Freedom Pro 12 Audacious 3 Palette

Freedom Pro 12 Audacious 3 Palette | £4.00 | LINK

I love neutral eye shadow palettes as much as the next beauty blogger and I can never say "no" about adding a new one to my collection. After doing a bit of blog stalking, I came across this gorgeous looking palette by a brand called Freedom. I had heard about their products before but had never got round to trying them out. I was really surprised at how affordable their products are so on my next shopping trip I decided to pick up the Audacious 3 palette from my local Superdrug!

The Audacious 3 palette contains 12 decent sized eye shadows with a mixture of mattes, satin and sparkly finishes plus a sponge tip applicator. All of the shadows have a pink/ golden tone to them so I think this would be a lovely dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. Pinks have really been in fashion this Spring/ Summer so this would be a great palette to pick up to experiment with shades your not really used to. I'm someone who tends to stick to my normal brown/ gold shades so trying out pink toned shadows is something I'm not completely used to. However I've really enjoyed using this palette and it's nice to have a bit of a mix up with my makeup. Plus for just £4 these palettes are a great way to add some variety to your collection!

These shadows are lovely and soft and have a great colour pay off to them. Of course some of the lighter shades aren't as pigmented as the darker ones, but they're definitely buildable or can just be worn to add a slight definition to your eyes. I love that you can create so many different looks with this palette and just by picking a different crease or lid colour you can change your look instantly. This is definitely one of those palettes you can chuck in your makeup bag for a weekend away and know you're set with your eye makeup for both day and night!

Top swatches: Top row & first 2 from middle row | Bottom swatches: Last 2 from middle row & bottom row

It's a shame that these shadows aren't named as it would make it so much easier to say what shades are my stand out favourites from this palette! Obviously that gorgeous copper shade looks stunning on the eyes and I think would suit blue eyes amazingly! I find myself using shades 3-5 from the top swatch quite a lot for lid colours and then 2-4 from the bottom swatches the crease. I like that the highlighting shade in this palette is matte too as there's so much shimmer going on that it's nice to balance it out with a subtle highlight.

With a primer these shadows do last me all day but can start to fade in the late afternoon. However I'm thinking you could always apply these shadows wet as that will give them much stronger colour pay off and hopefully last longer! The only other thing that slightly bothers me about the shadows is that the lighter shimmery shades do have some fall out to them, but luckily as they are light I can easily blend that away. Considering this palette is just £4 I am really happy with the quality of the shadows and would definitely think of trying more products from them!

Thank you for reading today's post! Sorry I've been a bit hit and miss with blogging recently. I'm actually in need of a bit of a photography day as I'm slowly running out of posts to write! If there's anything in particular you'd like to see then let me know in the comments!

Have a lovely weekend!

Have you tried the Freedom Audacious 3 palette?
What products do you recommend from Freedom?

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Building My Urban Decay Palette

Hello my lovelies, today wanted to share an eye shadow palette with you that's currently a work in progress. Being a huge fan of Urban Decay eye shadows, last year I decided to pick up one of the "build your own" palettes from the House of Fraser's sale so that I could store my single shadows together. I'm not personally someone who will take away singular eye shadows when I go travelling as I much prefer to have everything I need in one little palette.

Urban Decay have a small range of build your own palettes available, each in different designs, sizes and some even come with a free eye shadow. I'm not entirely sure what my version is called as it's no longer available, but it has a gorgeous bright paint splatter effect on the front and has space for 6 individual shadows. It came with a free travel sized flat shader brush and there is also a large mirror that sits inside the lid of the palette which makes this a travel friendly piece to have in my collection.

One of the first single eye shadows I owned from Urban Decay was a shade called Midnight Cowgirl. Being one of the first Urban Decay shadows I'd tried, I wanted to keep it a simple and neutral shade yet at the same time something I could wear day or night. Midnight Cowgirl is a warm sand colour with shimmer, so it's neutral enough to wear daily but also has that beautiful glitter in it for an evening look. This is a really beautiful shade that doesn't get much of a mention on blogs, but this is definitely a shade I'd recommend people trying if they like a bit of shimmer!

