Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette vs MUA's Undress Me Too Palette | Review |

Hello everybody! Today I'm going to be putting one of the beauty world's biggest successes up against a 'dupe' that's eight times as cheap! That's right, I'm going to be comparing the famous 'Naked 2' Palette by Urban Decay with MUA's significantly cheaper dupe called the 'Undress Me Too' palette.

Retailing at £37 in most shops, the Naked 2 Palette is most definitely on the expensive side, and wouldn't it be great if there was a much cheaper palette that had the exact same shades for a much cheaper price...? Well that's where the Undress Me Too palette comes in, which retails at £4.00 in Superdrug shops.

Personally, the Naked 2 Palette has always attracted me, however I held my own for a long time and didn't give in to buying it. Instead, I opted for the much cheaper palette by MUA and it was my absolute favourite eyeshadow palette that I used everyday, until recently I caved. I bought the Naked 2 palette. Honestly, though, I do not regret it! When I was at the till I was mentally scolding myself for spending so much on eyeshadow! (But on the bright side I got a 10% discount when I paid!) But upon using the palette for the first time... I didn't regret spending over £30 on eyeshadow anymore. I finally understood what all the hype was about. The Naked 2 palette is amazing! Nevertheless, my trusty old MUA palette is still a palette I use on a daily basis, and in this review I'm going to be comparing both palettes and telling you why I'll be repurchasing both of them when the time comes.

First off, let us start with the MUA palette. I've had this for about a year now, and have only recently hit pan on the shades 'naked' (a matted cream colour) and 'lavish' (a matted brown), which are generally the two shades I use practically everyday.

Top (left to right): Naked, Devotion, Shy, Fiery, Lavish and Dreamy.
Bottom (Left to right): Tranquil, Exposed, Reveal, Wink, Obsessed and Corrupt.

Considering the price of this palette, it really is very good, and is much more suited to use on a daily basis, especially if you're aiming for a natural eye look. Granted, the shades aren't that brilliantly pigmented, and definitely do require building up if you want them to be really noticeable on your eyelids, but of course they're not going to have the quality of a high-end eyeshadow. They might be a little harder to blend but, again, that's a given considering the price of the product. There are some shades that are better than others in this palette.

Top (left to right): Naked, Devotion, Shy, Fiery, Lavish and Dreamy.
Bottom (Left to right): Tranquil, Exposed, Reveal, Wink, Obsessed and Corrupt.

For me, the matte shades aren't particularly good, and do definitely let this product down quite a bit. Having said that, matte shades are much harder to formulate than shimmered shades, and having better formulated mattes in this palette would have made it slightly more expensive. Despite the slight difference in price this might make, I would still not hesitate to spend a little extra on this palette if it had better formulated and better pigmented matte shades. Yes, I do use the matte shades on a daily basis, but that's because I don't want my eye makeup to be too heavy and shimmery for things like work and school. I will, however, use the lovely shimmery shade 'shy' in the inner corners of my eye almost every day, just to brighten up my eyes a bit more. The shade that really lets me down is the matte black shade 'corrupt' which honestly has hardly any pigmentation at all. Really, I thought that all matte black eyeshadows might have this problem, but when you compare this shade with the black in the Naked 2 palette, the difference is indeed significant! The shimmery colours in the Undress Me Too are the best, in my opinion. They're far more pigmented, are easier to blend and last a bit longer too. My personal favourites have to be 'shy' and 'reveal' for the inner corners of my eyes, the centre of my lid and on the brow bone. Another great one is 'obsessed', which I love putting in the outer corner of my eye to create a smokier effect. On a whole, this palette is great for creating a very natural and flattering everyday makeup look. From what I have said, it may seem like I'm not that fond of this palette any more. I'd just like to make it clear that do really really like this palette, and will most definitely be continuing to use it on a daily basis.

But if you've got the Naked 2, why do you still want to keep using the Undress Me Too? I hear you ask. Well, quite simply, it's because I'm a bit of a Scrooge! I want to savour my Naked 2 palette, and I generally only really use it for special occasions or when I want to make a statement like when I go out for a meal, go to a party or a ball etc. (or when I'm feeling particularly sassy...!) Really, I don't want to use this palette everyday because I don't want it to finish too quickly so that I have to spend another £37. But from what I've heard, the Naked 2 does tend to last a very long time.

Left to right: Foxy, half baked, bootycall, chopper, tease, snakebite, suspect,
 pistol, verve, YDK, busted, blackout.

So, where do I start with the Naked 2 palette? It's incredible. Prior to purchasing this magnificent palette, I was ignorance to the sheer quality and intensity that eyeshadows could possess. Being a frugal drugtore makeup kind of girl, I was used to the standards of the 'lower-end' eyeshadows, and was truly shocked at the sheer standard of the palette.

Top (Left to right) : Foxy, half baked, bootycall, chopper, tease, snakebite.
Bottom( Lefto to right):  suspect, pistol, verve, YDK, busted, blackout.

