My Favorite Mistake

Whenever a beauty magazine publishes a 'don't' list, one of the items is invariably "don't match your eye shadow to your eye color." The makeup powers-that-be have decreed that contrasting colors (plum if you have green eyes, amber if blue, etc) are the most flattering, but I happen to love green eye shadows and eye liners on my green eyes! To me, green is less harsh than black, more interesting than brown and really does showcase my eyes! I'm not always looking for contrast. Sometimes a soft smoulder or subtle definition is what I'm after, and I turn to my greens. Do you wear shadows and liners that match your eye color? What other makeup 'rules' do you break?

Here are some of my favorite green liners (click to enlarge):

1. Laura Geller Baked Cakes Eye Liner in Dark Green Apple (part of the Key Lime/Dark Green Apple Duo)
2. Laura Geller Baked Cakes Eye Liner in Key Lime (part of the Key Lime/Dark Green Apple Duo)
3. Bobbi Brown Forest Shimmer Ink
4. Redpoint Optic Effects Pencil (swirls of pearl, light and dark greens)
5. Lancome Artliner in Star Shower
6. Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Stash
7. Jouer Pencil Eye Liner in Vert

As far as green shadows go, my favorite shadow is the ever-elusive Lancome Erika F. Lancome does not distribute this shade in the states, but it is available to Americans via Strawberrynet.com, which is where I purchased both my Erika F single and the Lancome Colour Focus Palette in Escapade Champetre, which contains the shade as well.
In addition to the glorious grayed green taupey sprakle of Erika F (bottom left corner), there is a very pale greenish white, a gorgeous shimmered emerald and a murky bronze green. The shades all work beautifully together or on their own. The Erika F single seems to go in and out of stock often and is well-worth looking out for. It is truly unique.

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin

When it comes to eyeshadow I’m a shimmer kinda gal. Therefore I already biased towards the shimmery loveliness that is UDPP Sin. Like the original it comes in the totally impractical genie bottle and will set you back £11.50 for 10ml of product which will last for a very long time (especially if you depot it!). I haven’t heard yet whether this will be released in the big squeeze tube like the original is.

The difference between this and the original is the colour. Whereas the original dries down to a colourless finish this is a warm, almost pinkish gold shimmer. The finish will add some shimmer to any powder eyeshadow you place one top. You to get the little doe foot applicator which frankly does nothing to get into the corners of that awkward little bottle.

The formula does feel slightly thicker and more slippery than the original. You must use a really thin layer otherwise you may find a little creasing going on. Used sparingly and I find it gives me the same staying power at the original does. You can even use this as wash of colour on its own in a pinch.

I like this. I use it frequently under shimmery colours. I do find that the soft gold can slightly mute down bright shades so you need to take that into account. Sometimes it’s useful, sometimes it’s annoying. Of course if you don’t like shimmer you’ll hate this in which case I suggest getting it’s matte sister Eden. Squeeze tube now? Xx

*I bought this with the magical Boots points that I seem to accumulate despite spending very little money in Boots... honest!*

Do you believe the hype? Urban Decay Naked Palette

I’m as guilty as the next makeup addict of getting sucked into the hype and splurging on products that just can’t live up to the buzz around them. Stereo Rose? It’s nice but it’s not sobbing-when-it’s-sold-out nice (I honestly have heard stories of people doing that!). Fix+? Fancy water. NARS Orgasm? DISCO FACE. That said every once in a while something turns up that really is as fab as everyone says it is. Let’s get Naked shall we?


I won’t bore you with swatches as everyone and their cat has posted them already. I will just say this. If you have any need in your life to wear neutral or soft, smoky looks you will not regret this. The shadows are like butter, highly pigmented butter (eh?). Not a glitter bomb in sight and the double ended eyeliner (double ended in a Naked palette... insert innuendo here...) is fanbloodytastic.

Did it live up to the hype? YES xxx

August Go To Products

This is kind of a favourites post (my first actually)only not really. These are the products that have taken a beating in the last month. Not necessarily my favourites but the ones that I’ve been reaching for over everything else. This was kinda tough as I’m still doing my project ‘use everything you’ve got at least once’ so I’ve been wearing totally different looks every day. Nonetheless I’ve found a few products have been plucked from the drawers by default when I wasn’t sure what else to wear.

Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara in waterproof: I love this and will be doing a full review soon. I’ve been picking this up as it is actually the only waterproof mascara I currently own. With the remnants of my hay fever lingering and a pretty stressful month causing a few mini breakdowns the waterproof er... ness has been invaluable.

