Some Bits From The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Collection

So when I heard that Gwen Stefani was collaborating with Urban Decay to bring out a whole collection of products, I got a little giddy. I have a whole review on the Eyeshadow Palette from the collection here and while I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it just looking at the shades, it’s landed straight in my favourites list. So here’s my thought on the rest of the bits I picked up from the collection.

The Gwen Stefani Lipsticks were just one of those things that I had to have. There wasn’t a singe shade in the lineup that I wasn’t interested in so narrowing it down to a non-outrageous number was difficult and after trying the two I picked up I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back for more. In the end I picked up shades “714” (the Mega-Matte red) and “Firebird” (the vibrant blue toned pink). I love both of the shades and they’re colours I’ll get a lot of wear out of.

Out of the two I’d say the “Firebird” is my favourite, the texture is really comfortable with it being a creamy finish and the micro-shimmer is really pretty without being OTT or at all garish. I love the shade of “714” and the mega-matte finish is lovely and long-lasting but the comfort factor lets it down a little bit. I really like both though and I think I need to go back for “Rock Steady” and “Wonderland” in particular. The other stand-out quality to these is the packaging. While it can feel a little bit flimsy as it’s just plastic, the black and gold graphic print is really lovely.

When I picked up my first pieces from the collection I didn’t think I needed the Gwen Stefani 24.7 Glide On Lip Pencils and that I’d have stuff in my collection that would work. For some of the shades in the collection that’s definitely the case but there some do seem to be a bit more unique. I have MAC’s Lip Pencil in “Redd” and that’s a near dead-on match for “714” but “Firebird” is a bit more unique and I'm considering picking up the matching lip liner. The packaging is beautiful. You can really tell that Gwen had an input into every aspect of these products.

Finally we have the Gwen Stefani Blush Palette. XSparkage’s review on this piece sparked my interest in this (no pun intended - honest). The rest of collection came out in America before it hit the UK so when she said it was perfect for pale skin tones I figured I needed to at least give it a go and it IS pretty. After having actually used it, I’m not sure it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The matte-bronzer shade is really warm so it’s no good for contouring, you’d need a separate contouring product. Then there's a shimmery bronze-y shade that’s really pretty to add a sun-lit glow. The highlight shade is really lovely too, a very intense highlight that’s great for pale-ys, and the 3 blush shades are really great but you need to be so carful with them because they’re really pigmented. Really I just wanted to see something that would work as a contour in here, that’s the thing that really lets it down because for me it’s not an “all you need for cheeks” palette without one. That being said, if you’re pale and not fussed with contouring, I can imagine you’d think this was pretty perfect.

My Picks of The Lush 2015 Christmas Collection

So for me Christmas Eve is the day of preparation and family time. In the afternoon my family usually go out to see a Christmas film at the pictures or if we're feeling fancy we go for a pantomime or a play and in the evening it's all about snuggling up on the couch with our Christmas film of choice (Gremlins. Always Gremlins). But the morning is preening time. I like a nice bath and to get all nice and clean. So with that in mind, while I know it's a bit late, I thought I'd go through my picks of Lush's 2015 Christmas Collection.

While the bath bombs aren't normally my favourites (I do prefer something that will give bubble normally) the bath bombs in this years Christmas collection have pretty much been killing it. I've loved Golden Wonder for years now and I'm glad it keeps coming back. I didn't pick up Santa Claus last year because I wasn't sure I'd like it but I've seen some demos now and it's got some lovely colours to it and the scent is lovely.

I'm borderline addicted to the scent of Yog Nog. I'd have picked up the soap as well but I have enough in reserves to last me until next Christmas so I couldn't justify it. Dashing Santa isn't my favourite for scent but I like the effect in the bath so I did pick one of those up again this year too.

Anything Snow Fairy is my favourite so the Snow Fairy Shower Gel has made an appearance (although I never buy the massive ones because I have about 5 shower gels on rotation at the moment and they're quite expensive for what they are). I also picked up a Candy Mountain because the sickly sweet bubbles are just lush. Pun partially intended.

