Urban Decay Naked Flushed Review

I purchased the Urban Decay Naked Flushed trio in the shade Naked a few months ago. I really don't like writing negative reviews but I won't pretend to like a product if I really can't stand it. 

This little palette contains a blusher, highlighter and bronzer.

The swatches below were applied to the palest part of my arm as you can't see them very well against 

any other part of me as they don't stand out properly against my skin tone.

The blush is a pretty, matte, deep pink shade. After swatching it I thought it would be the perfect colour to add a little flush to my cheeks. Unfortunately, it didn't blend very well and left me looking a little like a toddler had done my makeup.

The highlighter just wasn't... highlighty enough for me. I like my highlighter to be so shimmery that I blind animals and small children. This is more suited to someone who prefers a subtle glow.

The bronzer is matte. I don't understand why they thought a yellow, rusty mud shade would be a good colour to contour with but hey. When I applied this like I would my usual bronzer, I looked like I'd been Tangoed. 

When worn all together, I looked ridiculous. Think Homer Simpson's makeup gun. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show you the full result as my eczema means I can't wear any makeup at the moment.

I think the blush and highlighter would suit a paler skin tone nicely. The bronzer would look quite nice in the bin or in a box under your bed.

If I hate to rate this out of 5, I'd give it a 1.5. 

Urban Decay have now released three other shades of the Flushed palette. You can find them here.

Have any of you tried any of the Flushed palettes? Maybe I just got a bad one?  

I'd love to know how what you thought.

Thanks for reading! :) 

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EcoTools: Fresh and Flawless Brush Set

If you read my last Dublin haul post, you'll know I picked up the EcoTools "Fresh and Flawless 5 Piece Completion Set".

This was my first EcoTools purchase and I don't see it being my last.

As you can see there are 5 beautifully decorated, bamboo handled brushes in the set.

There is a guide on the inside telling you what each brush can be used for which makes this perfect for beginners.

The brushes are extremely soft and all the bristles seem to be secured well. 

I haven't washed them yet but I have spot cleaned them with The Pro Hygiene Collection brush cleaner and they've held their shape and haven't lost any softness.

My favourite brush is the Buffing Concealer Brush. I use it to apply the finishing powder in the Soap&Glory Kick Ass Concealer. 

The only brush I don't have a use for is the Foundation Brush as I much prefer to buff in my foundation, nothing against the brush. 

If you read my blog regularly, you'll know that I use the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge to apply my powder. I recently purchased the Soap&Glory One Heck of a Blot powder and I love using the Full Powder Brush to apply it evenly all over my face. 

I'm really impressed with this little set and I think it's great value for money at €15.59 in Boots. I can't find it on the Boots site but FeelUnique stock it.

I hope you enjoyed this post :)

Let me know if you have this brush set and what you think of it. ♥

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Wet n Wild Liquid Lip Color - Review

I recently purchased the Wet n Wild Liquid Lip Color in the shade Pocketful of Roses.

I just realised, I left it French side up woops!

I was really looking forward to using it as the colour is so unusual, a deep pink verging on purple. 

It has a flat applicator, not as long and thin as the Essence XXL Shine gloss but still good for precision application.

The consistency is thick, much like most liquid lipsticks. However, it's incredibly sticky and just doesn't dry.

I took this picture just after applying it to my hand but this is as dry as it gets. 

Think in Primary School when you get a really thick layer of poster paint on your painting and you're left with wet ridges of paint that never dry. 

I took this picture about half an hour after application. As you can see, it's dry and crinkled. It's also so sticky it feels like semi-dry superglue. 

As you can see, it looks just as dry and flaky on my lips as it does on my hand. Again, it stayed incredibly sticky and stuck my lips together as if I'd added eyelash glue to the mixture. I didn't leave this on for more than an hour each time I tried it, but I can imagine over a few hours, chunks of it would flake off.

Trying to remove this was a whole other ordeal. It doesn't budge. If it was any good, I'd be rejoicing over the staying power.

I applied some Garnier Micellar Water to a cotton pad and wiped, scrubed and scratched. I then did the same with some q-tips. After about 10 minutes, I'd gotten the majority of the sticky, clumpy mess off my face. 

I suggest not wasting your money on Wet n Wild Liquid Lip Colours if the rest of them are anything like Pocketful of Roses. 

What annoys me the most is that I've loved every other makeup product I've purchased from Wet n Wild so I expected pretty good results.

Let me know if you've tried any of these as I'd love to know how they worked (or didn't work) for you. 

Thanks for reading :) 

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Budget Buy #2: Catrice Sweet Coraline Lipstick

I've really wanted to try a more orange toned, coral lipstick for ages but I was worried it wouldn't suit the green/yellow undertones of my skin.
With this in mind I set myself the task of finding an easy to wear coral shade with a slight orange-ness about it. I didn't want to spend more than €5 in case it really didn't suit so I popped to my nearest Catrice stand as I knew their lipsticks are pretty good quality and very well priced.

The shade that caught my eye straight away was 290 Sweet Coraline.

I swatched it on my hand and it seemed just what I was looking for so I decided to buy it. 

It's a lovely coral orange with a slightly matte finish. It's highly pigmented and has a very creamy consistency.

I found when I first applied it, it was a little... meh but after leaving it for about 15 minutes, it had set and left me with a lovely finish.

As you can see, it does settle into any cracks you may have on your lips so using a lip scrub before applying this is a good idea. 

I think my lips must absorb lip products because this lasted for so long when I wore it on Saturday. It looked as though I'd only just applied it even after having dinner. 

