Product review: Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray

Image credit: Urban Decay @ House of Fraser

Anything that has “all nighter” on the label is bound to catch my attention, and it was no different with this product. On another one of my regular wanderings around House of Fraser, I came across this product. At the time, they had the XL 177ml tub, for the very good price of £23.

I sprayed it on my face and a few days after I decided to purchase, so I got it and started using it regularly. I use a couple sprays before leaving the house every day, and I can certainly notice make up looks fresh all day.

What I find interesting is that the product claims to keep you cool (“…boasts a patent pending Temperature Control Technology that makes this weightless mist so powerful and sets it far above the competition. Your makeup won’t melt when it’s warm and humid or become dehydrated when it’s cold and windy. Yes, it actually lowers the temperature of your makeup to hold foundation, eyeshadow, blush and concealer in place”) and I noticed that, in the morning, on the tube, where tend to overheat, my face was cooler. Amazing.

But the real difference is on situations you would definitely melt; that’s where it really matters and you can see how great the product is. I put some in an atomiser, so I can carry it on my handbag during a night out, it is great to refresh yourself after vigorous dancing!

When I attended an open air wedding, under a ruthless sun, I really thanked UD for the goodness. My hayfever was at an all time high, it was hot, I could see sweat dripping from some people’s faces. But my make up lasted, till the end of the party. All my pics look good.

A male friend of mine was sweating a lot on his face, and I offered to spray some on him; he actually came back to me saying he “wasn’t sure what I sprayed, but he was actually feeling more comfortable”. He was not glistening with sweat anymore!

So, I am in love with this product. When used with UD’s eyeshadow primer potion, it is infallible!

Urban Decay make up is available from House of Fraser and Debenham’s in the UK, and the All Nighter make up setting spray is £19 for 118ml.

Nails of the week – holographic black with silver French

Oh, the French manis… I cannot stay away from them for too long! I just find them so elegant – and quite simple to do!

Recently, I received a little haul I did in Brazil; I bought the polishes from Specialittá’s website and got them delivered to my friend’s mum home. My friend was about to come to London, so she kindly brought them to me!

I love this brand’s polishes; they apply well, have great colours and the durability is fantastic.

With this one, is no different – I am wearing a holo from their No Olimpo range, in Zeus which is a dark graphite/black. The colour is super pretty, the effect has great depth and it comes through under different lighting, which is more than I can say for others holos I wore in the past.

Most pictures were taken with flash, to show the best of its holo goodness… the one in the bottom left hand side corner was taken on natural light, so still a pretty good show there.

While one coat is quite sheer, two will do for great coverage, but I used three coats. I them applied Barry M foil effects in Silver to create the French manicure. I finished it off with Seche Vite top coat. The gloss finish is amazing; it looks sooooo shiny and perfect! And after 10 days it is still pretty much intact!

Very happy with this mani!!!

Rating:

Eye make up look challenge: blue butterfl-eyes

Click to enlarge

The highlight of a make up show I attended (which was so rubbish it doesn’t even deserve a review or mention) was the Paperself stand, where they were doing free applications of their gorgeous lashes, and I chose to try the gorgeous “Deer& butterfly” small.

Now, I don’t think they are everyday lashes, but they are so pretty, but so pretty, that I actually feel like using them everyday. Their London skyline one is gorgeous, and their “smalls”, shorter versions of a full design, just for the fluttery outer corner, is actually wearable, on occasions. For a fashion shoot, they are just splendid! I love the peacock ones!!!

Inspired but the delicated butterly lashes I had applied, I decided to create a Blue Morpho butterfly wings look.

I started with the primer, followed by a generous sweep of a light blue powder pigment. I then applied dark blue crushed pigment from the outer corner in, blending towards the middle of the lid. Using a brush pen, I drew the oval shape of a wing, and blended into the darker blue.

