Naked.

Urban Decay -

Naked 2 Palette

I have the original version of this, and use it pretty much every day since I got it for Christmas. It creates the most natural daytime looks to the most dramatic, brilliant evening looks. However all the colours within the palette are rather warm tones, and due to me having blue eyes even though the colours help make my eyes stand out, I find cooler tones make them look even more dramatic and ridiculously blue. Therefore I was ecstatic when my boyfriend bought me the Naked 2 palette. He even explained that he asked the women in Urban Decay prior, what colours were cool tones, then figured out for himself that a lot of the colours within the Naked 2 palette, were them colours to which she had pointed out…he gets extra points for remember I wanted cool tones!

Now the original palette was beautiful, however this one is just stunning. Every colour just blends and goes with all the others; there isn’t one shade within the palette, that doesn’t go beautifully with any other. Personally I think is incredible because it means you can create so many different and stunning looks.  Formula wise its exactly the same as the rest of the eye shadows Urban Decay have, the pigmentation is incredible, however some colours do have a little fall out, but this isn’t a big issue for me as I don’t mind cleaning up a little mess afterwards.

The palette contains 12 eye shadows, 5 of which are new and exclusive to the palette; Blackout (blackest black with matte finish), Booty Call (Shimmery cork), Busted (deep brown with shimmery finish), Chopper (copper shimmer with silver micro glitter), Foxy (cream bisque with matte finish), Half Baked (golden bronze with shimmery finish), Pistol (light greyish brown with shimmery finish), Snake Bite (dark bronze shimmer with metallic base), Suspect (pale golden beige with shimmery finish), Tease (creamy pale brown with matte finish), Verve (oyster with shimmery finish), YDK (cool bronze shimmer with metallic base). It also includes a trial size version of the Lip Junkie Lip-Gloss in Naked (sheer shimmery pinky neutral), this lip-gloss is really nice, and just adds enough colour for a very neutral look, it also has mint in it which helps slightly plump the lips and make them look a lot fuller which looks just stunning. It also includes a double-ended fill size Good Karma Shadow/Crease Brush. I have both these brushes already, and they’re really amazing, it’s exactly like the normal ones, however just double ended and its definitely going to come in handy during traveling (saves me taking all my brushes).

It’s packaged in a metal tin that closes shut really well, but it is a bit heavier than Naked 1; it’s the same size in terms of length and width. I’ve traveled with the Naked 1 palette many, many times, and I haven’t had any issues with it opening, ripping, looking worn, etc. I expect that the packaging of Naked 2 will appeal to others, though, as it feels more secure and hefty. If you’re less inclined to have a dual-ended brush, an Urban Decay 24/7 Liner will fit in the slot as well.

I’ve read many reviews about this palette, and I know its got a lot of mixed reviews. Some say it’s very similar to the original, and others say its completely different and a whole different tone. Personally I do agree that it is a mix of cooler toned shades. However in a sense the there are also a lot of colours which look very much like the originals, Half-Baked is a repeat (which is somewhat upsetting, as I would have liked another gold shade to be added), Bootycall is just slightly warmer than Virgin, Snakebite is similar to Smog (and exactly the same as Darkhorse + Smog together), Suspect is just a touch cooler than Sidecar, YDK is quite close to both Sidecar and Toasted, and Busted is almost the same as Hustle. The shades that didn’t have comparable shades already in Naked 1 were Foxy, Chopper, Tease, Pistol, Verve, and Blackout; that’s five of twelve.

Overall, does it live up to the hype…not as much as I expected it to, however it’s a really good palette and for the price you really cant complain as its £36 for 12 full sized eye shadows, a double-ended full sized brush and a tester lip-gloss (which is perfect for tiny purses when you go out), therefore its worth beyond £200. So even though it doesn’t live quite up to the ridiculous hype surrounded, its never the less beautiful and definitely will be a staple in my make up for a long time to come.

Have you tried or got the Naked 2 palette, what do you think about it?