For €4.49 this was a total bargain.
The pictures don't do the colour justice, it's a lovely vibrant shade but not "in your face" so it's very easy to wear.
I have a feeling I'll be reaching for this lipstick every time I do my makeup over the next couple of months.
I hope you enjoyed this review, thanks for stopping by. ♥ 

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Precious Polish - Pompous Purple Review

A couple of weeks ago, I contacted by Anita from Precious Polish and asked if I'd like to give one of her polishes a try.

I'm a total nail addict so of course I said yes. 

I didn't know what I was being sent other than the fact it was a glitter polish. 

When it arrived I was delighted to see it was a purple glitter called Pompous Purple which is part of the Glitterazzi range.

The polish is loaded with medium sized purple hexagons and tiny little golden specks that add a lovely shimmer in natural lighting.

All the glitter pieces are solvent resistant so there's no bleeding or wearing away of colour when you pop this on top of another polish.

I decided to swatch it over a couple of different colours. 

On my index finger I'm wearing Essence - Free Hugs with two coats of Pompous Purple

On my middle finger is Wet n Wild -Through the Grapevine with one coat of Pompous Purple

On my ring finger I have two coats of Pompus Purple over a clear base coat

On my baby finger is Barry M - Grey with one coat of Pompous Purple

As you can see, one coat gives a good layer of glitter and looks very pretty and subtle on darker base colours.
Two coats are necessary on top of lighter base shades or the glitter looks a little sparse. 

What I loved about this polish is that it didn't catch on my clothes or hair like a lot of glitter polishes can. 

I didn't apply a top coat so I could see how well it would wear. 

The only nail that chipped was the one with the pink Essence shade but I put that down to it being an Essence polish. 

Apart from that one small chip, I showered, washed my hair, did some house work, baked a cake and walked my dog without a single issue. 

By the third day I found the glitter was beginning to catch on things but it was nothing a layer of top coat wouldn't fix. 

Overall I'm very pleased with this nail polish.

If you pop over to the Precious Polish shop, you'll see that as well as the "Glitterazzi" range, there is a wide variety of non-glitter nail colours in the "A Splash of Colour" range. These all retail for €7.

That's not all though, Anita can hook you up with your own custom made polish. For €8 you can create a polish by selecting a shade from the Splash of Colour range and then picking up to two Glitterazzi shades to combine with it. 

I know I'll be getting my hands on some more Precious Polishes very soon and I suggest you give them a whirl too. 

They're surprisingly good quality, there's a huge variety to choose from and with the option of creating your own polish, these are a winner in my book. 

Let me know if you decide to give them a try! 

Thanks for reading :) 

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Budget Buy: Essence XXL Shine Lipgloss

I don't buy a lot of Essence products. I think I tend to associate the brand with 14 year olds and bad quality nail varnish. That being said, on the rare occasion that I do purchase an item from the Essence stand, I usually fall in love with it.

I picked this lipgloss up on a whim a couple of weeks ago and I haven't stopped using it since.

This lipgloss comes in multiple shades, ranging from bright pinks to nudes.

I got the shade 24 Just Gorgeous because I was looking for a nice Spring-y pink shade.
First off, I have to say this smells amazing. It's sweet but not sickly and just smells very pink.
It has a straight applicator which I quite like, I find it's a bit easier to control than a doe foot applicator.

This is a high shine gloss and is well pigmented.

The gloss effect lasts up to 2 hours when you aren't eating or drinking.
The pigment however, stays on until you chose to remove it.
I wore this gloss from 9am to 10pm last week, reapplied it 3 times and when I got home I had to use a lip scrub to remove the left over patches of pink.
I can't recommend this highly enough considering it was less than €3!
It's the perfect shade to add a touch of Spring to your look as we move away from dark berry lips.
I'm definitely going to pick up another few shades of this lipgloss next time I'm out.
You can find Essence stands in Penneys, Sam McCauley's and most other pharmacies.
Let me know if you plan to try this out.
Have you ever disregarded a brand or product because it was too cheap?
Let me know :)
Thanks so much for reading. ♥

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L'oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara Review

I don't know where to begin with this mascara. I loved the results but disliked everything else about it.
I'm just going to break it down so that you can see just what I thought of it.

Miss Manga features a 360 degree flexible conical wand meant for "effortless application".

I have no idea why they included this feature because other than being completely pointless, it makes for such a messy application. The wand bounces as you run it through your lashes so it splashes around your face. This flexible wand is the main selling point of this mascara and unfortunately, also it's downfall.

This mascara is formulated with "collagen spheres and polymers for ultimate volume and hold", both of which it delivers. It's buildable if you work quickly but if you allow one layer to dry before moving on to the next, it will become clumpy.

I found it quite difficult to apply to my lower lashes. It's as if it just wouldn't stick to them and by the end I had more mascara on my eye area than my lashes. I'm putting the mess down to the fact that I'm used to a spoon shaped wand though.

The first time I used this, I had to redo my left eye twice. Rather than my lashes fanning out, they stuck together and managed to produce 5 very thick lashes. I'm blaming the wobbly wand for this.
Even though I really didn't enjoy anything about using this mascara, the results were pretty amazing.

With the help of a Q-Tip to remove any mess, I was left with long, defined, thick lashes. I asked a few friends and family members what they thought and everyone agreed that my lashes looked wonderful.

Depending on how much lash action you like going on, this would be ideal for a smokey eye look or a night out.

I doubt I'll be repurchasing this when it runs out just because of the bendy wand. I love the formula and the results, I just didn't get on well with the application process.

Have you tried this mascara? How did you like it? Let me know in the comments. :) 

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