NEW: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

On the same day that Kourtney Kardashian announced that she was expecting a baby, I heard that Urban Decay were also expecting a sibling for their famous Naked palette.  Kourtney's baby will be welcomed in the new year whereas Urban Decay's child is expected much quicker.  In fact, if you sign up to their mailing list, you'll be emailed details about it tomorrow.

As I don't live in America, I assume the UK will have to wait a few months longer than our American counterparts..

When Urban Decay came out with their Naked palette last year, us makeup addicts went mad.  I missed out on it three times and have only recently picked it up.  I tend to tell people that I'm over it and that I don't use it that much but I realised over the last week that I am nearly always reaching for it in some way or another..

I'm also glad I bought it because it's a great all in one palette.  I can get a smokey eye, three or four neutral eyes, an eye suitable for Indian functions and then some from one palette.  It's the only palette I will be taking to America with me.

These are the shots I've found of the new palette..

Shades from L-R:

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper (I have this as a single and I LOVE it), Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.

Some rudimentary swatches:

The photographs in this post are from the Urban Decay Facebook and Twitter pages so it's official!


Will this palette be a big a hit as the original Naked?  Will Kourtney's baby be cuter than Mason?  Will anyone be buying this when it comes out?

The Swatch Files/A Review: Urban Decay Primer Potion squeezy tubes in Sin, Greed, Eden and Original

Heavenly choirs where heard when I held these in my hands for the first time, mainly because I was so excited that I'd never have to faff with the old style Urban Decay Primer Potion bottle again.  Everyone who has ever used UDPP knows what I'm on about..when the dreaded depotting time arrives and you risk going to bed with less digits than you woke up with.

Each shade has a different picture next to it and that did impress me but you know what they say, simple things please simple minds.  Original has a mushroom, maybe because it came with the Alice in Wonderland palette..remember that one?  Greed has a diamond because (I assume) everyone wants diamonds; Sin has an apple..all that Adam and Eve stuff I suppose and Eden has a deer.  I thought that was because of the Garden of Eden but that's more Adam and Eve so I'm not sure why..

Review: Urban Decay Meltdown Makeup Remover

I've found my Holy Grail facial makeup remover/cleanser (The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser) but I'm always on the lookout for a product that I can use solely on my eyes as there are times when my eyes are the only part of my face (bar lips) that I make up.

I was sent the Meltdown Makeup Remover by Urban Decay and here's what I think of it..

One thing I find quite odd is that it doesn't state anywhere on the bottle (in English atleast) that this is a makeup remover just for the eyes but my GCSE French (A* I'll have you know) taught me enough to know that "démaquillant yeux" means makeup remover eyes.  Seems odd that it's not in English.

What do Urban Decay have to say? (There's those rhyming skills again)
"You love our longest-lasting products, but how do you take them off?!  This nourishing formula will ensure that makeup removal doesn't throw you into fits.

Sometimes you need a makeup remover that's as might as the most powerful products in your beauty arsenal, which is why we've created Meltdown!  This stuff can take down our longest-lasting products, and it's also good for your skin, too.  Sea Fan Extract combats inflammation, while Beta Carotene (a source of Vitamin A) and Gatuline In-Tense (harvest from the South African Rain Forest Peekabo Plant) revitalise collagen production.  Cranberry and Raspberry Seed Oils, along with Kukui Nut and Oat Oil, moisturise and replenish.  The 2.5oz squeeze tube is easy to use, as well as small enough to take on an aeroplane)."

What do I have to say?
This smells like nappy rash cream and that's all I can think of when applying it and this is not a good thing!  Consistency wise, it is lot thinner than both Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish and The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser.  Those two feel more creamy whereas this feels more watery.

The packaging causes me no ill at all, I prefer this type as you can squeeze every last bit out.  I managed to get every last drop of my Sanctuary cleanser and that comes in similar packaging and it's a fair bit thicker.

It spreads really easily on the eyes but doesn't slide off your face (brilliant!)  You can see your makeup "melting" so I see where the inspiration of the name comes from.  It doesn't sting your eyes and you don't have to work it in to see your makeup coming off so there's no worry that you're giving yourself premature wrinkles. 

