Beauty Favourites of 2015!

Hey guys!

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!

Thanks for reading!

Danielle
xoxo

Urban Decay Naked Palette Review

Hi guys!


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!

Hope this review was helpful! :)

Danielle xoxo