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in By Candlelight: glowy but never glittery, this is just more suited to day time than many of my other highlighters so it gets used more!

No7 Blush in Honey: It’s a neutral dirty peach that when used lightly looks incredibly natural on me. I tap the flat side of a blush brush on it then bounce it off my cheeks for a barely there flush. Love it!

MAC Eyeshadow in Blanc Type: It doesn’t matter what eye look I’m wearing I use this every day. It’s a matte cream shade that despite being well pigmented does not show up on my pale skin. I use it daily to blend out the edges of my eyeshadow and to correct mistakes. I have a really small lid space so it’s easy for me to over apply shadow making this little eraser invaluable.

UDPP in Sin: I’m a shimmer kind of girl when it comes to shadows. An eye primer that adds more shimmer? Yes please!

MAC Lipstick in Viva Glam Cyndi: I need a backup of this and I can’t wait for the matching lip glass to come out either. It’s my favourite wearable red. I wear this every weekend with a really simple eye and winged liner. In fact this and UDPP Sin with winged liner is about as quick and easy as makeup gets.

Collection 2000 Concealer: I have way too many concealers and they need using up sooner rather than. This is first on my list. It’s actually pretty effective though it doesn’t cover quite as well as I would like. If you try and layer it it does gets cakey but a thin layer will last you all day. The tube seems never ending though... I thought it would be done my now but it just keeps on going! I wish the packaging was see through so I knew how much was left.

Would you like to see more of these kinds of posts? What have you been reaching for throughout August? Let me know in the Comments! Xx

*Everything up there was bought by me with actual money apart from the UDPP Sin which was bought with Boots points*

Urban Decay Iconic Lipstick: Pistol

Recently I popped into Boots and picked up a couple of things with my points (hello free makeup!). Amongst the goodies was this rather lovely looking lippie. I mean just look at it. Stunning no?


The sword at the end is metal but I know it’s only a matter of time before it gets destroyed in my makeup bag. In the mean time though the packaging look luxe, feels nice and weighty and appeals to my irrational love of shiny things. Especially purple shiny things. The sense of decadence is continued when you get the actual lipstick itself. Urban decay along with the sword is embossed directly into the lipstick.

The colour in the tube is a reddish pink infused with a somewhat iridescent glitter. It goes on surprisingly sheer making the shade much more wearable for me than I first thought it would me. The glitter isn’t too prominent when on either though it does feel slightly gritty once the bulk of the colour has worn off. The formula is quite slippery and moisturising which suits my lips down to the ground however it does mean you have to reapply on a very regular basis. Which of course means you build up more and more glitter as the day goes on. For me this means I just won’t be wearing it during the day. I’ll be breaking this out once the days get darker in the evenings.

The lipstick should have been £12 which I think is great value for money for something this well packaged and with such a nice formula (you may like something more long lasting, I just have lips like the Sahara). It’s a totally frivolous and impractical makeup buy but sometimes that’s what makeup should be all about. Looking pretty for the sake of looking pretty. Love it!

*I bought this with my own erm.... Boots points. Which of course I earned by spending my own money. My reviews are always my honest opinion. For more info see the disclosure policy in the menu on the left hand side*

Project 7 Day Palette – Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland

In case you missed it last week I announced the beginning of Project 7 Day Palette. The aim is to get more used out of eyeshadow palettes that you have been neglecting by using it for 7 days straight, creating a completely different look each day. Last week I used the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette. Bear in mind that I also used NYX Highlight to blend out edges and as a brow bone highlight as there are no matte highlight shades in this palette. Please also bear in mind that a lot of these pics were taken at the end of a long day!

Sunday: I used Underland, Alice, White Rabbit, Curiouser and Jabberwocky. 

Monday:  I used Wonderland, White Rabbit, Mushroom and Mad Hatter.

Tuesday: Oraculum, Queen, Drink Me Eat Me

Wednesday: Muchness, Absolum, Drink Me Eat Me, Mad Hatter

Thursday: Mushroom, Underland

Friday: Curiouser, Vorpal, White Rabbit, Jabberwocky

Saturday: Underland, Alice, White Rabbit, Jabberwocky

So what did I learn. I learnt that there are plenty of neutrals in here so I have no excuse not to pull this out for work. I also learnt that the shades with the chunky silver glitter (mainly Midnight Tea Party, Wonderland and Curiouser, the other glittery ones were more finely milled) are a pain in the arse. Stunning colours but with epic fall out. Up next week is the Front Cover Rainbow Eyes palette that I haven’t used since last October... x

*This was bought by me way back when*

Project 7 Day Palette

One of my favourite people to watch on Youtube is Emily Noelwho recently posted a video on escaping a makeup rut. I think it happens to all of us with sizeable collections. You wake up one morning and are overwhelmed by all the choice in front of you, or simply feel a little uninspired. She came up with the idea of a 7 day Palette challenge. In a nutshell what you do is pick a palette that hasn’t been getting the love it deserves and use it for 7 days straight creating a different look each day.