This post is also missing some products that I love: Butterbear (I was convinced I'd already been and picked some of these up!) it's my favourite for mixing with normal bubble bath for so moisture. Holly Go Lightly is also absent because as cute as it is and as nice as it smells I bathe to get clean, not to become covered in glitter. Finally, I didn't pick up a Star Dust either, because it smells lovely but it's just a white bath bomb from what I've seen and I'd already picked up quite a few bits.

I'm also a bit gutted that while Cinders has made a reappearance in the Christmas release this year, the scent seems different. I'm not sure if Lush have changed the scent or if maybe my scent preferences have changed slightly, but I used to love that one and now it does nothing for me.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick

So this is it, day 30 of the 30 lips challenge. Today we've got a super affordable option of the Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick. I have heard a few good things about the line so I wanted to see if these were any good because, at £1.99 a piece, these could be a really nice addition to your collection. The shade selection is wide but there's nothing too out there in the collection, lots of neutral shades along with some berries and reds, I have shade "Raspberry" and it's a your-lips-but-better type medium pink.

The packaging seems to be where they've saved money because I must admit it's really cheap looking and a bit flimsy. That being said, the formula on these is actually really nice, they're opaque without being too thick and very very creamy so they're very comfortable on the lips. The one thing about the formula is that, because it's so creamy, the lasting time isn't great and these will need to be maintained through the day.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Collection Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream

So we're back with another lip cream and today we have the Collection Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream. I picked this up mainly because they look identical to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams and I thought it would be nice to compare the two, especially with the collection ones being a bit cheaper. When first applied the Collection one feels very much like the NYX, both are smooth and creamy in texture and there's quite a bit of moisture in both formulas. The name "moisturising lip cream" is, in my opinion, at least a little bit misleading as both the Collection and the NYX formulas dry down to a powdery matte finish and leave little to no creaminess on the lips. On a blind swatch test I'd assume they were simply different shades of the same product.

It's also hard not to draw on the similarities in the packaging. Both products come in a tube that reflects the colour of the product with a matte black lid and black detailing on the tube and have the same doe-foot applicator. I'd actually say the scent on the two is identical, a light vanilla type scent. The main difference is that the Soft Matte Lip Creams retail at £5.50 and has wide shade selection, where the Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream is slightly lower in price at £2.99 a piece and only comes in 3 colours.

The Friday Review: Nars One Shocking Moment Blush Palette

For the last few years Nars has released a limited edition blush palette as part of one of their autumn collections, and or the past few years, it sold out before I managed to get my hand on it. This year I signed up to the mailing list and I ordered it the second I got the email and I couldn't have been more pleased when it turned up on my doorstep last week. It's my first experience with Nars' base products and the palette contains a lot of permanent shades so I figured I'd give you the run down.

The packaging for the palette is lovely, nice and sturdy feeling and it has one of those "good click" closes that seems to be all important in the beauty blogging world. The lid of the palette is nicely decorated with a photograph (pictured above) with a text overlay. When you open the palette the lid is a big mirror and there's 7 products inside, four of which are Blush in: "Robotic" (limited edition), "Blasphemy" (limited edition), "Luster" (permanent) and "Dolce Vita" (permanent), there's also the "Paloma" Contour Blush Duo, and a Bronzing Powder in "Laguna" which is twice the size of the other powders in the palette.

In terms of value, I paid £49 for the palette and can't find any information on the value in pounds but Sephora are advertising this at $69 with a $169 value and looking at the amount of product you get in here, I can see that being about right. The blushes are all 3.5g of product (full size are 4.5g so slightly down sized), the contour blush duo is 3.5g each (full size is 2.7g and 5.5g so slightly more highlight and slightly less contour) and the bronzer is 8.5g (full size is 8g so slightly smaller than the palette size)

The two limited edition blush shades "Robotic" and "Blasphemy" are pinky shades with shimmer. "Robotic" is quite a subtle hint of blush that will play nice with a bolder lip look while "Blasphemy" is a slightly bolder blush, it's a mid-tone pink that will give more of a blushed look to the cheeks but it's still very wearable.

The permanent blush shades are nice as well. "Luster" looked like a shade I didn't think I'd get much use out of but after actually wearing it I can safely say it's my favourite out of all the products in the palette, it's a nice peachy bronze-y shade on the cheeks and is good to warm up a lighter skin tone. "Dolce Vita" is the boldest blush in the palette and will give the cheeks that winter-y "I've just been out in the cold" type flush and used lightly on the skin it's really pretty.

