This might seem a bit weird, well it does to me anyway, but this whole post is dedicated to one single eyeshadow. Yes, just one little eyeshadow. I haven't done this before and I wouldn't normally do this but this eyeshadow is sooooooo good that I felt I had to. It literally is the best eyeshadow I have ever used and it's a Morphe Brushes single eyeshadow in the shade Mysterious ES11.
Morphe Eyeshadow in Mysterious ES11
Morphe have been around for while, I'm not sure how long, but I've known about them for roughly a year so they are quite a new company. They are very well known on YouTube, this was how I heard about them, and it seems like every beauty youtuber uses some kind of Morphe product. It is their eyeshadows and their eyeshadow palettes that seem to get the most attention because of how amazing they are. Now I must admit I wasn't completely convinced and I didn't run out to buy any of their products. Well I don't know why I would run out because you can only buy their products online, (apart from the one shop they have which I think is in California), but you understand what I mean! However as I was browsing makeup on Beauty Bay I noticed they sold Morphe, they'd sold out of the more popular palettes like the 35O palette everyone bangs on about but they did have some single eyeshadows left and they were only £2. Yes £2!!! To be more exact they were £1.95 and I couldn't resist them at that price so I picked up a few.
Morphe Eyeshadows in Burlesque ES74, Mysterious ES11 & Marbleized ES20
I wasn't excited for these eyeshadows, I just didn't think they'd be that good because they were so cheap, therefore I've had them for nearly 2 months and they've just been sat in my drawer. However I finally decided I had to try them out and I used one of them for the first time last week. I actually filmed the look and it's now on my YouTube channel, I'll leave the video below if you wanted to check out the eyeshadow in action.
Now I can honestly say I'm annoyed at myself for not trying these eyeshadows out sooner. Mysterious is my new favourite eyeshadow, it's the most unique colour I have in my collection. It's like a red, orange and a copper all rolled into one eyeshadow and is seriously eyeshadow heaven if you like warm tone colours, plus it looks amazing on blue eyes! The only thing is you need MAC Fix+ to really get the full potential out of this eyeshadow. I first applied it without Fix+ and yes it was quite pigmented but it didn't have that wow factor, however when I applied it with Fix+ I was speechless. I'm not lying when I say this, it is the most pigmented, in your face, BAM kind of colour. It was just as pigmented, if not more, than a MAC loose pigment and this eyeshadow is only £1.95. It lasted all day as well and the colour didn't fade which is exactly what you want from an eyeshadow.
Mysterious ES11
Mysterious ES11 & Mysterious ES11 with Fix+
Burlesque ES74, Mysterious ES11, Mysterious ES11 with Fix+ & Marbleized
I can seriously not find any faults with this eyeshadow and I personally think everyone needs to buy this eyeshadow no matter what your skin tone or eye colour is because it's the kind of colour that will look amazing on everyone. I can only recommend Mysterious as I haven't used the other shades I picked up on my eyes yet, but from swatches I've done I have high hopes. Supposedly the eyeshadows in the palettes are better than the single eyeshadows - although I really don't know how you can get better! So now I need to pick up one of the palettes, I want the 35O because it has similar orange/red tone eyeshadows.
Morphe products are available from the Morphe Brushes website or if you live in the UK they are available from Beauty Bay.
I've only done one other full palette review and swatches and that was on the Urban Decay Naked Palette so I thought it was only right that I should do my other favourite palette which is the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette.
This palette is full of neutral colours and has a couple of pops of colour which is why I love this palette because you can make so many different eye looks. You really do get your moneys worth. This palette is full of warm colours which I prefer over cool tones as I think they are more flattering. If you prefer cooler tone eyeshadows check out the other editions in the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette range as they contain more cooler tone eyeshadows.
There are positives and negatives to this palette, which I have listed down below. I have also done a swatch of all of the individual eyeshadows and given a little review on all of them. Remember these are just my opinions and what I like and dislike about the palette won't be the same as what someone else likes and dislikes.