It feels quite softening on the eye area and I quite like that.  If there's one criticism I can make of my other two makeup removers, it's that they could be a bit more softening around the eyes.

I also like the fact that they've taken into account the fact that you can take it on the plane with you in your hand luggage without depotting it.  If you buy it for that purpose alone (quickly removing most of your makeup whilst on board during a long flight then it works well enough for that purpose).   

However, there are no instructions for removal and if I didn't have my hot cloth cleansers, I would have just washed it off but I find using a muslin cloth soaked in hot water is the easiest way to remove makeup when you use this.

I've split the actual "how does it work" bit into two sections for reasons that will soon become obvious.

Eye makeup on the eyelids
This has absolutely no problem removing all makeup from the eyelids and the upper lashes.  Be it long lasting makeup (such as Urban Decay's pencils or Bobbi Brown's gel liner), the Meltdown Makeup Remover makes easy work of removing it.  Wow, that sounded like I was on a cheesy info-mercial.

It's biggest plus point for me in this respect is that it literally makes your mascara glide off.  Sometimes when I use my other removers, it comes off in clumps but no such issue here, it just swipes off all in one go.

It manages to remove the glitteriest of my eyeshadows (Urban Decay's Chopper and ELF's Caffinated Mineral Eyeshadow) with ease.

Eye makeup on the waterline/lower lashline
I had high hopes for this as I thought removing Urban Decay's 24-7 liners from the waterline/lower lashline would be a doddle.  Sadly, this wasn't the case.  I tried it on many occassions and it always left some pigment behind. 

You can see that I've removed makeup but it doesn't remove it ALL.  You can still bits of the makeup between my lashes.  I had the same results when I used products that made no claims to be long lasting.

Seeing as it claims to be a remover of heavy duty products and it doesn't manage to live up to this claim (whereas others don't boast being able to do the same but can do with ease), you can see why I'm disappointed.

The one negative I can't get over is that it gives me blurred vision for about 10 minutes after using it.  I'm blind enough as it is, thank you.  When I put my glasses back on after using this, I always feel that my glasses are dirty but they're not, it's the remover that clouds my vision.  


It's a shame this didn't work for me because I can't fault the makeup that Urban Decay make.


Would I purchase this? 
No.  It doesn't remove everything as thoroughly as it claims and the fuzzy vision is a serious.  Even still, I've never had fuzzy vision from a makeup remover before and I don't like it.  If you want to try it for yourself, it'll set you back £18.00 and can be bought from House of Fraser.  Personally, I'd suggest going for either The Sanctuary's Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser or Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish because they're cheaper, they don't give you blurry vision and they remove all your makeup.  I've reviewed both here before (for The Sanctuary's click here and for Liz Earle's, click here).

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils in Baked, Binge and Mildew

There are some products that need no introduction; the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils fall into this illustrious group..but as this sentence illustrates, they're still getting one.  

The inspiration behind  the naming process for Baked and Mildew is obvious but I just don't get Binge.  If I was naming it, I'd call it Galaxy because it reminds me of the night sky they used to have on The Jetsons.  Or velvet because it reminds me of blue velvet.

The fact that the casing corresponds with the colour of the pencil is a godsend for me because I'm perpetually in a rush so I know exactly what I'm grabbing for when I pick up one of these babies.

The pencils are soft enough to glide along the waterline and lashline without tugging but strong enough to leave a decent amount of pigment behind.  You don't have to go giving your waterline the violin action to get a fair bit of colour.  The colour flows easily on the upper lashline and doesn't budge until I need to take it off.

I have oily lids and these all last well on both the waterline and lashline. Normal wear for me is 7 a.m. until about 10 p.m.  However, if you want to push it and wear them longer, they do smudge..but more in a "she's rubbed the pencil through her lower lashes" way than a "she's been crying and hasn't tidied her makeup up" way.  And if someone ever said the latter to me, they'd get a swift kick..as if sorting your makeup out would be the first thing on your mind.