Looking at the shades in the palette to me there's something for every season, "Robotic" will be a spring-time staple, "Luster" will give you that summer time golden goddess look, "Blasphemy" will work well for autumn and then "Dolce Vita" is a nice winter blush pick. My only complaint with the blush shades is that everything's a bit shimmery, if they'd thrown in at least one matte shade I think that would have balanced things out a bit better.

Out of all the products in the palette, the Contour Blush Duo was my least favourite. On me the highlight shade looks like a normal setting powder, but if you're of a medium skin tone the highlight might actually show up on you. The contour shade was also a little out, it's just a bit too warm, even the bronzing shade looks cool toned beside it. I'd rather use "Laguna" lightly to contour and use the contouring shade in place of bronzer. I was a littler worried that "Laguna" would be way too dark on me at first but providing I use a light hand with it I can just about get away with it.

The palette is available now on narscosmetics.com and sephora.com and is also available for pre-order from Space NK.

My Nail Polish Collection

Whilst I've been updating my beauty storage (comment if you'd like to hear more about that?) I've been doing a lot of decluttering and I figured since I had all my nail polishes out, I might as well do a post giving you a round up of what I have.

So Firstly, Blues. I love the colour of Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in the shade "Duvet Day" but it's just a nightmare to apply. For me it's thick but somehow still quite sheer and I haven't managed to apply this and make it look nice on the nails.

The next three are all shades that I mainly wear on my toes, KIKO Nail Lacquer "336", Misa Nail Lacquer "On The Edge" and Inglot Nail Enamel "942" are all lovely mid-tone bright blues and I love a bright blue on the toes, however I rarely wear any of these on the fingers.

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish "New York Night" is a nice vampy purple that I'll be cracking out now that autumn is on it's way, her darker shades seem to be a much nicer texture than the lighter shades and this one looks almost black on the nails. I also think that No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour "Violetta 44" would be a nice autumn nail pick, it's slightly lighter and brighter than "New York Night", but it's still quite autumnal.

I like Topshop Nails in "Parma Violet" and this pink O.P.I Nail Lacquer which unfortunately doesn't have a shade name and was limited edition for spring. They're both nice pastels and while they take a bit of work to apply, you can get a nice finish from both.

My Favourite nail polish of all time for my fingers is the Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Disco Pink", I've very nearly finished this bottle and I'm currently on the hunt for a new bottle as it's just an amazing bright shade for summer that I just love. KIKO Nil Lacquer in "361" is also  nice bright pink but for me it doesn't compare to the Maxfactor, I think it would work for a beach-y holiday worn on both fingers and toes but so far it's not been a shade I've reached for a whole lot.

I come back to the Essie Nail Lacquer in "Bahama Mama" every year once it starts cooling down. It's a great burgundy and just can probably get away with just one coat if you were in a rush, I'd always go for two just to make sure though. A very similar shade is No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour in the shade "Queenie 60". It's that same tone of burgundy as "Bahama Mama", but instead of a creamy gloss finish, the No7 has a hint of golden shimmer running through it which gives it a more metallic finish on the nails.

I don't wear an awful lot of red on my nails (so naturally I have 3). I bought Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in "Riding Hood" online and was expecting it be a bit darker than it actually turned out to be, It's actually quite similar to the Procco Nail Apparel in "7294 V.I.P Creme" which is my go to polish if I'm doing red. I also have a mini O.P.I Nail Lacquer which again was from a limited collection but it's not my favourite anyway.

I have three orangey/coral shades and I don't like any of them. Ted Baker Orange, LOLA Barcelona Nail Polish in "Rambla" and Wah London Nails in "384" are all amazing colour but I'm starting to think there's just something about orange-y shades that makes them horrible to apply. I'm holding onto them incase I discover a way to make them work because the colours are really something.

I love warm grey nil polish for autumn/winter and I have two. Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Boji" which was a limited edition one that I wear every now and again but my favourite is Essie Nail Lacquer in "Chinchilly". I think Essie polishes are generally a nice formula and "Chinchilly" is a great goes-with-everything shade.