Positives:
1. The palette palette costs £39 and this sounds like a lot but there are 16 eyeshadows in the palette which works out at just under £2.50 per eyeshadow! That's like drugstore prices for a high end product!
2. I go back and forth between this palette and the Urban Decay Naked Palette on which is my all time favourite, the reason this one sometimes wins is because there are more matte shades! Matte shades are so important and palettes never have enough matte shades, but this one has five!
3. It smells like chocolate!! Enough said!
4. It has a couple of colourful eyeshadows making it easy to create so many different eye looks.
5. Because of the pops of colour and matte shades it's a very versatile palette and can create a range of looks, from a natural daytime look to a dramatic evening look.
6. The packaging is so good! It's a metal tin case and closes magnetically making it easy to keep clean and easy to travel with.
Negatives:
1. Some shades can be hard to blend and they don't all have a creamy buttery texture.
2. This next point probably isn't a downside to most people, but it's definitely a downside to me. There is a plastic sleeve that has the eyeshadow names on which sits on top of the eyeshadows, hopefully you'll understand what I mean from the pictures. Because I film YouTube videos I need to know the names of the eyeshadows I'm using so I have to keep this plastic sleeve and it does get annoying having to take it out and put it back after I finished using the palette. I'm not 100% sure but I think they've changed this so if you buy this palette now the eyeshadows names are on the actual palette.
3. There are a couple of eyeshadows that I either find disappointing or I just don't reach for them, but this is always the case when you buy a palette. It's near impossible to make a palette where everyone likes every single shade and uses all of the eyeshadows an equal amount.
Eyeshadows: Glided Ganache - is a warm dark brown with a golden bronze shimmer. In the pan it looks like it has a green undertone but on the eyes and in the swatch it doesn't look green at all, I was kind of disappointed by this because it would have been nice to have a green shade in the palette. This is one of my least used shades in the palette, I'm not really sure why because it is a really beautiful colour but it just doesn't stand out to me. This shade has a more dry rough texture and can have some fall out but does have quite good pigmentation.
White Chocolate - is a pale beige and has a matte finish. The shade is perfect for a base eyeshadow, to set eyeshadow primer or as a more natural and subtle highlight on the brow bone and inner corner. The texture is very smooth and has good pigmentation for such a light matte shade. This eyeshadow is one of the larger eyeshadows and this is such a good thing in my opinion because I use this shade every time I use this palette.
Milk Chocolate - is a warm tone medium brown and has a matte finish. This shade is perfect as a crease or transition colour for any eye look, this shade is incredibly easy to blend out and has a really soft and smooth texture. This is one of my most used shades from the palette.
Black Forest Truffle - this shade is a deep purple/burgundy with a pink shimmer running through it. This shade is basically the same as Glided Ganache in regards to the texture and finish. It has a drier rough texture and is also one of my least used shades. The pigmentation is good but does create quite a bit of fall out.
Triple Fudge - is a very deep dark brown that leans slightly warmer toned and has a matte finish. It has quite good colour pay-off for a dark matte shade and has a soft texture. I mainly use this shade either to darken and add more depth to an eye look or as a softer alternative to eyeliner on the upper lash line.
First Row - Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge
Salted Caramel - is a light-medium orange brown that is extremely warm toned and has a matte finish. This is hands down my most used colour from the palette, it does look like a boring shade but it looks so much better on the eyes and is great for warming up any eye look. I use this shade mainly as a transition colour and it has a smooth texture and is really easy to blend.
Marzipan - is a warm tone rose gold/champagne colour in a shimmer finish and can look quite metallic when used with Fix+. This is another favourite shade of mine and this eyeshadow is gorgeous all over the lid or as an inner corner highlight. This eyeshadow also has an amazing smooth and buttery texture.
Semi-Sweet - is a warm tone medium-dark brown with a matte finish. As with the other matte shades in the palette it has a nice soft texture and is very easy to blend, it also has quite good pigmentation. This is another one of my most used shades as it's just the perfect shade, especially on my fair skin tone, to darken up the crease on any eye look.
