Urban Decay Blogger Event

I recently attended another amazing event organised by Laura at North East Blogger Events. This time, we got invited down to the Urban Decay counter in Aberdeen and we were treated to an evening of a makeup masterclass. The Urban Decay girls took us through some of their cult classic products and showed us some new releases (which were very tempting indeed!).

The products they used featured in the new ad campaign for the Moondust eyeshadows and some others that I hadn't seen before.

I basically spent the entire night loitering around the glitter eyeliners after admiring it on one of the Urban Decay girls. Oh how I wish I was confident enough to pull it off!

We got plenty of time to wandering around the stand and have an epic swatching session. I have my eye on some UD products for my next pay day (the Naked Beauty Balm specifically).

As always, it was great to catch up with fellow bloggers and meet some new ones. 

What are your must have Urban Decay products?

Vanessa

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a valentines wishlist

Oh Valentines Day. When this day comes around, I'm reminded of my social awkwardness and impending spinsterhood. This year I swore that I would start to think positively so I am! Imagine the money I'll be saving in gifts for the special someone but then again, what could I use the money to buy for myself instead. 

1. ASOS Scallop Front Tab Across Body Bag: Despite having just purchased a Cambridge Satchel, I couldn't help looking on ASOS and I spotted this cute little bag. It has that Mulberry look about it and very practical for day to day wear. 
2. Temporary Secretary Ninja Mystery Bag: One of my favourite bloggers, Sarah from Temporary Secretary, has one of the cutest online shops. Whilst surfing it the other day, I came across this Ninja goodie bag. It's a running joke with my friends that I'm known as the Ninja (a little to do with my cultural origin too!). But it's filled full of lovely jewellery and stationery. Me wants!
3. Lavish Alice Deep Wine Velvet Skater Dress: I've been so attracted to the colour burgundy and anything deep wine coloured, plus...it's the colour of the season! The heart cut out on the back is really cute! 
4. Stila Convertible Colour for Lips and Cheeks: My blush obsession continues. It was ok when my city didn't have a Stila stand but now it's in my local Boots and I ALWAYS go over to it just to look at these blushes. I love how you can use them for lips and cheeks and their colour range is pretty good as well.
5. Urban Decay Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette: *sigh* I promised myself that I wouldn't get pulled into the hype that was this palette but I've been finding myself wearing more matte neutral shades and this looks so practical. I like the compact nature of the palette and it's so much more travel friendly than both of its predecessors. I may or may not have added this onto my birthday wishlist (hint, I have).

So, single ladies...what's on your wishlist for the Valentines season? Or if you're coupled up, what are you doing on the special day?

Vanessa

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my unsung hero: smog eyeshadow

I rarely blog about a specific eyeshadow but 'Smog' from the original Urban Decay Naked Palette is becoming one of my favourite eyeshadows. When I first got this palette, I didn't really deviate from the lighter toned eyeshadows that can be found at the left hand side of the palette but one day out of curiosity, I decided to try the middle golden toned ones and I must admit, it's love.

It's pretty difficult to describe but I think it's brown with golden tones through it. So it's essentially a golden brown. It has great staying power with a good primer underneath it and I love using it with a little bit of 'Creep' in the outer corner. With a bit of careful application, you can create a lovely daytime smokey eye look or layer it with other eyeshadows for a great night time look. With my pesky (non) eyelids, the pigmentation of the eyeshadow means it can look slightly sloppy if I don't make sure it goes where it is supposed to go.

If you tend to stick to your usual eyeshadows, I urge you to look again at some of the other unsung heroes because you may just find your diamond amongst the mess!

Have you discovered a favourite eyeshadow hidden amongst other colours?

Vanessa

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fotd: shine bright like a diamond

Awkward smile o_O

Ahhh, don't you just love annual leave days? Being cooped up in one room and stuck to one chair for 10 hours at a time really makes your appreciate days off more. Today, I went off to the cinema! I'm enjoying this Cineworld Unlimited card malarky already!

I made a bit more effort with my makeup today and broke out my UD Naked palette. I'm working on a little photography project with my brother later tonight so I wanted to look slightly more human than usual.

Surprisingly, I've really loved using Rimmel's Match Perfection foundation. I'm absolutely terrible at colour matching my skin to drugstore foundation but I've finally made the right choice! Success! (Review on this will be on soon!)

Do you like to jam pack your days off or do you prefer to chill out at home?

Vanessa

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Palette Series: Urban Decay Naked Palette

If you have managed to get along so far without coming across this palette then you must have been living in a cave! It is that ever hyped-up Naked Palette!

Packed with 12 beautifully neutral shades, it is a wonderfully wearable palette that can create so many different looks for night and day!


As with all UD eyeshadows, they are wonderfully pigmented and the colour pay-off is fantastic! My favourite ones has to be Buck, Toasted and Hustle (but not necessarily all together!). There are some shades that I haven't touched or even attempted to experiment with but maybe one day I'll branch out and give some of the other ones a go.


As the Naked Palette was so popular, it wasn't surprising that UD released the Naked 2 Palette soon after. Although they contain completely different shades, I can't help but feel that I don't need any more neutral shades in my life so I have yet to invest into it.


