Review: Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

Hello everyone, you may remember me yearning for an Urban Decay Naked Palette in my ‘10 Best Beauty Buys Under 10 Pounds’ blog post, well… *drum roll please* … I gave into temptation and bought the Naked 3 Palette! So I thought I’d post a review for you in case you were wondering if it lives up to the hype and is worth the hefty price tag. Enjoy :)

About the product

This is one of the bestselling eye palettes ever and it’s easy to see why – the colours are so wearable, there is a good mix of matte and shimmer shades and the pigmentation is excellent. In case you have been living under a rock for the past decade and have never heard of the Urban Decay Naked palettes, there are three palettes available, each with 12 neutral eye shadow shades. The Naked 3 palette shades are rose-hued neutrals. One of the reasons that the shadows are so excellent is their staying power, these shadows do not budge even after 12 hours of wear. However, if you do have particularly oily eyelids Urban Decay also sell a range of eye primers, this palette actually came with 4 free primer samples (pictured above). The shadows are also very blendable which makes creating an everyday smokey eye extremely easy (I simply apply a matte shade to the eye crease and blend with a Mac 217 brush). This particular palette has also been rated 4.7 stars out of 5 on the House of Fraser website by customers so don’t just take my word for it…this palette is loved  by literally everyone!

Texture

The shadows in this palette are velvety smooth and feel lovely on the lid, one of the things I love is that the shimmery shades do not have big chunky glitter in, the shimmer is very finely milled which makes them just as easy to apply as the matte shades. The texture is so buttery soft that you can easily apply the shadow to your lid and blend with your finger if you don’t have an extensive brush collection. This also makes that palette great for younger girls who are just starting to learn about makeup application, because the shades are so natural and easily blended that you can’t really go wrong!

Affordability

Although I’m sure you could find this product slightly cheaper on sites like ebay, I bought mine from House of Fraser which cost me £38! This is definitely a makeup product to treat yourself to, and not an everyday purchase. However, I really do think it’s worth it, I use this palette most days and the colours are so pigmented that you really don’t need to use much so this will probably last well over a year.

Packaging

 As someone that loves everything rose gold, I think the packaging for this palette is beautiful! Unlike the original Naked palette which has velvet material exterior, this palette is metal which feels much more expensive and high quality (and is also wipe clean unlike the first Naked palette). The palette also has a really big mirror on the inside which is very useful for touch ups when you’re on the go and means that the product great for travelling as you don’t have to pack a separate mirror. Moreover, the palette comes with a double ended brush, one side for packing shadow on the lid, and one side for blending. Most of the brushes that come with eyeshadow palettes are absolutely useless but this one is lovely and soft (the blending side is still not as good as the Mac 217 though).

After buying the Naked 3 palette I’m now addicted and am thinking of buying the first Naked palette too, so leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts on the original Naked palette.

Tam x

10 Best Beauty Buys Under 10 Pounds

Hello everyone! As I’ve done quite a few high-end product reviews, I thought I’d so something different and share with you my favourite inexpensive beauty products from the high street. Enjoy :)

1.       Ardell ‘Demi Wispies’ Eyelashes - £5.49

Before I found these lashes I always thought that false lashes looked strange on me and obviously fake, I’m not one for the Only Way Is Essex look and really wanted some lashes that looked natural but longer and fuller than my own. These lashes are now an absolute staple in my makeup bag and I never use any other brand. I urge you to try these out, they’re so feathery looking and feminine. I would choose these over MAC eyelashes any day.

2.       Sleek ‘Arabian Nights' Eyeshadow Palette - £7.99

I absolutely love this eyeshadow palette! The colours are so vivid and long lasting and there’s a great range of shades (It's limited edition though so don't hang around if you want to purchase one). Sleek have so many different palettes so if this one isn’t for you try out one of their more neutral palettes.

3.       Maybelline The Falsies Volum’ Express Mascara - £7.99

I have to say that my favourite mascara of all time is the Benefit They’re Real Mascara but I am a student with a student budget so when I can’t afford to fork out £20 for a mascara, this is always the one I reach for. I think the reason this mascara is so amazing is the shape of the brush, it’s has a curved shape ‘spoon’ brush so I find it actually curls your lashes upwards as you apply it.

4.       Sleek Contouring and Blush Palette - £9.99

My favourite part of applying makeup is probably contouring, it makes you look so much healthier and glowing, but you don’t have to pay a fortune to get great results. This is the second sleek product on my list and they are definitely one of my favourite brands for affordable beauty so make sure you check them out if you haven’t already. I have the shade ‘light’, because I’m basically one shade away from being an Albino but they also do a medium and dark shade so it’s perfect for all skin tones.

5.       Natural Collection Clear Mascara - £1.99

In my opinion, there are some products that you shouldn’t skimp on, I always pay more for foundation, for example, because I find it so difficult to find a colour match with high street brands. However, brow gel is not one of those products, there is really no need to buy expensive brow setting gels when this clear mascara by Natural Collection does the same thing – it’s perfect if you want to set your brows without any colour pay off.

6.       W7 ‘In The Nude’ Eyeshadow Palette - £4.51

If, like me, are desperate to own one or all of the Naked palettes by Urban Decay, but can’t afford to spend £30 on eyeshadows then look no further. This is the closest dupe I have found to the Naked palettes, and granted, the colours are obviously not as pigmented and don’t last as long as the Urban Decay shades, but for the price, it’s not bad. 

