Monday 27 May 2013

Haul time & reviews ft. Urban Decay, Stila, Catrice, NYX & more!

Hey!

Woo! Collective haul time! I got these things over  2 - 3 weeks, from various places online and in stores.

Be forewarned: this is pretty long!

I'll get straight into it and start with the eyeshadows and eye things first..

So here we go!




I'll start with these wet n' wild palettes I was sent by a girl in the states that I did a swap with, along with some burts bees stuff not pictured.

Feeling Retro
This is my favourite of the three! I love these colours! Especially the purple. The blue and purple are kind of duo-chrome with a slightly green shimmer in the blue and a blue-y shimmer in the purple.

Colour & Texture: The colour payoff is best in the blue, as you can see from the picture, it's also the softest in texture. The purple is pretty good too, especially over a primer like Milk by NYX (which I have on its way hehe!). The white is powdery and not that great. I use it occasionally for the inner corners but it's a bit wishy washy. I'd also say it's a bit too shimmery for a browbone colour, but that's just my preference!

I got good jeans

 These are really nice complimentary colours, with a light blue, a dark duo-chrome navy, and a gold colour.

Colour & Texture: This palette is similar to the previous one as the colours range from good to medium, to not so great. Although all three shades are very soft in texture. The lightest shade is gorgeous, and has good pigmentation, even without a base, so does the darker navy. This colour has a black shimmer as you can kind of see in the swatches. The gold isn't powdery like the white of the previous palette, but it does need to be built up over a primer, again over milk by NYX it would go on well.

I dream of geenie

I'm not too into greens, but I do love tropical looks on the eyes so would use the brightest yellowy green for this.

Colour & Texture: The middle is more of a forest green and is quite smooth. I was surprised with the browbone shade as I expected to be the same as the one in 'I'm feeling retro', it's nice and creamy and has good colour payoff. Although again it wouldn't be my go to shade for my browbone as it's too shimmery, it would make a good inner corner highlight.

That's all of the wet n' wild palettes, but I definitely want more! For the price you pay in the US (1,99$?), they are really good, and it seems they have a really good selection of colours! If you want to get your hands on them but you're not in the US you can find them on Beauty Joint!

Next up is a few eyeshadows from Catrice, one of my favourite highstreet brands!

Mud Spencer & Coralle Hill
I picked this up after I saw Karissa (saturdaynightsalrite) do a tutorial on qvcoral and turquoise eye look. I love the combination of subtle neutrals and a pop of colour.

Colour & Texture: These are very smooth colours. The brown shades have a satin/shimmer finish while the hot coral has a matte finish. The browns have better pigmentation than the coral which was disappointing, but by patting it on instead of sweeping, it does help build it up better. The lightest is a good highlight shade as it is more of a golden/neutral rather than the white of the wet n' wild palettes. It could even be used as a subtle cheek highlight. This is a good palette if you want an all in one kind of thing for maybe a weekend away as you can work the browns during the day then add some colour for the night.

Carrots of the carribean & Let me have cake


These two I picked up on a whim as I needed a matte white for highlighting and because I don't have a vibrant orange like this in any of my palettes.

Colour & Texture: They're similar to the coral of the last palette, as in you have to layer it up, especially the white. The orange has a slight golden shimmer to it, but it glides on lovely and softly. I'm disappointed in the white as it barely shows up, as you can see in the swatch (or can't see as the case may be..).

top - bottom: Oils slick, vapor, peace, ransom





Ooh! I was excited to get these! They came from a generous lady in the UK who was selling/swapping stuff on reddit. I love the purple and the blue the most. They're the old style packaging/formula.

Colour & Texture: As one would expect from urban decay shadows the pigmentation is fabulous, and very vibrant. Oil slick is a black with silver glitter in it, but it doesn't come off like a glitterbomb when you wear it. Vapor is the perfect shimmery white, it can be sheered out as a brow highlight or built up for the inner corner. You need the tiniest bit as it is very pigmented and is easy to over do. Ransom is a beautiful shade of violet, the payoff doesn't look great on the swatch but in real life it is very good. Peace is a vibrant turquoise and has some of the best pigmentation of the four shades. Again you have to be careful not to overload your brush as it is a very strong colour.

Hoola & Thanks a latte


I did it! I finally got my hands on benefit's hoola! 
You may have seen this on my wishlist for a while and I know this is only a sample size, but I don't use it everyday so I have faith that it will last me a while. I got it as part as the 'Bronze of the champions' kit that they have in stock in Debenhams IE now (yay!) so that's why it has the eyeshadow too. 

Colour & Texture: Ah yes, it's all I ever wanted in a bronzer! It is very nice though, not too powdery, but not too soft. I will say you have to use a light hand with it or you can go overboard. The eyeshadow is very soft, and a lovely colour. I don't find myself reaching for it too often, as I think it's a bit too shimmery for me, and also a bit too... I don't really know, the colour is a bit cold for my liking. The only problem with that is that these are impossible to de-pot (you can see from the dents that I've tried), so there's not really any way for me to separate them to give away or even put away. 

Bikini-tini

This is also from the benefit kit, and is a very smooth cream eyeshadow. 

Colour & Texture: It's very similar to the elf cream eyeshadows I have, if a bit softer even. It's a fine base colour as it's very sheers and will add a bit of shimmer to a matte shade over the top. Again, I don't find myself reaching for it that much, but I might bring it away with me if I was going anywhere as I find cream shadows are quick to apply with fingers.