I've already mentioned Butter London's 3 Free Nail Lacquer in "Knackered" on here and it's really something. It takes about 3/4 coats to get it to a nice opacity but it's worth the little bit of effort. It's a really unique colour, a green/pink dual chrome colour that give's that almost oil slick finish to the nails and it looks great with an all black outfit and my Whistles Small Clutch in "Oil Slick".

I'm a sucker for a good glitter topcoat and I have three. The NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in "105 Starry Silver Glitter" was the first one I picked up and it's like a slightly multi-coloured version of Topshop Nails in "Ice Crush" which is my favourite glitter top coat. I also have the O.P.I Nail Lacquer in "Silver Shatter" which is one of those crackle-finish nail polishes but this is a metallic shimmery silver one.

A couple of metallic nail polishes that I like are the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in "Night Silver 92" and Topshop Nails "Crystal Clouds" and I like both of these year long. The No7 is a little bit more autumn/winter but I love it and the Topshop is a polish I'd happily wear year round.

And finally, a topcoat and a nail care product. I rarely use a topcoat but when I do I use the O.P.I Rapidry Top Coat, it's nice and shiny and helps your polish last longer. Normally I just go in with the Orly Colour Care Nail Strong which is a shiny clear nail polish that can be used alone or under/over other polishes and helps strengthen your nails. I have problems with flaking on my nails and I find that this helps a lot.

My (Somewhat Miniature) MAC Lipstick Collection

I've seen a lot of MAC collection based posts and thought I'd throw in my 2 cents and show you my MAC lipsticks. It's a fairly small collection by comparision to others you may have seen but I'd like to think I picked carefully and there aren't too many more that I have my eye on at the moment.

We'll keep things in colour order and start with "Costa Chic", this is one of MAC's Frost Finish Lipsticks and it's a summery pinky coral. Being quite ight in colour and heavy with the frost, it's one that I sometimes find hard to wear, but patted into the lips in the summer time is my favourite way to wear this one. Not the most comfortable formula either, I usually wear a lipbalm under/over it.

I picked up "Sounds Like Noise" when MAC launched their collaboration with Hayley Williams back in the height of my Paramore obsession, this is another one that I like to wear a balm or a gloss over because it's from their Matte Lipstick range and it's a bright, bold orange. It's probably my least worn MAC lipstick but I love the colour and it's a nice change to a red on a night out with the girls.

The first MAC Lipstick I ever bought was "Lady Danger" it's an orange-y red, again, from their Matte Lipstick Range and I'd probably say it's my most used. It was my signature lip colour for a while in my late teens and there's plenty of pictures of me on nights out donning this shade. Another one that's not super comfortable but the lasting power is better than most of the others.

My favourite pick of the bunch at the moment is "Lady Bug", a slightly deeper, true red from their Lustre Lipstick selection. It's a lovely day-time red that's comfortable and glossy. The lasting power isn't really there so it's one that needs reapplying throughout the day but it's good to brighten up your face without making you look too night-out.

And then finally, "Rebel". I love it because it's such a versatile shade, you can wear it full colour and it's quite purpley and vampy or can be patted into the lips lightly and it gives more of a berry stain to the lips. This one has found it's way to the back of the drawer for now but I always come back to it in autumn.

My Cleanser Collection

So first up is the Oskia Renaissance Cleasning Gel, I'll try to keep this one short and sweet because we all know I love this. It's a light gel that, when applies to a dry face, feels almost oil-like in texture and can be used on even the most sensitive of skins. Plus the smell, need I say more?

The Athony Glycolic Facial Cleanser has been reviewed on this blog before (Here) and is a good second or morning cleanse. I personally use it in the morning when I want a quick skincare routine as it negates the need for an acid tone step.

Emma Hardie's Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm is one that everyone must have heard of my now, the citrus-smelling balm was my gateway into "proper" skincare. Before I found this I was washing with a foaming cleanser and then slapping on a BB Cream and hoping for the best. This is a lovely cleanser that's thick and not moisture-zapping at all, can be used as a second cleanse or to remove make-up but I find it a little heavy for morning-use.

The Omorazicza Cleasning Foam may be a controversial one in my collection with it being a foaming cleanser, but I generally save this for when I'm staying out overnight. As much as I love my oil and balm cleansers, wash cloths get complicated for overnight stays and so I just throw this in my overnight bag and it does the trick. It has a lovely light scent and isn't too stripping on my skin.

