Autumn Eyes | Cranberry Sketch

Hi Ladies! I hope you are all well. I was messing around with my MAC palette yesterday when I realised I haven't done many makeup looks on my blog and need to start doing them a bit more. I'll be honest, the reason I don't do them much is because I get a bit insecure splashing close up photos of my face all over the internet, especially when my camera picks up every teeny tiny imperfection. Oh well, it's time to bite the bullet and stop being such a paranoid Patricia I say!

The look I created above was very simple and only consisted of two eyeshadows. As Autumn is now here and Winter is fast approaching, I thought I would create a look that is perfect for this time of year. I normally stick with brown, bronze or gold tones on my eyes but one shade I really love that's a little more adventurous is 'Cranberry' from MAC. It is an absolutely stunning red/purple shade and in my opinion perfect for Autumn. I also find that this colour really makes my blue eyes stand out so if your a blue-eyed lady I'd 100% recommend giving it a try. Its a frost finish meaning it leaves a metallic shine on the eye. This is my favourite kind of finish as they catch the light and stand out more than a standard matte shadow. So the first thing I did was pop 'Cranberry' all over my lid using a MAC 239 shader brush. I only needed the teeniest bit to get amazing colour pay off as the pigmentation is unbelievable. MAC eyeshadows are one of my favourite products from the brand as the quality, pigmentation and staying power is just second to none.

I then had to choose a crease colour to compliment the look. I didn't want to end up looking like a disco ball with another shimmery shade so I opted for 'Sketch' which is a Velvet finish eyeshadow, also from MAC. It is a gorgeous deep burgundy shade and it the perfect companion to Cranberry. I popped this onto the outer corner of my eyes and buffed both shades together with a Sigma E25 blending brush. As you can see from the photos the two shades look beautiful together and Sketch provides a lovely matte contour to the outer corner.

I finished the look with MAC 'Feline' eyeliner in my water line and Collection 2000 24-Hour felt tip liner along the top lashes. I also popped on some lashes by 'Girls With Attitude' which I will be reviewing in full soon. Overall, I really love this eye look and will be wearing it lots over the next few months. Theres something about purple shades that I just love in the Autumn. Maybe it reminds me of Autumn leaves? Who knows - Strange girl!

I'd also like to point out that I know my hair look horrific on these pictures so please don't inform me how bad my roots are looking as trust me I am fully aware. Thankfully I went and got my highlights re-done today so at least I no longer have to walk around with awfully big roots. So yes please ignore the hair, concentrate on the eyes ;) haha!

Whats your favourite eyeshadow for Autumn? Do you like the look I created? Both eyeshadows I used are from MAC's permanent collection and are available here.

Lots of Love,

Battle of the Urban Decay Neutrals | Naked 1 vs Naked 2

Original Naked Palette (Well used as you can see)

Naked Palette 2

Top - Naked 2 | Bottom - Naked 1

Naked 1 Swatches - Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Naked 2 Swatches - Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

How Cute?!

Hey Ladies! If you follow me on Twitter here, you will know that my lovely boyfriend recently surprised me with the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. This had been on my wish list for quite some time after loving the first palette so when a package arrived in the post for me containing this, I couldn't of been happier. My boyfriend attached a little note with the palette saying '1000 blog followers deserves a beauty treat to blog about!! You've done brill!' I thought this was so thoughtful and cute so thank you very much Matt. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I recently hit the big 1000 followers milestone and I was over the moon.  My boyfriend knows how much I love blogging and the fact he supports me makes me a very happy girl indeed. Moving on from my soppy thank you, I have decided to do a bit of a comparison review between this palette and the original Naked palette. If you are a makeup fanatic like me (which I guess most of you are) then you may like to have both palettes in your collection. Alternatively, you might not own either of the palettes and would like to see comparison photos before deciding which one you'd prefer.

I thought I would start my comparison by talking about the packaging. For me, packaging is a huge factor when it comes to makeup. I realise it doesn't effect the actual product but having something pretty to look at when applying it makes it all the more pleasurable. When I first got the original palette last year, I adored the packaging. I loved the huge gold letters, the velvet texture and the sleek, clearly named shadows. The second palette comes in a gold metal tin, again with large letters, clearly named shadows and this time a humongous mirror. I think I prefer the outer appearance of this packaging because it looks very sleek and sturdy but for me, the original palettes inner appearance is more appealing. Although the new palette has a larger mirror, I love the eye-catching gold letters on the inside of the original palette. However, as you can see from the pictures above, my original palette is not looking great. The mirror has cracked, the velvet has gone fluffy and the letters are slowly but surely fading away. Due to the more durable packaging of the second palette, I can't imagine it becoming as tatty looking as the original. I'd also like to mention that the first palette came with a mini Urban Decay primer potion (which I didn't like) and an eyeshadow brush. Some of the original palettes came with a double ended eye pencil which I would have preferred as the brush isn't great. The second palette also came with a brush but this time a double ended version. Again, I'm not a huge fan of the brushes as they are very stiff and hard to work with. The second palette also comes with a mini lip junkie lipgloss which I really like. It is a lovely berry pink shade and makes my lips feel plump and tingly. Overall, I think the second palette slightly beats the first based on the practicality of a hard-wearing case and a larger mirror.