I got a good few months usage out of them before the first one needed sharpening which is a long time as I usually end up sharpening after a few weeks.  When I sharpened Galaxy Velvet Binge and it didn't crumble so you're all good on that front. 

Each colour really makes my brown eyes sparkle in a way that no other eye pencil has done. My favourite is Binge, simply because the blue manages to not only make the whites of my eyes look whiter but it also makes the brown sparkle. 

If anyone reading this never knows how to dress their eyes up for an Indian function, buy Baked and you won't be sorry.  I either line my waterline with it or line my upper lashline and stroke it through my lashes, whack some mascara on and I'm done!

Notice the tired eyes in the last photo? I'm not usually that dopey looking.

I'm not sure why Baked looks patchy but trust me, it is very pigmented and gives you a gorgeous pop of colour.  I'm not sure why you can't see it on my waterline because you can in reality.  Mildew and Binge are perfect worksafe colours for me.  Most of my other green/blue pencils are either too bright for work or they're just not worth wearing as they look black.

Each pencil costs £13.00 from Debenhams and the usual outlets.  I'm planning on buying Zero as I know it will let my line my upper lashline in a hurry and run off to work.

Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Fetish

Remember when I had my love in with cream blushers?  It all came to a head when this baby came into my life.

If I recall correctly, it was so pretty that I daren't use it for fear of spoiling a perfect looking product.  It's alright though, I satiated my cream blusher lust (try saying that quickly) with a NYX cream blusher until I was brave enough to pull this out of storage.

This is the perfect cream blusher for you if you're scared of using too much and looking like a fool.  That is something I have an issue with so I was glad that this came to my aid.

The colour is very subtle but I feel that's what you'd want from something that is a cheek tint.  There's also a glow about this when you apply it, your cheeks look like you've put a highlighter on over the tint.  The visible chunks of glitter in the pan aren't noticeable at all one you've buffed the colour in.  The colour lasts all day and gives the perfect flush of colour.

It also features a very useful mirror in the lid which I forgot to photograph..

Anyway, the swatches!

I've blended it in a bit too well here but that's how I tend to wear it on my cheeks and it perks them right up.  You can obviously blend it in less.

They cost £18 and are available from House of Fraser.

Urban Decay Primer Potion: Finally in user friendly packaging!

Everyone who uses Urban Decay Primer Potion knows how annoying it is when you have to cut it open to get the bulk of the product out.  Those who cut it open not only risk losing their thumbs but also the product drying out quicker than it should.

Urban Decay made a slight (read: pointless) change to the packaging a while back but now they've finally done what we all wanted them to do..they've put their primer potion into a squeezy tube type of packaging.

Top to bottom: Original, Greed, Eden, Sin

I only heard of this on Twitter last night (click here to find out more) so I'm not sure when it's coming out here in the UK but as soon as I find out, I'll edit this blog post and let you know.

The only problem I'm going to have is using too much, my old measurement of using enough was however much coated the doe-foot applicator when it came out of the tube but now I'll have to do a bit of trial and error'ing.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eyeliner pencils on a budget

Urban Decay pencils, everyone loves them yet not everyone is willing to pay £11.00 for a pencil.  I'm not saying the pencils are crap, they're brilliant but something inside me doesn't want to pay that much for an eye pencil.

Anyway, whilst I was in this frugal state of mind, I went to Boots armed with about 5 £5 off vouchers.  I didn't know what to get and these were an impulse buy as my brother was getting pissed off carrying a basket full of "women's crap" around with him.

I've been using these pretty much whenever I can which has been more often than I thought I'd be able to.

Boots do these pencils, eyebrow pencils and normal eyeliner pencils.  I've been in to buy more of these in the past and they've only had normal pencils..which I realised once I got home with my latest acquisition.

I really want the green one so I'm going to buy it with the next voucher I get.

I have two of them and the last forever on the eye so you don't have to use too much.  I've used mine whenever possible and the pencils are still pretty big.

