URBAN DECAY NAKED ON THE RUN LIMITED EDITION PALETTE

Urban Decay has long been one of my favourite makeup brands since I was a teenager. I have loved Urban Decay eyeshadows and think they're the best formulation and have the best colour range on the market. The Naked palettes are some of my most used palettes, the newest palette is called Naked On The Run which is limited edition and includes a whole face of make-up in one. It contains five eyeshadows, a travel sized Perversion Mascara, a travel size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in the shade Stag, a full-size Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss in the shade Sesso, a bronzer, a blusher and a highlighter. This palette is perfect for travel as it means all you need is this and your base products, you can create quite a few different looks from day to night. I featured this in my Spring Beauty Wish List post here and finally caved and had to have it in my collection. Urban Decay actually say the palette comes with six eyeshadows, including an extra large dose of 5050 the perfect all-over shade but I like to use this as a highlighter as well. The eyeshadow shades from left to right are; Dive, Fix, Resist, Dare and Stun which are all new shades. Dive is a metallic rose/golden shimmer, Fix is a soft taupe matte shade, Resist is a medium metallic taupe, Dare is a medium brown matte shade and Stun is a metallic bronze/light gold shimmer. I like that you can create quite a few different eye looks, from pinks to golds and I even use the matte shades through my eyebrows. You can build the colour of these shadows, they're so buttery and easy to blend. I think it's great that you can change up the lip colour or eyeliner if you have other shades in your collection. And now Urban Decay have started selling the travel-sized mascara separately, which means when you run out of the current one you can replace the gap without leaving it empty. I also really like the Lipglosses (I have reviewed a different shade on my blog here), I love the unique longer applicator, the minty taste and the high shine finish they create, without feeling sticky. The shade Sesso is a lovely rose pink with shimmer and the Eye pencil is a deep brown satin shade, so nice to have something different to black. I was a little scared of the bronzer/blusher, the bronzer looks a little orange in the pan, but transfers beautifully onto my skin and blends out effortlessly. The blush creates a lovely pop of colour to the cheeks and this is a really wearable shade.

I really like the packaging, it is a little chunky but it's lightweight and does contain so many products! It includes a generous sized mirror and I really like the rose gold shiny Safari inspired outer packaging which is a bit more upmarket than the original Naked palettes. This would be ideal to take away if you only had room for a carry-on. Urban Decay have definitely got it right again! It's such a wearable palette, I can see myself getting so much use out of this. I like that their all new shades so you won't already own them in your collection and have duplicates. The palette is priced at £37.00 and is limited edition, so who knows how long it will be around for. I'm also so excited about Urban Decay's new Revolution High Colour Lip glosses and Afterglow Eight-hour Powder Blushers, I will definitely have to try these next!

Have you tried Naked On The Run?

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NARS VIRTUAL DOMINATION CHEEK PALETTE

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BENEFIT MAJORETTE CREAM BLUSHER

Benefit are well known for their boxed powder blushers in their cute, compact packaging. Coralista, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb and Dallas are a few of my favourite shades. The box powders are handy as they come with a brush, mirror and plenty of product which lasts ages. The newest make-up item to the Benefit collection is the Majorette Cream Blusher. The blush is a cream to powder formula, which you can wear alone or layer under your favourite boxed blush for more colour. The shade is a lovely pink peach which is definitely my sort of colour. There is no shimmer which is actually quite refreshing as many of their boxed blushers do, but it still gives a nice healthy glow to the cheeks. The formulation is creamy and a little goes a long way. You can apply this with your fingers or I like to use the Real Techniques Stippling Brush and apply it to the top of my cheeks. The shade is really natural, the formulation is long wearing and definitely stays around longer than my powder blushers. You could even use this on the lips too. I've always said I'm much more of a powder blush kinda-girl, but cream blushers are becoming more and more popular and brands are bringing out multi-use products which are so much easier to use on the go as you don't need tools.

