Wand Wars | Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara VS. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

Though I am a false lash fanatic and have been now for many, many years I am still partial to 'false lash' effect mascaras and love trying new brushes, formulas and brands. So it was no surprise that when I found myself with two highly coveted samples from two of the beauty worlds heavy weight brands one thing sprang to mind instantly. Wand wars! (what else?)

After quite an extensive haul from Sephora in Barcelona last year I found myself being gifted with a plethora of products including the Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara original (RRP £19.00). Admittedly this was something on my list to try out 'one day' anyway however being a Benefit Roller Lash girl through and through I decided not to purchase the full size Better than Sex Mascara - but was of course chuffed to have a sample to give a whirl before committing fully. 

The big pull for this mascara seems to not only be the formula itself, but their unique brush applicator, which has an 'hourglass' shape inspired by Hollywood Bombshells of the golden era. The carbon black mascara with its collagen rich formula promises full, defined lashes that take your lashes to all new lengths. Too Faced say that you can achieve three different looks depending on how many coats you decide to give your lashes - I decided to try all three and I felt for me 2 light coatings was quite enough - lest you risk getting into spider lash territory. I love the way the formula and brush feels on my lashes and the feel of the brush - unlike the Roller Lash which, if you catch your skin or eye is VERY sore, my only peeve would be how flaky it can be if you accidentally use too much and it'll go all over your face, otherwise, I give this mascara two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Again I then found myself at Christmas buying a special edition box from Urban Decay which included a whole host of new and old product samples, lip gloss, eyeshadow, blushers and of course a sample of their Perversion Mascara (RRP £19.00). This product wasn't something I'd heard terribly much about, however when I opened it up for the first time quite recently, I kind of fell in love with the brush. Full of soft bristles and with a great tube that handily removed much of the product before application, for that alone I was pretty impressed.

With this mascara Urban Decay promise, bigger, blacker, badder lashes through their ultra creamy formula and to deliver great length and volume, and the big, big pull? It 'glides' on in one stroke! I found that the formula was quite 'wet' in comparison to the Too Faced one and took a while to dry - so if you're prone to blinking right after applying mascara then maybe this one isn't for you - unless of course you enjoy the clean up...and panda eyes! I wouldn't say you need as much of this mascara to achieve a similar look to what you get using the Better than Sex formula and due to the creamy, wet feeling formula it doesn't go clumpy in the same way. 

Would I purchase a full size of either? Yes I would, however which one I would recommend definitely depends on the type of person you are - if you like a quite make up routine then Better than Sex is for you - if like me, you don't mind spending a little more time on your routine, and can afford to be a bit more careful then I'd definitely go for Perversion. (Though I may buy Better than Sex JUST for the tube because come on it's beautiful!

Sorry if with a title like wand wars you were expecting a wizarding story of epic proportions but you guys know that's not how I roll! Have you ever tried the mascaras above? If so I'd love to hear what you thought of them - or maybe theres something out there even better than them, let me know in the comments below, come sneak the links to me on Twitter, or if you'd like to see me play with make up a bit more you can find me on Instagram and more of my words on Bloglovin.

Until next time,

H.Elizabeth x

Waterproof Foundation? | Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation Review

Waterproof foundation? When I heard these two words put together, and in a press release from Urban Decay Cosmetics, I KNEW I had to have it. The Urban Decay All Nighter was launched only a couple of months ago now and I have been trying it now in the shade 0.5 (the lightest shade FYI) for a couple of weeks since buying it ages ago an being too unwilling to use it because the packaging, the packaging was just too beautiful. But then I had a day. One day that I thought would be just perfect to test out a waterproof foundation.... the wettest day of the season so far!

The foundation itself is marketed as a full coverage, matte formula with waterproof properties and promises not to feel cakey or uncomfortable. Matte is actually not something I have a great deal of experience with given my skin type is generally quite dry however after doing a bit of research I found girls with dry skin, oily skin, combo skin, all skin types generally got along with this foundation  and the swatches had me sold! 

I know I say this a lot as a beauty blogger, and as a beauty blog reader I imagine you read this a lot too, but I'm not kidding when I say a little of this product goes a long, long way (and if you can think of another way of me to write that please tell me in the comments below) Usually with my Naked foundation by Urban Decay I'll dot, blend and then dot all over again and then go in with concealer, with this foundation however I dot sparingly blend and then I can right away go in and contour / highlight and all of that glitter bomb jazz! The coverage is amazing and having used it with my go to primer I was super impressed with how long it lasted through the day (yes through the wind AND rain) and didn't oxidise as badly as I thought it may.