Lip Therapy.

Urban Decay -

Honey-Infused Lip Therapy

I have always loved Urban Decay's eye products, there Naked palette is incredible and I use it pretty much everyday, and when I'm not using it, its because I'm using another eye shadow from their 'build your own' palette. However I thought I would stray from eye shadows within Urban Decay and see what other little gems they have and trust me I found a stunner.

I think one of my primary concerns with the new Urban Decay Lip Love Honey Infused Lip Therapy was the size. It’s a lighter, ridiculously smaller than their Lip Junkie lip-glosses however remarkably they actually contain the same amount of product at 0.34 oz. This seriously put my mind at ease knowing I was still getting the same amount of gloss. Therefore I started to embrace the small size of the tube and felt like it was super travel friendly because it didn’t overtake my makeup bag and it fits perfectly in any size clutch bag if I'm going out and only want a bit of sheer gloss.

I only picked up a single shade because no matter how you splice it they are all pretty sheer so it’s not something you need to haul all five variations of since most will only give a mild tint to lips or apply transparently, therefore pick your favorite and keep it forever.

The formula is smooth with a glossy, shiny finish. I love Urban Decay’s Lip-gloss formula as they always have a knack for creating a lightweight, super shiny gloss without being tacky or sticky.

The brilliant thing about the gloss is it actually treats lips as you have it on, so well after the gloss was gone my lips still felt smooth and hydrated. It’s packed with Vitamin C, which boosts collagen as well as jojoba, and apricot kernel seed oils moisturize, replenish and promote cell turnover. It would probably be best suited for a Winter lip-gloss when lips are dry and cracked, however I know during the warm weather my lip still get rather dry, therefore it’ll give parched, dry lips a moist, plump, and hydrated feel.

I bought the shade Lolita, which in the tube looks bright, almost neon pink, however due to it being rather sheer, it gives a beautiful tint of pink and amazing shine. As you all know I love my pinks, therefore this was a must have for me as this pretty much sums me up. The best thing I like about this lip gloss/treatment is that you can build up colour if you wish; therefore you can create that day to night transaction just by using one lip-gloss…how amazing is that!

Now, the one thing that people may not like about these lip-glosses/treatments is that due to them having a lot of honey in them, they smell very much of honey. However not the honey you have on toast etc., but the pure flowery scent of honey, which I know from reading reviews has really put people off. Personally, I don’t mind the smell because at least I know its natural and its not something which has been added for selling purposes, and also when you put it on your lips, you obviously cant smell it and it does disappear. This is the only negative thing I could pick up on from this stunning little gem of a product.

Overall, I’m very happy with my first delve into things outside of just Urban Decays Eye Makeup, and now I’ve tried there lip products, and know of the brilliant quality, I’ve definitely got my eye on a few other lip products.

Urban Decays Lip Love Honey-Infused Lip Therapy Glosses retail for £12, which is incredible and can be picked up from any Urban Decay counts, they also come in 5 colours; Stung (deep purple), Failbait (orange), Drizzle (baby pink), Lolita (hot pink) and Taunt (nude/brown), however do remember they are sheer, therefore create more of a slight tint rather then a true colour.

Dior Spring 2013.

Those who read my blog regularly will know that I'm a HUGE fan of Dior, its my favourite luxury beauty brand. Not only for the amazing quality of there products but also for there stunning packaging. Therefore I was incredibly excited when I saw previews of the Spring launch, however I was even more excited when I found out that its all focused around...are you ready for this...PINK...my favourite colour EVER! The collection is called Cherie Bow, and this blog is just a picture collage of the products which are to be released...Its just a stunning collection and the design and thought that has gone into this is just incredible. So lets begin...

