High-end Products Worth The Splurge

I love a good splurge. I think we have all gathered that by now. As a lover of high-end and luxury beauty products I thought I would share some products that I believe to be worth the splurge. Spending your precious pennies on a beauty product can be risky business not knowing if it will perform to your expectations or not. So if you are somebody who doesn’t buy a lot of high end products or if you are hoping to make a little splurge soon then hopefully my picks can give you a little reassurance. Even if you are a luxury fiend then maybe my picks will also offer a little push to go splurge some more, sorry!

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I couldn’t not mention one of the most hyped up high end products! The Urban Decay Naked palettes are hugely popular and for good reason. Having built up my collection of them all, I can definitely say that they are truly worth the hype and the splurge. Whilst all of them may not be necessary, I think the original palette is a great all-rounder. Full of warm bronze-y neutral tones, its a palette for everyone. Whilst the shade range is great, the quality of the shadows is also incredible. Urban Decay have really nailed a great buttery long lasting eyeshadow formula that every beauty lover needs to try! My full review of this palette here.

Charlotte Tilbury Lipsticks

I love a good lipstick especially a luxurious one. It’s always nice to treat yo’ self to nice new lipstick and what better than the queen herself Charlotte Tilbury. Her makeup line is truly exquisite and her lipsticks are no exception. Both her matte and moisturising creamy lipstick range are incredibly impressive. The matte formula is one of the best matte formulas I’ve ever tried with a seriously comfortable application and finish. Perfect for people who aren’t particularly fond of the feeling of many matte lipsticks. Her K.I.S.S.I.N.G range is also really nice offering a moisturising formula that is pretty impressive in terms of longevity! They are pricey but so worth it in mu opinion! My favourites include Bitch Perfect and Lost Cherry.

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

I always struggle with drugstore foundations and I truly believe that splurging on a base product is so worth it! High end foundations tend to offer a much better formula in terms of how it applies and also the lasting power which is very important in a foundation. My particular favourite is Nars Sheer Glow, a great all round base. It offers a satin buildable finish that doesn’t cling to dry patches or look cakey on the skin. It also has impressive longevity making it a great reliable foundation. Definitely one to try! My full review is here.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighters 

Highlighters are just everything, right? For me, nothing quite beats the Becca formulation. Their highlighters are like no other. I have two of the pressed highlighters in Opal and Champagne Pop and my goodness are they beautiful! The give off a serious killer glow to the skin with incredible pigmentation. Although the creamy buttery texture is what makes these even more amazing. They glide on so beautifully on the skin without looking powdery or with chunks of glitter, just like smooth gold!

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

Oh how I love a good primer. From what I’ve tried, I’ve never actually found a good drugstore primer that works and none that can beat my love for the Smashbox one. I feel like this primer is a bit of a love or a hate thing but what it achieves is so impressive. The texture is probably the thing that bothers most people out of preference but for me I quite like it. It doesn’t feel greasy or slippy on the skin and leaves a smoothing effect perfecting for starting makeup. The longevity powers it has though is what makes this. Paired under foundation it takes my makeup lasting hours longer than it would have without. It is basically magic!

Nars Creamy Concealer

Another incredibly hyped product but for good reason. This concealer is well worth the extra pennies. The thick but creamy formula works wonders on blemishes and spots offering full coverage that isn’t cakey or clingy. It also wears well throughout the day unlike many other concealers that get a little drying as the day goes on. Despite the thickness, I don’t find this drying at all although I personally don’t like the texture for under the eyes however on blemishes it is a dream! Full review here.

What are your favourite high end products?

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2015 Beauty Favourites: Eye & Lip Products

Now that you’ve seen my base and cheek favourites from the year of 2015, it is time to move on to the second and final half of my yearly beauty favourites. This time around I am talking about my favourite eye and lip products from 2015 and again a lot of these will be no surprise to you! So I am going to quit rambling and get on with it!