Now, I know I read in many, many places that despite it's matte quality that this foundation is absolutely fine for drier skin, well I'm calling it... no, no it is not. The day I chose to debut this I didn't have a visible patch of dry skin on my face, however when I got home in the evening and went to take my face off I had dry patches on my forehead. So this foundation WILL find a dry patch on my face and WILL cling to it - not a great look. However I do think I'm going to persevere as the finish and the look it gives my skin is just so damn good an porcelain looking that I'm willing to undergo a more intense moisturising routine.

Have you had a chance to try out Urban Decay's All Nighter Foundation, I'd really love to hear what you thought of it in relation to your own skin type. Be sure to leave all thoughts, comments and musings below or come find me on the usual socials, Twitter, Instagram and Bloglovin to have a good ole chinwag about it.

Until next time folks, I could go an all nighter!

H.Elizabeth x

Don't look I'm Naked (again) | Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation Review

What could be more fitting than a foundation that keeps your skin looking like skin but better? Perhaps a good, and more millennial way of looking at it would be a filter for your face, or even face tune IRL! Well ladies and gents I may have found something for just that, the Naked Skin Foundation by Urban Decay.

Never have I ever been so obsessed with foundation, currently I have around five different bottles of the stuff open and on the go in different finishes, tones and of course all give me something different, matte, dewy, full coverage, light coverage, in fact in my own personal kit you may just find something for everyone. But if you're looking for the one, the one to see you through the lighter days, the fuller days, the matte or dewy days then you may just want to get Naked....

I first discovered the Naked range by Urban Decay when I picked up their much hyped concealer...then picked it up again...and then again, in fact guys, if I could I would just cover my face in that concealer and be done with it! So after hitting it off with their concealer I was so excited to try out the foundation. The foundation is described by Urban Decay as having a demi matte finish which offers luminosity, a flawless, airbrushed finish which also feels very light weight on the skin (weightless according to the bottle!) 

I picked this up in the shade 0.5 (the lightest in case you were wondering!) and at first I was mixing this with my tried and trusted Arbonne foundation, dotting it around sparingly and then blending it using a dampened beauty blender. This helped give me a true airbrushed, high coverage finish, dewy in all of the right places and is now my 'go to' party or evening look. However the Naked foundation on it's own I would say is a relatively medium coverage and offers a more dewy finish than a matte - which is great for my quite dry skin - but perhaps that is due to the way in which I am applying it (beatuty blender spritzed with MACs Fix+) I think this foundation also offers a radiance I haven't experienced with many other products and is complimented beautifully by the Naked concealer for highlighting dem cheekbones!

My only gripe about the foundation is that is has a very strong scent and if you don't use quite a heavy duty primer can feel a bit 'burny' on the skin on days where my skin is feeling a bit dry or sensitive (just a description guys don't worry I'm not burning my face on the daily!) However if you do have sensitive or very, very dry skin I would give this one a miss. I'm also a bit annoyed at the consistency of the foundation, I understand this all contributes towards the weightless feel of it on the skin however beware it may squirt at your face (fine it's going there anyway but you don't want that fear factor!)

Will I repurchase this foundation? Probably, I find it works quite well for me, particularly so when I mix it with my gentler Arbonne foundation. Though I have been working on this tube for a good while now with no signs of it finishing any time soon so I won't have to rush out to my local Urban Decay Counter any time soon.

Well guys again I hope you have liked my latest justification for spending so much money on make up post, I will be bringing you even more of these in the coming weeks so be sure to keep an eye out for those over on Bloglovin, read about the upcoming products I'll be buying and justifying over on Twitter or you can see my buyers remorse faces on Instagram.

Until next time folks, don't look now! I'm naked!

H.Elizabeth x

Urban Decay | Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer Review

 

Concealer is something I've never felt an intense need to splurge on. After finding my tried and tested collection lasting perfection concealer all of those years ago I thought I was finished with my search (at £4.19 a go I wasn't complaining) However having now began my own make up artistry business I've found that many ladies simply don't appreciate me using a collection concealer on them, and you know a small part of me understands. If I were to visit a make up artist and they used the likes of make up revolution, MUA and collection I might pull a face or two, after all you're paying for the best. So off to the department stores I went in search of another concealer that could dazzle me as much as collection had all those years ago.