Moving on to the most important part of this comparison, the colour range. Both of these palettes have a selection of 12 gorgeous neutral shades that can be used to create a whole array of eye looks. I have included swatches in the photos above and as you can see, the shades are very similar. However, the only shade that is actually featured in both of the palettes is 'Half Baked'. Half Baked is definitely one of my favourites from the original palette and as you can see I have hit pan on it so I was very happy to see this shade again in the second palette. Apart from that, there is a range of newly named shades. To be honest, I could't really pick a favourite palette in terms of colour range. The only things I prefer about the second palette is the fact it has a matte black and a larger selection of cooler toners than the original palette. If you are looking for a mixture of matte and shimmer shadows, the second palette has four opposed to two in the original. That being said, I do love a good shimmery eyeshadow so the shades provided in the original palette don't offend me in the slightest. 

The original palette cost me £27.00 but after the huge hype and success surrounding it, the pesky people at Urban Decay decided to up the price to £36.00. Then again, who can blame them? In my opinion, £36.00 is still remarkably cheap for 12 high quality, highly pigmented eyeshadows. I have had the original palette for well over a year now and apart from Half Baked, it looks as though it has barely been touched. These eyeshadows will last such a long time and are a staple for so many looks that I think the price is completely justified. If you do a little bit of maths, it works out at £3.00 an eyeshadow which is pretty blooming reasonable.

Overall, I love both of these palettes and know I will get good use from them both but do I think you need both? No. I think these palettes are far too similar to justify buying both but  I 100% recommend trying one of them if you don't have either. Unless your a makeup collector like me, you really won't need both to create a perfect neutral eye. I have been fortunate enough to have the luxury of trying both but in reality, I wouldn't have bought  them both myself after seeing how similar they are. The only difference between these palettes aside from packaging is the original has warm shades and the second palette has cool shades so if you are unsure of which to go for, you can pick the palette most suited to your skin tone. 

I hope this review helped some of you in one way or another and I hope I haven't missed any important information out. If you have anymore questions about either of these palettes, please feel free to ask

Also, if any of you are on Twitter, I'd love to chat with you so send me a tweet!

Lots of Love,

NYX 'Exquisite' Dramatic Chromatic Eyeshadow Pigment

Hey Ladies! Today I would like to share with you all a product I have been loving lately. To be honest, I've never really latched on to the whole pigment craze but whilst I was shopping in Brisbane recently, I saw these NYX Dramatic Chromatic pigments and just had to get one. I know everyone seems to love MAC pigments but for the high price tag they've just never appealed to me over a standard eyeshadow. However, NYX is a brand I've been wanting to try for quite some time now after seeing lots of reviews comparing the quality with MAC. As you all probably know, MAC is one of my favourite brands but if I can find something just as good for a fraction of the cost, it's a winner in my eyes. When I saw a NYX stand in Brisbane, I knew I had to give one of the pigments a try as the brand isn't readily available to buy in the UK. I've noticed River Island have started stocking a few bits and bobs but other than that, I haven't seen it anywhere. Being a beauty product addict, I obviously took the chance while I had it and snapped one up in the shade 'Exquisite'. 

This one jumped out at me straight away because of the orange tones. I recently read on Zoella's blog that orange tones work well with blue eyes. I've always been a lover of bronze/gold shades but have never swayed towards anything orange toned. I guess I never really pictured orange working on eyes and always thought it was more of a cheek and lip colour. However, since Zoe is one of my favourite bloggers and always looks gorgeous, I took her word for it and decided to give it ago. I'm glad I did as I have used it a couple of times now and must say, she was right. The orange undertones in this pigment work beautifully against my light blue eyes and really make them stand out. The pigment itself is very finely milled, creamy, glides onto my eye like a dream and as well as being very soft, it is immensely pigmented. I certainly agree with the 'chrome' description of this product and its almost like I'm applying powdered metal to my eye lids each time I use it. I do think the colour alone is quite overpowering for the whole eye but as you can see from the picture above, I've been using it with a matte brown in the crease to soften the look. 

