Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette

I am a huge fan of the Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes, but for some reason I have never ventured into any of their other products until now. I fell in love with the Gwen Stefani blush palette the minute the first pictures of it were released and I knew it was something I HAD to add to my collection. So on a recent trip to Newcastle with my other half, I eventually purchased it and have absolutely fell in love with it since.

Housed in a white and gold palette, are 6 beautiful blush shades ranging from a light barbie pink, a bronzer to a champagne highlight. First up we have Cherry a light cool toned pink that has a very slight sheen to it. Easy is my favourite of the bunch, a gorgeous deep rose pink with golden shimmer. The highlighter in the palette is a true champagne colour packed with shimmer. There is also a bronzer thrown in there too Lo-Fi, it is a completely matte medium brown and although it is slightly on the orangey side it is still a lovely shade. That I can get away with using, to warm up my complexion. Hush is another rosy pink that actually shows up as more of a shimmery brown shade on me. OC is the sheerest of them all that took a lot of building up in my swatch. It's a coral shade with a beautiful pink sheen to it. I just wish that it was a bit more pigmented as I've really been wanting a shade like this in my collection.

All in all I really like this palette and although some of the shades could do with a bit more pigmentation, I do think that for once I will actually use every one of them. All the colours blend really well and wear for about 6-8 hours. I think it would be the perfect travel companion because it has everything you need for on the cheeks and is something everyone needs in their make up collection. It seems to be sold out everywhere at the minute except Selfridges, and costs £35.

Much Love, 

Gemma xo.

High End Make Up Haul

Hi Everyone. Back with a haul for you today. These are the more expensive make up bits I have purchased over the past few months.

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot 

I absolutley adore this product! It was part of Benefits Christmas Collection and I was lucky enough to get the very last one on the House Of Fraser website after hunting everywhere for it. It contains 6 very generous sized blushers, Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb, Hoola (Bronzer), Coralista and Rockateur. A 1.5g sample of Watts Up Highligher and a teeny tiny brush. All for the amazing prize of just £29.50. The Rockateur blush in here is actaully full size and would cost £23.50 alone so you can see just how great value for money this product really is. I know you can't get hold of it anymore but I couldn't not share it with you all.

MAC Studio Fix Fluid

Next up is a old favourite of mine, MAC's Studio Fix Fluid in NC15. I used to swear by this foundation but haven't actually purchased one for a number of years now. The coverage is excellent and the staying power is one of the best I have come across. Many people find this foundation too heavy and cakey but for my combination skin it is just right. The pump is actually one I bought a few years back hence why it looks so grubby but it works, so why buy a new one right? I bought this in the Selfridges sale for around £19 the price it was when I first started buying it!

Urban Decay Naked 2

   

I seem to be working my way backwards when it comes to the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. I started with Naked 3, I then decided this one was a must buy and I'm sure I will eventually purchase the original to complete the collection. Naked 2 is the more cool toned of the 3 palettes and suits my pale complexion perfectly. Since buying this, the 3rd palette which I absolutely adored has well and truely taken a back seat, and rarely sees the light of day. This one is much more wearable and is by far my favourite out of the 2. No.3 is definitely a speacial occasion kinda palette nowadays.

MAC 217

 

It's about time I got my hands on this blogger favourite. Gorgeously soft and perfect for blending eye shadow, I definitely understand the hype now. This brush is an absolute gem. Although I am rather disappointed of how wispy some of the bristles seem to have gone after a few washes, a few of them now point in different directions instead of being nice and straight. Very disappointing for the price of this little thing but I love it all the same, I'm just praying it doesn't get any worse.

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

Another firm blogger favourite, The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer is officially one of my favourite highlighters. Its the most perfect champagne highlight that looks great on my pale skin. It's super pigmented, you really only need a tiny touch of this to add a lovely glow to the face. This is going to last me a very long time. I'm still yet to even make a dent in it.

MAC Show Orchid & Rebel. YSL Rouge Pur Couture Le Mats 207

Last but certaintly not least, 3 beautiful lipsticks that I'm sure you have all heard of. MAC's Show Orchid is a very vivid fuschia pink with a somewhat blueish shimmer running through it. It is amazingly pigmented and I am so happy to finally own it after MAC made Pro Products more readily available to us here in the UK, once again I am in love! MAC Rebel is another much hyped product and once again for great reason. As with all MAC lipsticks I own the pigmentation is great and you only need one quick swipe for great colour pay off, and built up it is even more stunning. Rebel is a gorgeous berry colour that leans more towards pink on my lips. It is nothing like this picture that makes it look almost black, my apologies for that. And finally YSL Rouge Pur Couture Le Mats in 207 is a very on trend lipstick shade at the minute. Which I 100% purchased because I saw the beautiful Amelia Liana raving about it. It's a lovely dusky rose colour and is perfect for mimicing Kylie Jenner's famous 90's style pout. Although this is a matte shade it is not drying at all, it glides on and sits on the lips perfectly and feels like any other lipstick. Staying power is excellent and I very rarely need to top this up.