Palette Cherie Bow £59

Dior Vernis, £18

DiorBlush Pink Happiness, £29.50

Dior Nail Glow, £18

Dior Twinset Eyeshadow £24.50

Dior 5 Couleurs Palette, £41

Out of everything, I think I'm most excited about the Lip Glow, Rose Bow Nail Varnish and The Twinset Eyeshadow. 
So those are the main events for Dior Spring 2013, from what I can gather there are different colourways to some of the items, and these aren't all the photos of everything. Therefore I do think there is more to come...how exciting.
Oh, lastly, I should say, it's really not so long to wait for it because it launches on 4th January in Selfridges and nationwide on the 18th. 

I really can not wait, its going to be incredible. There are some beautiful things and I would really love to see how they translate into real life.

So now you've seen it, what do you think about the collection?

Nails Inc Spring/Summer 2013.

I've always liked Nail Inc products, mainly because they have really good different products, for example the graffiti nail varnish…that is just amazing. However I have to say there are some really amazing releases on the horizon, so lets get started. I will now state however the photo's included are from Google and are not my own.


Gone are the days of sticking to releasing trend-led colours named after London landmarks and streets, Nails Inc are stepping it up a gear, hopping on the nail effect express and bringing more than a handful of innovative and new formulas, texture and techniques onto counters. Stick on skulls, leather, feathers and concrete? Where to begin…

Denim and Stars

I’m totally in love with this polish! It's not only denim in colour but denim in finish too.  It's denim blue with a swirl of a lighter blue that accurately captures an indigo denim finish.    Overall I just think this effect is stunning, you cant really see how amazing it is because I couldn't find a good photo up-close photo, however its looks like its got tiny bits of glitter in it, wether it has or not is something I'll have to leave until its released. This comes as part of a kit that contains star embellishments, but we'll have to wait a while for its arrival, as it doesn't land until June 2013 priced at £19...which is so unfair.




Bling it on

There are a couple of new additions to the line of Bling It On Kits, including Rebel, which contains a Leather Effect varnish in Shoreditch Lane as well as a selection of studs and Swarovski crystals and Romance, which focuses on bows and crystal embellishment, they each contain a mini Porchester Square and Electric Avenue. Both of which will be released in March, and will cost £25.

There is also a Neon Kit that'll contain a pink and blue glitter, which I really can’t wait for as they look amazing on the swatches. I'm truly a glitter girl so I'm incredibly excited, plus one of them pink! They will also include a mini Floral Street varnish and a Kensington Caviar topcoat, this will launch just in time for summer in May and cost £20.


Crystaltastic

It was about time Nails Inc did their take on fake nails and here they are! Obviously, they're not just any old fake nails and instead they all feature beautiful, crystal designs and come with nail stickers rather than glue so you can easily reuse them.  The crystals are genuine Swarovski crystals, so the price of each set varies depending on how many crystals are used.  They'll be launching in March 2012 and the price range is from £20 - £45. Personally, I’m not a massive fan of these, however never the less I think they’ll sell out really fast because they’re so unique in design. Out of all of them the gray and white ones are ok, however not sure I would rush out and buy them.

Feathers

This has got to be the most amazing nail effect ever, I'm so excited for these nail varnishes to be released. It’s a new formulation containing tiny feather-like particles, almost like long strands of glitter, blended into a range of pastel shades. From what I can gather these feather polishes had bloggers head over heels in love. It comes in four shades, Edinburgh (pale blue and peach), Brighton (teal and yellow), Cornwall (blue and white) and York (peach and white), from looking at the swatches of these they are incredible and looks amazing on, I haven't yet decided which one is my favourite just yet. However I will definitely be getting one as there just stunning.

Leather Effect

The finish of this collection, as the name suggests, is leather, and the shades are all leather-like shades to stay in theme, so you have Shoreditch Lane (mulberry), Soho Mews (tan) and Noho (black).  The finish of these is fantastic and these were apparently the most popular choice for manicures among bloggers at the event, which Nail Inc held to show case the collection.  These will launch in March 2013 for £12.

