Urban Decay Naked 2

After a little break from blogging, I am back! So I will get right into it. I mentioned in a previous blogpost that I received the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette as a gift. I decided to do a review on it today but very soon I will have a post up on the different between the real and the fake palette. The palette comes with 12 neutral eyeshadows which are a mixture of matte and shimmer, a double ended eyeshadow brush and quite a large mirror in the lid.

The eyeshadows are incredibly pigmented and I found that they lasted all day. Some of the colors seemed very similar to me but once you play around with them, you find out exactly what works better in the crease and what works best on your eyelid.

My favorite shades are definitely Half Baked and Chopper. They work so well together and Chopper reminds me a lot of rose gold. Snake Bite and Busted are also winners for me because they are very neutral and seem to work with a lot of my neutral makeup looks. Another color that deserves a mention is Foxy. I have never been a person that applies eyeshadow underneath their brow but Foxy works so well for me. 

I hope everyone had a good week and has an even better weekend.

College life

I have only been blogging for about a month now and I already feel like I am neglecting my blog. This week was really tough for me as I had three deadlines and I am writing an exam on this Monday. I end up getting home everyday after 6pm from college even though I end at 1pm. I am one of those people who become obsessed with their work and tend to neglect everything else.

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I apologise for the lack of posts but I shall be back very soon. I absolutely love blogging and I really do miss it. 

Brands I wish were sold in South Africa- Sonia Kashuk

Sonia Kashuk decided that she wanted to create a high end makeup line that can be sold at affordable prices. I know she has partnered with Target to sell her products in the USA and that you can be them online in the UK here. Here are a few products that have caught my eye.

Everything looks incredibly beautiful but I have read rave reviews about the HiddenAgenda Concealer Palette. I have a bit of an obsession with concealer so I would love to try it out. The eyeshadow quad in Textured Rose caught my eye because it seems to have a beautiful rose gold color in the palette. I am a huge fan of rose gold jewelry and I am on the lookout for a pretty rose gold eyeshadow. The lip crayon interests me because I only ever wear matte lipsticks. The eye shadow brush set seems to include every eye brush you would ever need! Lastly, the bronzer/blush duo is beautiful to look at. The colors and the embossed print is beautiful. 

My new favorite palette

I honestly could not think of a title for this post. I am extremely excited as I type this and I hope you will be too. I recently received the Naked 2 palette as a gift and the person who bought it for me actually bought a fake palette at first. After realizing that it was fake, the original palette was purchased.

Packaging wise, you can definitely see what is real and what is fake. The real Naked 2 palette comes with the mini lipgloss and is packaged in a clear box.

Can you tell which is the real palette and which is the fake? After I took it out of the packaging, I was so confused.

Would you be interested in a post where I compare the two?

Makeup Storage

Whenever I am on instagram, a picture of someones beautiful makeup storage pops up onto my feed. I keep my makeup in a big traveling makeup case and my everyday makeup in a little box on my dressing table. I wish I could store my makeup in a clever way. Here are a few pictures I have found that really interests me.

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Brands I wish were sold in South Africa- E.L.F

This week, I chose E.L.F as the brand I wish I could buy in South Africa. E.L.F is an acronym for Eyes Lips and Face. Their product range is huge and there is probably something in their range that you would want. Here are a few of my favorites.

Out of all these products, I think the Brush Shampoo excites me the most. It is about $3 which is about R30. I haven't found a brush cleaner in South Africa that is affordable. I have a slight obsession with concealer so the concealer palette is very appealing to me. I am also a fan of cream blush so the HD Blush looks like something I would use on a daily basis.

Have you tried anything from E.L.F? Do you want to try anything from them?

Exfoliating your lips

I am one of those people that are very fussy when it comes to choosing my lipsticks. I only ever wear matte lipsticks. The only problem with matte lipsticks are that they are very drying on your lips. If you have any cracked or peeling skin on your lips, it will show immediately when you apply a matte lipstick. I have two products that I use on a regular basis for these problems.

The first product I bought was the Extra Firming Lip & Contour Gentle Exfoliator from Clarins. I actually only purchased the Lip Scuff Scrub from The Body Shop several years after that. The Clarins exfoliator contains mineral oil and sugar and it really is gentle on your lips. The sugar works well as an exfoliator. I recently found out that this product has been discontinued but I have found a recipe online that shows you how to make it at home! The Body Shops exfoliator contains crushed fig stone granules as a exfoliator and I find that I have to put more effort into my routine when using it. 

With regards to packaging and usability, the exfoliator from The Body Shop wins hands down. It twists up like a lipstick and you apply it directly to your lips. You then take a cotton swab and gently wipe it off. Its that simple. The Clarins exfoliator you would apply a small drop to your finger and then massage your lips with it. You would then have to wash the exfoliator off. 

Left- The Body Shop Lip Scuff  • Right- Clarins Extra Firming Lip and Contour Gentle Exfoliator 

As you can see in the picture above, the Clarins exfoliator is like a gel. I am not a fan of the consistency. Sometimes when I try to squeeze some of the exfoliator out, all I get is oil. In the end, both exfoliators work really well but the Lip Scuff from The Body Shop is a lot more convenient. The Body Shop's exfoliator has a pepper mint smell while the Clarins exfoliator has a sweet, perfumed smell. I still prefer the results that I get from the Clarins exfoliator though. I guess all products have their pros and cons.