With the build your own palette I also got the eye shadow shade Walk Of Shame for free which I was really pleased about. At this point I was using my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette religiously and Walk Of Shame had quickly become one of my favourite base shadow shades. As this shade is a light matte nude, it's the perfect colour to create a clean, natural lid that will help blend together any other shadows you apply. After using this shade all the time, I have now really hit pan on Walk Of Shame in my Basics palette so I'm glad I picked up this palette when I did! Now have I have a back up of one of my favourite eye shadows plus I remember only paying around £9 for both the palette and shadow so it was a complete bargain!

My final eye shadow in my palette is one I have used for years, my beloved Sin! This beautiful shimmery champagne is a very popular shade amongst bloggers and features in the original Naked palette. Like Walk Of Shame, I have completely hit pan on this shadow so I was super excited to have received a brand new one for Christmas to pop in my palette! Sin may look exactly the same as Midnight Cowgirl, but I find Sin is much more pink compared to Midnight Cowgirl's golden tone and both look different when on the lid. This is a beautiful shade and if you're going to try out your first ever Urban Decay eye shadow, then I would say give this one a try as it looks really flattering in any eye look!

As you can see from the swatches (or can't see as these shades are all very light and natural - sorry!) all 3 shadows are buttery smooth and are well pigmented. I adore all of the shades in my palette and cannot wait to pick out the next 3 to complete it. What's great about these build your own palettes is that you can swap and change the shadows you put in it depending on what looks you want to create - so there's no reason for me not to buy more shadows! I would love to hear in the comments what other Urban Decay eye shadow shades you think I should add to my little palette as I would love to complete it soon.

Once I have completed this palette I'll update you all with what eye shadows I have decided to put in it! Let me know your thoughts on the 3 shadows I have already chosen and whether you own them as well. Thank you for reading today's post and I will speak to you again next week!

What are your favourite Urban Decay eye shadow shades?

Do you own one of the "build your own" eye shadow palettes?

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Review | Stila "In The Light" Eye Shadow Palette

Stila "In The Light" Eye Shadow Palette | £25.00

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a lovely day! I'm spending mine catching up on some blogging as I really haven't been posting as much as I would like to. Today I'm going to be reviewing an eye shadow palette that is really popular amongst many beauty bloggers. This is the Stila "In The Light" Eye Shadow palette that contains 10 beautiful neutral eye shadows plus a water-proof eye liner. I picked this up around my birthday as a little present to myself as I had been lusting after it for months! It's quite similar to the Urban Decay Naked palette so I didn't know whether I needed both in my collection, but I definitely do and I'm so glad I picked up this gorgeous little palette!

So as I said in this palette there are 10 neutral eye shadows ranging from mattes, shimmers and satin like finishes. All of these shadows are so easy to wear and you can create endless amounts of day and night time looks. You also receive a free full size Smudge Stick Water Proof Eye Liner in "Damsel" which is a highly pigmented dark brown colour that's perfect for everyday use. It defines the eyes really well and stays put pretty much all day long! The eye shadow shades in this palette are:

Bare - a matte ivory shade
Kitten - a shimmery champagne shade
Bliss - a matte beige pink
Sunset - a satin finish golden pink
Sandstone - a matte light brown
Bubbly - a shimmery gold
Gilded Gold - a golden brown with a slight shimmer
Luster - a dark aubergine with a slight shimmer
Night Sky - a shimmery gunmetal
Ebony - a matte black 

I have used all of the shades in this palette to either create a subtle day time look or a more smokey look for a night out and they're all amazing! In the photo above I am wearing my favourite combination where I apply Kitten all over the lid, Bubbly to my crease and Sunset to the outer crease and lower lash line. Then I apply the eye liner in Damsel on my upper lash line and then smoke it out slightly with Luster. This creates a really pretty every day look that's perfect for college, work or a day when you're out and about! I find the shimmer and satin like shadows in this palette are definitely a lot more pigmented than the matte ones. This means the shimmers last all day on your eyes when paired with a primer but the mattes may need a slight touching up after a few hours. For me these eye shadows never crease and they always look amazing even after I have been wearing them for a good few hours. I can't fault the quality of these shadows - they're amazing and well worth the money!

