Never thought I’d openly talk about wearing my subversions and perversions, but hey, here we are.
No, you dirty, dirty person… I don’t mean THOSE!
I’m taking about the Urban Decay eyelash primer Subversion and their mascara Perversion, which together give you the most decadent lashes.
Subversion is a classic eyelash primer, white in colour to coat all lashes previous to receiving the mascara. The formula is creamy and the brush is a medium size, with bristles the pick all lashes.
Perversion is the ultra black mascara with a large brush. Despite the fact the brush is almost on the too large side for my taste, it does work very well. The formula is creamy and thick, and it gives decent separation and superb volume, lacking a bit in lengthening.
Together, they super charge the lashes, creating a good fan effect. Deviant thumbs up.
I got those (plus my all time favourite Eyeshadow Potion Primer) at the launch of the new Urban Decay shop at Carnaby Street, London. The European flagship store in split in two floors of all UD colourful fabulousness.
Upstairs, the whole range in full glory, including UD Pro. Downstairs, a lounge with light ring, GIF “photobooth” with light ring (for FLAWLESS selfies), phone chargers and refreshments bars, a true beauty hangout with its own hashtag: #UDCARNABY.
The VIP launch was a star studded event with the likes of Denise Van Outen, Laura Whitmore, Josh Cuthbert, among others. We sipped on mini Moët champagne bottles and had the chance to have makeovers and take home some precious UD advice.
And I hear Urban Decays is opening three more stores in the UK by the end of the year: London King’s Cross (24 Nov), Nottingham (1 Dec) and Liverpool (9 Dec).
Oh, the black lippy, you ask? More Perversion – how not to love UD’s perverted ways?
Of course, you can get you Subversion and Perversion on at the Carnaby Street flagship store, but also at other Urban Decay shops as well online and stores like Debenhams, House of Fraser and Fabled.
You know the drill, but I’ll say anyway: this post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.
Fine hair in desperate need of hydration, but worried about heavier products? Try the new Andrew Barton No Weight, Hydrate coconut hair range.
The Shampoo lathers well and leaves hair feeling pretty clean. The Conditioner feels a bit too light for me as I just use conditioner on the ends of my hair, but after rinsing hair feels soft and brushes well.
Combined with the Shine Spray, it delivers a great finish to hair dried naturally or blow-dried.
As the lovely Andrew Barton (I mean, he is too lovely and fun!) explained, the whole range has Moroccan argan oil as well as coconut milk in a light balancing formula to deliver hydration to dry ends and purification to oily scalps.
Sleek is bringing the sparkle back. And they don’t it by halves: living proof is their new Rockstars collection, just launched.
Perfect for Christmas and by that I mean all the parties soon to commence, the Rockstars collection has two sides.
On the lighter side, Diamonds in the Rough with a lot of rose, golds, champagnes and peach in their eyeshadow palette, with two rich cream shades; the golden one makes the best highlighter!
All metallic and beautiful, including the gorgeous Scandalous lipstick, a metallic deep red and a highlighting soufflé in pretty shimmery peachy pink, called Pink Opal.
The Superstar lipstick is a metallic shade of deep warm purple with iridescent particles, also present on Scandalous.
The highlighting soufflé here is Smoky Quartz, a gorgeous slightly glittery light gold, perfect for cheekbones but even better for finishing the eyes with an intense shimmer on top of colour.
The bullet on the lipsticks deserves a chapter to itself: faceted, they have a sculpted shape, cut as the jewels they are.
Who remembers last year’s furore about the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar? At a very affordable £35, when you spend £35 on non-food items, the 2015 calendar delivered great value.
And the “Christmas tree of love” (ok, I made it up) shape? How amazing will that look in your home in the run up to Christmas?
Now, the deal is the same. You get over £250 worth of beauty products, covering skincare, makeup, hair, body and nails for £35 when you spend £35 in non-food items.
What my favourites are, you ask? Well… I have to say it is hard to pick… My top three are (drumroll)..
Eyeko Skinny liner – a fabulous pen eyeliner that changed my life and ignited my love of pen eyeliner. It’s super black, precise and durable. Enough said.
Alpha H Liquid Gold – a resurfacing “all-in-one” product dubbed the overnight facial is a quick fix for skin. I love Alpha H, so was very happy to see this in the calendar. The miracle product for the party season (I may have put it back on the calendar on day 1, maybe).
Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse – a multi-use oil for face, body and hair, it is a blend of six precious oils. Delicious! And fab for winter skin.
I can’t leave out the M&S Autograph nail polish in Cranberry, which is super festive and fabulous, exclusive for the calendar.
Cleaning my makeup brushes has always been torture to me. So much time is spent, it is a dull task that not even the feeling of a squeaky clean brush on your face is able to numb the pain.
When I first saw videos of the StylPro Makeup Brush Cleaner and Dryer, I knew that at some point I would get one, it was just a matter of time.
Although there was no discount on the £49.99 retail price, I got a bottle of their fab brush cleaner thrown in as a gift, which is a saving of £14.99.
The different sizes brush holders will cater for most brands (I have many and there was one for every single brush I cleaned). Attaching is easy and quick, just what you want when changing between brushes.
Pretty sure I raved about how amazing the Crabtree & Evelyn hand therapy creams are (), but it’s never too much in my view.
The cream applies well, absorbing in seconds – no sticky hands. Because it sinks deep, its long lasting and your hands feel moisturised and protected for a long time.
The 
The art of illumination – how to say no to an event titled like that?
Cushion makeup is all the rage at the moment and MUA has had its say on it, in the shape of gorgeous MUA LUXE Glow Beam Liquid Highlight Cushion.
I apply this after powdering my face, let it dry while I do my eye makeup and apply highlight powder on top for that extra pow!
Finally, the MUA LUXE Radiant Illumination kit, a more everyday product that doubles up quite nicely as eyeshadow.
Now, we must talk about the price. Nice packaging? Check. Quality product? Check. Great finish? Check. Tiny price tag? Check. What? Yes, that’s right.
Another obsession: anything with my initials. Just throwing it out there.
And being the lucky thing I am, the lovely ones from Alexi London sent me a lovely “d” to hang from my neck.
The chain (16″, goes to 18″) is also very delicate, with flat rings. The clasp is great, super secure and modern, and the overall finish is of fantastic quality.
Pretty much everything Urban Decay does is quite amazing. Proof is that not a days goes by without at least one UD item on my everyday makeup.
And let’s talk about the packaging? I freaking love it. The steel-look cracked effect is NOT how your skin will look – or your mirror in terror of your reflection, for that matter.
What’s better than a fabulous little black number for a ball? Well, not much really.
And yes, I went to the fabulous China Ball at the stunning Natural History Museum. I was honoured to be dancing with Dippy, the Diplodocus, which will be retired from the grand hall at the end of this year.
This dress has very classic lines; a full A-line skirt with some modern twists, like the deep neckline and tied at the waist, for extra definition. The quality and finish are superb!
The satin fabric is heavy and thick, making it fall perfectly but also nipping in to the right places for a structured, clean silhouette.
So Many Lovely Things 