Strawberry Bon Bon - is a cool tone light pastel pink with a matte finish. It has the soft finish of the matte shades but this shade in my opinion is the most disappointing regarding pigmentation. It just doesn't have any pigmentation and doesn't really show up on my skin tone. I think it would show up better on darker skin tones but I think it would still need to be built up quite a lot to get any pigmentation. This is definitely my least used shade in the palette and the only thing I would use it for would be to set my eyeshadow primer as it's more of a translucent powder than a light pink eyeshadow.
Candied Violet - is a muted cool tone purple with pink shimmer running through it. This shade is very similar to Glided Ganache and Black Forest Truffle as it has a more rough dry texture and this shade is also quite difficult to work with and is difficult to blend. This is another one of my least used shades. The pigmentation is sheer at first but can be built up to be semi opaque.
Amaretto - is a warm tone brown that has a very red undertone and to me it's looks a bit duo chrome. It has a soft and buttery texture with good colour pay off and is very easy to blend. I love wearing this shade all over the lid with Milk Chocolate and Semi-Sweet blended into the crease for a brown smokey eye but with a twist as it has a lot of red in the eyeshadow.
Hazelnut - is a golden bronze brown with a soft metallic/frost finish. This shade has very good colour pay off and has a soft and buttery texture. I love using this shade in the same way as Amaretto however this is just more of a golden bronze smokey eye.
Creme Brulee - is a dark gold with a metallic/frost finish that becomes even more intense with Fix+. It has really good pigmentation with a soft and buttery finish. This is an amazing shade all over the lid and if you love gold eyeshadow you will definitely love this one!
Haute Chocolate - is a warm tone dark golden brown and in my opinion this shade has the best pigmentation and texture from this palette. The pigmentation is amazing! With one swipe it is completely opaque with a very frosty finish. This shade is also the softest to touch and is such a buttery shade and is so easy to blend. Even though this isn't my most used shade it's definitely my favourite!
Cherry Cordial - is a warm tone plum brown, this is a matte finish but it does have little pieces of glitter through it but once on the eyes you can barely see the glitter so I use this eyeshadow as if it was a matte eyeshadow. It has a soft texture and quite good colour pay off but is not as easy to blend as the other matte shades in the palette.
Champagne Truffle - is a cool tone champagne pink with a metallic/frosty finish. It has amazing pigmentation and has an extremely buttery texture and is so soft to touch. I like using this shade as an inner corner highlight because it's so frosty. This is the other eyeshadow that comes in a larger pan.
I absolutely love this palette and like I said it's definitely in my top two eyeshadow palettes, if not my favourite palette. There are obviously negatives to this palette but there are always negatives to every palette. But in my opinion the positives completely outweigh the negatives and I would recommend this palette to everyone because I really think it should be a staple in everyone's collection and come on, the palette smells like chocolate!
I have linked a couple of makeup tutorials so you can see this palette in action! :)
This palette costs £39 and is available from Debenhams.
If you watch beauty YouTubers regularly then you've probably heard about the phenomenon that is the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm in the beauty community at the moment - and if you don't watch beauty YouTubers regularly then you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about!
NikkieTutorials, (if you don't know who she is go and watch her on YouTube because she's AMAZING!), was the first to discover that the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm was a good primer and that is because of the ingredients. Glycerin is the second highest ingredient and it is this ingredient that helps makeup to stick to your face, making your makeup last longer which equals a good primer!
So as you can imagine literally everyone has been trying this product out as primer, it has been circling on YouTube for quite a while now and I do feel like the last person ever to try it! However to be honest I think it's taken me so long to try it because I really didn't think it would work for my skin type. I have oily skin and I formed the opinion that this product is better for drier skin. I don't know why I think that because it doesn't say anything about it being for dry skin, only that it's for sensitive skin. Being that it has taken me so long to try it out, I have seen countless videos on this product - the majority did have normal or dry skin but a few did have oily skin, and they ALL liked it! How is that even possible?! I was completely baffled that one product, especially a primer, could work for all skin types. So I had to try it for myself, and as I hadn't seen a lot of people with oily skin review this product, I wasn't fully convinced it would work for my oily skin.