For the first week I’ve picked the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette. I have seen several people comment that they were so excited when they bought this but just seem to end up ignoring it. You can see that despite me having had this for over a year there is barely a dent in any of the shadows. I figured that it has enough neutrals for me to be able to make it work for 5 days for work but enough colour to make it fun for the weekend. 

So the plan is this. Every Sunday I will do a post showing the 7 eye looks that I’ve created from whatever palette has been used that week. Let me know if you think this is something you’d be interested in seeing (if not I won’t bother posting them, don’t want to bore you!) and if this is something you’re thinking about trying out for yourself! x

Face of the Day!

I unearthed an old(er) MAC Quad today and wanted to use it!

Eyes:
MAC Blanc Type lash to brow (over Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen)
MAC Naked lunch in and above the crease
MAC Copperplate in the outer corner
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Bourbon
Korres Mascara
(The other MAC shadow in the Quad is Sensualize)

Cheeks:
Rock & Republic Rumor
Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzer in Maui
Julie Hewett Goldie Shimmy to highlight the tops of my cheekbones

Lips:
Laura Mercier Tiger Lily Stickgloss

Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale Going on Now!

For those who have Urban Decay on their wishlists, now is the perfect time to shop! Now through April 19th save 30% when you use code 1SFNF on the Urban Decay site. I really like their 24/7 liners and matte shadows.

A comparison of some black pencil liners

I have a lot of liners, so many that I actually forgot to include a couple in here but never mind. I’m one of those people who feels naked without liner on my water line and that is all I ever use pencil liners for. I like gel or liquid for my upper lash line so I couldn’t tell you how these perform for that. I swatched them all on bare skin, left them for a few minutes to set then swiped at them to see how well they stayed put. Here are our contenders and their results. 

MAX Factor Kohl Pencil £4.99 – Nicely pigmented and holds up reasonably well on the swipe test. For the price you could do a lot worse. 

WetnWild Colour Icon Pencil (no idea how much this costs) – I got this with a palette that the lovely Tracy from Beauty Reflections kindly sent to me. It’s a lovely liner with flecks of glitter that really pop. Pigmentation is fab and lasting power is reasonable. Thanks Tracy!

Benefit BAD Gal black £14.30 – Overpriced and more grey than black. This is one of my least favourite black liners. Thankfully I got it free in a magazine rather than paying for it. It doesn’t last long on the water line either. 

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero £13 – Fantastic deep black liner and the swipe test show that this has much more staying power than the other contenders. 

MAC Feline Kohl Power £13 – On a par with the Urban Decay in terms of pigmentation but much more prone to smudging and it has a tendency to run. I like this as a base for a dark smokey eye or when I want deliberately smudge my liner. This is ltd edition but it comes out quite frequently. 

Neils Yard Eye liner – I got this free in a magazine too and I remember the RRP for it being something ridiculous like over £15. It’s just awful. You can barely see it on my skin. Frankly I’m tempted to throw it away.

My personal favourite is the Urban Decay although Feline definitely has it’s uses. The MAC Factor holds its own against the pricier alternatives though and I do get a lot of use out of it. If you have access to WetnWild (you lucky things you) it’s a good bet but for goodness sakes please don’t buy the Benefit one. It’s just not worth it! X

*All bought by me unless otherwise stated*

Score!

I'm not an Urban Decay fan, but I was looking for a sheer pop-of-color cream blush to layer over my bronzer and happened upon their new Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints ($24). Sephora describes the product as a "sheer, buildable cheek tint that glides on effortlessly and feels truly weightless," a description I agree with. I picked up the shade Score, which is a sheer peachy pink (more pink than peach) with gold shimmer. I think that the sheerness makes it look natural, and the golden glimmer is very pretty, but some might find it over the top. I'm very fair and find that the color builds nicely, but those with deeper skins will probably find that this shade does not show up. I've heard rants regarding the lasting power of this product but I haven't had any issues with it fading.

Quick Paul and Joe Swatches for Ondine

The lovely Ondine requested swatches of my Paul and Joe purchases from last night and even though I am not the best swatcher (my swatches always seem so messy and imperfect compared to some of the perfectly straight, dainty ones I've seen) I'm happy to oblige! Click on the image to make it bigger!


