Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 - The Lolita

I bought the Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 - Plush Shadow palette in Sephora last year but it wasn’t until last month that I actually started using it.

At $59 it was just wasting away in my palette drawer for all those months and I have no idea why, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

So why did it get left in a drawer and not get a look in for months and months, it’s still a bit of a puzzle to me. I attempted to use it at Christmas but for some reason it didn’t work for me then. But seeing as I’m on a super spending cut at the moment I decided a few weeks ago that I need to look in my drawers to see what I’ve been neglecting and since then I’ve worn the palette nearly every day.

I think the main reason I bought it was the fact that you can only buy Marc Jacobs makeup in the Sephora, I don’t even think they allow it to be shipped to Europe so it seemed only right to get it. There are 8 different palettes to choose from of which I chose The Lolita palette which I think out of all them is the one that can be used most often and when it’s $59 for a palette you’re going to want to be using it a lot.

The Lolita palette is perfect for a smoky eye. The sleek palette contains the 7 shadows, 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.

The pigmentation is quiet strong and there isn’t an awful lot of fallout when applied except for maybe the middle glitter which I have only used once and a bit of Fix+ is needed with that one just to make it stick to the lids, used dry it just flies everywhere.

The colours last all day on the lid – with or without primer. The palette can be used for a simple everyday look or intensified for a gorgeous smoky eye perfect for a night out.

Is it worth $59 though, well yes and no? The palette is everything I want, it’s got excellent pigmentation, it lasts all day, I can do different looks with it bringing it from day to night and it’s the nudey coppery tones that I love but there are an awful lot of palettes out there that are pretty similar and that you can get for a lot cheaper, an awful lot cheaper.

So if you find yourself in a Sephora in the States and you’re at the Marc Jacobs counter should you buy it?? I would say no, firstly there’s an awful lot more things that I would buy in Sephora instead of it but if you are thinking that you want to try his shadows then maybe get the Style Eye-Con No.3, a 3 shadow palette that’s $20 cheaper.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

My Most Used Shadow Palettes

If there is one thing a girl loves it’s eyeshadow. I can swoon over shades sometimes, literally scream with pure joy when I swatch a new shade on the back of my hand, it might sound OTT to some but I know some of you can relate.

I have so many palettes in my collection that I even have some that I haven’t even used yet, but I do have some in my collection that I get constant use out of.

I’ve picked 5 palettes out of my collection that I use on a regular basis to show you all.

First up is my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I go through phases of using this one but the pink tones can really change up a smoky eye. Most of my palettes and single shadows are brown or grey toned so it’s nice to mix it up a little. You can do so many looks with this palette from a light girly pink day time look to a dark purple smoky eye. These shadows have great staying power, really pigmented and have hardly any fall out on application, which are all thumbs up for me. I got this palette as a Christmas present but you can get it for €46 in Debenhams, do shop around though because I’m sure I’ve seen it cheaper. If you don’t want to spend that kind of money on a palette Makeup Revolution and Crown Brush do really good dupes for a fraction of the price.

Next up is my MAC palette, my friends sister works for MAC and was over in their Pro Store in London so I gave her an idea of the colours I wanted and this is what I got. I use the browns and the reds mostly on a daily basis as well as the Shroom as a highlight and the black shadow Carbon for when I’m adding a bit of smoke to a look. The other colours I use for going out looks. I’ve had this palette for a good 2-3 years now and I haven’t really made too much of a dent in it even though I use it nearly every week. The colours are so pigmented that I don’t need to dig my brushes in like I would with other shadows. I need to make up another palette soon though as there are loads of other shades that I want to get my hands on.

My YSL Couture Variation Eye Palette Nude palette was a total splurge but when I swatched the colours on my hand I was in pigmentation heaven and knew I had to have it. The palette costs €58. When I got it I knew I couldn’t just let it sit in my drawer so I’ve made sure I use it regularly and have used it for work on many occasions. Even though it’s on the pricier side I don’t mind throwing it into my bad. It’s so petite and handbag friendly that I can pop it into my makeup bag without it taking up any space at all. There are some great matte and shimmer shades in this palette and what I really loved about it was the brush that came with it. I never use the brushes that come with palettes but they put just as much effort into the brush as they did with the shadows.