I did do a first impressions for the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm on my YouTube channel so check that out if your interested in how it applied, how it looked and how my makeup lasted throughout the day.
In the video I compare the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm to a regular primer that isn't targeted for oily skin or enlarged pores, which are the skin problems I need to target, and to me they performed pretty much the exact same. Which if you really think about it, it's kind of crazy. The regular primer I used was the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Fatigue Blur which was £7.99 for 22ml and the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm was £5 for 100ml. It's clear which one is better value for money.
In regards to how the Nivea Men performed with my skin type, it actually did a pretty good job! I don't think I gave it enough credit in the video and it didn't make me too oily. I did have to blot but being an oily girl this is just something I have to deal with and I've never found a product that completely controls my oiliness. Considering that I only had to blot once in my first impressions video, and I think that was after 5 hours of my makeup being on was pretty amazing! The only downside is that it didn't fill in my pores. My pores were quite visible but again it wasn't too bad, it didn't exaggerate my pores, they were just visible when you were very close to my face. So again I was impressed because it's not even a primer let alone a pore filling primer! However since filming this video I've used a pore filling primer where I have enlarged pores and the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm everywhere else and this has been an amazing combination! I also have acne prone skin and I was so worried that it would break me out but it didn't so that gives it another thumbs up in my books!
Overall I highly recommend this product, it just seems to work for every skin type which is crazy! It's also so affordable that there is no harm in trying it out, because if you like it, think how much money you are going to save on primers in the future! However if you have enlarged pores you may not completely fall in love with this product because this is not going to fill them in, although you could just do what I'm doing and use this alongside a pore filling primer as this works really well. But if you think using two primers everyday is too high maintenance, I probably wouldn't recommend the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm for you.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope this was helpful!
As 2015 has just ended I thought it was fitting to do my favourite beauty products of the year. 2015 was definitely the year that my makeup collection has grown the most so I have a lot of favourites but I decided to narrow it down to just 10 products otherwise we'd be here forever!
All of these products I completely fell in love with in 2015 and now I couldn't live without them!
My first favourite is the Make Up For Ever HD Foundation and this has become one of my favourite foundations. I had wanted this foundation for so long but it wasn't available in the UK so I was so happy when it finally became available, it really is an amazing foundation. Then about a week after I purchased this foundation they brought out the Ultra HD Foundation. Typical!! I don't have the new one but I hope it's just as good as the normal HD foundation because I'm not sure whether the normal one is still available and I can't live without this foundation now!
The next product is the Urban Decay Naked palette which was the first ever palette I got. During 2015 I got all of the Naked palettes but this one is definitely my favourite and it's also my most used eyeshadow palette in 2015. In my opinion this is one of the best eyeshadow palettes and I highly recommend it if you don't already have it. I did a full review of this palette here if you're interested.
My next product is also an eyeshadow palette, it's the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. I love this palette just as much as the Urban Decay Naked Palette. They are quite similar as they are both warm tone eyeshadow palettes but the Chocolate Bar palette has some pops of colour and has more matte shades making this palette extremely versatile which I absolutely love! It also smells like chocolate which is definitely a bonus!
The next product is the Mary-Lou Manizer by theBalm and this product completely changed everything for me! I always used highlighter before but I never loved highlighters or used a lot of them. I think this was because I have oily skin and my skin is naturally glowy so I didn't want to add more glow! Then I got the Mary-Lou Manizer to see what all of the fuss was about and now because of this product I love highlighters! It's the most beautiful champagne colour and it looks amazing on so many different skin tones.
The next product is quite a boring product in comparison to the rest of the products in this post and it is the MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. I think most people prime their eyelids before eyeshadow but it's a product that tends to be overlooked, what I mean by that is people think an eye primer is an eye primer, they all do the same job so there is no point spending a lot of money on one. I used to be exactly the same until Soft Ochre came into my life! I use it every time I do my makeup and it really does make a difference to the pigmentation and longevity of the eyeshadows I'm using. This product is definitely a holy grail product for me!