As you can tell I have been treating myself quite a lot since getting my new job and these are the more expensive picks from the bunch.

I hope you are all having a lovely day and enjoyed this post. Please do let me know of any posts you would like to see here on my blog as I am just getting back into the swing of things and would appreciate any ideas you may have.

Much Love Gemma 

Beauty Wishlist!

Hello again lovelies, I've decided to do a little wishlist post for you all today, because recently all I've really posted is my 10 Day You Challenge and I still haven't got round to taking any pictures. This will probably be a long list and I doubt I will ever purchase it all, but its nice to hope for lovely things isn't it?! :) lets get started.

1. Sleek Face Contour Kit - I've wanted this for ages! Everyone seems to have it and raves about it, I currently use the Bourjois chocolate bronzer to contour and I really don't like it, and even though I have my Dior Rose Diamond for a highlight, I think this would be better to use on a day to day basis. And its all in one container, which is always more convenient :) My Superdrug doesn't stock Sleek anymore for some bizarre reason so I'll have to get it online instead and hope the light palette matches my skin tone!

2. Macadamia Flawless Cradle - I think I might have first saw Macadamia Flawless on thesundaygirl's blog and it really appealed to me. It's a cleansing conditioner that comes out of the can as a foam then lathers to a lovely thick cream which is great to both shampoo and condition the hair. I actually hate 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioners but this is apparently amazing so I really want to try it. Whilst looking on feelunique.com I spotted this cradle that comes with the Flawless cleanser (100ml), a 30ml Macadamia Oil and an Oil Infused Comb. If you bought all the products separately it would come to £46 but this cradle is £21.88 which is an absolute bargain and I love the look of that comb!!

3. MAC Lipsticks - I have my eyes on a few MAC Lipsticks at the minute, which are Rebel, Velvet Teddy (only because it's apparently Megan Fox's go to nude and I am in love with that woman) Costa Chic (thanks to a recent post by Kayleigh from CoutureGirl) Candy Yum Yum and Chatterbox. If you can't tell I love MAC lipsticks and really want to start a collection!!

4. Origins Clear Improvements Mask - My skin really annoys me with its huge clogged pores (sorry that sounds vile!) and apparently this is a wonder product for both these problems. So I want to try it out! At £20 though its a bit steep so I still haven't took the plunge and bought it.

5. Emma Hardie 2 Piece Cleansing System - Again the Emma Hardie Natural Lift & Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm is meant to be amazing and I really want to try it out. You can buy this cleansing set including the balm, a face cloth and Aromatherapy Infused Rose Hip Exfoliating Seeds for £38 on QVC  and I really want it!

6. Urban Decay Palettes, Naked, Naked 2 and Naked Basics - Since the first Naked Palette came out I have been dying to get my hands on it and each time a new one comes out I want that as well. They all  look like amazing palettes and I can't choose which one I would prefer so I want the full collection. #typicalbblogger :P

7. Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers - I have the Enrapture Totem Styler which I absolutely adore! And these look just as good. I really enjoy adding volume to my hair with velcro rollers and these look so much better, at both volumising and curling your hair quickly and easily. I really want to try them out.

8. Illamasqua Speckle Polish in Scarce - Ever since the I'mperfection came out I have been eyeing up these bird egg inspired polishes! I've never seen anything like them before, they look like a really interesting and different polish. I would of course get this beautiful pink colour 'Scarce' because I am obsessed with anything pink :)

9. L'Oreal Powder Tecni Art Super Dust - I've only heard this product mentioned once, and that was by Tanya Burr so I immediately wanted to try it out! It apparently gives the most amazing volume to the hair and I love nothing more than voluminous hair! But for over £10 I am a bit hesitant to try it out. Maybe one day!

Hope you enjoyed this slightly different post. If you have any of these products please do let me know what you think of them. And if you want to check any of them out click on the name of the product which will take you straight to the website you can buy them from :)

Much Love Gemma xo.