The difference between the matte colours when compared to the Undress Me Too palette is astounding, especially between the matte black shades. I can actually use the matte black from the Naked 2 (blackout) as an eyeliner! (You won't believe how happy I was when this worked for me) And, honestly, using the black eyeshadow as an eyeliner is so much easier than using a liquid or gel eyeliner, and gives me a much more precise and clean line.

Left paper: MUA's Undress Me Too
Right paper: Urban Decay's Naked 2 

With just the light swipe of a finger, the amount of pigmentation that arises from the shadows is phenomenal. Even with the matte colours! The way that these shadows blend is a dream. They give you an absolutely beautiful feathery effect when blended, and are the perfect eyeshadows for creating a stunning smokey eye. They last so much longer than the MUA ones, too. And when you use Urban Decay's 'Primer Potion' with them, their staying power is unbeatable. They last all day, yet they're so easy to remove afterwards. Before I bought this, I thought I would never be the kind of person to spend a lot on eyeshadow, but let me tell you I've been converted, and this will be my favourite palette for a long time, I'm sure of it. The colours are perfect for me as well. I'm definitely a neutral eye makeup kind of girl, and my idea of a dramatic eye is a neutral smokey eye compiled of browns, creams and nudes. Yes, I know the price is steep, but trust me when I tell you that it's worth it. I can assure you that this is not one of those products that everybody says they love because it's a popular product. The Naked 2 is a popular product because it works and is beautifully formulated and executed on a whole. I'm sure my tactic of using my Naked 2 for special occasions only will ensure it lasts me a long time, but when the time comes to purchase another one, I know I won't hesitate!


Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you enjoyed my review. Don't hesitate to leave me a comment telling me your opinions on the palettes, or if there's another palette that outshines the Naked 2?! Or, leave me a comment telling me which product you'd like to see me review next?

See you next time.



xox

Nivea Soft Moisturiser | Review

The Nivea Soft Moisturiser is my all time favourite moisturiser. I've been using this baby consecutively for a few years and it's one of those products I swear by. It's also one of those products that has been raved about many times on the internet, and there's a reason why.

I can't actually tell you how many tubes of this wonderful product I've gone through, but I currently own one 75ml tube which is an amazing £2.45 at Boots, but is currently on offer for £1.84, and the 200ml pot, which is also at an amazing price of £4.28 at Boots, currently on offer for £3.21!

So you're probably wondering why I'm so obsessed with this product? Well I have dry skin, and so used to have trouble applying foundation, concealer, setting powders etc, because the product would just stick to any dry patches. This would even occur after applying primers, moisturisers, toners, exfoliating etc. I purchased many products specifically for dry skin, but found my situation was still the same.  That was, of course, until I discovered The Nivea Soft moisturiser!

The consistency of the moisturiser is very creamy and thick, and you can feel its hydration once it touches your skin. It doesn't stay on your face for ages, it just sinks right in, and you can feel your skin becoming softer, it literally leaves my skin feeling baby soft! The product is definitely not greasy, and it acts as a wonderful base for makeup. The product does have a slight scent to it, but it's just that usual moisturiser smell; nothing fancy, but it does smell nice. It also leaves my skin feeling so fresh and hydrated, and I just love the all-round effect it has. It keeps my skin hydrated all day, until I use it again at night before bed. This product hasn't ever caused any kind of irritation for me, and judging by most of the ingredients, I'd say it's a gentle moisturiser which is suitable for sensitive skin. It contains the natural benefits of Jojoba oil to nourish and Vitamin E to protect and preserve the skin.

This is my everyday moisturiser, and I don't know what kind of state my skin would be in without this product. It helps really well with dry skin, making flakes much less visible, if not invisible. I would say that this product would work well on oilier skin too, because if its good absorption qualities.

The product can also be used anywhere on the body: face, hands, legs, arms, back...anywhere! So you could pop a tube of this in your handbag, and you're good for a whole-body moisturiser! It's definitely better than carrying multiple tubs and tubes of different moisturisers. Considering the price of the product, I'd say it's a definite must-try product, and I'm almost certain that most of you will like it.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream | Review

Hello! Yesterday I was looking at my make-up collection when suddenly I realised I didn't own a single BB Cream! So off I popped down to Boots to pick one up. I browsed the many BB Creams they had there, and eventually narrowed it down to the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream (£7.99) and the L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream (£9.99).

In the end I went for the Maybelline BB Cream because it was cheaper, I've heard it's very good for dry skin, and I've also ready many good reviews on it.

So here it is in the bottle:
I must be honest, for some reason it does look and feel like quite a small bottle, however it does contain 30ml of product, which is the standard amount of product you would get in a foundation bottle. And as you can see in the photo above, it is the same size, if not bigger, as two foundations I own.