The next two products are lip products, how could I not include lip products! They are my favourite makeup product. The first one is MAC Velvet Teddy which is one of MAC's most popular lipsticks. The reason why it's so popular is because it's the classic Kylie Jenner lipstick shade. I would class it as nude shade, it's a darker nude shade on my skin tone, it also has a lot of brown in it giving it a 90's vibe which is still very popular. Even though this is a matte shade it's a very creamy matte so it's very comfortable on the lips and is not too drying.
The second lip product is a liquid lipstick which became a craze in 2015 and it's definitely a craze I can get behind because I love them. One that I've been wearing a lot in 2015 and I absolutely love is the Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Serenity. It's quite a similar colour to Velvet Teddy in the sense that it's a pinky brown nude however it's not as brown as Velvet Teddy. Serenity is such a versatile shade and it will go with so many different makeup looks. I don't own many liquid lipsticks but the formula of Serenity is one of my favourites. It doesn't go on patchy so you only need one coat and it really does last all day. What I also like is that it doesn't dry straight away, it actually takes a while to dry in comparison to other liquid lipsticks, this makes it much easier to apply and you can rectify mistakes.
My next beauty product is the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. This sponge is supposed to be a dupe for the original beauty blender but I can't compare the two as I don't own the beauty blender. Since the Real Techniques sponge is so good I don't feel the need to spend more money on the beauty blender! I use this sponge for quite a few things, (I use it damp of course), I use it to blend out my foundation and concealer but I also use it to apply MAC Emphasize powder and my Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder to set my under-eye concealer and to set the rest of my face. I know it sounds a bit weird using a damp sponge with a pressed powder but it gives such a soft and smooth finish and really helps disguise my enlarged pores.
The next favourite is the Glam Glow Super Mud Clearing Treatment Mask which I had wanted to try for so long but hadn't because it's so expensive! However this year I talked myself into buying it as there was 15% off which gave me an extra push in deciding to buy it. I absolutely hate that I love this product because I know as soon as it runs out I'm going to have to buy another one! After using this mask my skin feels so soft and clean, it really does feel like the mask has pulled out a lot of the gunk from my skin. So be warned, because this mask is bringing everything to the surface be prepared to have some spots for a few days after.
Now the next product is also really expensive and it's the YSL Black Opium Perfume and I hate that I love this product as well! There is no point in me trying to explain the scent because I'm terrible at explaining how something smells, all I can say it that it is quite a sweet scent. This perfume really reminds me of Diesel Loverdose so if you're looking for a cheaper alternative try Loverdose!
Top Notes - Pink Pepper, Orange Blossom, Pear
Middle Notes - Coffee, Jasmine
Base Notes - Vanilla, Patchouli, Cedar
I've just noticed after writing this blog post that the majority of these products are high end so my New Year's resolution is to discover more products from the drugstore!
I love buying makeup, I do buy a lot of makeup and I'm prepared to spend quite a bit of money on makeup. But what I absolutely love is when I find a product that is amazing and is also incredibly affordable! I mean, who doesn't love finding amazing makeup that's cheap? So this week I'm sharing with you my top five products under £5!
Product - e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit
Price - £4.50
Available at - http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/studio/eyes/eyebrows/eyebrow_kit
Rating - 9/10
This was my first ever brow product I bought which was only a couple of years ago - I can't believe I never did my brows before then! As this was my first brow product I didn't have anything to compare it to, so I tried out other things, most were more expensive, and I thought these newer products were good and I kind of forgot about the elf brow kit. Then I picked it up again as I was bored of the other products and I haven't used anything else since! I can't even begin to explain how much I love this product and what makes it even better is the price! The only reason why I gave it a 9 is the wax can apply a bit weird and patchy if I've already applied my foundation, so I have to do my brows first when I use this product.