Concrete

Now we have the Concrete collection, these are four shades, which dry to a matte, "concrete" finish.  Just to be clear, the name Concrete is a reference to the finish and not the weight of the polish! The four shades are Marble Arch (red), Stonehenge (blue), London Wall (nude) and Monument (lime). The finish is really interesting as it's a little grainy and very, very matte.  It's definitely different to the standard matte, however I cant help think of a pain these must be to remove, due to the little grains.  Never the less these will launch in December for £12.

SS Trend Shades


The SS13 shades are beautifully summery; bright, fun and I want them all.  There's nothing textural here and instead the focus is on the colours themselves, which is fine by me.  The four shades are St James Park (coral/red), Royal Botanical Gardens (mint green), Chelsea Physic Garden (baby blue) and Kensington Palace Garden (peach). These arrive in March 2013 and will cost £11 each but there's also a mini kit launching at the same time, which will cost £22 and will include 3 of the shades mentioned above plus three more garden-themed shades.

Extras

There's a new base coat and topcoat being added to the Kensington Caviar collection in January 2013 for £12 each.  The base coat promises a primer like base with a fast dry finish and the topcoat is a Gel Effect, meaning that it'll give that plumped-up, ultra-glossy finish you get with gel manicures but without the commitment.  There's also a corrector pen available now for £10.

So what are your favourites out of the up coming collections?

SpaceGirl.

This post is a little late as it hasn't be letting me publish any posts the last couple of days, therefore I apologise...but never the less here it is.

Every Sunday I enjoy a nice relaxing bath. I find it really helps me unwind from the previous week and get set for the next, I also use it as my weekly false tan removal day, as a long soak in a really hot bath really makes it come off so much easier.

Therefore every Sunday I try out a new Lush bath bomb or one of my favourites to help me relax. This week I thought I would try SpaceGirl, this is one of my best-friends favourites, therefore I thought due to her recommendation I should try it. Its easy to say I had very high expectations, not only did it come with a glowing record but also promised me a beautifully scented bathroom, glitter, purple water and popping candy. 
However I was not impressed...in the slightest. 

Even though the bath bomb smelt amazing, this scent doesn't last when you put it in the water, nor is there any popping candy...that I heard, I even put my head under the water to try and hear it better...it didn't work. In regards to the colour of the water, as you can see from the photo (I apologise for the quality I took it using my iPhone whilst trying not to drop it in the water), there was only a slight purple tint to the water, not as spectacular as I has expected. 
Overall, I wouldn't buy this bath bomb again. There are so much better alternatives that are just incredible, however if you just want a bath bomb which just adds a little difference to your water this is definitely the one for you. 
I have another new one I haven't tried before for next week, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Have you tried Space Girl, what did you think about it?

Lush Haul.

After having a somewhat uneventful day at work, I thought I really needed some cheering up. Therefore I turned to Lush to make me happy. From the photo bellow you can see I bought quite a few bath bombs, however some of these are repurchases, and in this post I will tell you why.

   Phoenix Rising (repurchase) -

This smells incredible! The smell was the first thing which drew me to this bath bomb, that and the fact the sales assistant said the bath goes totally purple when you use it...that pretty much had me heading to the till straight away. The website describes this bath bomb by stating; "Rise refreshed and renewed from a bath of mythical proportions. All the myth and magic of phoenix, pressed into one bath time experience, which lets you arise at the end feeling refreshed and ready for the next 500 years. Your phoenix will sink to the bottom then rise in triumph, her mythical sparkling purple and green plumage unfurling through your bath water". This doesn't have any surprises up its sleeve, it just basically smells incredible, helping you to relax and unwind. Allowing you to float away in a big bath of purple water which is just fun.

