Baked (like golden bread) by Urban Decay

Always being a make-up lover, when it came to my best friend buying me a little present for Christmas, it was really quite easy to pick something.

My first Urban Decay shadow... I was so excited.

It is the most beautiful golden shimmer named Baked. It reminds me of golden baked bread that my dad makes.

When I went to apply it I wasn't sure the style of look I would go for so I used my MUA brown trio palette to create a nice base and contour and highlight my brow bone. I then applied this stunning shimmer to the lid. I decided it reminded me of Arabian nights looks I've seen on Sex and the City 2 and Instagram, so I teamed it with a thick black cat eye eyeliner and applied my Avon liquid look eyeliner pencil to my lower waterline, something I never do! To complete the look I used my GOSH forever shadow stick in Bronze to add shimmer to my browbone and under my waterline.

This was the result...

Once I teamed this with a brown lippy of my mums from the 90s I had my new fave look!

 This shadow is available online here... Urban Decay Eyeshadow Single in Baked.

jew's make-up stash

As you may have already seen below I have recorded the wonderful beauty favourites of my best friend Chloe whilst on my holiday back home in Manchester. And seeing as I have another amazing best friend that I was visiting this week who has the best stash of make-up I've ever seen (in real life) it was just seemed fair that she get a dedicated post too. She is my go to when it comes to make-up, if I want to play with her make-up or want some tips or want to know the best brushes to get I would turn to Juliette. (aka Jewstone, Jewvenile Convict, Jew bird, Jules, Jew)

Juliette's eye make-up picks...

Something I would say Juliette is a bit of an expert, if not just a girl obsessed by, is eyeshadow and  make-up for the eyes. She has sooooo many shadows.. These are just her favourites.

Urban Decay's Naked Palettes: Everyone, everywhere loves naked eye palettes. And you can see why, the neutral to dark colours allow you to create the perfect look whether it be all natural or smoky. I love going to Juliette's house and using her Naked palettes, I still haven't invested in my own because I always keep my shadow quite basic and natural and focus on eyeliner and lashes but they are lovely, I do want one!

NYX Loose Pearl Shadows in Copper, Bronze, Purple and Gold: These tiny pots of sparkly loveliness are so lovely. Juliette uses a little empty palette or empty eyeshadow tub to put in a little bit of the loose pearl with some water to create a lovely cream shadow. I love the Lilacy purple shade, there are loads more available on the website. If I invest I might go for the Turqouise one, it looks very mermaid-esque. That mermaid-aqua look with the pearlescent or metallic sheen is a great trend this season with coloured make up. Especially for your eyes and nails. 

The last top shadow Juliette picked out was the Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24HR Eye Shadow in Metallic Pomegrenate: Says it all in the name really, a shadow that won't clump in your creases but will last all day and night so you have an easy transaction from your work to party looks without any fuss about shadow! Juliette uses the Metallic Pomegrenate shade because she loves the contrast is has next to her pale skin, dark reddish hair and dark eyes.

Juliette, like myself, is a lover of Sleek Make-Up. Her new favourite product is the Sleek Brow Kit:  Now I have a really good new brow kit, I have tried two now (I used to be naughty and just use a brown eyeshadow) one by GOSH with powder brow shadow and my new one is by Shavata with a lovely cream shadow and they are both really good. This kit combines both a cream and a shadow, available in various shades - such a great idea because i found with my other kits that I use only one shadow and it's a total waste! So I am thinking this is my next brow kit..

Juliette's facial make-up favourites..

Super+ Beblesh Balm BB Cream with SPF 25: A Korean BB cream available on amazon, is one of Juliette's favourite facial makeup products because it is apparently the best. According to Jew, Korean BB Creams are the best kind, I'm not an expert on the matter so I wouldn't know, but Jew does her research and what she says goes. So get yourself on amazon, because the little swatch i did was really nice, and looked like it does the job really well.

BH Cosmetics Glamourous Blush Palette: Juliette isn't blessed with my naturally rosy cheeks, so one of her key items is a varied blush palette with blush for every season. So that whatever the weather you look fresh and glowing.

Another blusher Juliette loves is NYX Powder Blush in Taupe. It's a lovely natural colour and is perfect for contouring her pale skin. It makes a lovely difference to the darker bronzers you get in contouring palettes.

Juliette adores coconut oil..