Product - Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
Price - £4.19
Available at - http://www.boots.com/en/Collection-Lasting-Perfection-Concealer_1693350/
Rating - 10/10
I have been a die hard MAC Pro Longwear concealer girl for a very long time and I never thought I would use anything else under my eyes. Then I picked up this concealer because I thought there is no harm in trying it as it was so cheap. I must say it isn't easy to get this concealer because it's always sold out! The first time I used it I fell in love, it's definitely very comparable to the MAC Pro Longwear concealer but at a fraction of the price. I also love the colour, I have the shade Fair and it's extremely light which is what I love! I have really fair skin so it's hard to find a concealer that also highlights the under eye area but this one does! So if you're really fair and struggle to find a concealer that's the right shade this concealer will be the one for you!
Product - Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Price - £3.99
Available at - http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-Stay-Matte-Pressed-Powder_1015573/
Rating - 8/10
In my opinion this is the best pressed powder available at the drugstore and is amazing for anyone with oily skin like me. I also don't think it's too drying or chalky so I do think it would be suitable for other skin types. The only reason why I have given this product an 8 is because it doesn't give me any extra coverage. It doesn't claim to give extra coverage as it is only a setting powder, so there isn't anything bad about the product, it's just personal preference. However when I want a lighter coverage this is definitely the setting powder I reach for.
Product - Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Liner
Price - £2.99
Available at - http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-1000-Kisses-Lipliner_1113541/
Rating - 9/10
I own all but one of these lip liners and they are amazing! I don't know whether they are as good as MAC Lip Pencils and they don't have the widest selection of colours but you can't really complain because they are so cheap! They are very creamy, go on very easily and last a good amount of time. I also think the colour Tiramisu is a dupe for my favourite lip liner which is MAC Lip Pencil in Subculture and that makes me so happy as it's so much cheaper!
Product - Makeup Geek Eyeshadows
Price - £4.95
Available at - http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/makeupgeek/eyeshadowpan/
Rating - 10/10
I don't own many of these eyeshadows and I haven't owned them for a very long time either, but in the short time I have had these I've become obsessed and I want to own every single shade! I'm not going to talk too much on these because I did a full review and swatches on these eyeshadows for last weeks post so check that out if you're interested. These eyeshadows are so good I still can't believe the price! I think these eyeshadows are worth triple the price they are and are on par with eyeshadows from brands such as Urban Decay and MAC.
I have recently purchased a few Makeup Geek eyeshadows, (Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee and Bitten), and I'm here to share my first impression of these eyeshadows with you.
Firstly, if you've ever watched any beauty youtuber then you have most probably heard of Makeup Geek, and no one seems to have a bad word to say about this brand. The eyeshadows are pigmented, afforable, the texture is amazing and they have an extensive colour range. What more could you ask for from eyeshadows? They do sell other makeup products but it's the eyeshadows that get the most attention. So I went to the Makeup Geek website to make an order, whilst getting all excited that soon I would have all of these amazing eyeshadows in my possession, to then be heartbroken when I found out the cost of the shipping and tax on my order. I mean I knew I would have to pay more for shipping as it was coming from America, but this was ridiculous! I can't remember the exact price but it was definitely more than triple what I was spending on the eyeshadows. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for shipping and I'm sure we've all experienced ridiculous shipping rates. So I was left disappointed and whenever I would watch a beauty youtuber using Makeup Geek eyeshadows it would make me sad that I wouldn't be able to recreate the look with those exact products.
I'd come to terms with the fact that there was a big possibility I would never have Makeup Geek products unless I went to America. But then out of nowhere Beauty Bay announced they would be stocking Makeup Geek! I was beyond excited! However I didn't go crazy, I wanted to try out a few of the eyeshadows first. I decided to buy three of the most popular shades that everyone raves about and the colours are definitely a staple in anyone's collection, so I knew I would get a lot of use out of them. I also went for matte finishes only as you can never have too many matte shades and I don't have many in my collection.
Peach Smoothie is described as a light peach beige with a soft matte finish. This shade is perfect as a transition colour, to blend out darker eyeshadows that are being a bit difficult to blend or to just simply warm up any eyeshadow look.