7.       L’oreal Super Liner - £6.49

I’ve actually spoken about this product already in my ‘Liebster Award’ blog post, so I’ll try not to talk too much about this one. This liner is an essential in my makeup bag, I can do a winged eyeliner in about 2 minutes which has made such a difference to my makeup routine. If you haven't tried it already I would definitely recommend you give it a go!

8.       Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick - £5.49

These lipsticks are by far my favourite available on the highstreet, they have a satin finish and last all day! This one is in the shade 08 which is a brown toned pink, very on trend with the 90s lip made popular by Kylie Jenner. If you like to use lip liner under your lipstick, Rimmel do have an excellent collection, if you’re trying to replicate the Kylie Jenner look try ‘East End Snob’.

9.       Bourjois Healthy Balance 10 hour Matt Finish Powder - £8.99

I’ve honestly repurchased this powder about 10 times, of all the face powders I’ve tried this one lasts the longest without needing a touch up and it’s got excellent coverage. If I’m having a particularly good skin day I can skip foundation and go straight to concealer and powder because the coverage is quite full. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this for someone with dry skin but if you have oily skin with imperfections then you should definitely try it out!

10.       Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.19

If you haven’t heard about this concealer then where have you been, this is a blogging and youtuber favourite and has grown in popularity recently! This concealer is an absolute lifesaver, it’s the only cover up I’ve ever found that is an exact colour match, lasts all day and covers anything and everything from under eye shadows to spots and scars. I have a lot of expensive concealers by brands like MAC and Bobbi Brown but I always reach for this Collection one. Just goes to show that price doesn’t necessarily mean quality!

I hope this post was useful, if you're interested in buying any of the products simply click on the product name. Let me know in the comments what your favourite inexpensive beauty buys are.

Tam x 

Style Edit: All White Party

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you have a fabulous New Year. I’d also like to apologise for the lack of blog posts recently but I’m planning to blog more regularly from now on. Christmas is over but the party season is still in full swing so I thought I’d share with you some New Year’s Party outfit inspiration. Enjoy!

What I’m Wearing

Skirt – River Island

Top- PrettyLittleThing

I built this outfit around the gorgeous white leather skirt from River Island which is an absolute steal at £25. It reminds me of the super-tight bodycon skirts that Kim Kardashian often wears and it looks a lot more expensive that it is (always a bonus!) I think a lot of us are guilty of over-wearing our staple ‘little black dress' and I certainly wear far too much black so I thought an all-white outfit would be nice change. I’m absolutely loving off-the-shoulder or Bardot style tops at the moment too, I think they’re so flattering and feminine as they show off your collarbone and décolletage. This white one is from PrettyLittleThing.com, they’ve got some amazing clothes and shoes on their website that I haven’t seen on the high street and they often have really big sales on so it’s worth saving the website into your bookmarks! I find it's often more interesting and more flattering to wear separates in the same colour rather than wearing a dress in one block colour because showing a small section of midriff draws the eye to the smallest part of your waist. I hope this has given you some style inspiration!

I’d love to know what your plans are for the New Years. Let me know in the comments :)

Tam x

Review: Guerlain Meteorites

Hello everyone! So I thought I'd post my first ever make-up review today. I love beauty products and have an addiction to buying make-up so let me know if you guys like this post and I'll make sure to do some more beauty reviews in the future. Enjoy :)

About the product

This is actually the first and only product I have ever bought from Guerlain and I'm so glad that I purchased it! These beautiful illuminating pearls are by far the most luxurious make-up item I own. I have the shade '02 - Clair' which is the lightest shade but they also do medium and dark shades for different skin tones. Guerlain describe this product as an 'illuminating powder' which you can use all over to set your makeup or as a very subtle highlight. I have quite oily skin and I find that I do have to re-apply my powder after a couple of hours if I use it to set my base so I often just use it as a highlight but if you have normal or dry skin I'm sure this would look lovely as an all over face powder. I would recommend you use this if you ever feel your makeup looks flat or your face looks lifeless because it instantly refreshes your complexion and adds a certain amount of dew to the skin, giving it a natural glow and radiance.

Texture and Smell

The texture of this powder is really fine and it goes on to the skin so smoothly, everything about it says high end! The smell! Where do I start? Oh my gosh! This is THE best smelling make-up product I have ever come across. I'm usually awful at describing smells but these candy looking pearls smell exactly like parma violet sweets which is probably half the reason why I love them. I know that people with sensitive skin are often scared to use scented products on their face but I have very sensitive, spot prone skin and this product has never caused me to have any adverse reactions. If, however, you just don't like having scented face products in general then this isn't one to go for because the scent does linger, which I love because I think the smell is addictive, but I know that it's not for everyone.

Affordability

As expected of a Guerlain product, the only downside to this is the price. It's definitely something to treat yourself to or to buy as a special gift for someone; this isn't any normal drug store powder but I do think that when it comes to make-up, you get what you pay for!

Packaging

My favourite thing about these pearls, other than the smell, is the packaging. It's so glamorous and makes me feel like a Hollywood movie star when I get it out of my vanity table; this is definitely one to put on display and if you finish using the product, the tin would be great to keep little trinkets or bobby pins in. Maybe this is just me but I'm totally won over by sophisticated looking make-up packaging.

Let me know if you have any other Guerlain product recommendations for me. Tam x