I have mentioned Coconut Oil before in my eyelashes tips & mascara's blog post. Where I explained that coconut oil is often used on eyelashes to stimulate growth, according to Juliette it is also a wonderful moisturiser. Juliette has very sensitive skin with patches of occasional eczma so a good moisturiser is essential. Coconut Oil has al sorts of amazing qualities like natural UV protection and natural source of vitamin E (which I love and you all know it, as it is a natural healing and reparing vitamin for skin).

Juliette's new nail polishes..

I have seen these gorgeous Aquarium nail polishes by Barry M all over the blogging world and given Juliette's on going obsession with Barry M polishes, I should have known she would have some. She has the Mediterranean and Pacific and they are amazing. The Mediterranean shade is a pink/orange colour, on certain lights its a vibrant orange and in others a glimmering pink. The Pacific shade, Juliette was actually wearing the other day, and it is a lovely shimmering green/blue colour. I really really want some of these polishes I could do some lovely mermaid nail art with them.

Juliette's best lipsticks..

Avon Lipstick in Berry Berry is a lush colour! I (as an admirer of red lipstick) adore the shade, it's bright and so perfect for day or night this summer - good choice Juliette :)
Juliette is also loving purple lipsticks at the moment and her favourite is the Revlon ColourBurst Matte Balm in Shameless, I have never tried out purple lipstick but Juliette wore it while I was home and it really suited her to a T, it really complimented her brown eyes and pale skin. I love wearing the colour purple so I might give it ago, seeing as you know orange and purple are such good suitors and all!
Her favourite pink lipstick is a Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in 18, a lovely pink shade (again perfect for summer). This lipstick would be a great option for a daytime summer look, I think it would suit most complexions.

So there they are, all the best bits of Juliette's make-up, and here are some lovely pics of her face painting skills! See you next time for my mum's classic products :) x

bat those lashes

Thought today I would let you in on a little make-up secret of mine. One thing I could not do without on a daily basis is mascara - I have the blondest eyelashes that are literally invisible.

And so I have tried so many mascara's in my time always bouncing from one to another trying to work out which is best and I like a lot but my favourites are the ones I currently own (and need to re-purchase!). Before I tell you about them though I wanted to tell you about a little trick of mine that gets the mascara to apply nice and thick and sleek with no lumps and bumps. 

It's called Vaseline ladies, yes, vaseline can be used for pretty much anything (I say vaseline but I mean petroleum jelly). I used to and still do watch make-up tutorials and yearrrrs ago, we are talking donkeys, when I started using mascara the three tips that stuck with me are as follows:

1. Hold your mirror low/tilt your head upwards to that you can avoid getting mascara on your eyelids

2. Shake your brush from side to side after a few strokes to get your lashes to split from one another

3. And always apply vaseline to your lashes before putting the mascara on - don't ask questions just do it

And a new tip that I need to invest in as soon as possible is one passed on by my lovely best friend Juliette, when I was telling her about my vaseline trick she told me that she uses coconut oil on her lashes (or at least she had heard of it). More specifically, she had the Superdrug own brand one on her bed side table, it was a waxy texture and smelt lovely (looking online here it is only £2.29). However, upon doing more research it is rumored that vaseline makes your lashes grow also .. So hey presto, another amazing reason to listen to my advice!!

My favourite mascara at the minute and I think ever acutally is the Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Retro Glam - My eyelashes look so so so long, now I don;t know if they are and the mascara is the only one that covers them all or if it is a case of lengthening in the mascara?, either way I love it. The brush hugs all your eyelashes that makes it so easy to get all the little iddy biddy ones in the corners (even though it is what I call a bushy brush which I don't normally like).

Another one I love at the minute is the Max Factor Eye Brightening for Blue Eyes mascara - It's brush is a type I've always loved, its straight with little spikes and it super thin so again easy to get into all the difficult places your eyelashes like to hide. I don't know about the whole 'eye brightening' idea, at first it excited me but really I don't see a different. However I do like the mascara a lot a lot so maybe it does do something different.

The final one is a newby to the bunch - a little tester that I am considering to be my next mascara buy! - it is the Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara. The brush curves right around your eyes - maybe even better than the Rimmel one - and is thin and spiky the way I like it! It goes on well, comes off well and doesn't crust off over the course of the day (which I find happens with the Max Factor one). It's perfection in a tiny weeny tube.

Which mascara do you like best?

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