Yay! More benefit! This also came in the 'Bronze of the champions' kit (who'da thunk it!?). I really wanted this for ages, after I found that high beam just didn't work for me. I think it's my skin tone, as it's quite warm, and high beam is suited to cooler skin tones as it's more pinky.

Colour & Texture: This has a beautiful golden hue to it as you can see in the swatch, and it matches pretty well. It has a smooth creamy texture that is easy to blend with a brush or just your fingers. It's lovely for that subtle dewy glow and goes well with Hoola as a bronzer.

Stila all over shimmer duo in Kitten

I got this from a girl in the US who was kind enough to forward me a Hautelook order along with the OCC Lip Tar you'll see towards the end. I saw shaaanxo use this in many of her videos, and as I was after a powder highlight I thought 'why not?'. Sadly, the golden side of it got completely obliterated on its way across the pond (waah!) but the lighter one survived. as you can see there is a tiny bit in the corner, and I do like it.. which makes me even sadder.

Colour & Texture: It's so soft and creamy in texture, and glides on like a dream. It's essentially like a powder version of Watts Up by benefit, but a bit more of a white shimmer instead of the gold. So far I really like it and it gives a lovely natural glow to the skin.

Matte perfect primer by MUA

This is another thing that was on my wishlist after I saw Hannah say it was a dupe for the POREfessional by benefit. I have a sample size of the benefit primer and really like it, but only use it for special occasions really. You can see on the image above how it fills the creases/wrinkles in the hand and creates a smooth surface.

Texture: The texture is as you would expect that of a silicone based primer to be. It glides on nicely, although you have to be careful not to overdo it and use too much as that makes it go a bit 'bit-y' so to speak. I don't have too much of a problem with shine after I've powdered, so I can't attest to it's mattifying claims but I do see an increase in the longevity of my makeup. I normally use it mostly on my cheeks and nose and a bit between my eyebrows as that's where I have larger pores/uneven texture. Also, even though the tube isn't very large, you only need a pea sized amount, so it should last a long time. But if not, hey, it's only 6£!!

Urban Decay eyeliner Demolition

This came in my Hautelook spring bag, and is the first 24/7 glide on eye pencil I've tried - so far, so good!

Colour & Texture:  These are known for being exceptionally smooth and easy to use, and they are! I find this brown a little too dark for my liking but hey, it's still a pretty damn good eyeliner. It's great for a smokey eye as it's soft enough to smudge out on the upper or lower lash line. It has really good staying power too, especially on the waterline. I use it to tight line my upper waterline and have no problems with it leaking or transferring.

Catrice all-round concealer

Another catrice product! This is a great palette, and is very versatile!

Colour & Texture: These are very pigmented concealers. The palette comes with three skin tone shades, one very light, one medium and one slightly darker and peachier, then two colour correcting shades - green and pink. I use the lightest for highlighting cheekbones, nose, and forehead. I normally mix the other two colours as both are one shade too light/dark for me. The green and pink are slightly less pigmented but still work very well. I use these mainly for my blemishes & highlighting, as I find they crease a bit much under my eyes.

Witch blemish concealer stick

I used to use the witch blemish stick all the time when I was younger and it worked pretty good, as did the face wash, so naturally I thought this would be a good investment! It contains witch hazel and tea tree oil to help fight blemishes.

Texture: It comes in one colour only, which is a pity, but it suits me so I'm not worried. It's a very creamy concealer that blends out well. Although sometimes after blending you can see the blemish again. I normally have to layer it twice to get enough coverage. I use it mostly when I'm wearing little makeup - ie, only a bb cream and eye makeup. So far, I have found it has helped with blemishes I can feel coming, but not see. As for the ones that are already there, I haven't found it brings the swelling down much.



 Urban decay, NYX, Catrice, OCC & MUA

Aaand finally!! Lippies galore! I mentioned the UD ones and the OCC lip tar, the nyx one also came from my hautelook spring bag.

Colour & Texture:
The UD ones are fabulous! I don't have any colour like Gravity, and Jilted is a lovely duo chrome berry shade. Both glide on effortlessly and don't sink into lines. I get good wear from them even without a primer underneath.

I haven't used the NYX one that much, only once or twice but I find it's really opaque and doesn't feather at all. This does require a primer if you want a good day's wear from it, but it does set well with powder over it too.

The catrice one is a gorgeous nude-y baby pink, and has a glossy finish to it. It does well with a lipliner underneath to prevent it slipping and feathering.

Ah, the OCC lip tar! The one and only! These are infamous on the web, and they do indeed hold up to my expectations. Applied with a light hand and a very tiny amount it's beautiful. Careful not to use too much as this causes it to feather and turns out very messy. It's best to set this with a translucent powder so as to stop it from transferring and to prolong it's wear throughout the day. It does contain peppermint oil so beware it you have allergies or sensitive lips!

The MUA shade is reaaallly nice! It's a raspberry pink, and has a soft finish with just a sheen. Again I haven't worn much yet, but I do plan on it!  It's nice and opaque and only sinks into creases after an hour or two of wear. Also it's best to set this with a powder also, to prolong the wear time! 
 Bonus - The coloured bit at the bottom screws off and has product in it!

Yay, that's it! I have a few more posts in the pipeline so don't worry! I also am trying to get some videos up onto my youtube channel :3 So keep you're eyes peeled! 

Thanks for reading, and let me know in the comments what've you bought lately? Have you tried wet n wild??

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Ta-ta for now!! xo 



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