FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE: 2 BLOGGERS - 2 LOOKS. MY CAT EYE EVENING GLAM IN COLLABORATION WITH NISHIV MUA

Welcome to Makeup Friday and today's really special, as Miss NishiV MUA is collaborating with me on this one :) If you haven't already, go now and stalk her on Bloglovin', Youtube (she's the brave one and makes Youtube vids), Instagram, Facebook & Twitter. I stalk NishiV all the time - she won't mind :) So, am I scared to collab with an actual MUA? Damn right I am hahaha  <3

Today is about having fun, and we had so much fun creating these two looks for you and talking across all social media, both excited at what's to come :) OK, would you like to have a look? 

Base, Contour & Cheeks

I started with primed skin and applied Misha B.B Cream in 13 to cover up any redness and for a flawless look. This is a high coverage BB cream and I love it. I wanted to go a little stronger on the eye so flawless base was a must :) I covered up my under eyes with my new favourite - Kobo Illuminator which gives a decent coverage but it's also super highlighting. I then 'baked' the under eyes with ELF Under Eye Setting Powder and left it there for good 30 mins and brushed the excess off, when I finished with eye makeup.

I used my Cream Contouring Wheel from KOBO to contour my cheeks and my forehead (cool tones colour) and the highlighting colour on the tip of my nose, chin and underneath the cheek contour. I blended it all out with the same brush I applied both BB Cream and Concelaer - my favourite Sigma F80. I then set it all in place using Lush Emotional Brilliance Setting Powder (It's incredible for dry skin as it gives a satin effect). I wanted some colour to my face so I added a fair amount of theBalm Balm Dessert Bronzer across my cheekbones and blending it out upwards on the temples and forehead.

I finished up my cheeks with a tad of Makeup Revolution Matte Blush in Fusion and Pro Illuminate Powder that I'm currently obsessed with - such a pretty highlight !!

Eyes, Brows & Lips

I wanted a stronger look as I was inspired by both NishiV's smokey eyes and some other artists. I wanted cat eye but defined, yet blended. I wanted to add some peach and this look came to mind. I stated with priming my lid with MAC Paint Pot in Painterly. I'm obsessed with this as a primer :) 

On to Makeup Revolution Fortune Favours The Brave. I used Soft to set my base with, all over the lid, the crease and under the brow bone. I then started with my transition shades and used a mixture of Buffer & Latte just above my crease, as I have hooded eyes. With the eyes prepped - I started lining my cat eye using Blacqua. It's a super pigmented black and I loved working with it. I wanted a cat eye that's really defined on the edges and blended softly inwards, creating a fake larger lid space. I won't lie, I had experience a bit of fall out but nevertheless it was great to work with. I kept adding the colour in, until I was satisfied with the results. I then started with Peachy. This is such a beautiful peach shade, perfect mix of peach and pink, unfortunately not very pigmented so I had to add and add the shade to the mid lid and blending in the cat eye inwards just above the crease. I blended the peach towards inner corner and finished it off with a mixture of Ice Cloud and New World in the inner corner. For the bottom lid I recreated the steps, adding Blacqua to outer corner and blending it out with Peachy. I added some Maybelline Gel Liner as I was planning to use falsies and finished the lashes with two coats of Max Factor Velvet Volume Mascara. For my falsies I used Superdrug own Volume no 21 false lashes. 

For my brows I used Freedom Brow Pomade in Taupe. This is my holy grail brow product. It's only a fiver and it does what great pomade should do - amazing!! Glad to see such a great product available in drugstore. With such a strong eye, I opted for nude lips and chose my recent favourite MUR Rose Gold Lipstick in Chauffeur. You could get away with more peachy tone lips but I prefer mine in either statement or nude :)

Hope you enjoy my finished look. Don't forget to check out NishiV MUA post as well. Just click here now. She's also on Snapchat so if you like a glimpse into her every day life just search: Nishi.V

From myself I would love to wish you a Happy Easter, eat lots of chocolate, spend time with family and friends and enjoy the 4 day weekend (and Easter sales nut shhhhhh). 

Don't forget to enter my Makeup Revolution giveaway where you can grab new Flawless 2 palette and a Rose Gold lipstick and more, to name a couple. It's open internationally so don't miss out :) click here now !!!

