Urban Decay Smoked Palette

So as palettes go....I think most would agree that Urban Decay take the crown with them.

Having bought my fair share (is it 8 now? eek!) I can't believe that I didn't own this one; the Smoked palette.

These colours are the colours I have been using for years all from random brands and not in a cohesive palette like this; it's amazing. There's the greys, the blue, the green, the purple, the browns and the super matte black. Not to mention the awesome primer potion and Perversion eye pencil that I might be a bit of a fan of.

The blurb on the back of the box pretty much says it all, and it comes with a booklet to help you get the most out of the palette including tips for blending and looks to try.

The packaging for this is different to other palettes, it has a zip all around it to contain the products inside and the material packaging looks really good. The only downside is that it may not be as robust as plastic palettes as it is only material over a cardboard exterior.

This where you can tell it was produced in 2012, they seem to have come a long way in their designs and packaging in the last few years.

So how about the inside of the palette? The ten eyeshadows are arranged in square shapes with the eye pencil in between the rows. It also comes with a mirror which is very handy for on the go or just generally really! I've been using it loads when doing my make up in my room even though I have multiple mirrors to use.

I have previously written a post on the Perversion 24/7 Eye Pencil which you can read here, so I won't ramble on about it too much but it is the PERFECT pencil for this palette and if you ever buy any eye liner pencil you most definitely need this one.

So what do the colours come out like? The photos show swatches of the eye shadows in the same order as the rows in the palette, without and then with flash.

How beautiful are the colours?! I couldn't resist but have a play around with them!

Both of the nudes barely show up on my skin but they are both good bases for a make up application. In fact I think I like them more for blending in so perfectly as they're so easy to use.

Below I've applied Mushroom to the outer corners of my eyes and blended it through. I really like this look and have worn it to work. I've also worn the same look with Backdoor also blended in to darken and mattify the outer corner shown in the second picture:






One of the main reasons I wanted this palette so badly was the ability to produce a variety of smoky eye looks which didn't revolve around the obvious black and grey. Green is one of my favourite colours for eyeshadow so Loaded was a colour I was keen to use:

I absolutely LOVE it and have been having so much fun with different looks.

Evidence is also a gorgeous blue colour with so much pigmentation, I applied it under my eyes for a colour contrast using silvery greys Mushroom and Asphalt on my eye lid for a separate look:

Do you love creating smoky eyes? Have you used the Smoked palette before? What's your favourite colour to smoke out?

I'm looking forward to using this over the party season!

L xxx

Lush Mask of Magnaminty

Hey lovelies!

Our joint review today is for a well loved product from Lush, the Mask of Magnaminty.

We both recently picked up the self preserving version of the mask which means it will last a lot longer. It can be used on face and body and is a miracle worker on hormonal breakouts as well as longer term skin problems such as acne. It contains only 13 ingredients and the website pretty much says all that you need to know:

Easily smoothed over the skin anywhere you like, this mask is made with peppermint oil to stimulate, marigold oil and chlorophyllin to treat the skin; evening primrose seeds and aduki beans to gently exfoliate as you remove it. There’s also mineral rich kaolin to nourish, antibacterial honey, and peppermint oil to stimulate the blood cells just under the surface of your skin to leave it looking bright and refreshed.

The average review on the website is an impressive 4.7 stars which should tell you everything you need to know but i am absolutely in love with it. It costs £9.75 for the large tub and £5.50 for the smaller one shown above. I would fully recommend it to anyone struggling with hormonal breakouts especially the self preserving version as it would last much longer.

For anyone struggling with acne this would be a natural way to help prevent more spots from forming and help to reduce the size of the current ones. I occasionally get spots on my chest which aren't by any means bad at all but it has definitely helped to get rid of them faster.

I tend to leave this on whilst in the shower and then massage the scrubby bits into my skin (which aren't abrasive in any way) and then rinse it off. My skin feels deeply cleansed and over the past few weeks usage has definitely helped the condition of my skin. Also the smell (peppermint) is one of my favourites and I really enjoy using it. It's so refreshing and awakening.

If you have any issues with your skin I would 100% recommend it especially as its all natural. I'm definitely coming around to using Lush products a lot more. This is my favourite closely followed by Ocean Salt scrub.

Have you tried Mask of Magnaminty? What's your favourite Lush product?


L xxx

Hey All

Hope you've had a great weekend! I've had a chilled but busy one with the other half! As L said we've both picked this up recently! I love Lush masks and have tried most of them now but the short date is annoying, they do last a little past it. I tend to operate by if it smells and looks the same I use it.