Creme Brulee is described as a medium sand colour with a soft matte finish. This would be a great transition shade on darker skin tones but I like to use the shade in the crease or for a more natural smokey eye. This is also supposed to be a dupe for MAC Soft Brown, which if you're in the UK you can't get.
Bitten is described as a matte deep maroon red. This shade is perfect all over the lid then blended out with Creme Brulee and Peach Smoothie as a maroon smokey eye. But it's also great to darken the outer corner or lower lash line and is a great alternative to using a dark brown or black. This shade does swatch slightly patchy however this shade blends out more easily then any other dark matte shade I have ever used.
Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Bitten
Overall I am so impressed by these eyeshadows and I will definitely be purchasing more. It's really hard to find matte shades that are pigmented, easy to blend and have a soft texture, however these three matte shades tick all of these boxes. If I had to choose one as my favourite it would be Bitten, I have really fair skin so all dark shades end up looking black on my skin tone but Bitten looks the same on my skin tone as it does in the pan which I was so happy about! However the best thing of all is the price! At only £4.95 per eyeshadow they are half the price of MAC and in my opinion they are of the same quality if not better! However one downside is that they are only available in pan form so you will need to purchase a Z Palette to store them in which are also available on Beauty Bay.
I have also filmed a tutorial using all three of these eyeshadows which will be up on my YouTube channel on Thursday.
My last video on my YouTube channel was a Glamorous Black Grape Smokey Eye, (the video will be linked at the end of this post), I used the MAC pressed pigment in Black Grape in the video. I wasn't able to give a thorough review of this product and how I like to use it in the video, which is why I'm dedicating this post to the Black Grape pressed pigment.
The colour of this pigment is quite hard to describe, you really do need to see it in real life because the camera just doesn't do it justice, but it's definitely duo-chrome with a mixture of black, purple and grey all rolled into one and it also has a lot of silver glitter running through it. As there is such a mixture of colours in this pigment you can choose which colour you want to come through the most. In the pictures I use a black eyeshadow as a base which definitely makes the pigment come across as more black, so if you used a purple eyeshadow underneath it would definitely bring out the pigment as more purple - you get the idea!
What I love about this pigment is how easy you can get a very dramatic eye look, and also an eye look that looks like you've spent a lot of time doing and looks like it would be difficult to achieve. All you need to do is place your base eyeshadow, for example black or purple, then apply the pigment over this eyeshadow. In my opinion the best way to apply the pigment is with your fingers, and then blend out the edges with a warm/neutral tone brown and that's it! This is basically the look I did in the tutorial I have linked, except I blended a purple eyeshadow into the crease to bring a bit more of the purple out - but this step is optional.
But amazing as this pigment is, the price is pretty steep for one eyeshadow, it's £16 on the MAC website. I also recommend applying a glitter glue before applying the pigment as the pigment does need something to adhere to. I really like the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue (I demonstrate how I use this in the video) but then this is also an additional cost to the pigment itself. Of course you can apply the pigment without the glitter glue but what the glitter glue will do is prevent fall out and the pigment will last until you decide to take it off. I'm being serious - the pigment doesn't move with the glitter glue underneath! But I do honestly think the pigment is worth this price as you don't use a lot so it will last a really long time and it's always handy to have glitter glue around!
I also think this pigment is perfect for the festive party season and New Year's Eve!
I've decided to review the Urban Decay Naked Palette. Now I know that this palette is not new and has been around for years, but with new eyeshadow palettes coming out nearly every week it's easy for the Naked palette to be overlooked. Everyone wants the new products on the market but there is nothing wrong with a good old classic which this palette definitely is.
In my opinion this is the perfect introduction to high end eyeshadows and even eyeshadow palettes. It was my first proper eyeshadow palette (I had owned cheaper palettes before but I didn't use them as they weren't any good) and this palette was so good that I didn't buy another eyeshadow palette or eyeshadows for approximately 5-6 months. Which, being a makeup addict, is a very long time! I used this palette every single time I did my makeup whatever the occasion because this palette can really do it all, from a very subtle daytime look to a very dramatic evening look.
