Urban Decay ~ Basics palette

Seeing as everybody & their dog seem to have the Urban Decay Basics palette, I thought it was about time I joined the party.  Actually, this was one of my Christmas gifts but I only got around to trying it for the first time a month ago... whoops!!

This is the smallest of the Urban Decay palettes & costs £22 in Debenhams.  The casing itself has a slightly rubberised finish to it which I love as it doesn't feel like it's going to slip out of your hands any time soon & the mirror is a great addition for travelling because let's be honest here, this is THE most perfect size for taking on holidays.

Unlike the other UD palettes, this contains mostly matte colours, & only one shimmer (Venus), again which suits me & my old(ish!), crêpey eyelids down to the ground!  My daughter told me to try her Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion with it too & I can't believe the difference it made to the (already great) application & longevity of the shadows.

Using my brushes from ELF (which are fantastic, btw!), they applied like a dream & felt like velvet on my eyelids.  They were really blendable & I'm not joking, my makeup did not budge a millimetre in the 7 hours I was wearing it!  However, I'm not doing any swatches on here because, quite frankly, you can go onto any beauty blog or Youtube beauty video & see them reviewed & they will look a million times better than on my eyelids - trust me!! 

So to summerise the Urban Decay Basics palette, no creasing, no smudging, no fading, what's not to love about it?

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream

 

 

As I've previously mentioned, I am very new to the Smashbox brand.  I've always read great things about it but because nowhere near to me sells it, I've never bought any to try as I like to sample new products first.  However, when I was away at my dad's the other week, we found a larger Boots branch with a Smashbox counter so I had a little play!  After being colour-matched by the lovely sales assistant, I came away with the 'It's Your Prime' primer tester kit (post to follow shortly!) & a sample pot of their BB cream in light/medium shade.

 

There was enough product in the sample pot to test it for a week & I can honestly say, I don't think I've ever used a better BB cream.  The coverage is seriously amazing, something that I don't usually get with BB creams, it doesn't exacerbate my oily T-zone, is semi-matte & has fantastic longevity, bearing in mind I was testing it out on one of the hottest weeks of the year.  I would happily wear this in place of a foundation all year round & I love that it offers a broad spectrum  SPF 35 too.

 

  The blurb on the box states that it is a '5-in-1 complexion miracle-worker proven to prime, perfect, protect, hydrate & control oil' but I will admit, I was a wee bit sceptical after such a huge claim.......however, this little beauty offers all of those......and then some!!  I was so impressed with it, I ordered the 15ml trial size (£12.50) straight away from the Smashbox website as I still wanted to test it for a while longer before buying a large tube.  It was delivered in 2 days & can I just say kudos to Smashbox for offering free delivery & a free sample with every order, I like this very much!!

 

 

 

For the photo here, I applied it at 8.45am & removed it around 7.30pm & it still looked as fresh as it did when first applied!  This is just before I removed it & the only thing I'd reapplied was my lippy!

 

 

 

 

I really do love this stuff & look forward to trying more products but purleasssssse, if you're reading this Smashbox, open a counter in Dundee!!