Primark PS CustomEyes - Build Your Own Palette

Building my own eyeshadow palette is something I find a lot of fun to do and I have done it on many occasions using different brands.  A quick trip into Primark a few weeks ago, I saw that they now had, in their ever-expanding line of cosmetics, an option to build your own eyeshadow palette and well you know what happened next.

The palettes I had to choose from had either 4 or 9 slots in them and are priced at £2 and £3 respectively.  I opted for a 4 slot version, which fits nicely into the palm of my hand and slides into my makeup bag really easily.  Then choosing the eyeshadow singles to go into this palette was much harder than I had expected.  Whether you like brights, mattes, shimmers or even glitters then there is something for you right there and that isn't all.  The range of colours is quite incredible and whether it is blue, purple, green, nude, white, yellow and even red again you will find it and best of all they are just 60p each! 

So as ever, I managed to choose more shades than I had slots, but given there was so much to choose from, I could have easily filled more than one palette, but I wanted to know whether or not it was worth spending, even more, money and instead limited myself.  

The shades I chose are:

So yes naturally I have chosen neutral shades because you never can have enough and they were the ones which stood out to me.

• Espresso - This is an incredible deep brown shade which is more pigmented than I had expected and with very little fall out.
• Stone - A really light gold shade, nothing that amazing to write home about, but it does make a great base shade.
• Earth - A nondescript muted earthy brown shade and it has a matte finish.
• Ice - A white shimmer, not quite a glitter or a foil but there is a hint of sparkle. Definitely the weakest shade and not one to be worn alone, but okay for adding some sparkle.
• Hot Coco - I love this shade. It is a mixture of being brown but with a copper tone to it. It shimmers in the light and isn't too dramatic with the sparkle
• Stripped - I had high hopes for Stripped with all of it pinky peach loveliness and whilst it is quite muted, it is one which stands out.

For me these shades are great value for money at 60p, they obviously are never going to rival the high-end shades that everyone loves, but they are good value for money.  I have worn these shades for the past week and I use an eyeshadow primer from Urban Decay and the lastability once applied is as expected a good 4-5 hours wear time.

I thought it would be a good idea to show the swatches in both natural daylight (top swatch) and then as the sun came out (bottom swatch).  I haven't edited either swatch or added any filters as I wanted to show them as they are.  I have used my index finger to swipe onto my wrist and from bottom to top you can see Stone, Stripped, Hot Coco, Earth, Espresso and then Ice at the top.

So there you have an eyeshadow palette that cost just over £5 and a far as I am concerned was great value for money and I will definitely be looking at other the other available shades.



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Urban Decay Spring 2015 Collection

Urban Decay is a brand I haven't had too much exposure too, so when this package arrived, I squealed with absolute delight.  The Spring 2015 collection is nothing short of delightful and I have had great fun playing with these items.

Naked Skin Ultra Definition Powder Foundation - Package inside this beautiful purple floral string bag, is the new Naked Skin Ultra Definition Powder Foundation can be found in this sleek and beautiful shiny gunmental compact, which shows the Urban Decay logo clearly embossed on the top. With 9g of powder and an accompanying sponge double-sided sponge.

Available in 14 different shades to suit most skin shades, this powder is weightless, gives buildable coverage and leaves a demi-matte finish, I have shade Medium-Light and I find it works well with my skin tone.  The powder when used is really light and promises to give 8 hours of wear time, which it does.  I have combination skin, which leans to the oily side across my t-zone and it still manages to look flawless and doesn't cling to any dry skin making it perfect for using everyday and even though it does stay in place, if I feel the need to touch up any oily skin, the sponge is useful for doing that. RRP £26

Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer - to compliment the new powder foundations comes 8 different shades of the Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealers.  With what is described as being a modern flocked applicator, it uses just the right amount of product to cover redness, blemishes and those pesky dark-circles effortlessly.  

There is also a bit of science to this concealer "Naked Skin Concealer with so many ingredients that are good for your skin, it’s practically a concealer and a treatment in one! Matrixyl 3000 contains anti-wrinkle peptides to improve skin’s youthful appearance and elasticity. Japanese green tea revitalises and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines. Litchiderm™ (derived from lychee fruit) protects against dehydration, resulting in a brighter, more radiant complexion. And sodium hyaluronate helps skin attract and retain moisture".  

Now, since having this concealer, I am a tad obsessed with it, it is amazing, it blends really well, it looks natural and once applied it sticks, it doesn't disappear half-way through the day, it does the job it is meant to do and all for £17.50 - it is worth every penny!

Sheer Revolution Lipsticks - There are 10 offerings when it comes to the Sheer Revolution Lipsticks and every single one of them is beautiful. Described as being "creamy, badass luxury meets sheer, pigmented colour" the lipsticks are packaged inside this stunning lilac coloured case which I just adore. The formula is also amazing as they are infused with what is referred to as Maxi-Lip plus an added blend of nourishing oils and antioxidants into the formula along with Vitamin C and E, Shea butter and olive oil so your lips are left feeling hydrated and plumped. I wasn't too sure what to expect from Urban Decay because I am new to the lipsticks, but as well as being incredibly moisturising, the formula has a creamy consistancy which simply glides across the lips leaving behind great coverage of colour and shine but none of that horrible sticky tackiness you often get with lipsticks. 

I was sent two different shades - Sheer Ladyflower and Sheer Rapture, both very different shades but both utterly stunning. 