I always get asked by close family members what eyeshadows or eyeshadow palettes I would recommend and the answer I always give to this question is the Urban Decay Naked Palette, just the original one. Like I said it's the perfect first palette, and also the eyeshadows are very pigmented but extremely blendable (which is sometimes hard to find when eyshadows are very pigmented) and the colours will really suit a wide range of skin tones and eye colours as the eyshadow colours lean towards more warmer toned which tends to be more flattering. Another bonus to this palette is that it comes with an amazing brush which is extremely handy, especially for beginners.
However there are always downsides to everything and this palette is no exception, but these are just my opinions and not everyone is going to feel the same. The packaging isn't the best and I know a lot of people feel this way. Hopefully you can see by the pictures that the outer material is kind of a velvet/suede material, which looks so pretty when the palette is brand new but it is impossible to keep it looking that way and the palette can start to look shabby through no fault of your own. The other downside, which is a downside to all palettes really, is that there may be shades that you don't like or never use. There is one shade in the palette which I never use and that is Gunmetal. All of the other eyeshadows have a really buttery and smooth texture however for some reason Gunmetal doesn't have this texture which is why I overlook this shade.
I am going to review each individual eyeshadow, however as I've already said, the texture of all of the eyeshadows apart from Gunmetal (which is quite a rough texture) have a very buttery smooth finish so I am not going discuss the texture in the individual reviews.
From left to right - Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal.
Vigin - is an extremely light pink shade in a satin finish and is the perfect brow bone or inner corner highlight as it only has a slight sheen and is not too intense.
Sin - is more of a champagne pink shade in a very frosty shimmer finish. This shade has a very metallic finish which becomes more intense when used with Fix+ and is perfect as an all over lid shade. This is one of my favourite eyeshadows from the palette.
Naked - is a light brown shade in a matte finish and this is an amazing transition shade for any eye look. This is probably my most used eyeshadow from the palette and another favourite.
Sidecar - is a bronze shade in a very frosty shimmer finish, as with Sin it is a very metallic eyeshadow especially with Fix+ and is perfect all over the lid. This is my number 1 favourite eyeshadow from the palette.
Buck - is a medium brown shade in a matte finish and is the perfect shade to add depth to the crease. Another favourite eyeshadow of mine from the palette.
Half Baked - is a pure gold shade in a shimmer finish. This shade can still become quite metallic but it is just not as intense or frosty as Sin or Sidecar. This is a very popular shade from the palette and is even featured in the Naked 2 palette.
Smog - is a dark brown with gold running through it in a shimmer finish. This is another favourite of mine and is amazing all over the lid and blended into the crease for a simple smokey eye or to deepen up the outer edge of the eyes.
Darkhorse - is a very dark brown (can look almost black on my skin tone) with gold running through it in a shimmer finish. This shade is basically the darker version of Smog.
Toasted - this shade is quite hard to describe but it is a mixture of pink, purple and brown and is a shimmer finish. This is a great pop of colour in the palette and looks amazing all over the lid or on the lower lash line for a pop of colour.
Hustle - is a deep purple brown in a satin finish and looks great when paired with Toasted.
Creep - is a blue black shade with silver glitter. I assume because of the glitter this is what Urban Decay mean as a sparkle finish. This shade has the least pigmentation out of all the other shades, however this isn't necessarily a bad thing as very pigmented black shades can be difficult to work with.
Gunmetal - is a blue grey shade with silver glitter and this is also a sparkle finish. The shade of this eyeshadow is gorgeous, it's just a shame about the texture as this is why I tend to overlook this shade.
A lot of these eyeshadows are available individually, so if there is only one or two you like the look of I would suggest maybe picking up the individual eyeshadows instead of the palette. Individual eyeshadows are £14 each and the palette is priced at £38 and are widely available from most department stores in the UK.
Here are some tutorials I have done on my YouTube channel where I have used this palette so you can see this palette in action!