The packaging is so cute, much bigger than I thought it was going to be, but still compact. The round, scalloped edged compact is a gorgeous item to have handy in your handbag. The product didn't come with any outer packaging, which I thought was strange for Benefit, but the blush is pretty enough on it's own. The blusher also has a lovely, sweet pomegranate scent which is nice when you're applying it. The name of the product is much more suited to the American market, but I think it fits in nicely with the rest of Benefit's make-up line. The blush is priced at £23.50 for 7g of product. I'm really looking forward to using this more throughout Autumn, another great make-up release from the brand, they have been on point this year with their new products. It will be nice to see if they release any more shades in the future. 

Will you be trying Benefit's newest cheek product?

& OTHER STORIES BEAUTY - SANDAL PINK BLUSHER

Blusher has to be one of my favourite beauty products to buy, I must admit I have quite a few. I like the variety of colours and most of the formulas available, but powder form has to be my favourite. & Other Stories is the sister brand to High-Street stores H&M and Cos, it’s clothing line is similarly priced to Zara and their beauty line is similar to Topshop make-up. I bought this & Other Stories blush a while back and it has to be one of my most used in my collection. I picked up the shade Sandal Pink, the shade is a shimmery, peachy pink and has a strong pigmentation that gives the cheeks a healthy glow. I always seem to pick coral, peach shades of blush as I think they go best with my skin tone and hair colour. There are lots of shades to choose from, but for me this blusher gets more use at the weekend or evenings than every day because it picks up so much colour.

I like the simple, clear, magnetic packaging. I'm sure it won't look as nice as I use more and more of the product. The product is buttery, creamy and blends nicely into my base. It’s a soft powder for adding sun-kissed colour to your face, I like to use the Real Techniques blush brush with this product. Blush doesn’t seem to last too long on me, but because this shade is so pigmented it stays put for longer than other formulas. I like the use of the Romeo and Juliet quote embossed into the product, 'Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days...’ I know this will disappear with use but it’s a nice touch than just a plain compact. It would have been nice to see this throughout the brand on other make-up items. I think you get a good amount of product for the price, £10.00 for 5.5g of product and very similar quality to my favourite everyday Soap and Glory Love at First Blush.

As well as their own range, & Other Stories also offers branded make-up including brands such as The Balm. I've also tried bath and body products from & Other Stories, I especially love their body scrubs and body butters.  The only thing that puts me off the brand is the £6 p&p online as I don't live near a store. But I do need to try more of their make-up range after really enjoying the blush. 

What are your & Other Stories recommendations?

CHARLOTTE TILBURY MAKEUP - CHEEK TO CHIC BLUSHER & BAR OF GOLD HIGHLIGHTER

I have wanted to try Charlotte Tilbury make up for a while now, she launched her collection into Selfridges last year. I bought these items from the online store as I don’t live near a Selfridges store. I could have brought everything from her collection but I decided to plump for two items; The Bar of Gold Highlighter which I believe is limited edition and one of the Cheek to Chic – Swish & Pop Blusher in the shade Love Glow, which I have been lusting over for ages.

The light reflecting highlighter creates sculpted cheekbones and glowing skin. I like to brush this on to cheekbones, temples, nose, cupid’s bow and decolletage. It’s the perfect gold shimmer and comes in such cute packaging. It’s not the same stunning, luxury packaging that most of the collection comes in. The highlighter is priced at £30.00 for 5.5g of product, you would expect for the price of the product it would come in a sturdier casing, but this is the only downfall to the product. I love my skin to look dewy and this is the ideal product to make it happen. Charlotte shows you in the video (below) to concentrate on the C-shape that hugs the eye area, right up to the temples. She also gives the great tip of putting the highlighter in the corner of your eyes, which I will be trying. This would be great to use on a holiday as you can use this on the body too. The website says it's the last chance to buy this product, which is a shame, but get it when you can!

The blusher is fool proof, Charlotte has made it easier to apply colour in the right places by producing a product which has one coral shade round the side and a more prominent pink shade in the middle. You use it by putting the lighter colour on your upper cheeks and then the pop of colour on the apples of the cheeks. I love the packaging of the blushers, a cute little compact with a mirror and you seem to get a generous amount of product. This blusher is priced at £30.00 for 8g of product. The shade is a lovely, pink coral, which creates a gorgeous sheen on the cheeks. In the video (below), the blusher really gives life to the models cheeks and I'm really impressed with the pigmentation and lux finish.