What do you use to exfoliate your lips? Also, would you be interested in my homemade lip scrub recipe?

One month

Exactly a month ago, I started typing up an introductory blog post and I was so hesitant to actually start my blog. I quickly clicked the publish button and here we are today!

I would just like to say thank you to everyone that reads my blog and that comments on my posts. Reading your comments after a long day of college really does make my day. On that note, I know sometimes I miss a day of blogging or it might seem like I have not put a lot of effort into posts but the truth is that I am extremely busy. I have college 5 days a week and I usually spend my weekends working on essays or working on a design. If I am not busy with college work, I always have a side project or I am working on a design for a client. It has come to a point where I am fast asleep by 9pm. 

Blogging is such a distraction from all the work that I have for college. I am able to speak about something I love nearly every day. 

So one again, thank you everyone! The response has been amazing. I have reached just over 2200 views in my first month and I am incredibly grateful. 

Brands I wish were sold in South Africa- Soap and Glory

I cannot believe this week has gone so fast.  It is Wednesday already! Time flies when you have a crazy amount of deadlines. Todays brand is one I have admired for a while now. Soap and Glory's packaging is stunning and so retro. Being a design student, packaging plays an important role in my buying decision. I am definitely attracted to their products.

I cannot choose what I love most out of all of these products but if I really had to, I would go with the No Clogs Allowed face mask because I love trying new masks. I would also love to try the Puffy Eye Attack because I haven't found anything that actually helps with dark circles and puffy eyes.

On an unrelated note, tonight is the Justin Bieber concert in Cape Town and I am very excited to be going! I know a lot of people are not a fan of him, but I find his music so catchy. I will definitely upload some pictures of the concert on my blog.

April Favourites

We are already one week into May and I am a bit delayed but these are my most reached for products for April. I decided to make this a monthly feature on my blog because I love reading other peoples monthly favorites posts.

Sun screen may seem to be a strange on my list of favorites but I have found that Cape Towns weather is quite confusing lately. This bottle of sunscreen is tiny. I can pop it in my bag and if I see I require something with a higher SPF, I can just use this. The Stila Tinted moisturizer, in the shade Tan, is perfect for college because it covers quite well and it dries with a matte finish. I am completely obsessed with concealer and I am currently testing the MAC Moisture Cover concealer in the shade NC 35. I absolutely love it and I have no complaints. I have mentioned before that I love Pretty by Elizabeth Arden and I found myself grabbing that bottle every morning. My MAC creme blend blush in Posey is something I use daily because my skin has been dry lightly and a cream blush helps hide that.
I have saved the best for last. My Real Techniques Stippling brush. Real Techniques is not available in South Africa but a cousin of mine ordered this online for my birthday. I know you read my blog, so thank you! I can never go back to using a normal foundation brush now.

Have you tried any of the products I mentioned about? What products have you been using a lot lately?

MAC Favorites

MAC has always been one of my favorite beauty brands and today I will be sharing my favorite products with you.

I use all of the products above on a daily basis. Ruby Woo is the perfect shade of bright red to compliment my skin tone and because it has a matte lipstick, it does not transfer off your lips. Their creme blend blushes are indreibly pigmented. I am currently using a shade called "Posey". The Fluidline is a gel eyeliner which is easy to apply and the shade "Blacktrack" is a very deep black. It doesn't smudge at all. Opulash would have to be my favorite mascara because it makes my lashes look naturally longer and thicker without any clumping. The 168 Contour brush is perfect for applying powder products onto your cheeks (I do not use this brush for the creme blend blush).

Do you have any favorite MAC products? Are you lusting after any?

Brands I wish were sold in South Africa- Make Up Academy

If you haven't heard of Make Up Academy, I suggest you go to their website (here) right now and have a look at their very affordable makeup range! I have read on Charlene's blog (here) that she has ordered online from them but I really wish they were sold in our stores so I wouldn't have to worry about shipping or anything. I have compiled a list of the items I have been looking at lately.

1- Blush perfection cream blusher in Bittersweet. 
I have a slight obsession with cream blush and I am always trying new brands

2- Pro Brow brow kit
My eyebrows usually behave most of the time but sometimes I need to perfect them and this palette comes with three shades, a fixing gel and a mirror!

3- Pro Base Complexion Kit
This kit contains three products I use everyday in one palette. Foundation, concealer and a highlighter. Its such a convenient little kit.

4- Matte foundation
Any foundation that promises to cover up the shine on my face grabs my attention.

5-Undress your skin highlighter
Cream blush and highlighters fall into the category. Definitely obsessed.

6-Undress me too palette
These eyeshadows seem like the perfect mixture of nudes that could easily be worn everyday.

7-Stippling brush (sorry for the bad quality image, its all I could find on their website)
Ever since I used the Real Techniques Stippling brush, I haven't been able to use any other brush for foundation or cream blush. This brush would be perfect in my collection.

8- Lip Tint in Broken Hearted
These remind me so much of the Clinique Chubby Sticks but are definitely a lot more affordable.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of them?