Onto more affordable palettes now and this one is finally on shelves in Boots. The Maybelline The Nudes palette is a really great affordable palette that you all need to go get your hands on. I bought mine last September in the states for $9.99, with the exchange rate at the time I think it worked out at 6 or 7 euro. It’s slightly pricier in Boots at €14.99 but I really think it’s worth it. The palette comes with 12 shadows and the ability to give a brown, bronze or black smoky eye. There are so many looks you can do with this palette. The colours are really good, some you have to work a little more than others but the staying power of them is excellent. I love this as an on the go palette, there has been more than a handful of times that I have just thrown this into my bag to do my makeup on the go.

Finally we have the Sleek I-Divine palettes. I have a few of these but I get most use out of the Au Natural palette. I brought this on holidays last September as I didn’t want to bring one of my more expensive palettes in case they got damaged or lost so I went with a cheaper option and was really surprised at how good it was. It has a great mix of mattes and metallics so I could get a lot of different looks out of it. You can get a bit of fall out with this palette so I usually do my eyes first with this one and then apply my foundation. The mattes can take some blending but the metallic colours are the reason I really love this palette, especially the bronze colour (hence the big dent in it). I think these used to be under €10.00 but Boots are selling them for €10.49.

What do you guys think of my favourites? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Metal Madness | Crown Brush UK Palette Review

2 weekends ago I went to IMATS London with the Gurlos and had a blast. I was literally in makeup Heaven and blew most of my pounds in the short time that I was there!

The first stand we went to was the Crown Brush UK and this is where I spent most of my money. I had planned on buying brushes and their blush palette as I knew they would be cheaper than their online prices. What I didn’t plan on buying and what I was so happy I did buy was their Metal Madness palette which I got for £18.99 (or it was £21.99 I can’t remember) which is usually £24.95 (€31.19).

The palette has 88 colours (that’s right girls 88 fricking colours) and are all highly pigmented. As the name suggests the palette is full of metal colours and they are so shimmery I was so impressed with the colour pay off especially for the amount of colours you get and the price you pay.

So this is the look I did using all the colours from the palette, I wanted to use only colours from the palette just to see how well everything would look, I think next time I’ll be using some matte colours just to help blend everything out a bit more. I think I did a good job using just metallic colours though.

There is only a little fall out which really impressed me because usually with cheaper palettes you will get a lot of fall out with can ruin your face if you’ve already put your foundation on.

A little tip if you wet the shadow with something like MAC Fix+ the eyeshadows will look even more metallic and iridescent.

I definitely recommend this palette especially if you’re like myself and have more matte colours than metallic, definitely a 10/10 for this one!

Thanks for reading and I’ll have a few more posts on the my IMATS adventure soon.

Love Sarah xoxo

Dupe Tuesday | Urban Decay Naked 3 Dupe

I’ve been so excited to write this post for you guys! I’ve never seen a more amazing dupe than this before!

Tonight I’m bringing you a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, coming from a new UK company Makeup Revolution the Iconic 3 palette will only set you back £4.00.

I have only discovered Makeup Revolution in the last 2 months, they are a new company that launched back in March and have been bringing out amazing makeup since. I ordered a few things from their site last month and among them was their Iconic 3 palette. When I got it I was so surprised that it was exactly like my Naked 3 palette.

Just look at these pictures, you can see how similar they are. Even though they aren’t named like the Naked palette the colours are positioned the same.  The payoff is really good for such an affordable product, with some of the colours working out even better than in the Naked palette. There is some fall out but you get the exact same with the urban decay shadows.

Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 Palette

The palette is slim and small enough that you can bring it travelling with you and for £4.00 if you smash it or lose it while away I don’t think I would be crying too much like I would if I did the same with one of my more expensive palettes and would be back on their site ordering another within days.

Urban Decay Naked 3

I put the left eye in all Makeup Revolution and the Right eye in Naked 3 and used strange, limit, trick, nooner, factory and mugshot to create the look below. Some of the colours weren’t as dark as naked palette so had to build them up to match the naked eye, but blending was very easy and the colours weren’t chalky at all which you would usually find in affordable makeup.