Eyeshadow

2015 was the year of eyeshadow for me. It was always the one product I neglected because I never really understood the difference it made and I never had much of an idea on how to apply it either. Although last year saw me finally pick up a few blending brushes and get blending to something that actually looked half decent. Now we have reached the end of 2015, I can’t even go without eyeshadow, it is my favourite thing to apply and I am truly obsessed with buying more eyeshadows.  After hearing so many rave reviews I just had to try out the By Terry Ombre Blackstars and I am so glad I did. These are just incredible. It took me a while to truly appreciate how good these are but they are seriously one of the best eyeshadow products I’ve ever used and the best eyeshadow sticks. I have the shades Misty Rock (which I spoke about here) and Bronze Moon which are two truly gorgeous and unique shades. The formula though makes these even more amazing, they are seriously creamy and glide on super smoothly and are super easy to blend. If that’s not enough, they last for ages too. So yeah, I quite like them!

In terms of palettes, 2015 was definitely the year I became a real life eyeshadow palette hoarder. I just love a good palette! Whilst there was a few I could have mentioned, there was two that really stole my heart this year and two I know will become long term favourites. First up, the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette which I raved about here. This was such a surprise love for me as it was so super affordable yet such great quality. The colour range is just perfect and right up my street. I am still so impressed with this and it is definitely one that everyone needs to pick up.

The Urban Decay Naked palettes will always be mine and everyone else’s one true love. I am lucky enough to own all of them including the newbie Smoky palette although I truly fell for the second edition (review here) to the Naked lineup and I think I can call it my favourite of the four. The taupe shades are just so beautiful and are so versatile for everyday wear or an evening look. Of course the quality of Urban Decay eyeshadows are also just truly incredible!

Mascara and Brows

These next two products are probably quite obvious mentions if you are a regular reader of SBL. First up, my mascara pick has to be the Benefit They’re Real. I truly realised why this is such a cult product half way through the year after trying it out and then switching my choices up. I eventually came back to this and I just love it. It just adds oomph to my lashes and adds length and volume and paired with my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers it is dream come true lashes!

Another Benefit product came to the rescue in saving my brows. I picked up Benefit Gimme Brow (review here) during the year and it has just became my go-to for brows. It is so easy and convenient to simply swipe through your brows but it is still pretty buildable and really defines them. I’ve actually pretty much finished my tube of this which lasted so long (considering the size and cost is off putting!) so I will definitely be repurchasing this!

Lip Liner and Lipstick

Lip products will always be my one real love when it comes to beauty so I did have a little difficulty narrowing this down. 2015 was the year for lip liner and Mac’s liner options will always remain top for me. Their Soar lipliner became a staple in my collection and a cult product for many beauty enthusiasts. The gorgeous mauve plum-y nude shade is just the perfect undercoat to so many of my favourite lipsticks so is a no brainer really. The formula is great too and glides on smoothly to create a good base for lipstick.

Speaking of Mac, I will always have a love for a good Mac lipstick. I’ve enlarged my collection quite a bit over the year and grown a few favourites. I have a love for the mauve My lips but better kinda shades and Mac Mehr is the perfect fit. It is a little more intense than just a basic nude especially when combined with Soar but it is such a gorgeous and unique shade. The matte formula is also long wearing as you would expect but still comfortable without being drying. Another Mac fave was Mac Plumful which I picked up at the start of the Autumn season. This is my first in the Lustre finish but it is super comfortable and moisturising on the lips. The plum-y pink shade is also so gorgeous and different to anything I own.

Nars are one of my favourite makeup brands so it was no surprise I was going to love their matte lip pencils. I honestly think these are one of the best lip products around. They are so long lasting it is unreal but still feel comfortable to wear as well as coming in a collection of pretty shades. I have quite a few but I thought I would just mention two of my ultimate faves from the year. Whenever I need a red lip, I always go for Nars Cruella, probably my favourite ever red. It is quite a deep red but one you can rely on to stay put whilst you eat! The other shade was my Summer love, the unfortunately limited edition Iberico which is a gorgeous orange-y red. A shade that is totally unique to my collection and one I can’t wait to wear again come Summer time!