One that lasts longer is always preferred though. I love that Mask of Magnaminty is also recommended for body breakouts. As gross as it is my back has been having the occasional break out too lately! Lush I know but I'm pretty sure it's from exercising!

I love the slight cooling effect this has on my skin. I find minty things just make my skin feel extra clean! I do find a more clay like mask can leave my skin feeling dry but this just leaves it looking soft and slightly more glowy!

As L mentioned it has a mild exfoliant in it which is great for sports to get rid of the annoying dry skin on and after spot! Overall I'm loving this! The blueberry cosmetic warrior used to be a favourite but mask of magnaminty has definitely knocked it off the top spot!

Lush have a whole range of new self preserving products out to help make them even more natural. They've used products like honey which is a natural antibacterial. For things like the ever popular dream cream they have the new self preserving version and the original.

Have you tried any of the new range?

Love M

xxx

Christmas Gift Guide

Happy Sunday morning!

I expect by now most of you have started to turn to the brochures and internet adverts that have suddenly been making its way into our inboxes and shopping baskets.

I have had loads of fun making wishlists and my own Christmas list from the Debenhams, Boots and Space NK Gift guides. So without further ado here are my picks of products that you might want to add to your wishlists or buy for fellow friends or loved ones.

Starting off with Boots, full of amazing product goodness that it would take a rather strong individual to ignore.

Smashbox always have some cracking products out for Christmas and I've always got my eye on the miniature primers. I've heard they're amazing and for £25 for the trio it's a good way to try them out.
The On The Rocks palette is also an extensive range of eye shadows for a bargainous £49 and would make a great gift.

Benefit gifts are extremely popular and it's not hard to see why, they're beautifully packaged and usually contain a great variety of their products as the perfect trial of something that may be new to you or as a travel kit. The above is the perfect pick me up for on the go make up or a cohesive travel kit, all you're missing is your base products and you're good to go! For £29.50 the Sexy and Scrumptious gift set is amazing.

Liz Earle have never sold their gift sets anywhere other than John Lewis. I think it's great they've gone more mainstream by selling at Boots and this gift set contains their infamous Cleanse and Polish followed by a skin tonic and eye cream. All have very good reviews and contain natural products so would be an ideal gift for someone new to the brand for £19.75

These pages are my favourite! It's like a perfect mix and match section; Nails Inc polishes ranging from £15/16, Benefit's Hoola bronzer, Lancome mascara and YSL Touche Eclat. All of which have rave reviews and anyone would be happy to receive. 

Ted Baker produce some amazing gift sets also and i particularly like their designs this year. I'm a fan of coral anyway but the bottles lined up in different colours as above remind me of being on holiday in Southern Italy on the Amalfi Coast as the houses are similar colours and this makes me happy.
The UpTed Abbey set above looks like a lovely gift and I would imagine it will be on offer as a star gift at Boots sometime soon.

Origins also have some great gift sets where the value can be worth around £30 more than the price it is on sale for. The set below costs £40 though is worth somewhere near £68. Ginzing is one of their most popular ranges and this gift set is the perfect range of products for someone who deserves a pamper via a skincare set packed with vitamins and minerals.

So what do Debenhams have to offer?

You can never go wrong with a bit of sparkle in the form of a piece of jewellery. Watches are a classic item and rose gold is a popular choice at the moment, although silver and gold are still the classics.

The Clarins palette contains a gorgeous selection of eyeshadows that anyone can wear, especially over the Christmas season and would be perfect in time for New Year's Eve. The ten shades are a great basic palette for £35, meaning it's only £3.50 per eyeshadow which is pretty good value for Clarins!

Lancome sets are also really good value for money and the larger set has a massive variety of trial sized products and an eyeshadow palette:

It is hard to even think about Debenhams without considering Urban Decay. They have plenty of products available year round but this year their Christmas sets are awesome. The limited edition Vice 3 palette is sure to sell out and the eyeliner and lipstick sets are musts in every beauty addicts collection. I've got Vice 3 and the Black Magic eyeliner set already, the others are sure to find their way into my life too! These products range from £27 to £42.

Lastly L'Occitane are another brand where you just cannot go wrong with gift sets, especially with scents such as Shea Butter as they're so soft and light that anyone would be happy to receive it and you just cannot go wrong, especially for £20 or £35.

I couldn't complete these Gift Guides without a mention from Space NK, my latest favourite store. Having never bought from them before until a few weeks ago I'm now a constant browser of their site and some gift sets have particularly caught my eye:

Nars Virtual Domination cheek palette; £45 but worth £117. I really need it but cannot afford it; I need to find someone who can afford to buy it for me! A lovely present for any female who loves good quality blushes.