This palette is slightly on the more expensive side at £36.00 at UD stockists but breaking it down to numbers, it comes to about £3 per eyeshadow and they are of great quality and in a handy palette. If you think about it, one MAC eyeshadow will set you back at least £9! I think that it is really worth the money you pay for it and if you don't own either the original or the Naked 2 palette, I would seriously consider investing in at least on of them.


What do you think? Do you own this palette or the Naked 2? Which shades are your favourite?


Vanessa


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Drawing a Line: An Eyeliner Review

Eyeliner was definitely one of the first make-up items I bought when I was dabbling in make-up. I find that eyeliner just completes your eye look and manages to create amazing illusions like making your eyes look smaller or bigger. I thought I would go over my some of my eyeliner finds and some recommendations for you lovely readers if you're on the market for a new one or is just starting out with make-up!

Left to Right: MUA Eyeliner, MAC Kohl 'Smoulder', Topshop 'Saddle', Topshop 'Juniper', Majolica Majorca, Stila Smudge Stick 'Moray', UD 'Zero', UD 'Whisky'.

MUA Eyeliner in Jet Black: This a recent addition and at only £1, I'm really impressed with the quality. It's really creamy but I found that it smudges really easily so I'm not quite sure how long it would last on my eyes without setting it with a black eyeshadow. I'm also really impressed that the lid comes with a sharpener so it's pretty handy!

MAC Eye Kohl in Smoulder: I usually don't have a bad word to say about MAC as I research their products a lot before buying them and I'm never disappointed with them thereafter, but I'm finding it really difficult to still be friends with this eyeliner! It is a proper black eyeliner (as shown above) and it was once a favourite of mine but now whenever I try and use it, it just drags over my lids and even when swatching it on my hand it just dragged and pulled on my hand. *sigh* I really want to love this again but I guess you win some and lose some.

Topshop Kohl in Saddle: I love this eyeliner. It is a soft deep bronzy/brown shade and it's pretty much perfect for those days where you don't want to go too heavy with a black eyeliner. Lovely!

Topshop Kohl in Juniper: Another Topshop eyeliner in a deep Aubergine colour. It's something a little different to what I would usually go for but I did find myself reaching for this often when I bought it! Again, really creamy and it didn't drag across the lids. Topshop...you can do no wrong!

Majolica Majorca Cream Pencil Liner: This is a little diddle one I got for free when I bought a mascara in Hong Kong and it's pretty amazing! It's the perfect shade of black, creamy, applies well but the only gripe I have is that it is a bugger to remove from my eyes! (Anyone have any good eye makeup remover recommendations?) I'm also sad that it is a small sample size so hopefully when I got back to Hong Kong this year I can get the full size!

Stila Smudge Stick in Moray: I got this from my Glossybox absolutely yonks ago! It's a really nice product and the colour is amazing with a small hint of shimmer in it! I love using this to create a winged eyeliner look and was really pretty in the Wintertime! Can't wait to use it again in the colder months!

Urban Decay 24/7 in Zero: I do have a problem with using UD eyeliners. I don't doubt their quality at all but I just can't quite put my finger on it! It is a really nice jet black shade but not as black as the Majolica Majorca one.

Urban Decay 24/7 in Whisky: I believe this shade is limited edition that came with the Original Naked Palette before they started including a brush in the set. But it's UD so 'see above'. Sorry UD, love your eyeshadows but I'm not sold on your eyeliners yet!

What do you think? What is your favourite eyeliner?

Vanessa

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TAG: 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty

I LOVE reading these posts and watching this tag on YouTube so I thought I would give this a go on blog form. 

Source 1: here
Source 2: here

1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive and expensive beauty product?
My most inexpensive would be No.7 lipgloss in Smile which I got for free! Can't get any more inexpensive than that! I don't use it as often as I should but it's the most inexpensive beauty product I own.

My most expensive beauty product is a toss-up between the Urban Decay Naked Palette or my MUFE HD Foundation. I still think the Naked Palette is well worth the money and the HD Foundation really is fantastic!

2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What has been the hardest to find?
I have a love/hate relationship with gel eyeliner! Sometimes it looks really nice on me and then my monolids/(one eyes bigger than the other issue) get in the way and I just look downright silly!

The MUA Heaven & Earth Palette has been most difficult to find. Although there are 2 Superdrugs in my city, neither of them stock the pro range so I gave in and had to order it online.

3. GLUTTONY: What is your most delicious beauty product?
It has to be Palmer's Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Lip Butter. Tastes like the Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks at Christmas time!

4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?
Definitely my eyebrows. Need to make more of an effort!

5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most confidence?
Foundation. Can always rely on a quick application of foundation to give me that extra boost I need!

6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
Humour. If a guy can make me smile or laugh then he is definitely worth my time.

7. ENVY: What item would you most like to receive as a gift?
Benefit's Hervana Blush. I'm currently on the lookout for a new blush and this looks so pretty! I love the fact that you can just swirl your brush in the product to get such a beautiful colour! May be worth an investment soon!

I tag everyone who reads this to do it! Link me to your post so I can read it as well!

Vanessa

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