Iconic 3 (Left), Naked 3 (Right)

The Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 palette retails for £4.00 versus the Naked 3 palette which will set you back €44.00 (varys around the country) that’s a whopper saving on €40.00, just think about all the other makeup you could buy on the Makeup Revolution website with that!

As far as I’m aware you can only buy Makeup Revolution products on their website here, but as their only a new brand I’m sure we’ll start seeing them more widely available.

Thanks for reading this week’s Dupe Tuesday!

Love Sarah xoxo

Urban Decay Electric Palette Dupe

I’m always on the lookout for a bargain and I especially love finding a cheaper product that will give me the same effect as a more expensive brand.

A few weeks back Urban Decay launched their new Electric Palette, now it’s completely different to all any of the other palettes they have brought out. The colours are bright and bold and probably not everyone’s cup of tea but they are such a welcome to see bright colours especially with the summer finally starting to knock on our doors!

The palette contains 5 matte shades and 5 shimmers and comes with a double ended brush as well. Like most Urban Decay palettes the price does some damage to your purse with a cost of €45 (in Debenhams right now with 10% of).

But if you don’t want to fork over that much money, especially on a palette that has a lot of colours that you won’t necessarily use on an everyday basis then why try out Sleek I Divine palettes.

I Candy

Acid

Ultra Matte V1

These palettes range between €14.39 and 9.99 and you can’t really get better than that. They have 3 palettes – Ultra Matte V1, I Candy and the one that is most like the Urban Decay Palette the I Divine Acid.

They obviously won’t be as good quality as the Urban Decay palette but if you use the right tools then I think you’ll get nearly just as good a look as you would with the Electric Palette.

So if you want to get the look but not have to fork out scores of money then head over to Sleek and choose your favourite palette.

You can get them at www.sleek.com or try your local Boots, I know the only one boots in my area that does them is Boots Liffey Vally, I've tried other boots around South Dublin but you can't find them anywhere.

Urban Decay Smoked Palette Review

Morning All,

So if you've been following or reading my blog you'll know last week I had a "dilemma" about which palette to buy - Smashbox Full Exposure or Urban Decay Smoked. After much deliberation I chose the Urban Decay palette which I am so happy about. I bought it in House of Fraser as I had a gift card so it felt like I got it for free which is always a good feeling.

Firstly the packaging is amazing it's in a foamy zip up wallet which I've never really seen in any other palettes and will make it great if I ever need to go travelling or need to throw it in my bag. The box comes with a small Primer Potion, a 24/7 glide-on eyeliner pencil in Perversion and a little look book to help you create some step by step looks. As soon as I got home I just had to try it out!

Firstly I tested some swatches on my arm just to see what I was dealing with and to get a feel of the product. The colours come up so well, only a little was need to get the results in the photo above and there wasn't that much fall out. There are 6 metallic colours and 4 mattes, 2 of which are highlight colours (they don't come up that well in the pictures). 

So the first look I did using Loaded, Blackout and Asphalt as the main colours, it gave a dark and smoked green colour to my eyes. The only thing missing to complete the look where some lashes, which would have made it a real night time look.

(Look 1)

The second look I used Blackout, Backdoor, Rust and Asphalt, again this was a smokey look but a bit more wearable as it was mainly browns. I used the 24/7 glide-on eyeliner to create a winged look and put about 10 layers of the NYC Big Bold Volume Mascara so I didn't look like I was in desperate need of lashes.

(Look 2)

Overall I love this palette; it's very versatile and can give day and night looks. I think I will be mainly using this more for my night looks though (I did use it last Friday night but took so many snapchats I forgot to take any proper photos to show you guys :( ). I will give one warning, the 24/7 glide-on eyeliner literally stays on 24/7, I had to scrub my eyes to get it off and you really need to work quick with it as dries and that bad boy isn't budging once it does!

Oh and the lipstick in all the pictures is the Red P.S Beauty Love lipstick with the black lid from Pennys.

Thanks for reading,

Love Sarah xoxo