Urban Decay Naked Palette: Worth the splurge?

Hey guys!

Today I wanted to talk about one of my all time favourite eye-shadow palettes the Urban Decay Naked Original palette. I really love this palette because I find the colours are absolutely perfect for me, they are warm browns and purples all of which have a slight gold undertone which look fantastic with pale skin and red hair, the shadows themselves are also really pigmented so you don't need to use a lot of product. I find that with eye-shadow its always best to go with warm colours as it can help bring some depth and warmth back into he face without having to use a bronzer (which does not suit me at all!).

In this palette you get 12 shadows 2 are matt and are lovely to use as a transition shade in the crease and the lighter matt shade called 'Naked' makes a beautiful everyday lid wash too! The other 10 shades in the palette are all satin and metallic finish, none of them are a foiled finish. These metallic shades are so smooth and buttery they just glide on and are super bendable, the matt shades are a bit stiff, and the satin finish colours are somewhere between to two.

This is what the palette actually looks like:

It also has a mirror in the lid which is a nice touch to have and I think with more premium products things like that should be a must because of the amount you pay. Also in the palette you get an eye-shadow brush, the one I have is double ended, one end is a flat shading brush and the other end a more fluffy blending brush, both of theses are really good quality and is good to have if your brush collection either isn't that big yet. 

These are the colours swatched on my arm:

The colours on my arm are in reverse order to the picture of the palette above. From top to bottom we have; Gunmetal, Creep, Hustle, Toasted, Darkhorse, Smog, Half Baked, Buck, Sidecar, Naked, Sin and finally at the bottom which you can barely see on my arm its so pale Virgin. 

My favourite colour to use in this palette is Half Baked which is the beautiful gold shade, it works fantastically in the centre of the lid as a strong pop of colour, which is what I have done below. This colour also works well with the rich warm browns of the palette Smog and Darkhorse and together they create a beautiful warm golden brown smoky eye. The shades Virgin and Sin also make great highlight shades for in the corner of they eye or on the brow bone. 

This is one of my favourite looks to create with this palette as I know the colours suit me and I can make it as intense or as soft as I want, this is it as a whole face look:

A couple of drawbacks to this palette are that I find Toasted and Hustle a bit stiffer than the rest and that makes them a bit harder to work with so I tend not tot favour them as much. One things that I don't particularly like about this product is the outside packaging as it has a velvety texture which looks lovely when its new but it picks up dust and dirt really easily which I don't like. The only other drawback to this palette is the price, its RRP is £38.00, this is a lot of money on £12 eye-shadows, and it is something you either have to save for or ask for it as a present, however the shadows are super pigmented so they last a really long time, I have had the palette in the picture for about a year now and I've still got a lot of product left.  

Overall I think that this palette is definitely worth investing in as the shades are absolutely beautiful and very good quality, they also suit my pale skin and red hair perfectly. A definite must I highly recommend this to everyone!

Love 

Elle 

Benefit Speed Brow: Best brow product for redheads?

Heya guys!

Today we are focusing in on what is good for us lovely redheads to use! Up first is brow products; having your brown 'on fleek' is all the rage at the moment with every brand from Anastasia Beverly Hills to Soap and Glory and every brand in-between coming out with brow pencils, gels, pomades, powders and creams its hard to find one that (A works well and (B works with red hair.

The biggest issue I have had whilst looking for a good brow product is getting the right colour; almost everything I have tested out is way too dark! Even eyebrow pencils formulated for blonde hair are still too dark and are often not warm enough to compliment our red hair. This is an issue I encountered at beauty counters, I would be very specific that I was after something to compliment my hair and that I wanted a more natural look and more often than not they would try and push a product that wasn't right for me apply it to my eyebrows and I would end up looking like I had slugs on my face. I was not impressed! Remember do not feel pressured by beauty counter girls (or guys) to buy something you don't think is right, always wear it around for the day and go outside to see what it looks like in natural light before you buy it, otherwise you can end up wasting your money on something that isn't right for you and you wont use.

