NARS CHRISTOPHER KANE OUTER LIMITS EYESHADOW

Nars have just released a new collection in collaboration with Christopher Kane for Summer 2015. In the collection are four lip glosses, one single eye shadow, one eyeshadow duo, a bronzer and a multiple. All of the products are so colourful and bright and are inspired by the nature of neon. I have so many eyeshadow palettes including a couple of Nars ones but have never been drawn into buying a single pan eyeshadow on its own. Nars eye shadows have never disappointed me and I have always been pleased with the results and the sleek packaging meaning they're ideal for travel.

The limited edition shade is called Outer Limits and is a gorgeous rose gold shimmer. It’s a lovely iridescent peachy tone with hot pink flecks of glitter. In my opinion, it’s the star of the collection and when I saw it was coming soon I knew I had to buy one for myself. You can apply one layer for a sheer wash of colour or build it up for a more intense look. The Nars eye shadows are buttery and glide straight onto the skin. It’s long wearing, grease-resistant and can be applied dry or with a dampened brush for a more dramatic effect. I think it works best by using your finger to pat on the colour, I do like to use an eyeshadow primer before applying though. The glitter is chunky and causes a little bit of fall out but not enough to put me off using it. I also like to wear this in the corner of my eyes or lining underneath my eyes to highlight. As this shade is semi-translucent I'm most likely to wear this on top of another similar shade. I don't have anything like it in my collection, it’s so unique and pretty! I think this would look perfect on a night out or a special occasion with just black eyeliner on the lids.

Outer Limits is priced at £18.00, I purchased my eye shadow from Selfridges as it's currently out of stock on the Nars website. I was also tempted by the really wearable lip glosses in the collection. I also love the promotional images that stand alongside the collection. I went to the Birmingham Bullring at the weekend, they were applying the range in the shopping centre and it seemed to be really popular, if you're tempted I'd be quick!

Have you checked out the Christopher Kane collaboration with Nars?

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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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TOPSHOP MAKE-UP HAUL - STOCKING FILLERS

I don’t shop for make-up in Topshop very often but whilst searching their website for winter boots I found a few pieces that caught my eye. Firstly, this nail polish called Stars and Stripes, which is obviously inspired by the American flag. I thought this was a really fun top coat and would look perfect during the party season over a glossy red. It has chunks of blue and red pieces, silver glitter and white stars. I have used a few Topshop nails polishes in the past and have found them to be really long wearing and their colour range is great. I found this nail polish fast drying on the nails and the coverage is perfect and doesn’t clump all the glitter into one area. The other thing I knew I had to add to my basket were these iridescent eye shadows. I don’t think I have tried an eyeshadow from Topshop before but I thought these were really unique. The Chameleon Glow on the left is called Wax and Wane and is purple and silver duo chrome. The one on the right is called Shuffle The Cards and is a golden and bronze duo chrome. Again, these are perfect to wear to a Christmas party and it’s nice to experiment with a few different colours other than the usual neutral shades. These multi-use powders are really pigmented and can be used as an eyeshadow or a facial highlight. I think these would look lovely layered over a cream eyeshadow for intense colour to create a multi-dimensional effect. These shadows can be used dry with a brush, with fingers or a wet brush for a more intense look all over the lid.  But If you’re not a fan of shimmer you won’t like these! I also had to pick up this Gingerbread Man Hair Srunchie which you can see in the background and of course a few pairs of Christmas Socks. Any of these items are great stocking fillers and all work really well during the festive season. Topshop Make-up is now sold on Feelunique.com

What do you think of Topshop Make-up?

MARC JACOBS BEAUTY - THE LOLITA PALETTE

I have been eyeing up the Marc Jacobs beauty collection from the minute it came out. The collection is currently not available in the UK, so when I was on Italian soil I was adamant that I had to find a Sephora and choose something to try. I actually ended up going into three Sephora’s to find the Lolita palette which has been popular amongst beauty bloggers, and only one store had it in stock. My love for beauty has grown over the years and my collection has grown along with it. My one weakness has to be eye shadow palettes – especially nudes, as they are too pretty not to have in my collection.

The Lolita palette has a range of nude shades and for me appeared to be the most wearable. The palette has seven shadows which are really pigmented and long wearing. The set contains a matte off-white cream, matte nude, matte dark coffee brown, metallic warm pink with iridescent glitter, iridescent champagne pink sheen, light peach sheen, rosy copper sheen, swatches below. 

My only wish was that the different colours had cute names like the palettes themselves. There are four other palettes in the range including; The Vamp, The Tease, The Starlet and The Siren.

There are so many looks you can create from this palette, taking day looks with just one wash of colour to night by creating more of a smokey eye. The shadows are buttery, blend really easily and are crease resistant with a primer. The palette feels really luxurious and with seven shadows works out at good value for money at $59. I’m in love with the black sleek packaging which is so stylish and compact. The palette also comes in a little pouch which is great for travelling. I’m not a big fan of the applicator that comes with it, but I just use one of my normal make-up brushes.

After getting my first taste of Marc Jacobs, I’m pretty excited to try more from the collection. After seeing Estee’s (essiebutton) Sephora Haul video, I am now lusting over the MASSIVE bronzer in the collection. Sephora now ship to the UK but you have to spend a minimum of $75 to get the $10 shipping rate, I guess that’s easily done. Keeping on my eye shadow obsession, I am also lusting after the new Bobbi Brown Surf & Sand Eye Palette and Mac's Cool/Warm x15 Pan Palettes, I need to stop myself!

Have you tried anything from the Marc Jacobs beauty line?

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