This is nicely followed up with the Digital World Lip Coffret also from Nars featuring 5 lip pencils, 3 of which are limited edition all of £32. They also allegedly come in an acrylic style box for future storage which I always thing is a good idea.

GlamGlow have a gorgeous skincare set out containing three different mud treatments for £50. With a huge following for its tingling and cleansing muds this one is sure to make a skincare obsessive extremely happy!

In fact i imagine at this rate I will be producing another Gift Guide in a week or so with other new products that I've found!

Do you find it easy or hard to buy for fellow females are Christmas time?
I think I could quite easily do it but may come into problems when a budget is required and also stopping myself from buying one for me too!

What are on your Gift Guides?

I've got another 'product free' gift guide coming next week!

L xxx

WIMH - What's In My (New) Handbag

Happy Sunday morning!

Hope you're feeling as fresh as I am this morning :)

Today's  post is something I've always loved reading but never ever done my own version of. I recently picked up this absolutely gorgeous bottle green bag from New Look for the grand total price of £24.95 - which as you can see from looking at it below is an absolute bargain. With my excitement I decided to do a WIMH post as I've never done one before and as my bag is super clean and free of 1000s of receipts it was the perfect opportunity.

I always love little details on bags and this one doesn't disappoint. Gold is my favourite metallic and its all over this bag!
Buckles, zips and nifty edges along the bottom corners so it doesn't get worn, this bag is just me.







It's actually quite a large bag and fortunately I haven't yet managed to fill it with crap though I'm sure the time will come. It does unnerve me somewhat that it doesn't close entirely and only has a magnetic fix to hold it shut, albeit a very strong one. I will just have to take a different bag when travelling in busy areas as this one will mostly move from my car to my work desk which let me tell you, is not far at all!



So what's in it? What are the essentials for my every day life?



It is surprisingly a tidy amount of things most of which are functional and useful, and so far not a receipt or empty packet of food in sight!

I try not to ever travel without an umbrella, I do obviously live in Wales where it does very frequently rain so it would be rather brave to go out without one. Case closed.

My Jane Shilton purse was given to me by my mum, I thought it was huge initially but actually its a perfect fit for everything and the leather is really good quality.

Never go anywhere without my headphones and my charger. You never know when you will get stuck somewhere and need either so they are a must to keep me occupied!

My glasses are also pretty obvious; though normally it is just the case that's in my bag as I wear my glasses 90% of the time and change to contacts for the gym and special occasions. I'd love designer ones in future!



Next up is the product section; essentials only!

EOS lip balms, Mac lipstick in Coral Bliss, OPI hand cream, Sure deodorant and Soap and Glory hand gel.
I'm extremely shocked that there is only one lipstick in here; last time I emptied a bag I found 12! But it's probably as I've had so many weddings etc recently that I've taken them all back out again.

I'm hoping to get some drawers for my desk at work soon as mine were stolen the week before I started (grrr) so I can leave all of these essentials in there when they arrive.

You can never go wrong with a packet of tissues, they have saved my life many a time. Nude eyeliner from Rimmel is a great way to wake up tired eyes of which I am always a sufferer of! Blink eye drops single use bottles are amazing and have really helped me be able to wear lenses for longer when necessary. My eyes seem to hate wearing lenses now which is a shame and in future I'd love to have eye surgery but again; savings will need to occur pretty rapidly for that to happen!

I also never go anywhere without a mini notebook and a pen, for when inspiration for posts or a list needs to be made. I rather like lists and sometimes they need to be written not typed.

Lastly food. Now it's the weekend so I've clearly not restocked my handbag after a week at work but normally there would be about 5 different bars, apples, bananas and god knows what else lurking around at the bottom. 9 bars are my current favourite but I am also quite keen on Sesame Snaps before the gym and Bounce balls and Naked bars. I'm one of those people who gets 'hangry' easily so snacks are a must for keeping my mood up!

I normally also carry around a box of peppermint tea bags which has just run out. I'm quite partial to tea as it is but with my IBS this tea can work wonders on stopping any cramps so I drink it quite regularly. 

The only downside I've seen to my new bag is a few threads like above; I've cut them off with scissors but I suppose it's just something that hight street bags come with sometimes as otherwise this one was immaculate in the shop.

What do you think of my new bag? Do you have similar contents in your bag?

Send me your WIMH posts for a nose!

L xxx