Thank you for reading,

Love

Dorota x

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YOUR EVENING MAKEUP SORTED: URBAN DECAY SMOKY REVIEW WITH SWATCHES :)

Happy Saturday people :) Hello weekend !! <enter unicorn emoji here> I'm coming to you with a palette, I was not supposed to buy as I foolishly thought, the colour scheme won't suit me !! Enter ladies from UD counter in Selfridges Birmingham... I honestly can't go there without walking out with something. If you follow me on Instagram(if not what are you doing??? check me out here lol), you've seen that in the end I ordered it from Feel Unique as it was out of stock at my local counter :) I gave it a good test and I come to you with my thoughts on Urban Decay Smoky.

One of the most exciting launches for Urban Decay this year. We have waited a long time since Naked 3 !! As with any UD palette, colour scheme is a lot different from the last. Naked 3 brought us pinks and purples and now Smoky gives us a perfect smoky eye goodness. When I saw pictures or seen the swatches I wasn't that interested. I wasn't sure if I want to spend £38.00 on a palette, I just couldn't see myself using. I was wrong (thank god lol).

Packaging

I love UD palettes packaging but this one may be my favourite. Made from high quality plastic in grey tones, it suits the colour scheme perfectly. It is the most gorgeous looking palette I own to date. I really like the magnetic lid !! I love the floating smoke like lid, I think it's perfectly marketed with its design. 

Brush

For the first time, we are introduced to the new double ended blending brush. It's smaller on one end making it a pretty good lower lid blending brush, and larger and fluffier on the other side. For the first time I am not hating on the brush, as I found previous design and quality of the brush lacking to say the least. It's not Zoeva or Sigma, but it does the job pretty well.

Formula

Eyeshadows are soft to touch, almost creamy. Pigmentation is excellent on all shadows except for one. High isn't as pigmented as the others and I experienced a lot of fall out. Little fallout is unfortunately experienced with few shades but the pigmentation wins it for me! I mean just look at the swatches <in love>. The staying power is pretty good, 6 hours without the primer or up to 16 hours with properly primed lid. I think I prefer the formula to previous Naked palettes. Shadows are mostly very easy to blend and they're a real pleasure to work with. 

Colour scheme

As the name suggest, UD Smoky is a perfect choice for both daytime and evening smoky eyes. Most shadows are cool toned but there are few more neutral gems. I am personally in love with Combust, which makes a perfect crease transition shade for someone as pale as me with pink undertones. Shall we compare the shades now? Oh go on... :)

High is a champagne/rose gold shimmer with micro-glitter

Dirtysweet is a copper bronze

Radar is a metallic taupe with micro-glitter

Armor is a metallic silver with sparkle

Slanted is a light metallic grey

Dagger is a medium charcoal with micro-shimmer

Black Market is a jet-black satin

Smolder is a deep plum-taupe

Password a cool taupe matte

Whiskey a rich brown matte 

Combust is a soft pink matte

Thirteen is a light beige satin

I have tested this palette for nearly 2 weeks now and if I wasn't testing other new palettes as well, I would be using it every day. Watch out for an evening smoky eye look soon :) I didn't expect to love this palette as much as I do. I was never too much into the whole cool toned smoky eye, mainly opting for warm brown shades. It surprised me to love it so much and I'm glad I have it in my collection. 

What are your thoughts on Urban Decay Naked Smoky? Have you taken the plunge and treated yourself or maybe it's on your Christmas wish list? Sound off in the comments below :)

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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FREEDOM WEEK #3 - FREEDOM MAKEUP LONDON PRO 12 AUDACIOUS MATTES PALETTE

Good morning :) Happy weekend to you all.  Part 3 of the week long extravaganza that is my week with Freedom is here. Make yourself a cup of tea/coffee, we may be here for a while :)

Today I'd like to speak to you about my favourite little palette from Freedom London. Nars lookalike, Pro 12 Audacious Mattes Palette. As you all must know by now, I collect matte eyeshadow palettes. Not only do I think that matte eye makeup is MY THANG, but also because it just looks better on me. I'm not so proud owner of sad eyes and matte eyeshadows look 100 times better on :)

Packaging: 

12 shadows enclosed in rather cheap plastic with clear lid. Will this survive travelling with? For the first few month maybe but I would suggest depotting to a Z-palette or other. Eyeshadows are placed and branded with a famous way Nars eyeshadows are "formed".

Formula:

Quite incredible feel when first swatched. Formula is almost creamy in touch, shades are pigmented, although some better than others. The top row shades are very similar with a slight different undertones to them. They go on well on a lid, blend beautifully with a little fallout experienced only from the last dark grey shade. All shades swatch great, second row being full of transition shades. Some shades may dissapear a little when blended but altogether this palette is now my go to for transition, in crease shades, because of the ease of blending and creamy formula. Amazing !!