The products in the collection aren't cheap, but you’re paying for a make-up artists collection, so I feel the quality and brains behind each product justify the price tag. If I continue to enjoy these products I will be excited to try more from the range. I have my eye on the beach sticks and the wonderglow beauty balm.

Have you tried anything from the Charlotte Tilbury collection?

LAURA MERCIER CUSTOM ARTIST PORTFOLIO - PETITE

I first set my eyes on this Beauty Portfolio whilst shopping in Selfridges' beauty hall. The sales assistant was totally selling it, but I knew I couldn't part with that much money there and then on essentially a make-up bag. But last month, I was lucky enough to win one when I entered a twitter competition with Space NK! Laura Mercier has to be one of my favourite high-end brands, so I was so excited to receive something which had been on my wish list for a long time.
The exclusive Laura Mercier Custom Artist Portfolio - Petite - £85* is an all-in-one Beauty Portfolio for home and away. This exclusive organiser features two custom designed removable mesh cosmetic bags and a double-sided pocketed brush page. The mesh cosmetic bags are magnetic so they are perfect to transfer into your handbag for daily use. The set also includes four eyeshadows in; Pale Pink, Granite, Morning Dew and Sea Storm. A Blusher in; Rose Petal, a Lip Glace in Pink Prep and an Eye Pencil in Stone Slate which is a deluxe travel size. My favourite being the blush! The eyeshadows are so creamy and easy to blend - so I'm interested to discover more shades from the collection to fit into my palette.
The set is ideal for travelling and the 3-well custom compact means you can fit four shadows and a blusher and change them out when you like. The hard shell means it's quite bulky to fit into your luggage, but at least you know your make-up is all in one place and not going to get ruined at all. I have had lots of fun transferring some of my make-up into my organiser. I can't wait to use this some more when I'm staying away from home or on holiday, it is ideal for weekend trips if you want a variety of make-up in your stash.

What do you think of Beauty Portfolios?

*Won in a Space NK twitter competition

BEAUTY HAUL - USING UP MY NO7 VOUCHERS

My No7 £5 off vouchers had been building up for a few weeks, so I thought it was about time I spent them up before they ran out of date. I normally spend my vouchers on skincare items but a few make-up items caught my eye, so I thought I would share them with you. To be honest nearly all of my buys were impulse purchases, but why let a voucher go to waste? It is free money at the end of the day.

I love this blusher, the shade is 'Honey'. I thought it would be a great every day colour to use and it'll go with any coloured lip. The dusky pink shade is very natural on the cheeks and it is also a great little compact for on the go. The blush is priced at £9.50, which I think is a real bargain when bought with a voucher.

Top to Bottom - Happy, Divine, Entice.

I bought three lip products. The first swatch is of a High Shine Lipgloss in the shade 'Happy'. A very baby pink colour with a slight shimmer. Again really affordable when used with a voucher, £9.00 normal priced. The second swatch is the shade 'Divine' and is part of the Moisture Drench Lipstick line. I find these lipsticks really moisturising on the lips and the pigmentation is really good. This shade is more of a peachy nude, and I love to wear this underneath the lipgloss. Priced at £10.00. The last lip product was 'Entice' from No7's Sheer Temptation line. This is my favourite of my No7 buys, in the tube the colour is a real deep plum, but on the lips it's a really light formula and such a lovely colour, bang on trend! Also priced at £10.00. I would really recommend this formulation, I think No7 lipsticks are really affordable and not drying at all.

This skin Illuminator was the only thing I had had my eye on, and I knew I had to spend a voucher on. I got the colour 'Peach', I think I will use this mixed with my foundation to brighten up my complexion. I think this is the perfect colour for various skin colours and a great summer essential to have in my make-up bag. This product is priced at £11.00 without a voucher, and I think it is certainly worth the price. The brush is quite strange, but I just squeeze the product on to my hand instead of using the brush on my face.

What have you spent your vouchers on?

No7 £5 off vouchers run out on the 15th of July.

Thank you for reading!x