Enter Urban Decay. After nipping in to Debenhams for a top up of my favourite setting spray ever I hadn't expected to walk out with a concealer, particularly as Urban Decay have previously only been known for their sprays and shadows, but alas here we are and I want to introduce you to the Naked Concealer.

I chose the lightest shade available which I think is fair neutral to give it a good test run before committing it to my kit, the product is of a waterier consistency than my collection concealer but the brush is perfection. Flat on either end and spongy in texture it is so gentle under your eyes and distributes the perfect amount of product every time. The shade may be a little light for me but I've been using it so far to highlight around my brozner and contoured areas, buffed in with a damp beauty blender it offers a lovely dewy finish coveted by many at this time of year! Overall I am impressed with this product, particularly the coverage it offers and minimal creasing in my undereyes at the end of the day, and it also helps that it smells just like summer (open one and take a whiff you'll see what I mean!)

 

I've seen a lot of other reviewers online who claim that it has broken them out, doesn't agree with their skin type or is just generally a bad fit for them, and that's true in even the greatest products, so my best advice to you would be instead of splurging the £17.50 straight away, go in past your local Urban Decay counter and ask for a sample.

Overall I'm looking forward to stocking my kit with this little wonder in the future (my bank balance on the other hand is having heart palpitations) but don't worry I'll still have my trusty old Collection concealer on hand in case I need a stand in. Have you ever tried any products other than the Naked palettes by Urban Decay, I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations or even any product recommendations in the comments section below, come share them with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram even, or you can keep up with my latest beauty buys, finds and reviews on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, let's get Naked.

H.Elizabeth x

Flawless Faces | Urban Decay All Nighter Make Up Setting Spray

Don't you just hate it when your face melts off? Don't panic I'm not talking Indiana Jones face melting; I'm not THAT ginger and Aberdeen is not that hot! But isn't it a real pain when you've got your glam face on, maybe you've went a little crazy and slapped on some highlight, maybe a little contour, and you head off to start your day only to find your eyes are down by your cheeks and your cheeks have unfortunately slipped down far enough to give you that highly sought after double chin, your face has failed you! Which is pretty much how every day went for me until I discovered make up setting spray!

Now I must say I was a little cheeky a couple of times before buying this, giving myself a quick spritz in my local Boots and Debenhams while the staff were occupied with filing their nails and preening to check if this stuff really did work, and I wasn't disappointed! The spray claims to help your make up last up to 16 hours and prevent any slippage (yes that is the technical word...ahem) which means you won't get any of those unsightly under eye lines, so after my few cheeky sprays with some great results I decided to take the plunge and commit to a non slippy face.

The first full day I gave this a proper go was for my friends first bridal fitting, and given the facial expressions I was due to pull that day this spray had it's work cut out! The instructions suggest a couple of light sprays in a cross shape across your face after you have finished applying your make up. I was a bit worried that given I like a dewy complexion that I would get little 'water marks' down my face but this literally went on and felt dry immediately so I thankfully didn't have that tacky, uncomfortable feeling. And so it was the true test had begun and I went on with my day and 'best maid of honour ever' duties.

Now that day I pulled a lot of facial expressions; something I of course try not to do in my normal day to day life because, wrinkles dah-ling. But in all seriousness I smiled, laughed, cried, pulled faces of disgust on cue as well as the usual gushy faces you'd expect from a bridal / wedding themed day out so I really thought I was in store for more of a mosaic rather than a face on returning to the apartment that evening. On looking rather cautiously in the mirror I was pleasantly surprised, there was no slippage, no bunching, creasing or indeed melting of any kind whatsoever. My under eyes looked as smooth as when first applied and in fact the only area that needed a going over were my lips. So after a good slathering of lippy I was good to go again.

Overall I have been quite impressed with this product, of course I have no other frame of reference to base this on so I'm not going to go ahead and claim this is the biggest and bestest holy grail product of setting sprays, because at £21.00 from Debenhams it isn't a cheap purchase. But of course if you are looking to have a bit of a splurge, or like me you had a voucher to spend then why not? Give it a bash and be sure to tell me your thoughts, share your favourite setting sprays and just have a general natter with me in the comments below or keep up to date with me on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, mosaic face is a thing of my past!

H.Elizabeth x