Colour range:

Pro 12 Audacious Mattes Palette is a definition of matte neutral palette with all the shades similar, borderline neutral with a little warmth and cool tones mixed in to create a perfect daytime palette or a transition shades palette.

Top row - matte highlight shades from light neutral, through cool and warmish light beige. Great as a setting powder for eyeshadow primer and to open up an eye in the inner corner :) 1st and 3rd shade are almost identical and I honestly see only a microscopic different in an undertone.

Middle row - light to medium beige/brown and taupe. 1st & last shade little warmer and 2nd and 3rd light to medium taupe. Great to use as a transit colours, in the crease of above it to open up a look a little. They all blend and swatch great, nice pigmentation. I haven't experienced any fallout.

Bottom row - in general you will find here shades that can be used to deepen the crease, all over the lid for a matte smoked effect or in outer corner to add dimension. I experienced a little fallout with 4th shade. Again pigmentation and blending is excellent. Can't fault them. I really like the last shade as we don't always need a black.

I am giving this palette a great score of 4* out of five for being a perfect transition colours compilation. All the shades blend amazing, have a good to great pigmentation and it's a perfect add on to any collection. It's so important to own at least one all matte, neutral palette to be able to create a range of daytime to evening looks. These days palettes are lacking transition shades sometimes and with a great quality at an amazing price, look no further than Freedom Makeup London Pro 12 Audacious Mattes Palette :) 

Let me know what your thoughts are at this little gem :) And if you're looking to add this on to your collection, click here to buy for £4.00 only. Freedom is now widely available in larger Superdrug stores, have you checked it the counter came to yours yet? Let me and others know in the comments below :) Both website and Superdrug now offer 3 for 2 across all makeup, so if there ever was a time to shop - it is now :)

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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New in: ONE PALETTE YOU NEED THIS AUTUMN -> Makeup Revolution New-trals vs Neutrals Palette

Hello my pretties :) Apologies for a little delay in publishing this post. My Blogger went mental and decided to test my patience yet again :) Neverthless it is here !!! 

Makeup Revolution has outdone themselves again coming up with a palette that's so perfect for autumn months, it made me tear up a little, when I finally got my hands on it :) New-trals vs Neutrals gives out everything in the name alone. New-trals are bold, warm, red undertoned shades, whereas neutrals give you a bit more stability. These are the colours you know, ones that make you play safe :) I think a perfect palette is made, when you find yourself reaching for something other than safe canon. One making you get out of your comfort zone. This is exactly what you get here.

I found myself drawn to it as it presented me with an opportunity to update my collection with a simply beautiful palette full of warm toned shadows. For all the blue/green/grey eyed girl - this palette will make your eyes pop :) 

Formula is great, shadows are creamy and easy to work with. There's a slight fallout from few shades and there are couple of shades that I find too neon to be able to play with for daytime makeup. I have found few new shades that I was lacking in my whole collection and for that I am greateful.

I'm glad Makeup Revolution decided to continue on Iconic Pro palettes trend and use the matte black packaging. It feels modern and more expensive. As always it comes with a mirror and a brush that's not terrible lol ;) Ok, it is not Zoeva or Sigma but there's a decent, small blending brush on one end. For someone who's just starting up, it's ok to learn the trade on. I would still recommend better quality brushes as they're easier to work with, if you have at least one, great quality blending brush :)

When I saw the packaging I hoped that the shadow placement would be the same as in Iconic Pro with mattes on top and shimmers in the bottom row. Unfortunately not. It's a shame because warm top shades scream with the need to be matte :)

I swatched all the shades for you below so let's just compare them all, shall we?

From left: Bias, Neutral, Personal, Vogue

From left: Trend, New-tral, Tone, Custom

From left: Cool, Style, Partial, Mode

From left: Adapt, Buff, Suit, Strong

Bias - semi matte light beige, perfect to set your primer with and to matte highlight, pigmentation needs building up.

Neutral - light mauve matte, great transition shade, in the crease or for you makeup, no makeup days.

Personal - peachy pink with gold shimmer through it, looks a little rose gold like on the lid, pigmentation needs a build up, can go on patchy.

Vogue - coral with gold shimmer satin, this one is quite neon and I'm not sure if I like that.

Trend - warm dark brown matte, great pigmentation.