Sheer Rapture is described as being sheer dusty rose and once on the lips, you can see the transfer of colour which is more of a rosy plum shade, quite out of my comfort zone, but the colour which lasts for a good 4-5 hours before the shine wears off and whilst there is still a hint of colour, you might feel you want to touch up your lipstick.

Sheer Ladyflower is a sheer rose pink shade and when applied it is more of a medium pink, which looks really lovely.  As with Rapture, it lasts 4-5 hours before you need to re-apply.  Both lipsticks retail at £15.50

Moondust Eyeshadow is a product I have come across before, but this range has 4 new added shades which are called Ether, Scorpio and Cosmic. I was kindly sent Scorpio and Ether which are truly beautiful to look at, never mind play with and wear. Like all other Eyeshadows, each of the Moondust shades come packaged in a compact with the cool pop-out feature. You can pop these shadows out of their compacts with no problem and into an Urban Decay customisable Build Your Own Palettes (RRP £8) to create the ultimate travel-friendly collection. Each shade retails at £14.

Ether is described as being a “light purple with pink-blue 3D sparkles and it is quite a fine texture which you can apply with your fingers or a brush easily, though go careful with how much you choose to wear because there is a lot of sparkle! 

Scorpio is described as a “matte black with gold 3D sparkle and within this shade, the sparkles aren't quite as noticeable as they are in Ether, but they are present. For me, this isn't a shade that I wear across my entire eyelid, though it is possible and it looks amazing on a lot of looks ive seen, but I prefer to wear it under my lower lash line, which I fine much easier to applier than eyeliner and it is lovely and smokes out really nicely, again with your finger or a brush.

I am very much enamored with this collection, it includes something for everyone including those of us who are yet to be brave enough to try a lot more colour and on the reverse for those people who love their bright and bold shades.  

Is there anything within this collection that you want to get your hands on?

Generation Next - The Spring Collection from KIKO

One brand of make-up I haven't ever used or played with is KIKO, a brand I know a lot of my blogging friends adored, so imagine how excited I was when this little lot dropped through my door!

KIKO Milano Generation Next Colletion is new for the spring and it is full of all kinds of amazing shiny packaging that every magpie would love, not to mention lots of colour with the main theme being celebrating the future.  The dynamic geomatric packaging has been inspired by the famous italian Murano glassware, using those designed to capture the playful multicolours used throughout his work. 

Starting with the KIKO Mosaic Highlighter in 01 Future Light.  Everything about this highlighter is stunning, from the outer box, to the silver casing within which the highlighter sits.  Once opened, as you can see, in front of you is a mixture of matte and shimmery shades which help to create a perfect glow. Enriched with multi-reflective pearls the soft powder makes it easy to blend, highlight, illuminate, enhance and brighten any skin tone.  As you can see from the swatch below, it is a very delicate shimmer and that is just one swipe of my finger across the top of the mosaic pattern, you can of course build it up.

What I also love is that there is also a mirror which is always handy to have. This highlighter has an RRP £14.90

KIKO Cool Touch Eyeshadow in 01 Original Cream is one of eight creamy intense eyeshadows.  Once applied it gives a long-lasting metallic and glossy finish. Again it is packaged inside a truly stunning case which compliments the highlighter and the shade I have is absolutely stunning, it works with any shade and highlights the eye area.  There is an RRP £8.90

KIKO Frosted Look Lipstick in shade 01 of 6 shades.  To look at, as you can see, it is a creamy chubby pencil lipstick which makes the application quick and easy, especially if are on the go.  Given that it is called a frosted lipstick it gives you a satin finish with colour that holds for a good 4-5 hours after application.  I applied this when I went to see Slipnot at Wembley as I left work at 5pm, when we got home at midnight, there was still a hint of the colour on my lips, which considering I had eaten some chilli beef nachos and had a few bottles of desperado beer, is quite impressive! you easy and quick application on-the-go. There is an RRP £7.50

To work alongside lipsticks is a lip gloss and the KIKO Glassy Lipgloss which I have in shade 02 is again beautiful, from the outer casing which again looks stunning alongside the Highlighter and eyeshadow compacts with the silvery finish, is one of six shades.  This liquid lipgloss provides intense pigmentation with a really glossy wet-look finish.  It is described as being a hybrid of a lipstick and lipgloss and has a water-based formula which coats the lips whilst moisturizing them at the same time, but it is not at all sticky or tacky when applied. When you first come to use it, there is a really subtle vanillery scent which soon disappears. There is an RRP £7.90 

The final item in my little bundle of joy is two KIKO Crystal Eyeliner in shades (5) which is a stunning bright blue and shade (6) which is an almost black shade.  As these are pencil eyeliners, they are really smooth on the eye area, given they are formulated with a combination of waxes and filmogens, it gives the feel of a liquid liner and once it has been applied, nothing budges it, not even a day in front of a computer screen, even with a hand swatch, it is really hard to remove. There are six shades available and they have an RRP £6.90

As someone who has just been introduced to the world of KIKO, I am really impressed with these products and love everything about them from the amazing packaging to the long-lasting formulas, it is an exciting collection to have and it doesn't stop there.  The collection also includes a Generation Next Face Brush, CC Cream Cushion, Masterpiece Bronzer, Mosaic Blush and Crystal Fusion Super Moisture Face Serum which sounds amazing. The Generation Next collection launches in March.

What do you think to this collection? Are you a KIKO fan?