MY TOP FIVE EYE SHADOW PALETTES

I think that eye shadow palettes are one of the most exciting make up products that you can buy, or at least it's a close call between them and lipsticks.  I love coming across a new set of shades, especially if there are some lovely nudes or rose golds or dark smokey colours thrown in!  

I've picked my all time favourites (so far...there's always room for more) out which all take pride of place in my collection.  

First up is the Maybelline The Nudes palette (£10), which has 12 matte and shimmer shades from a bold copper and bronze to very light whites and greys.  So many different looks can be created from this absolute bargain of a palette, and the pigmentation is really good - even with the lightest shades, which I use for highlighting or dotting in the corners of my eyes.  

Too Faced Natural Eye Palette (top middle, £32) is another favourite; it has the perfect mixture of nudes and browns and the quality of them is incredible.  They are the sort of shades that you only need one sweep of to get a good colour payoff, and the colours themselves are just beautiful and so flattering.

My top budget palette is hands down the Make Up Revolution Iconic 3 (right, £4), which has a gorgeous selection of rose gold, pink and mauve shades.  The quality of these shades is excellent considering it costs less than a fiver, and you can create lots of beautiful day to night looks with them too.  

The Urban Decay Naked Smokey palette (bottom, £38) is the newest addition to my make up collection, but it's already become a firm favourite.  I did a full review of it here, but it's made it to my firm favourites because I just love all of the shades in it - you can easily go from day to night with them and with twelve colours to choose from there is a look in there for everyone. 

Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita palette (middle, £38) - need I say more?!  This is the stuff that eye shadow dreams are made of.  I use this palette usually on nights out or special occasions, mainly because of the dramatic look you get with it but also because I just never want it to run out!  There is a highlight, base and crease shade as well as a glitter top shade and the three of them together look absolutely stunning.  I would 100% recommend trying this, I can't wait to try another palette from the collection.  

So there are my five favourite palettes!  Are there any here that you love?  What are your favourites? xx

URBAN DECAY NAKED SMOKEY PALETTE

Here I am again with another great example of what listening to other bloggers can do!  I have seen a lot of love going around lately for the new Urban Decay Naked Smokey palette (£36), and as a lover of both the brand and the whole smokey eye look, I caved in and treated myself to it.  

The palette is made up of twelve matte and shimmer shades, ranging from highlights to deep greys and black.  

My swatches do not do the colours or the pigmentation justice, however like the other Naked palettes the quality of the shades is excellent and miraculously you do not get much fall out from the darker colours.

My favourite shades so far are High, which is a good highlighting shade which I've used along my brow bone and also in the inner corners of my eyes, and also Dagger which is a lovely ash grey that I sweep over my lid and then layer with Black Heart if I am going for a dramatic look.  

I love how with the Naked palettes you can create so many different looks, and this one is just the same.  If any, I think that the one I will probably use the least is Thirteen, which is pretty much white and likely to make me look even paler than usual. 

Have you tried the Naked Smokey palette yet?  What do you think of it? xx

FORGOTTEN FAVOURITE | MAYBELLINE COLOR TATTOO in ON AND ON BRONZE

I love eye shadows, and especially palettes which can create a number of different kinds of looks, so it is probably that which has made me forget how much I love this single little pot!  The Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze is a blogger favourite for good reason: it is a beautiful metallic bronze shade that can be built up as much as you like, so you can either create a gentle daytime look or a full on gold colour.  Then there is the fact that it just does not crease.  Not one little bit!  This is a major plus for me, as I've rarely used a non powder eye shadow that doesn't crease at least a little bit.  On top of that is the fact that it really does last all day; I wouldn't know if it stays in place for 24 hours as I always take it off at night, but it definitely doesn't budge if I'm wearing it all day!  

I'll go back though to the colour, which is the main reason why I love this eye shadow so much.  The bronze, coppery shades suits my eye colour and looks great with bronzer and a tan - perfect for summer!  

Have you tried any of the colours from this range?  Do you like this one? xx

REVIEW | NO7 ROSE GOLD EYESHADOW PALETTE

Who doesn't love an eyeshadow palette?  I certainly do, and if it's got rose gold packaging too then that just seals the deal.  I picked up the No7 Rose Gold palette a few weeks ago in Boots, I can't actually find it online anymore but it could still be in stores.  