On the front is claims:

• That it's an 8-in-1 BB Cream
• That is gives an Instant Fresh-Faced Glow
• And that it has SPF 30

So neither of my current moisturisers (Nivea Soft and Soap & Glory's For Daily Youth) contain SPF, and I don't use any other products to get my daily dose of SPF, ( I know it's bad ). So when I saw that the Maybelline BB Cream had SPF 30 in it, I was delighted, and it was another reason I was pushed more towards buying it.

The back of the product:

So on the back it claims to 

1. Create a natural glow
2. Compliment the skin-tone
3. SPF30 UV protection
4. Hydrates all day
5. Blurs imperfections
6. Oil free, non-greasy
7. Looks visibly smooth
8. Feels fresh

So for someone with dry skin like mine, claims such as numbers 1 and 4 sound very appealing. And with someone like me who also has very imperfect skin, number 5 sounds glorious!

This is what the BB Cream looks like when put onto the skin. Immediately it looks quite dark, (especially on me since I'm so pale), but once blended in it's surprisingly sheer and undetectable. Bearing in mind that this is also the lightest colour that the BB Cream comes in. ( Light )

When I put the product on my face, again it looked quite dark, but once I blended it in with my fingers the darkness disappeared.

Point number 1 said that the BB Cream would create a natural glow. For me, unfortunately, it didn't, but maybe that's because I have quite dry skin. If you have oilier skin then this might give you a nice glow.

Point number 2 claimed to compliment the skin tone. I think, personally, it did compliment my skin tone, ad it blended in well with my skin colour and covered most redness I had on my face.

Point number 3 says that it has SPF 30, which I can't test for, but I'm sure they're telling the truth! This BB Cream is perfect for Summer with the SPF which will protect you from those harmful UV rays for as long as you wear the cream. I think it would also be good if you're skiing, as SPF is super important when skiing, and you can feel a bit more confident with the BB Cream instead of wearing no make-up at all.

Point 4 says that it hydrates all day. I can agree with this, even though I have quite dry skin I found that by the end of the day my skin still felt quite soft and hydrated which is a big bonus.

I agree and disagree with point 5, which said it will blur imperfections. I found that the BB Cream did blur some imperfections such as most redness on the skin, it blurred my pores and any minor little imperfections. However if you're hoping that this will blur any spots, acne or scars, it probably wont. I found that it didn't cover my spots at all, and so concealer is still a must with this BB Cream if you have any spots. I was surprised to see how well in covered dark circles under the eyes, but still concealer was needed.

Since point six said that the BB Cream was oil free and non-greasy, I experimented by going the day without any powder. By the end of the day my skin did look a little shiny, especially in my T-zone area.

I can agree with point 7 that it did make my skin look smoother, and so I think that you could use this BB Cream as a base for foundation if you wanted a slightly higher-coverage look.

And finally point 8. I can agree that it did make my skin feel fresh, and also hydrated. It didn't stick onto any dry patches on the skin, it actually hydrated the skin, making any flakiness less visible, if not disappear!

So my conclusion on this BB Cream is that I like it a lot, and my first experience of using a BB Cream has been very successful. I will definitely be experimenting with more BB Creams in the future, so be sure to recommend any you think I should try or would like me to review.

From my experience I think this product is great for those of you with dry skin, who find that their current foundation or BB Cream just worsens any dryness on your skin by sticking to it and making it more visible.

This is also great for those days where you don't want to wear too much make-up, but you still want some concealment.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this helpful.

xoxo

I'm Officially a Blogger!

So it's official, I am now a blogger!

I have wanted to start my own blog for quite some time now, as I'm a very big fan of the hugely popular bloggers such as Fleur (FleurDeForce), Zoe (Schoe/Zoella), Tanya Burr, Louise (SprinkleOfGlitter) and many more. I also have a profound love of make-up, beauty, fashion and all that jazz. I've considered starting a blog for some time now, but could never find the time to write my first post, and I've always been a bit nervous. But here I am, and I've finally plucked up the courage to start my blog and share it with you.

So now that we're acquainted, I think a proper introduction is in order, don't you?
My name is Emily and I'm sixteen years old. I'm from a small town in Wales, but I live in a small rural area. I absolutely love make-up, and even though I like to keep my look quite neutral and simple, I will often experiment with some daring looks!

 I'm also a lover of fashion, ans can't stop myself from treating my self once in a while ( maybe a little too often ). But how can you resist it when clothes are just so pretty? My clothing style reflects my make-up, again I like to keep it simple and find myself wearing lots of browns, blacks, and darker colours. However in the Summer I do like to jazz it up a bit with pastels, neons and various patterns!

Now onto lifestyle. Ok, my life isn't really interesting, but I do enjoy my little outings. I often go shopping, go for walks, go out for lunch or dinner etc. So in this blog I hope to share a bit of my everyday life with you, as uninteresting as it may be!

So thank you for visiting my blog, and I'm excited to share my blogging journey with you.

xoxo