Things I'm Loving Right Now...

With a pretty chilled out weekend coming to an end, I thought i'd share with you a couple of things that i can't live without right now...

Urban Decay Naked Pallette

This, by far, is my most economic purchase of the summer!

I've had this badboy for just over a month now and, as you can probably see from the pic above, it's gotten a LOT of use.

For anyone who doesn't own this palette, or for someone who has never tried an Urban Decay shadow... this is a must-buy product!

It has a beautiful mix of shadows that are ideal for creating neutral looks for the office (with the paler end of the palette) and can then take you right through to evening with a sensual smokey look (with the darker end of the palette). It also has a good mix of matte and shimmery powders which is a huge bonus.

Cue the swatch pics....




L-R: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked



L-R: Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal
Natural light



With Flash

The pay-off of these shadows are always second-to-none and are never a chore to blend, which is great for people who are UD virgin's or for people who don't feel so comfortable about shading and blending diferent colours or textures. The palette also come with a soft double-ended eye-liner pencil in black (Zero)  and brown (Whiskey), and also includes a bottle of Primer Potion. All for £27!!

Favourite shadows...?

I know that everyone raves about 'Half Baked', which yes, is a lovely colour and i do really love it, but if i had to pick a favorite i'd probably have to go for 'Naked'. I say this because it's the one i reach for the most and the one colour i base all my other colour options around...it reminds me of one of my M.A.C faves 'Soba' which is equally as lovely. 'Darkhorse' and 'Half Baked' are close runners up though! And 'Virgin' is lovely used as a highlighter anywhere on the face.

I have also found myself reachng for 'Zero' liner more than my M.A.C 'Smolder' lately...it's just as soft as the M.A.C liner so it creates a really intense black on the waterline, but without the smudgy black blobs that somehow always seem to appear underneath my eyes when using 'Smolder'.

I plan on doing a YouTube tutorial of how i like to use these colours some time soon... :)

Other things i'm loving?

M.A.C 'Well Dressed' Blush and Ltd Ed 'Miss Ross' Lipstick Combo....

L-R: Well Dressed Blush, Miss Ross Lipstick

 'Well Dressed' has replaced M.A.C's cream blush 'Ladyblush' as my fave at the moment. Always leaves me with a nice light pink flush and has such good staying power.

I've been pairing it with a slick of 'Miss Ross' lipstick which was from the Limited Edition Diana Ross collection that M.A.C did in 2005!!

I've barely touched this lipstick since i got it after having a M.A.C make-over in Harvey Nichol's in Birmingham years and years ago...i found it in my case a week ago and i've been wearing it every day since.

It's a cremesheen so it goes on all nice and glossy, a lovely slick of light pink. Although, i still don't think it's replaced my ultimate lipstick shade 'Pink Nouveau' but it's a damn close second!!

Cue blurry close up of lips...

'Miss Ross' ... You get the idea...? :)

I think it would be virtually impossible to get the lipstick now, i've had a look on ebay and can't find it...but M.A.C. do plenty of similar baby pink shades so a dupe will be easy to find. 'Well Dressed' is £16.50 and available in all M.A.C counters now.

And last not by no means least....

Urban Outfitters Sparkle & Fade Nail Varnish

L-R: numbers 51, 36, 55

I picked these varnishes up just under a year ago, at the peak of my nail varnish addiction! Tried them once and then forgot about them...until this week that is...

How did i not instantly fall in love with these first time round??!!

Well, i think the trick here is that the thick consistancy of the varnish works really really well on my acrylic nails...but not so well on natural nails.

When i first tried these on my natural nails, i found it hard to apply and especially hard with the nude/beige colour '36'! She was a nightmare to apply and that's putting it mildy....so, back of the cupboard they went and remained there until i thought i'd give 'em a go this week...and i'm so glad i did...

Cue close up nail shot.... :)

51

I LOVE this shade! On my fake nails one coat was all that was needed for super glossy, even grey/blue nails! I haven't taken this colour off yet and it's been a few days...(i am indeed a nail varnish whore and like to try a different one on a daily basis usually!) it must be love!

The other 2 colours are great for this seasons nail trends too...'55' is a lovely murky brown with a hint of grey...nicer than Barry M's Mushroom which was a great dupe for Chanel 'Particuliere'! And '36' is a clean fresh beige that taps right in to the mannaequinn nail of the moment!

All in all, i'm so glad i have redisovered my love for these colours.

Well, that's it from me...you've seen what products i'm loving right now...question is, what are you loving??

Tx