Last but not least, 2015 saw the discovery of Charlotte Tilbury. I finally took the plunge this year and picked up a couple of her gorgeously packaged products that soon developed into an addiction! I now have four of the Matte Revolution lipsticks and I can say they are truly worth the splurge! The matte formula is not what you would expect, they are seriously creamy and so comfortable to wear. As I said I have four shades from the line up but a couple of my faves are the truly gorgeous Lost Cherry; a beautiful bright coral red perfect for Summer (review here)and Miss Kensington; my perfect nude.

What was your favourite eye/lip products from 2015?

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Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

When I first started getting into makeup, one of my first high end makeup products was the original Urban Decay Naked palette, a palette I still adore to this day. Since then, I have grown my little collection of Naked palettes to complete status well that was until a newbie arrived on the scene. Enter the Naked Smoky palette, the newest addition to the Naked range. Obviously I couldn’t let my collection down and had to purchase this. The palette is complete of dark and smoky shades all fit for the perfect smoky eye whether it be an everyday look or a full on night time smoky eye. Compared to the other Naked palettes, this is up there as one of my favourites and a palette I know I will get a lot of use out of.

First things first, we have to mention the gorgeous packaging. Without a doubt this is by far the best packaging of all the Naked palettes. The exterior packaging has a hard casing and feels pretty sturdy especially in comparison to the packaging of the original palette. The palette also features a magnetic closure making it easy to open and close as well as an improved top lid which makes the palette open further. The packaging design is also super beautiful, a grey and black smoked out pattern matching the smoky theme of the palette. Also, you can expect to find the usual decent sized mirror inside and also a double ended brush which is actually different to the brush included in the earlier palettes. I tend to stick with using my own brushes but it is nice to find a decent enough brush in a palette that doesn’t include spongy applicators!

I’ve heard a lot of people saying that the quality of this palette doesn’t live up to the other Naked palettes although I can’t really say that I agree. I find the quality of these eyeshadows superb as you would expect. The pigmentation is there, they are super blend-able and they are also pretty long wearing too! I never really found any application problems as the eyeshadows are all a dream to work with. In terms of the shades included in this palette, there is a mix of finishes. With 12 shadows in total, the palette is arranged by finish starting with four shimmers, four satins and four mattes. Rather than arranging the shades by colour I actually prefer the layout in this palette by finish. The shimmer shades are probably my favourites as they are all so gorgeous. A beautiful inner corner highlight followed by warmer toned bronze-y shades which then leads into a selection of cooler toned shades. Whilst I always tend to go for my usual warm shades of browns I have been really liking the cooler toned options in this palette. Despite the intimidation of the smoky eye, all these shades are super wearable which I love and they all don’t have to be reserved for a full blown smoky look. Following the cool toned options are some more smokier dark shades that work a treat at smoking things out a little for a more night time appropriate look. Finally the addition of two lighter toned matte shades which are perfect as a base shade or for highlighting the brow bone. Overall this is gorgeous palette and whilst the smoky eye look isn’t for everyone I do find that this palette offers a full collection of wearable shades that can work from day to night. Another big thumbs up to Urban Decay!

Check out my other Naked palette reviews:

Original Naked palette review

Naked 2 review

Naked 3 review 

Are you a fan of the Naked palettes?

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The Going Out Makeup Look

Despite still being in my teen years I have a rather poor social life. I rarely venture out for nights out on the town instead favoring staying in to watch a load of crap weekend TV. Since it’s such a rare occasion I do step out I do like to up my makeup game and put in the effort. All my favourite and top makeup picks come out to play in being those trustworthy products that I know will stick around for a long night. There is no surprise really that it’s all high end products that made the cut as I do like to make good use of my investment pieces that I know work well for me. I did surprisingly head out last weekend although for a very special occasion as I headed to see One Direction in concert so obviously I wanted to look my best. There is a mix of newbies and old favourites that I have put together to form a killer night out look.