I have also gone and made a few big brow errors so you guys don't have too! I have tried using a warm bronzer and a brow powder, don't do this as it smudges everywhere and bronzer's are often too orange for us! The reverse problem of using brow pencils. I also looked for a coppery tone eye shadow but it's nearly impossible to find them in non metallic shades I tried using MAC single eye shadow in Mythology but this just made me look like I had sparkly eyebrows, not the look I was going for!

So after many failures I think I have finally found a good brow product for redheads! Introducing the Benefit Speed Brow!

This product is a tinted brow gel, now normally the brow gels aren't warm enough to compliment red hair but this one is! It is just the right formulation to give a hint of colour to your brows, it deepens the colour slightly but not to the point where they look unnatural, and I like a more natural brow look as I feel as a redhead it can look really obvious if you try to enhance your brows, as I don't know about you others out there but my brows aren't very visible!

As some of you may have guessed from my last post I love a product that you can build up the colour with, this does the same. Just a quick brush over with the wand which is really good for shaping with and you are good to got for an every day natural look, or you can really work in a lot of product to get a more defined look. But make sure you do it quick as this stuff dries fast!

Onto the price this little baby has an RRP of £13 which puts it nicely in the mid range of brow products out there. Whilst you do only get 3g of product (the tube it comes in is pretty petite) it does last a long time, I've been using this one tube since September and as you can see there is still quite a bit left. I will be repurchasing soon!

So you can see what it looks like on on the left-hand side I have left my brow au natural and on the right I have applied it as I would for every day.

As you can see it helps shape your brow and does give a bit of colour but not too much as I think this is a nice natural look and it just helps me look that bit more polished. 

Overall I do not think this is going to be the best ever brow product for redheads but I think its a dammed good one, its not a prefect colour for redhead brows but it the best I've found so far and if you want that super defined look this isn't going to give you that, but I like it and thing it is one you should definitely have in your make-up bag! 

Love
Elle

 

Review: Clinique Chubby Sticks

Hello again!
During the Christmas sales I picked up lot's of products, mostly new ones but I also repurchased a few old favourites. So while I am still testing out some of my more new items I thought that I would start off with some reviews with my old faithful's.
Today is the turn of Clinique's Chubby Sticks, I have used these on and off for a few years now and I'm always looking out for more that will suit my complexion.
Here are 3 of my favourite Chubby Sticks:

From left to right I have the Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm in shade Amp'd Up Apple RRP £19.00, the Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes in shade Lot's o' Latte RRP £17.00 and on the right the Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Colour Balm in shade Chunkiest Chili RRP £17.00.
This is them swatched on my hand. (sorry the light isn't great)

First up the cheek stick, this shade is lovely and soft pink shade that has a really subtle grey undertone in it which is what makes it so soft and subtle, its so easy to apply just swipe it on the apples of your cheeks towards the top of your ear and blend in, I prefer to use my fingers for this as it warms up the product and this makes it blend so much better. This is a really nice blush to use as you can really build it up, I tend to use this for my every day going to work look as it just gives a subtle bit of colour.   

The eye stick is such a lovely latte colour hence the name, this stick is perfectly designed to be worked into your crease to give it a bit more emphasis and it goes along the lower lash line well too, its a bit too dark for everyday wear though it suits a bit more of a warm brown smoky eye look. This product works best blending with a finger due to its creamy consistency. The only drawback to this product is it is quite hard so you really need to work it into your lid to get the colour on which isn't fantastic. 

Finally is the lip Chubby Stick this is my all time favourite red lipstick! I love this colour is such a deep blue toned red that is perfect for my pale skin and red hair, its also has a lot of moisture in it so it doesn't dry out your lips and as mine are nearly always dry this is a huge plus. The colour of this lipstick is also really build-able so you can go from a slight lip enhancing colour to a full on red pout. The crayon shaped tip to this also makes it really easy to apply and get a nice crisp line from, it is also surprisingly long wearing too, this holds up on a cocktail night and doesn't transfer too badly either. If you get any of the chubby sticks then get this one! I have no drawbacks to this!

I hope you liked my review of these Chubby Sticks from Clinique
love Elle

My 2015 Favourites

Hello again,

To kick things off I thought I would give you guys a quick run down of my favourite products of 2015 for make-up and skin care, all of these just worked perfectly for me so let's get started! In no particular order:


1. Soap and Glory, Peaches and Clean Deep Cleansing Milk. RRP £8.00

 I loved this cleanser as I found it really did remove all my make-up very easily and also felt luxurious on my skin leaving it feeling soft and smooth after using it, which with my very dry skin was a big bonus! It also smells divine, like peaches and cream.