  Golden Wonder (repurchase) -

At first this looked like a little too much glitter for my liking, however after smelling it and a little help from the sales assistant and I was happily walking away with this little unknown beauty in tow. The website states; "This ballistic is like a pass the parcel gift - each layer has something different to offer. This is not for a quick bath because it takes its time, this ballistic, its wonders to unfold. First take some time to shake it, listen to the little rattle from within and try to imagine what's in there. Then drop it in the water and gaze in wonderment as gold turns to yellow, turns to blue and spits out soluble stars along the way." This is amazing, it has loads of different colours within it, eventually making your water really, really blue (photo to the right). Not only is it blue,  but it also has lots of golden glitter and stars which makes bath time more fun.

   Party Popper (repurchase) -

"This fruity, fizzy party piece is a movable feast of delights. Contains everything you need for a celebration in your own bathtub. Drop a Party Popper cone in your bath and watch it spin into action, as it goes on a spree across your bath spreading colours, fragrance, popping candy and soap confetti.  Softening your bathwater, fragrancing your skin and washing you clean." This sounds AMAZING, and trust me, it is more then amazing. The popping candy is incredible as is the soap confetti which is just fun. The water turns a really pretty shade of purple/pink, with a few little bubbles but nothing in comparison to that of a bubble bar. Fragrance wise is seriously amazing, its so fruity and fresh and just really cheers you up.

   Dragon's Egg -
I've never tried this bath bomb before, however its a best seller on the Lush website, and a quick read of the description shows me why. It states; "run yourself the perfect temperature bath and get in. Take a moment to let go of the world outside your bathroom before launching your ballistic into the water and watching it fizz away. Like an everlasting gobstopper, this ballistic keeps on revealing layer upon layer of surprises. It gives up its gifts in an unfolding drama, leaving you in a bath of molten gold. Along the way you will experience a firework display of colour, a fiery crackle of popping candy, a swirling landscape of creamy foam and a drift of paper dragon scales". I have to sat whoever comes up with these descriptions seriously needs a pay rise as there just amazing!

   Space Girl -
For my best-friend's birthday I bought her a Lush present, and one of the bath bombs which was in it was this. After she had tried them all this one was her total favourite...which I guess is a perfect reason to buy it and try it out. I decided to read the description on the website first, as I do with pretty much most of the products from Lush I buy. It stated the following; "Do you sometimes feel like you're on a different planet? Don't feel alien - retreat to the bathroom to float in your own personal space until you feel ready for touch down. Of course, if we were making an interstellar ballistic we had to put space dust in it (otherwise known as popping candy). So make sure you plunge your head underwater if you want t hear the full effects of the crackles and pops". Firstly, I cant believe I haven't yet thought of putting my head under the water to intensify the sound of the popping candy...something I'm definitely planning on trying very soon. Secondly doesn't it just sound really cool, granted its rather basic in comparison to some of the others, however I think thats what drew me to it. Also it smells like parma violets, which is such a pretty smell and also meant to be a "de-stressor", something which I really need at the moment with juggling work and university.

However I really need the following two, like ever so badly;

   Crackersnap -

This is an online exclusive, however its taking me a while to decide weather to buy it or not, basically because the post and packaging costs nearly as much as the bath bomb it self. However, never the less it is nearly Christmas...and it is Limited Edition. The website says "This is just the kind of cracker you'll want to pull. A lemongrass and bergamot oil bath with all the trimmings, to get you ready for an all nighter. How to use; Run a perfect temperature bath, get in then pull your cracker. As the ballistic fizzes into your bathwater, put on the party hat, retrieve your joke from the water and rescue the bubble bar crocodile. Then do whatever you normally do at a party." Doesn't the description of this bath bomb just sound the most amazing thing ever.

   Fizzbanger -

I saw this on an e-mail lush sent me recently. It looks really good in the pictures as I like the bath bombs which have loads of different colours within it, and this sounds like it could really suprise me...becoming one of my favourites. Lush described this by stating; "Release this fizzy dream of a bath and fall in love with its sweet fragrance. You won't be able to catch this, as it whirls around your bath spinning wheels of colour and froth with popping sound effects. When the performance is over, grab yourself a book to read whilst you soak in the lovely fragrance."

Do you like Lush, if so what are your favourite products?