It is a neutral palette with a mixture of a couple of matte shades, some shimmers and some full on glitters that take the natural look from day to a smokey night one.  Unfortunately no shade names are given, but I know that each shade is picked from other palettes/duos already in the No.7 range, so all of these eyeshadows are available separately.  The colours are very pigmented, and even the lightest shades look good, especially in comparison so some other drugstore eyeshadows.  I have to admit, I do have to tap off a lot of excess with these, else the result is a hell of a lot of fall out - not a good look!  I think think would be sorted if I invested in a new eyeshadow primer though, so it may not just be a reflection of the quality of this palette.  

In the photo I am wearing the second shade in on the top row, and the first shade on the bottom row, which together create a soft neutral look which I am wearing most days lately.  The dark shades are perfect for creating smokey looks, and for using under the bottom lash line for a softer finish then eyeliner.

I'm pretty impressed with the palette, and obviously I love how it looks on the dressing table too!  Have you got this?  What do you think of it? xx

CHARLOTTE TILBURY LUXURY PALETTE | THE DOLCE VITA

I feel like I have been mentioning this beautiful palette all the time lately!  Finally I've got around to reviewing it in full, it deserves its own post so here it is.  I have been looking at Charlotte Tilbury's make up collection for a long time, trying to decide what I wanted to treat myself to, but my eyes fell repeatedly on this luxury quad of eyeshadows: The Dolce Vita.  The colours just looked so beautiful and I hoped that they would be the perfect shades to compliment my blue eyes.  I was not disappointed!  

The four shades are labelled to help you create the perfect look, my favourite is the enhance which is the dark red/brown.  I use the smoke shade (the brown) in the outer corners to add some depth, and sometimes in my crease for an extra dramatic look.  The prime shade (the light colour) is ideal for popping in the inner corners of the eyes to make them appear bigger, and I also use a little just under my brows to highlight the shape.  The pop colour is a beautiful golden glitter, which can be patted on top of the other colours to really make them stand out.  The result is the best eyeshadow look I've ever done, and I really cannot believe how they seem to make my eye colour stand so much more than normal.  I've always gone for products that have a brownish/bronze tone in them to try and make my eyes pop, but none have had quite the effect that this has!  It really is amazing and if you have blue eyes then I cannot recommend this palette enough - I never thought I'd say this but it is really worth the money (£38).  

The quality of these eyeshadows is also reflected in the price - they are a dream to apply, very pigmented and feel soft and velvet like on the skin.  The Dolce Vita is probably the most popular of the Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palettes, and that is with good reason I think - the combination of shades is incredible and a dream for light eyed girls like myself!  

Have you tried this palette?  What do you think of it? xx

TOO FACED NATURAL EYES PALETTE

I can safely say that I buy a fair bit of make up each month, however I rarely come home with any eyeshadows!  This is mainly because I have my trusty Naked 3 Palette and I have seen nothing to rival or replace it.  Until now that is.  This is my latest splurge, the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette, and oh my god it is b-e-a-u-tiful!  I came across it when having a look around the make up counters in Debenhams, and it caught my eye straight away because of the gorgeous bronze and chocolate shades.

The palette includes nine shades, split into three little groups that create various looks; the first is Day, the second is Classic and the last is Fashion.  The first three shades are subtle matte colours, the next three are rose gold toned with slight shimmers, and the last three are ideal for evening looks that pack more of a punch.  I have been experimenting using them in various combinations, and I absolutely love them!  The pigment is excellent in every one, which you can hopefully see in the swatch (a photo of me wearing them will be in my next FOTD post) they blend beautifully and the colours are just so flattering.  I have blue eyes so I can say that the eyeshadows compliment them really well, especially the browns, and I think that they would suit other eye colours too as there is a good mixture of different shades and tones in there.  

The darker shades are perfect for blending into you outer eye and crease, think smokey but with lighter colours that create gorgeous daytime looks.  This palette is an investment buy at £32 from Debenhams, but I am so  pleased with it and so far it has been worth every penny!  