Starting with base, this is really were I put a lot of trust in my products to be long lasting and work for my skin. As always I start with primer and of course my holy grail Smashbox Photo Finish Primer excels in helping makeup last longer and still looks fresh throughout the night. I’ve never found as good a foundation as Nars Sheer Glow. It provides a buildable satin finish and blends beautifully into the skin. Another favourite from Nars is their Creamy Radiant Concealer which does the best job at concealing blemishes and redness. Mine is currently running low which does make me panic cause pricey repurchase may be necessary! In terms of concealing eyes, I start with my Bobbi Brown corrector to cancel out any discoloration under the eyes then use my Clarins Instant Concealer over the top.

On to the more exciting products to give my complexion a little bit of life. I am so excited to say that I finally own the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Palette. This palette is what dreams are made of. It is so gorgeous. I firstly use the sculpt shade to warm up my complexion and give my cheekbones a little definition. Then I like to go a little crazy with highlighter by patting it on to the tops of my cheekbones for that intense glow. To perk up the cheeks you can never go wrong with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes in particular the shade Diffused Heat. With highlighting properties these blushes really light up the skin and don’t appear flat.

Onto the eyes. As usual my Benefit Gimme Brow for a little sweep through the brows to make them a little fuller. In terms of eyeshadow, I have been going a little palette crazy recently. I finally picked up the Urban Decay Smoky palette cause obviously I had to, right? With deep intense shades it works perfectly at creating more full on night out looks. The shimmer shades in particular in this palette are truly stunning and the shade Radar is one I am forever reaching for. For the full on dramatic eye look I like to finish by curling my eyelashes with the Shu Uemera eyelash curlers and many coats of the Benefit They’re Real mascara.

To finish off, I like to add something a little bold to the lips. I find going out gives me the perfect opportunity to crack out the bold dark shades. One shade I have been reaching for recently has been Mac D For Danger, a bold berry red shade in a matte finish that sticks around from dinner to drinks to home time.

What products do you reach for on a night out?

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August Favourites

Like every monthly favourites post it is pretty much a necessity to start with the how is it *enter month* already! Really though, how scary is it that we are now reaching Autumn! I remember last Autumn like it was yesterday, it feels like we haven’t even had Summer yet! Anyway scary thoughts aside, it’s time to roundup some of my favourite products from the month. I had quite a few favourites this month since I stuck to a pretty similar routine everyday during the month. Not out of habit or laziness but I found and rediscovered some favourites that I will cherish for a long time to come.

First up was a rediscovery for me after being left abandoned in my makeup collection. The Urban Decay Naked 2 palette is a classic well-loved product and it’s only took me like 8 months to properly get into it! I received this palette at Christmas and of course being one of the Naked palettes I knew it was a winner already. However since I had so many makeup free days and quick 5 minute makeup routines, I never really had any time to start lugging out any eyeshadow palettes so sadly this got quite neglected. Over the month though I have started to fall in love with this palette. As you would expect from Urban Decay the quality is amazing. The shadows are super pigmented, buttery and easy to work with. You can create so many gorgeous looks with this either for daytime or for a night out. I am super glad I started using this again as I love it! If you want to recall my full review and swatches, see my post here.

There is no surprise really that the BareMinerals Complexion Rescue would get a mention. This was such a raved about base product I had to pick it up and I am so glad I did. It’s the most perfect Summer base or for those minimal makeup days. It basically gives you a better version of your skin, think dewy and fresh. It blends in like a dream and has a pretty good lasting power too! A product I know I can rely on for years to come! Check my full review here.

If you remember earlier this month I posted about my love for Mac Brave lipstick. Obviously after it being my go-to choice for lipstick over the month it is well worth a favourites mention. This is such a perfect everyday lipstick, I am obsessed. It is like the more muted version of my favourite lipstick, Mac Twig. It’s a pretty dusky mauve pink that gives a little twist on a simple everyday nude lip. It totally lives up to the whole ‘my lips but better’. The satin finish is also super creamy and comfortable on the lips and is pretty decent in longevity too!