As you can see, there is a slight amount of glitter in these pencils but it's not so much that you look like a disco ball whenever you wear them, it's nice and subtle.

The colour range isn't as varied as Urban Decay but you do get the basic blue, turquoise, gold, purple and green which I think is more than enough for most people.

You can buy them here.  They usually cost £7.00 but I tend to buy them when I've got the £5 off voucher so I get them for £2.00.

Also, does anyone remember back in the day when Boots used to offer it on No7, Ruby and Millie and Jemma Kidd? I wonder why they stopped selling JK.

Do you guys have any of these pencils? Do you know why Boots stopped selling JK? Let me know..because I'm a nosey cow.

Urban Decay face charts

Last year I decided that I'd be doing some Urban Decay face charts on here.

Time passed and they never came to fruition as I was blogging about a million other things.

I even had another post on here reminding myself that I'd get around to them.

I've decided NOW that enough is enough and that one Urban Decay face chart will be up by the end of this week.

I'm going to try and replicate the looks by using High Street brands so they're going to be wallet friendly.

My debut face chart shall be this one:

Review update

I was putting my face on today and realised that my current mascara (which is now no longer HG) wasn't really doing anything for me.  I remembered how thick my lashes were when I used my L'oreal mascara..I also remember that I said I wouldn't buy it because it made my lashes feel hard and that it smelt..so why was I reaching for it this morning?

So, with this in mind I decided to do a review of my reviews.  It' worked out pretty well because I have been using these items and my mind has changed about some as time went on..I think this kind of thing is useful for those of you, who, like me, take ages deciding whether or not to buy something and also equally useful for those who don't want to trawl through all my posts to find out about certain items.

By the way, if you click on the link it will take you to my original review.

Sleek palettes

• Still in love with these, falling more and more in love with them as the days pass.  I don't think theres an occasion where you CAN'T use them.

Benefit Badgal mascara

• Still not loving this, have tried it a few more times since the review but it has done nothing at all for me.

Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara

• Have been teaming this up with the Maybelline Colossal and also using it alone.  I'd still buy it again as it makes my lashes longer.  No patent shine though.

Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara

• Used this time and time again when I needed knockout lashes and it still works.  I have to remind myself that 2 coats is the magic key.  I'd still buy it again.

 Clearasil Pore Cleansing Pads and Boots Time Delay Balm

• I finished one tub of the cleansing pads and am half way through another.  I won't be buying these again, not because they don't work but because I've found something much better and also that the smell of these is VERY strong.  They're excellent if you have really oily skin and are prone to spots.
• I haven't finished a tub of the Boots balm as I have been using other cleansers but I have three backups which I will get through in time.  If I didn't have them, I'd buy it again.

Urban Decay eye shadows

• I loved these then and I still love them now.  The Illegal shade has been getting some serious love from me recently.  It's nice and matte and is my "my eyes but better" go to shade.  I'm going to incease my collection of these.

Biore Warming Blackhead Fighting Cream Wash

•  This was my lover back then and it still is now.  It's the only face scrub/wash that I've used consistently for more than a week.  I have half left and will buy it again.  The only issue I had with it was the fact that it gave me tiny whiteheads all around my nose..maybe because I used it despite having no blackheads? Anyway, if you do like me and do this, do not fear because I've found a cure..the things I do for you guys!

 MAC paint pot in Indianwood

• I wasn't too happy with how this looked in pics before but assured you guys it looked good IRL..which it did.  I tried it on many times since with varying amounts of UDPP and it just won't stick to my lids.  The colour is gorgeous but I just wish it would stay put! I won't be buying another one of these when the tub is finished.

Boots 17 Bronzed and Gorgeous palette

• Probably my all time fave freebie.  My current HG shadow has well and truly hit pan and I've been using my 17 palette for a while now and I'm loving the goldeny shade in it.  If they brought this out as perm, I'd buy it...or I'd buy £5 worth of products to get it free.

Boots No7 Eyeshadow Colour and Contour brush

• My thoughts on this brush are still exactly the same.  It's the shizz.  It's fluffy (but not too fluffy), it helps you blend like a pro and because the hairs are white, you can tell how much product you've picked up.  I'm buying it again when this one fails me.
  