Have you tried this palette?  What do you think of it? xx

Review | Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in ‘Pomegranite’

Ah, the much loved Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoos!  I resisted buying these for a very long time, the colours tempted me a lot but I was worried that I would get the dreaded crease in the eyelid after wearing this for a short while.  I struggle to keep the crease line away even if I use a good eye primer, and cream eye shadows are notorious for making it worse than regular powder eye shadows do. 

Inevitably, I ended up buying a couple of these beauts, the one seen here is Pomegranite and the other that I haven’t got round to trying properly yet is Permanent Taupe.  This one is a gorgeous deep berry shade that is perfect for the autumn/winter season.  It is quite a festive colour that won’t look too out place at upcoming Christmas parties,  and the best bit is that it is perfect for bringing out the colour of your eyes.  I can’t comment on green or brown eyes unfortunately, but I have blue eyes and I usually find myself sticking to neutral/bronze/copper shades that bring out the tone of them.  However I noticed straight away that this berry shade really made my eyes pop, and not even in a scary, psycho way that I have sadly experienced before!  I did try and take a few photos to back me up on this, but I am currently in the grip of my first cold of the autumn season, so needless to say, I do not look entirely healthy right now (HELLO darker circles than normal and a traffic-light-red nose).  I will do a Face of the Day post later in the week hopefully when I look a bit more human and will feature the eye shadow in it. 

Another good thing I have found with this product is that if I apply it gently with my fingers, I can control whether I want a subtle layer of colour or if I want a bold, deep look instead. 

Have you tried any of the Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoos?  What do you think of this shade? xx

Favourite Brands #1 | Benefit

Hey!  I thought I would start doing some posts on my favourite brands, ones which I always go back to and buy a lot of.  The first one that came to mind was Benefit, I have been using their products for a loooong time now and there are a number of their products that I count among my favourites.  They are not a budget brand, but I think that their products are of a good quality and of course…the packaging is pretty! 

The products of theirs that I currently have include the Big Beautiful Eyes palette, which is a little kit containing three eye shadows that are designed to create a lovely, natural contoured look that is perfect for daytime.  It also has some concealer in it too, which is handy if you take the palette out and want to top up your make up throughout the day.  There is a dark brown eye shadow in there which has actually completely run out (hence why I didn’t have a photo of it all opened up!), which I have often used to fill in my eyebrows.  It just happened to be the perfect shade for me, so I really need to think of repurchasing this as I really am missing it! 

Lemon Aid is another little gem, it is a product a bit like an eye primer that can be used to even out the skin tone on and around your eyelids if, like me, it is an annoying area that is so pale/translucent that you can see veins!  I have also used it to even out the skin tone under my eyes, the yellow tone in it is perfect for lightening dark circles. 

Then there are the cheek/lip products.  Benefit blushers are my all time favourite, I love everything about them from the bright range of shades to the sheer finish they have, and even their lovely smell!  As you can probably tell from the photo, Sugarbomb is my favourite and most reached-for.  This is the second purchase I have made of it, and I recently bought Rockateur too, which I reviewed a few days ago.  Coralista is another lovely shade, as the name suggests it is coral and leaves a healthy rosey glow on the cheeks that doesn’t look too fake or full on.  Cha Cha Tint and Posie Tint are liquid products that can be used both on the cheeks and lips.  Cha Cha Tint has to be my favourite out of the two, as Posie Tint is a little paler than I like.  I use Cha Cha Tint more on my lips, because I love the shade of coral that it is, and it’s also buildable so I can choose whether I want a light bit of colour or more of a bold pop instead.  The other great thing about this is that it lasts so so long, I can put some of it on my lips in the morning and it still looks exactly the same much later on in the afternoon!   High Beam has also recently been reviewed on here, I love it so much and it is a great high lighter in my opinion. Moon Beam is a similar product but the shade is different; it is a little darker and more yellow toned, and the sheen it has is more mother-of-pearl and iridescent finish if that makes sense?!  Hopefully the photo shows you what I mean hahah! 

Lastly, there is the Benefit Foundation Brush.  I used this all the time, and have nothing bad to say about it, it’s just that I’ve since discovered Real Techniques and this poor thing has kind of been neglected! 

Do you love Benefit as much as I do?  What are your favourite products? xx