This month, I also discovered a killer eyelash combo. Benefit’s They’re Real mascara was always a favourite of mine but it got pushed aside lately to welcome the arrival of Benefit Rollerlash. To prevent any mascara wastage going on I picked it back up this month and realised what I was missing out on. Teamed with my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers it creates to die for eyelashes. They’re Real really lengthens your lashes although the curl was something that it struggled with. With a pair of amazing eyelash curlers it really opens the eyelashes and creates such a nice curl. The two together just looks hella fierce (I did just say that yes) and I love it. You can check my Benefit mascara trio review here.

Lastly was another newbie in my collection that I really couldn’t wait to get my hands on. The Body Shop Honey Bronzer is talked about a lot and for good reason.  I picked up Shade 2 which is still pretty light but a perfect shade. It really is a perfect bronzer for anyone with fair skin. It’s such a fine powder that blends in beautifully and being a matte formula it is super good for warming up the skin or giving a slight contour. It is also pretty affordable especially with all the amazing Body Shop offers so definitely one to add to the shopping basket.

P.S This post marks one year of monthly favourites posts! Yay! *celebration dance*

What have you been loving this month?

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April Favourites

I probably say this every month when it comes to monthly favourites… but where has the time gone! It’s crazy to think we are in May already *gasp*! Anyway on to some of the beauty bits I have been loving this month, if you read my blog regularly then you may find some of these a little predictable haha!

Benefit Majorette Blush – No surprise here really! After lusting over this blush for quite a while I finally picked it up and fell in love. Its a beautiful coral cream-to-power finish blush that just adds such a nice boost of colour to the cheeks, perfect for spring! You can see my full review on this beauty here.

Real Techniques Bold Metals Flat Contour Brush 301 – Quite the long name there! I picked this rose gold beauty up after Real Techniques launched their incredibly anticipated higher-end brush line. Compared to other RT brushes, this one was a little on the pricey side at £22 but its pretty damn beautiful. It’s the perfect contour brush, the brush is quite dense and really picks up product well and also distributes it well on the face. It’s hard to think how I ever contoured without this one!

Chanel Rouge Coco Cecile Lipstick – There was no escaping this one when it came to this month’s favourites. There is nothing more exciting than picking up a new lipstick (that sounds so tragic but ever so true!) especially a Chanel one. They are a must have in any beauty lover’s makeup bag! The newly reformulated range offer great pigmentation whilst also having a good level of hydration on the lips. The shade ‘Cecile’ is such a pretty neutral rosy pink that I have been loving paired with MAC Soar lip liner – dream duo right there! Check out my full review here.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette – Do I even need to explain why this is a favourite. The UD Naked palettes are widely coveted and with good reason. I am pretty sure I mentioned this exact palette in a previous favourites post which pretty much sums up my love for it. I am sure you are all aware of the fantastic quality of the shadows so I will refrain from discussing that side of things. The colour range is just perfect. Its such a versatile palette, berry, pomegranate shades for Autumn and light rosy pastel pinks for Spring. I am having a bit of an obsession over light pinks and lilacs when it comes to eye-shadows and this palette has it covered. To stop myself writing a full essay on this one, you can simply check out my full review here.

Nivea Lip Butter Raspberry Rose – A lip balm/butter, not the most interesting product but hella good. The scent of this is incredibly dreamy, a raspberry scent which feels rather nostalgic some how, I am thinking some sort of candy but no idea? It is incredibly creamy and I like layering this on overnight for a full boost of hydration on the lips to keep them soft and moisturised. The great news here too is that its as cheap as chips and comes in other scents too including an ever popular blueberry, mmm!

Chanel Tenderly Nail Polish – Another post, another Chanel Tenderly mention. When will it stop, never! I finally buckled up the courage for a Chanel splurge on this beauty and so far no regrets (thank god!). This shade is just so my colour, a beautiful plum taupe-y colour that is just so versatile and looks ever so sophisticated. You can take a further look into my thoughts on this one here.