One thing I'd like to mention is that even though Bare comes up pretty much non-existent on my arm, it's actually a really good all over the lid shade or one to use to blend out your eyeshadow. It's quite a light skin coloured shade so is perfect for those days when you don't want to wear a lot of eye makeup but want to even out colour on your eye lids!

As for the packaging of this palette, I really love it and I think the fact that it's light pink makes it so pretty! It also has a huge mirror on the lid of the palette so it makes it perfect to use on the go. The shadows are also a really good size plus I think it's great that they also included the free eye liner (which in itself is worth £13)! However it is only made from cardboard and isn't the more secure when it's shut, so you do need yo be careful when handling or travelling with this palette.

Overall I think this is a stunning palette that every girl needs in their makeup collection! It has every neutral shade that you would want plus at only £25, it's much cheaper than the original Urban Decay palette which is very similar. I would highly recommend this palette as I have used it nearly every day since buying it and I'm still absolutely in love with it!

Have you tried the Stila "In The Light" Palette before?

What are your thoughts on this gorgeous palette?

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Review | Lumiere Cosmetics

Lumiere Cosmetics*

Hello everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your bank holiday weekend, especially with all this sunny weather we're having recently! Today I'm going to review some products that I was very kindly sent from Lumiere Cosmetics, an American based company. I hadn't heard too much about this brand before but was very interested in the fact they specialise in mineral makeup, something I haven't tried a lot of. I was sent a little "Blogger Kit" that consisted of: 3 loose mineral pigment eye shadows, 2 mineral blusher pigments and a mini Lumi Lips lips gloss, all of which I was very excited to try out!

Lumiere Cosmetics Loose Eye Shadow Pigments* [$8.00/ £5.18] LINK
The first products I tried were the loose eye shadow pigments and I chose to have 3 random shades from the Brown & Neutrals range which were: Halo, Sand Beige and Special Dark. Halo is a shimmery golden champagne shade which looks beautiful as a lid colour. I have been loving this pigment as an everyday look when paired with Urban Decay's Sidecar eye shadow in the crease; they look so lovely together! Next, Sand Beige is a shimmery golden nude which again works well as an all over lid colour. As I have brown eyes, I find these kind of golden shades suit my eye colour and makes them really stand out! Again, this is a very pretty neutral eye shadow that a lot of people will like and I think would look amazing in the Summer with a tan. Finally, Special Dark is a very pigmented matte black/ brown which can work as a powder eye liner or for a deep crease colour. I'm loving layering Special Dark over my brown pencil eye liner to make the colour more intense and last a lot longer!

These eye shadow pigments are amazing and I wish that I had tried more mineral shadows before! The pigmentation is lovely, especially Special Dark, and if that's not enough you can apply these pigments wet for a more intense look. Like most shadow pigments, there is a fair amount of fall out, in particular the shimmery shades as the glitter is quite prone to going over your cheeks, so just be careful when applying these! I also found these pigments have great staying power when used with a primer and I don't have to touch them up throughout the day. Overall these are fantastic eye shadows and Lumiere Cosmetics has an amazing range of colours to try for all different kinds of looks!