New-tral - berry with little purple satin finish, again superb pigmentation.

Tone - burgundy brown matte, good pigmentation proving that darker shades have an amazing pigmentation, whereas lighter lack it just a bit.

Custom - Dark cooler toned brown, pigmentation is ok but needs building up if used to darker outer corners.

Cool - matte light beige again, just a tone different to Bias, again pigmentation isn't great.

Style - light pink shimmer, good pigmentation but you may experience fall out, great for application with a dampen brush

Partial - dusty rose foil finish shimmer, pigmentation is insane. It's such a beautiful shade

Mode - copper foil finish shimmer, again superb pigmentation and a beautiful shade.

Adapt - medium taupe matte, great transition colour, needs an extra layer to build the colour

Buff - dark taupe, slightly warm with satin to pearl finish, good pigmentation

Suit - cool toned satin dark taupe, nicely pigmented

Strong - duo chrome like finish, matte black with burgundy purple particles. Good pigmentation.

As you can see you can create a variety of looks from daytime to evening smoky. Playtime is unlimited here as you can mix the shades to create unique, photo shoot worthy looks or just a plain daytime. Go for neutral eye or finish in style with red smoky eye. It's all up to you. 

With a good primer these shadows will last all day or night without fading too much (I recommend Urban Decay primer). Don't forget that mattes here are more of a semi matte finish. If that's not what you're looking for, you may be disappointed. In my opinion it's a great all round palette I can see it transferring, shade wise to summer looks as well but it's most definitely an autumn palette. Shades here reminded me of fallen leaves and I tried to incorporate this in the theme of today's post. I hope you like my take on autumn and Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals.

I want to know what you think? Is it worth the hype or did you envision it a little different? Let me know in the comments below if you'll be buying new palette from MUR or is that a miss for you?

You can buy New-trals vs Neutrals here for £6.99

Thank you for reading,

Love

Dorota x

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Classy daytime to evening look using only Smashbox Shape Matters palette.

Hello ladies. Weekend's finally here :) I had busy week so I'm looking forward to a little break :) What's your plans for the weekend? 

As you know, I am now obsessed with my newest purchase of Smashbox Shape Matters palette. Since I've got it there isn't a day that I'm not reaching for it. I created a very classical daytime to nighttime look for you using the palette. I made sure my full face is done by the use of this palette only. I love the end result and I hope you'll love it too.

Face:

As per usual I prepped by base using Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue in Opal and added Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in 01 under eyes and to add a little coverage around the nose. I set the base using a matte highlight shade from the Smashbox palette.

To contour I used a Contour shade from the palette and a little Bronze to warm up my complexion. Both shades blended beautifully giving me the most natural look. I added a little highlight on the high points of my face. It's such a gorgeous shade, second favourite to my all time love Mary-Lou.

Just to finish off I added a little Matte Blush from Makeup Revolution and set it all with Urban Decay Setting Spray.

Eyes:

I have to admit, I had a lot of fun playing with the eyeshadow shades. I used Vanilla as an all over the lid shade and to set the primer with (standard UD anti-aging Primer Potion). I used Totally Nude as my transition shade just above my crease (if you're lucky enough not to battle with sad eyes, use it in your crease). I then started to darken the outer corner. I used Aubergine and blended it out few times until I was happy with the final colour. I then used Posh, which is a beautiful rose gold shade on the middle of the lid blending it out to the outer corner to provide nice transition of colour. I went back with Totally Nude to blend out any edges. I then applied Champagne in the inner corner mixing it outwards to transition into Posh. I used the brush included in the set for blending. I have to be honest, it's not the softest brush I have ever used but it does the job. I repeated the steps at the bottom lid. 

I wanted to try using the darkest shades wet so my eyeliner today is a mixture of Aubergine and Blackout. I applied it using a Wilko Angled Brush as I don't think you can use the brush included in the set for a precise line. Shadows worked beautifully when used both wet and dry.

I finished the look by applying two coats of Clinique High Impact Mascara.

Brows:

I used wax first (OMG I LOVE THE WAX IN THIS PALETTE SO MUCH) and brushed by brow hair. I then applied a light brow powder shade to the front of my brows very lightly and then building intensity in the top of my arch. I used darker brow powder shade lightly to line the arch below.

Lips:

I kept my lips simple using a new Essence Liquid Lipstick in 05.

I hope you like the finished look. I think it's a perfect daytime look but it can also look nice in the evenings if you perhaps add a statement lip. Let me know what you think in the comments below :)

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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