What have you been loving this month? 

 

 

 

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette: Review/Swatches

Now you may recall seeing the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette in my Christmas wish-list and I’m sure by now looking at this post you can tell that Santa was very good to me this year. This now means that I have completed my collection of the Urban Decay Naked palettes, how exciting! This palette has mainly taupe shades with silvers and greys and like the other two palettes it has a selection of both matte and shimmer shadows. Quite similar to the Naked 3, this palette comes in hard casing packaging and features a full sized mirror along with the usual double ended brush. Again like the other two palettes this retails for £37 but there is always plenty of deals on so keep a look out if you are after one of these beauties.

Like the other palettes, the quality of these shadows is up there *stretches arm as high as possible*, they are so incredibly pigmented and so easy to work with. The shades are perfect and so versatile so this palette is great for going from day to night. The taupe shades are the perfect addition to my collection as I don’t have anything similar and they can work for anyone. Being a shimmer gal, I have swayed my heart towards the sparkly shadows with Verve, Pistol and YDK being just a few favourites. Of course I also have to mention Half Baked which also appears in the original palette and has to be one of my favourite ever eye shadows so having another is pretty beneficial in my eyes!

In comparison to the other palettes, the first one is probably my overall fave just because the colour selection is varied and spot on. I do love this palette and the Naked 3 though and can see myself reaching for this one a lot!

You can check out my previous Naked palette reviews here:

Naked 1 review/swatches

Naked 3 review/swatches

Are you a fan of the Urban Decay Naked palettes? 

 

The NYE Look

It’s hard to believe in a couple of days time we will be counting down the seconds til the New Year. There is no better time to get dressed up and drown yourself in glitter… yes glitter. And thats exactly what I am doing.

I fell in love with this ever so sparkly patterned jumpsuit from Topshop and just had to buy it. Its very flattering and comfortable although it has covered my floor in a blanket of glitter. It was £38 from Topshop however unfortunately it has sold out.

To match my ever so glittery attire I am going for sparkly shimmery eyes using my Max Factor Excess Shimmer eyeshadow in the shade Copper, serious good stuff here! and also my Naked 2 palette. Yup I finally have my hands on the second palette and its gorgeous! *heart-eyed emoji*

I am also going to add a touch of Benefit High Beam to my cheekbones for a glowy look and to finish off with a sweep of red on my lips. I am going to use my new fave matte red Nars Cruella which I got as part of the Nars Lip Pencil Coffret that I swatched here.

What is your NYE look?

September Favourites

I can’t be the only one who is struggling to believe that its October already! Where does time go!? Anyway here are my favourites from last month.

River Island Dark Red Mini Satchel – I adore this bag! I picked it up from River Island for £20 in this very autumnal red colour and its the perfect size for going to gigs and places where I don’t need a lot of things to carry about. River Island also have a few other colours of this bag as well as the larger versions which are all to die for.

Urban Decay Naked Palette – There is no surprise here! I picked up this incredibly raved about palette a while back on a special offer that I couldn’t refuse and like everyone else I fell in love. The shades are all amazingly pigmented and all wearable. I have the 3rd one as well now and I now only need the second one to complete my collection. A palette you NEED in your collection!

Mac Shy Girl – Believe it or not but this was my first Mac lipstick ever and the best lipstick I can put my name to. It is a beautiful creamy nude pink shade and the perfect nude lipstick which doesn’t wash you out. If you don’t have this in your collection its a must, the perfect day time lipstick that goes with everything and perfect with a bit of clear gloss 🙂

New Look Brown Chelsea Boots – If you read my Chelsea Boots edit then you would have seen these boots in which I mentioned that I already owned and I love them! Chelsea boots are a huge trend this season and I love the style of them. I usually purchase black boots so I thought I would take a change and go for brown this time and I am loving it, its the perfect fall look and is great for everyday wear with jeans and a flannel shirt. Also at £24.99 you can’t go wrong! 🙂