Overall, I absolutely love this product and cannot wait to get my hands on some more. As well as having amazing quality, they are exceptionally cheap. When you compare this to a MAC pigment, the quality is just the same, if not better. However, NYX pigments are priced at only £5.00 a pop compared with MAC's whopping £16.50. You do get less product in the NYX jars but in my opinion, I would never use a full pigment from MAC anyway. I only need the tiniest amount on the end of a brush when using this product so I imagine it will last for a very long time. They can be found here on the Love Makeup website and they offer a large range of colours. I already have my eye on a few more, including 'white' as I think it would be a very close dupe for MAC 'Vanilla' pigment and work perfectly as a highlight shade. I am very happy I have found these little gems and would highly recommend giving them a try. 

Do you own any of the NYX pigments?

Also, I can't believe it is June already, where is this year going?

Lots of Love,

Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoos

Hey Ladies! I know I'm very late posting about this hype but I wanted to give my opinion anyway. I bought two of the Maybelline 24 hr Colour Tattoos around a month ago now in shades Eternal Gold and On and On Bronze. Yes, I admit, I gave into the blogging hype as per usual and decide I needed them in my life. I decided to go for these two colours as they were the most 'me' out of the bunch. I love a gold/bronze smokey eye so I thought these would be perfect. I also picked them up as part of the Boots 3 for 2 deal. Bargain. These eyeshadows are a gel-cream formula which I found appealing as it is something new to spice up my eyeshade collection. I usually go for bog-standard powder eyeshadows but I have always liked the sound of cream shadows. I think they have an amazing metallic look about them. The only cream eyeshadow I own other than these is a MAC paint pot which has been highly compared to the colour tattoos. I personally do NOT get the hype surrounding paint pots. Infact, I'd go as far as saying I hate them. I first bought one based on the fact I'd read lots of reviews saying they made for a good eyeshadow base. I personally see absolutely no difference when using them under my eyeshadow and the shade I own called 'Bare Study' looks pretty 'meh' on its own as well. So after a few attempts of trying to make it work, my paint pot now sits in my drawer very unloved. Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent but I just want you to know my feelings on the MAC paint pot because I think the Maybelline version is 10x better and costs a fraction of the price. Paint pots are currently priced at 14.50 (ridiculous) whereas these little beauties are only £4.99. I really don't know how high-end brands get away with charging so much sometimes. Anyway, I love these eyeshadows. My personal favourite is 'On and On Bronze' as it gives the post amazing metallic finish on my eye. It has recently been my go-to eyeshadow for everyday wear. These shadows blend like a dream and have amazing pigmentation. I must admit 'Eternal Gold' is a little flakey but I tend to use it on my inner corners and it looks lovely. I apply these shadows with my MAC 239 brush and it works excellently. However, due to their gel/cream formula, they are easy to apply with a finger if you don't have a suitable eyeshadow brush. As for actually living up to their '24 hour' claims, I wouldn't know. I haven't worn them for a solid 24 hours but who would? If I go to bed and I'm not being lazy, I'll take my makeup off therefore I can't say wether they do last for that length of time or not. However, I can tell you they do last a long time. After swatting them on my hand, the colour stays on unless I really scrub it off. Overall, I am very impressed with these eyeshadows and their small price tag.

Have you tried the Maybelline 24 hr Colour Tattoo eyeshadows? What do you think?

Lots of Love,

Sigma E35 Blending Brush

I recently mentioned this brush in my 'New Brushes' post here. I had been eyeing this up for ages after hearing so many people say it was an identical dupe for the MAC 217. As the MAC one was a tad out of my price range I decided to jump on the Sigma E35 bandwagon. I ordered this from online beauty website Love Makeup for the bargain price of £8.99. That's half the price of the MAC one, happy days.

Anyway, as I said in my 'New Brushes' post, i didn't want to rave on about this too much before I had actually used it a few times and got a feel for it. I have used it about 5/6 times for my eye makeup since writing that post and I am in LOVE. I think its my new favourite brush. Now I have never tried the MAC 217 before but I have seen posts/videos reviewing it and numerous google images. Firstly, the Sigma brush looks identical. When I say identical, I mean everything from the handle, colour and bristles. (Is bristles the right word?) Anyway, you know what I mean. The one thing I love about MAC brushes is their classic, simple design and the Sigma ones have that same chic look.

The one thing that most people say they love about the MAC 217 brush is how well it applies and blends shadow in the crease which is the main reason I wanted it. I didn't own anything that blended my 'crease' colour easily. When I go on a night out I like to do the whole, lighter colour on the lid and a dark black/brown in the crease. I found that I was having difficulty blending the darker colour out so needed a brush to make my life easier. This is where the Sigma E35 comes into the picture. As I say, I just couldn't justify £16.00 on a teeny eyeshadow brush from MAC so I went for the cheaper alternative with Sigma.