Lumiere Cosmetics Blusher Pigments* [$12.00/ £7.77] & All Over Colour Pigments* [$18.00/ £11.66] LINK | LINK
Next up were the two blusher pigments which again were randomly selected by Lumiere Cosmetics and the shades I received were: Adobe Sunset (blusher) and Summer Warmth (all over colour) which both have matte finishes. Adobe Sunset is a gorgeous neutral peach blusher which gives a really nice flush of colour to the cheeks. I've found this blusher is perfect for an everyday look where you just want a hint of natural colour to your cheeks rather than a pink or orange. Summer Warmth on my skin tone works more as a bronzer which gives your skin a healthy colour! These two products together work really well at giving your skin a gorgeous glow which is perfect for the Summer time!

As you can see from the swatches, the pigmentation of these two blushers is amazing and you literally need the tiniest amount when applying them. I do find that Summer Warmth can turn quite orange on my skin if I apply too much, so it's best to build it up little by little. Also, they are both blend very easily and are smooth to apply which makes them look so natural on the skin. I find these last really well on my cheeks and I only have to reapply some more towards the end of the day!

Lumiere Cosmetics Lumi Lips Lip Gloss* [$8.50/ £5.51] LINK
The final product I was able to try was this mini Lumi Lips lip gloss in English Rose which is a warm rosy pink with a touch of shimmer. I love this lip gloss shade as it's very neutral and it gives my lips a nice amount of shine! It comes with a doe-foot applicator which is my favourite type of lip gloss applicator as I find it applies the product evenly and smoothly. I really cannot fault this lip gloss, the formula is so smooth that it feels like I'm wearing a lip balm and I do not find it sticky at all! This is a really lovely lip product and wouldn't hesitate to buy some in full size!

Overall, Lumiere Cosmetics is a fantastic brand and they offer an amazing range of makeup where there is something for everyone! I also think everything is priced really well and great value for your money. Considering these little samples alone will last me a long time, I'm sure the full sized products will last even longer as you only need tiny amounts at a time! As I received samples of each of the products I can't comment on the full size packaging, however each of these little pots are sturdy and I like that they allow you to see what shade's inside! If you're looking for some affordable and brilliant quality mineral makeup, I would definitely recommend you trying out Lumiere Cosmetics products!

Have you tried Lumiere Cosmetics's products before?

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Review | Collection 2000 Complete Bronzing Kit

Collection 2000 Complete Bronzing Kit in 01 Bronzing Kit £5.98

The other day I came across the Collection 2000 Complete Bronzing Kit in Poundland and thought it looked pretty good to try for £1. I don't own many bronzers, and I thought this would be a nice product to try out as it contained 5 pieces of makeup to create a bronzed look. These are: 2 golden brown eye shadows (one light and one darker), a bronze cheek/ lip/ eye cream, a glitery orange lip gloss and a bronzer.

The packaging of this product is really neat and compact. It's not very strong and I don't think it can take a lot of dropping damage. I like the fact the product has 2 layers (you flip up the layer with the eye shadows etc to reveal the bronzer) with decent sized products in. It also includes a mirror which is inside the lid. This makes it a great product to take travelling as you can create a bronzed look from this palette alone. This palette doesn't come with any brushes though, but for the eye makeup and lip gloss, you can just use your finger.

The quality of the actual makeup is okay. I wouldn't spend the RRP of £5.98 on it, but it was a bargain for £1! The darker eye shadow and the bronze cream are nicely pigmented, however the lighter eye shadow and the lip gloss aren't that pigmented, just a bit shimmery. The bronzer is okay, and for lighter skin tones, warms up the face well. It also contains a bit of gold shimmer, so makes the face appear brighter in the light. However the powder products (eye shadows and bronzer) are a bit powdery and do not apply smoothly or blend together easily. I also think you need to wear a primer, or use the cream product as a base, for the eye shadows.

Overall I think this palette would be nice to take on holiday or use during the Summer so that you can create a subtle, daytime, bronzed look to compliment your tan. If the quality and pigmentation of the makeup was a bit better, then this product would be amazing. But for now, it's just an okay product that I will probably get some use out of, but not a lot.