2. The Body Shop, Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream. RRP £13.00

I have always been a Vitamin E fan as I find that range is the one I constantly go back to as it works best for me and my skin. I thought I would give this a go in the colder months as I wanted something a bit more moisturising to stop my skin flaking and it did a wonderful job. This cream goes on so smoothly and absorbs in really quickly considering its an intense treatment, my skin felt soft all day and never once got tight which is a problem I often have. A new everyday favourite!

3. MAC, Mineralise Moisture SPF15 Foundation in NW13. RRP £29.00

I got this as a spring/summer foundation as I wanted something a bit lighter in coverage and to include an SPF, although I'm normally shade NW10 in MAC I went a shade darker for the summer as i have a bit more colour in my skin then and I was really pleased! This applied so easily weather with a brush or fingers, you could get a really nice light daytime coverage or layer it up for a medium coverage for when I wanted to do a bit more of a big look for going out. This is also a really moisturising foundation so it never dried me out when wearing it which is always a plus.

4. Natural Collection, Pressed Powder in shade Neutral. RRP £1.99

I found this when I needed an emergency powder to set my foundation with and its become a keeper! It gives a nice matt finish which I find ideal but doesn't clog up my pores which I found other powders did, also its surprisingly pale! Super convenient to have around and a very good price!

5. Clinique, Lash Power Mascara Long Wearing Formula in shade Black Onyx. RRP £19.00

I have always liked Clinique mascaras as I find they do not smudge or flake at all! So far my all time favourite brand for long wearing mascaras. This little guy has a long thin wand and shorter bristles which makes it brilliant at catching lashes giving really nice length and definition, but no volume you can build it a bit but generally speaking not much volume. What it is brilliant for is every day looks as it defines your lashes without being super obvious it gives just the right look for work or shopping. I use it every day for work/placement.

6. MaxFactor, False Lash Effect Clump Defy in shade Black Brown. RRP £11.99

This mascara was a brilliant all rounder, a small amount gave a really soft every day look whilst you could build it really easily to get a big last effect, it lengthened, separated volumized and curled! It is a great go to mascara the only slight draw back was it isn't quite as long wearing but I forgave it that because of the effect it has.

7. Lancome, Shine Lover Lipstick in shade 388. RRP £22.00

This was a little more luxury spend but I just fell in love with the colour a beautiful darker blue toned pink, what makes this a favourite to me is the build-ability of colour, just a subtle dab on and you just look like you have slightly darker lips naturally or you can built it up for a more statement look. As this is a sheer finish its really easy to play with and is really moisturising on the lips as well. On a side note the tube this comes in is beautiful and looks so nice on the shelf.

8. Maybelline, Baby Lips in shade Melon Mania. RRP £2.99

Last but not least is this tinted lip balm, I know the Baby Lips range has been out for ages but it took me until 2015 to get round to trying them. This was my favourite shade and it just altered my natural lip shade enough to make me look put together, as doing you lips just pulls any look together. This made it so easy as I didn't even need to look when applying and it gave me a slight tint as well as being really moisturising which I love, really good for on the go!

And that concludes my favourite products of 2015, I hope you liked some of them and maybe inspire some of you to give them a go.
Love
Elle

A little about my blog

Hello everyone!!

I am a Derby based student who has alaways had a love of cosmetics. I have struggled to find the right products for me in previous years due to having bright red hair and super pale skin (its also super dry!). Recently I have been looking through alot of blogs and vlogs and there is little to no advice out there for redheads, paticularly about what products look best on pale skin.

As a teenager I made alot of makeup mistakes, ALOT of mistakes! I even once put bronzer on my eyebrows (yes it really happened), but I have now got to the point where I have picked up a few tips and tricks and have figured out what works for me.

So now I have decided to share what I have found out on this blog and hopefully help out a few of you who are struggling to find what is right for you and generally share what I think of new and old products that I love and also hate. Hoepfully I'll also discover a few gems along the way to share with you guys!

Lots of love
Elle x