After using this, it blends my eyeshadow like a dream. I apply the darker colour with this brush in circular motions in the 'crease' area and then buff the colour out so it isn't so harsh. It takes me a few minutes to do and achieves a pretty, smokey effect. It is the perfect brush to complete my eyeshadow routine quickly and easily.

I really can't recommend this brush enough. If you are looking for a blending brush to make application of eyeshadow easier, this is the brush for you. 

Have you ever used this brush or the MAC 217 before? You can also buy this brush on the Sigma website, here.

Lots of Love,

Kayleigh..

xXx.

February Favourites

My first ever favourites post. I can't believe I haven't got around to doing one of these yet because I love reading them. Basically, the idea is to show a selection of products you've been loving/using most over the past month. So here is what I have been loving lately:


Garnier Mineral Ultra Dry Deodorant - This may seem like the most boring, silly thing to put in a favourites post as surely a deodorant is just a deodorant? Not this one. This is the most gorgeous smelling, long-lasting deodorant I have ever used. I have used this everyday throughout Feb and I am nowhere near the bottom of the can. I never thought I would find a deodorant I would want to 're-purchase' as I usually just grab the first one I see. However, I will definitely be going back to Superdrug for this when my can finally runs out.


St.Tropez Instant wash-off tan - This tan gives me a lovely golden brown colour and is easy to apply. The thing I like most about this is the fact it is instant. If I have forgot to do my tan before a night out, I can spray this on and still have a tanned glow to my skin. It is very easy to apply too. Spray onto the skin, rub it in with my tanning mitt and wallah, hello tan. I will be doing a full review with pictures of this soon so I won't say too much.


Juicy Couture 'Viva La Juicy' Perfume - I just had to include this in my favourites because it is the most gorgeous perfume ever. My blogs name is actually based on my love of Juicy Couture perfumes. I will be extremely gutted when I run out of this as it is very expensive and I normally only get expensive perfumes for birthdays/christmas. It has a sweet smell, which is my favourite kind, but it isn't overpowering. I also LOVE  the bottle. Anything with a big pink bow gets my vote straight away.


Aussie Dual Personality Heat Protection & Leave-In Spray - I love all of the Aussie hair care range as they smell lovely and actually work. I bought this in February as I needed a good heat protector to use with my GHDs. I have been using it most days since and it seems to be working. My hairdresser also told me Aussie is one of the best high-street brands as they don't contain harsh chemicals like some other high-street brands. This product leaves my hair smelling gorgeous and feeling soft. Again, I will go into more depth in a full review soon.


Sigma Kabuki Brushes - I did a post on these brushes I got for christmas a while ago now and I have been using them religiously ever since. The flat top kabuki is great for buffing my liquid foundation into the skin and the Angled kabuki is great for contouring. These brushes are fast becoming my favourites and are comparable in quality to MAC for half the price.


MAC 'Please Me' Lipstick - If you read my 'MAC Haul' post, you will see that I recently bought this lipstick. Since then, I have been reaching for it most days. It is a gorgeous pink shade that can be worn  everyday or in the evenings. As it is a matte formula, it is highly pigmented and the colour you see in the tube is a true reflection of the colour when applied to the lips.


Sleek Pout Polish in the shade 'Powder Pink' - I mentioned this product in my Sleek Haul a while ago and I am still loving it. It is a lip-conditioner that moisturises the lips and adds a lovely pink colour at the same time. I also love how shiny it looks on the lips. It gives a high-shine effect without the usual stickiness from a normal lipgloss. Perfect.


Blink & Go Mascara - I received this in my January Glossybox and I love it. It is one of the best mascaras I have ever used and I can't thank Glossybox enough for introducing me to it. Again, I am going to do a full review with pictures so I won't say too much but it is amazing and ranks top of my February favourites list.


Collection 2000 Extreme 24-hour eyeliner - Considering this is such a cheap product, it works brilliantly. This pen style eyeliner is so easy to use it is fool-proof. I am a bit clumsy when it comes to applying liquid liner but this makes the job so much easier. It is a deep, dark black and lasts all day.


MAC 'Woodwinked' eyeshadow - I think this eyeshadow will be featured in every months favourites post. It is my all time favourite eyeshadow and as you can see I have nearly run out. Again, expect a full review soon. All I will say for now is that this is the most beautiful golden/brown shade and it looks amazing with my blue eyes. LOVE it.


NARS 'Laguna' Bronzer - Again, I think this will have its place in my favourites category every month. It is the nicest bronzer I have ever come across and it gives my skin a lovely 'glow' without making me look orange. It is pricey but I will re-purchase this over and over again.

I hope you enjoyed reading my first favourites post. It was fun picking out my favourite products from the last month and I am definitely going to make my monthly favourites a regular post every month.

Which products made it into your February favourites?

Lots of Love,

Kayleigh..

xXx.