Anatomicals Help the Paw hand cream and Badger Balm

• Nearly finished one "packet" of handcream and the Balm has well and truly finished.  Glad I bought backups of the hand cream, the sweet smell hasn't put me off yet!  I'd buy the Balm again too.

L'oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara

• I said I wouldn't buy it and honestly, I don't think I would.  It smells funny (this coming from a girl who has both the Colossal and Stiletto) and it made my lashes really really hard.  I wouldn't call it HG as I have Prestige for that so my opinion stays the same.
  

Face charts/How to get the look

I never knew how people managed to emulate the makeup looks from collections by companies until I was made aware of these magical things called face charts. Now I've been on Specktra for a little while now and I always see people produce knockout looks and I was bemused as to how some of these people achieved them. That's not saying that everyone relies on face charts, many of the stellar looks I've seen are based on pure imagination.

Face charts are illustrated beautifully by the face chart link up there, they are basically a drawing of a face "coloured in" with products which have been used to achieve a certain look. Now face charts are well known to people who love makeup and do a lot of FOTD's etc but outside of that world I don't think many people know they exist. I only found out they existed when I saw them on Specktra and I was amazed by them.

I've decided to do a series of FOTD's which are directly copied from looks championed by Urban Decay. I found the face charts for the looks on Sara's magnificent blog (thanks Sara!) and I have saved them onto my desktop.

The first look which I intend on doing is this one because I LOVE the intensity of the colour and now I know how to get it so watch out for it.

I hope the look turn out ok and that I manage to translate the looks over successfully to Indian skin so that other women of colour are able to copy the looks as well.

It will be quite a challenge as I have forgotten my Box of Shadows II at my parents' house and have only three shades with me here (Foxy, Chopper and Illegal) so I will be doing the look with dupes and hopefully it will work out ok, fingers crossed!

It appears that the face chart link above doesn't let you click on it so I've uploaded these:

Review: Hauling, hauling, hauling..swatching swatching swatching

I've got the Rawhide theme tune stuck in my head thanks to hearing it on Eastenders and the Simpsons twice in as many weeks.

This is the second of the three entries I will be making this weekend/tonight if I get that bored but I may not even have time for this one as I'm going to see The Shining in 5 minutes :)

Anyway, this has been quite a haulage of a beauty week for me as I have bought not one, not two, not three, not four but FIVE items of makeup within the space of two days.

I've bought three Urban Decay shadows from a lovely Specktra-ette (http://www.specktra.net/) and two Prestige mascaras (the ones which form the review that preceded this post. This post focuses mainly on the UD shadows and is like a semi review/swatch of them :)

Here's the haul in its entirety:

Foxy:

Chopper:

Illegal:

Swatch:
L-R: Illegal, Chopper, Foxy.
This is exactly how the colours look in real life.

Illegal is a rosey colour apparently but to me it looks more like chocolate milk and it matches my lids perfectly and I will be using it every day. It looks a bit patchy compared to Chopper but that's because the ring finger is the weakest (which is why we use it for applying TE) but the colour is just as creamy as the other two.

Chopper is SUPER shimmery but there is great gold colour behind it, I wouldn't wear it everyday as it is a bit OTT for that but it's perfect for nights out. Also, to you desi ladies who know how hard it is to find a shadow to match those gorgeous yet pesky desi outfits, GET THIS as it matches perfectly. Nice and glimmery IRL and applies a charm, that's a light swatch and look at the colour pay off.

Foxy has not really been used by me yet and TBH I'm struggling to see where I'd use it, I think I might use it as a highlighter by really buffing it out or take a tight eyeliner brush to it and use it as an eyebright as it is very similar to Benefit's EyeBright pencil.

Repurchase?
Yes, yes and yes again. In conclusion, the eyeshadows are some of the softest I have ever used and would SO buy them again for the following reasons:

• great colour pay off
• very very soft
• WOC friendly
• a little goes a long way