Also, in a desperate attempt to justify to myself why I have so many brown eyeliners, I started swatching them on my hand so that I could see just how different and necessary each one is. The swatches are messy since they were originally intended just for me, but I thought they might help someone discover a new brown eyeliner!

1. MAC Technakohl in Photograuvre
2. Benefit Kohl in Sable
3. Urban Decay 24/7 in Bourbon
4. Sephora Nano Liner in Glitter Brown
5. Paul and Joe 02 Dark Brown
6. Sephora Electro Liner in Copper Electro
   

Plums Today (and a Mini Love-Fest for Three Custom Color Specialists)!

90% of the time I'm wearing some variant of a peachy pink or pinky peach blush (the other 10% it's a bronze or nude shade), but today I decided to mix things when I rediscovered my Watercolours for Cheeks in Violet Lotus by a fabulous and incredibly underrated brand, Three Custom Color Specialists. Watercolours are deeply pigmented cream blushes with a dense, non-sticky texture. They do not dry down to a powder finish so your cheeks have a bit of luminosity to them, but without the thickness of MAC Blushcremes. Violet Lotus looks very bright in the pot and swatched, but can be sheered down to a cheerful "just in from the cold" look that I decided to base today's face around.

I highly recommend checking out Three Custom Color Specialists--their ready to wear eye shadows, lipsticks and glosses are high quality and though I've never tried it, the line built their reputation by duplicating discontinued shades from other brands. I love Trae's Favorite lipstick (I've actually used one of these up), Gail's Favorite Gloss (not on the website but I had them make me up a batch after I finished the first one and they do not charge the "custom" fee for this since it used to be part of the regular line up), and Warm Nectar and Warm Celery eye shadows.

Today's Face of the Day (click the picture to enlarge):
Clockwise from Top Right:

• Lancome Colour Design Eye Shadow in Snap- a soft smokey purple
• Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in Natural Purple- a sheer berry
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Rockstar- a shimmering plum
• Boobi Brown Champagne Quartz Shimmer Metallic Eye Shadow- a warm peachy champagne sparkle
• Three Custom Color Specialists Watercolours for Cheek in Violet Lotus- a neutral blendable plum-berry

Top to Bottom:
Three Custom Color Specialists Violet Lotus, Korres Natural Purple, Urban Decay Rockstar, Bobbi Brown Champagne Quartz Shimmer, Lancome Snap

Makeup Fail

I didn't sleep all that much last night and realized before I left the house today that I wasn't looking my absolute best, and yet didn't expect the first coworker I encountered this morning to greet me with "oh my gosh, are you okay? You look awful." Total makeup fail. I normally love all of the items I wore today but I suppose I should have gone with less gray on the eyes and a deeper, brighter blush! (I did also have eye liner and mascara on).
Clockwise from top:
Prescriptives Blush More or Less Creamy Cheek Color in Pink Sand
Benefit Velvet Eye Shadow in Fawn Over Me
Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Baby
Urban Decay Matte Eye Shadow in Shakedown

Some 'New to Me' Eye Basics

I have more eye shadows than any other beauty product and am constantly promising myself I won't buy any more. Oops.

I recently picked up Urban Decay Matte Eye Shadow in Shakedown ($16) and Origins Underwear for Lids in Golddust ($14.50).

The Urban Decay caught my eye because the shade looked like a slightly warmer version of MAC French Grey, one of my all time favorites. When I tested it, I was surprised at how velvety smooth and pigmented the shadow is! I certainly don't need another shadow, let alone another taupe, but I purchased it anyway and am finding it a lovely workhorse basic. For those unable to find French Grey, this is a good substitute (minus the shimmer). Shakedown combines brown and gray to create a universal taupe that's not too warm or too cool.

Without Flash (French Grey left, Shakedown right):

With Flash (French Grey left, Shakedown right):


Origins Underwear for Lids is an eyeshadow base that comes in two formats, a matte flesh toned one and a collection of shimmery light shades. The product is housed in a small swivel-up tube and glides on creamy but sets for all day wear. Golddust is a light champagne with tiny gold and silver shimmers that my camera refuses to capture. The product is extremely versatile--I've worn it alone, as a base for other shades to make them adhere and add glimmer, to highlight the tear ducts, brow bones and the center of my lids, and just to perk up my face after a long day. This shade can make any 'work' shadow festive enough for a party! Underwear for Lids is inexpensive, tiny enough to fit into any makeup bag, and both the product and shade deliver.