it is! If I don't wear the complete look all the time, i'll definitely be using the black shadow as a liner. 

Overall this is an amazing little collection, and even though I didn't get a chance to try it all, if the eye liner and nail colour are half as good as the shadows and lip colour, i'll be happy :) 

You can get your hands on the entire Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Collection from September 1st.