I like the Garnier Micellar Water for rushed mornings. It's my "I need to cleanse but I don't really have time to' cleanser. A quick sweep of this and then a good moisturiser or face oil does the trick in a pinch. It's also nice as a first cleanse in the evening to remove make-up, although I've found something I like better for make-up removal recently in the:

Superfacialist by Una Brennan Cleansing Oil, This is my go to make-up removal step most nights and is good for all types of cleansing, first cleanse, second cleanse, morning cleanse? No problem. It's light and refreshing but has the power to really shift all the gunk and grime from the day, and it's so affordable that I can't see myself being without it.

Another foaming cleanser that I haven't given up on is the First Aid Beauty Foaming Cleanser. Like the Omoravicza it's light and not stripping like most foaming cleansers and is good for a morning cleanse or for travel. I think sometimes I just need a foaming cleanser, old habits die hard, right?

The Clarins Face Cleanser is one of my favourites. Although yo can get the same results with much cheaper cleansing milks this one just tops them all. I think it's the smell that sells it to me but the texture is so light and fluid that while the results may be the same as the more affordable alternatives, the experience of using this cleanser is just lovely.

I have a small sample size of the Omoravicza Thermal Cleansing Balm in my collection. This is one that I thought I'd love but I just can't stand the smell. The full size of this would be the most expensive cleanser in my collection and I much prefer using others and so I won't go back to it once I've finished the mini.

Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean is another affordable cleansing option. This is a light glycolic milk cleanser. It's kind of like the Clarins and the Anthony had a baby. Personally I find this to be a very strong glycolic cleanser and while I always leave glycolic cleansers to sit for a few minutes, I find myself rinsing this off after maybe 30 seconds as the tingle really kicks in quickly with this.

I recieved the Cailyn Dizzolv'It Make Up Melt Cleansing Balm in a LoveMeBeauty Box and have enjoyed experimenting with it. It's a greasy balm that I think works best (as suggested) for makeup removal and I wouldn't use it for anything else because of this. The full size is around the £30 mark and for the money I think the Una Brennan is more versatile, but it's still a nice pick.

My Makeup Storage Solution. (For a Medium-Sized Collection)

When I first got properly into makeup, a problem arose pretty quickly: Where do I store all of this?

Seems like a pretty easy question to answer on the surface, but as my collection grew out of a make-up bag, and then out of a small box in a drawer, I was finding it more and more difficult to store my makeup in a space and user friendly way. So I hit the drawer board pretty hard and eventually I cam up with this solution: A drawing desk. For me, a drawing desk was the most obviously wonderful way to store a bigger-than-average-but-not-completely-excessive kind of collection. I haven't got the typical blogger/vlogger huge collection, so a massive dressing table and the ever popular Ikea Alex Drawers were a bit more than I needed, but in the same token, a standard dresser or Muji Acrylic Drawers were a little too small. I got this drawing table from Dunelm Mill about a year ago for a really reasonable price. There was a traditional style dressing table in the collection but the drawers were just too small and I'd have never been able to fit all of my makeup in them, however the drawing table has all the space seen in the picture to the right, plus a very comfortably sized drawer underneath that homes my backups and some products that I don't use very often.

I use a cutlery divider to divide up my products into categories, and then slide palettes in both beside the cutlery divider and in the smaller partitions hanging from the inside of the top of the drawing table. I then have a small tin with a small bottle of moisturiser to mix in with foundations on days where I want less coverage, a small bottle of hand sanitiser (my favourite is the Soap & Glory Hand Maid one), a lip exfoliator, a pencil sharpener and some miscellaneous small tools (tweezers, lip brushes etc). The top of the drawing table has a flat surface on which I store a makeup mirror, two pots for brushes (one for face brushes, one for eyes) and then a smaller pot for eye/lip liners, brow pencils and other pencil shaped products/tools.

Then in the cutlery divider itself, I divide products into complexion, cheeks, eyes and lips. So foundation, primers, concealers and setting sprays in the front, blush, bronzer, powder and highlights in the middle. I keep lipsticks, balms and glosses at the back and then eyeshadow, eye primer, pigments, small palettes and mascaras live down the side.