Hope this review was helpful! Have you used the Collection 2000 Complete Bronzing Kit before?

Amie ♥

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Review | Makeup Academy (MUA) Undressed Palette

Makeup Academy Undressed Eyeshadow Palette £4
 

After a long time of wanting to buy this palette, I was able to find a Superdrug that stocked it whilst it was on offer for just £3! This is a 12 shadow palette, that some have said is very similar to the Urban Decay Naked palette, which I have also reviewed HERE! (Do leave a comment if you would like me to do a comparison post!)

This palette offers a range of neutral shades that can give you subtle day looks using the first 6 shades, or much darker, smokier looks using the last 6 shades. There are so many possible eye looks with this palette! You get 2 matte shades (shades 3 and 5) and the rest either shimmery or glittery. I find that the matte shades aren't as pigmented as the other shades, but do give you a good base colour. These shadows are very soft, easy to blend and majority pigmented which makes this palette great value for money. This palette offers you a range of warm golds, browns and pinks and a cooler black and grey. I find the warmer colours much more wearable on my eyes, but the black and grey are too harsh for me.

Along side the shadows, like the Heaven & Earth palette I reviewed HERE, it comes with a double sided sponge tip applicator. I like to use this with shade 1 and an inner-corner highlight as it picks up a lot of colour and gives me a pretty pink toned highlight. They may not be the most hygienic but I think they can be put to good use!

The packaging is also consistent through the palettes, where it's black plastic with a clear top so that you can see the shadows easily. This means it's prone to breaking, but you are getting what you pay for.

Overall, I really like this palette! I always try and use it daily because the colours are so versatile, pretty and natural looking. It's definitely a palette everyone needs in their collection, and whilst it's on offer on the MUA website, it's a great time to pick it up! You can purchase this palette from Superdrug stores, the website and MUA's website!

Hope you find this review useful! Have you tried this palette yet?

Amie ♥

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Review | Chilli Pepper London Bare Browns Eye Shadow Quad

I bought this eye shadow quad a couple of years ago because I love wearing gold and light coloured eye shadows. I haven't seen any reviews or posts about Chilli Pepper before so I thought I would share this product with you.  

Please excuse the inconsistent lighting, weather in England means it's sunshine one minute and hurricane storms the next!

£6 from Boots

So as you can see there are four colours in this quad: a white, grey, black and gold. When you first use this quad the white and the gold eye shadows also have detailing on the top, but because I have used this product numerous times, they have worn away.
All of these eye shadows have shimmer in them which is something I like in eye shadows. They are all quite pigmented, especially the black which means you don't have to use loads of the product for one application. The eye shadows are also really soft so they blend nicely together.
Another thing I like about this product is that it gives you 2 lovely day colours and 2 colours that can be used at night for a smokey eye. This means that you can throw this in your handbag, because it's small, and change your day look consisting of the gold and white into something deeper by using the grey and black! I really enjoy putting the gold all over my lid and then placing some of the white onto the centre of my lid and into my inner corners for a bright-eyed golden look.
An added bonus is that the packaging is so pretty! All of Chilli Pepper's products have this kind of pattern to them. Also there is the little mirror inside which is handy has a compact or to help apply the products. I actually used to use this quad as my compact mirror as well because it's so pretty.

I think the only issue I have with this brand is that I can only seem to find it in Boots at Christmas time! I believe that I read somewhere that they have a boutique in London, but I live too far away from that to make a trip to buy more of their products!
Also, the quad comes with one of the sponge tip applicators which I never find myself using!

Overall I really like this eyeshadow quad, it's so easy to wear and gives you some lovely colours to work with. It's great for wearing to school or college and can even be used for an eye look for a night out! I recommend trying out this product or something similar if you are able to find one. If you know of any places Chilli Pepper London is sold pernamently please leave a comment!

Have you tried anything from the Chilli Pepper London range?

Amie ♥