I applied white eye liner on my lower water line, and then the blue eye liner followed by a little bit of lighter blue pigment to 2/3 of my bottom lash line from the inner corner. After that, I put a lot of black eyeliner on the outer lash line and topped up with a little bit of the dark blue pigment.

I added white crushed pigment to the brow bone and the inner corner of the eye blending into the lower lash line and also as a half moon to the curve of my “wing” shape, go give it a bit of a glow.

After that, I re-enforced my wing-shape drawing, with black eye liner, and blended a bit to make the line less harsh, but still visible.

Black eyeliner and mascara followed and then I applied a set of lashes to finish off the look. Of course, the jewel of the crown, the butterly lashes, were applied to the outer corner of my eye, on top of the other lashes.

I love this look. It is different but very pretty!

Products I used:

Collection 2000 Dazzle Me Heavenly light blue powder pigment
MAC crushed pigments in White As Snow and Wintersky
MAC eyeshadow in Carbon
MAC eye kohl in Smolder
Urban Decay eyeprimer potion
MAC brushes 209, 238, 219, 263 and a MINX fluffy one
Studio eye pencils in Blue Velvet and Winter White
Collection 2000 Extreme felt tip eye liner
Maybelline Falsies mascara
Duo eyelash glue
Ardell 107 lashes
Paperself small “Deer&butterfly” lashes

Difficulty level:

Nails of the week – glitter sprinkles

After re-doing my nails twice in a week, all I wanted was something to last seven days.

During one of my regular walks though House of Fraser in Oxford St (I work really close, and sometimes go home via the shop – it is almost therapeutic, but can be very dangerous) I walked past the Nails Inc. counter and fell in love with one of their polishes from the Sprinkles range. They have four shades, and I bought Sweets Way, a pinkish white base with silver, pink and blue glitter.

Application was smooth. Two coats will give you good coverage, but I went for three. The texture is not too rough and durability was really good. There was a small amount of chipping (just glitter coming off) from day five, but I blame that on myself, as I forgot to use a topcoat.

A really cute shade. Extremely delicate and seriously reminded me of sweets sprinkles!

Rating:

Vogue Fashion’s Night Out 2012 – London

Yesterday I went to a few places taking part in Vogue’s Fashion Night Out and I had an amazing time.

Last year, I was a bit disappointed, a couple places I wanted to go were invitation only (and didn’t mention it on the guide – cheeky!) so I was a bit disheartened. I sent Christian Louboutin’s boutique an email but it was too late – they said they will add me for next year (I think it is fair I get invited, after all, my Louboutins were purchased at that boutique!)

So, I tackled it a bit differently this year – I checked the guide a few days ago and chose places which were offering things that might interest me. Cocktails, of course was one of them.

I made a list and tackled it by proximity to the office. River Island started at 5, earlier than most places, so I headed over for a glass of pink fizz, had eyelashes applied and bought a skirt, which earnt me a goody back with a pair of lashes, a sample size St. Tropez Every Day moisturiser (which I love), a set of three cute stud earrings, popcorn and a drink. Nice, eh?

I then moved on to House of Fraser, which had lots on offer. I entered their new beauty hall and was offered a back massage by Decléor. I then waltzed towards their Mahiki bar and got myself a cocktail in coconut. I hoped on their photo booth and had 4 nice shots to take away (twice!). Then I had my eyes and lipstick applied at the Dior stand, with bubbles on offer…. Downstairs, at their shoe lounge, there was plenty of bubbly on offer and also martinis and other cocktails made to order, and a “Shoe Box” photo booth, which I also took advantage of, amongst other activities!

I swiftly moved to Liberty, but before reaching it, I walked past H&M and they had live models on their windows. The bigger window was a photo set; I was given a number, props and posed for three shots, which will be on their Facebook page and four winners of £250 voucher will be chosen. Nice!

At Liberty, I went straight to Manolo Blahnik’s Victorian photo booth, with the cutest props ever – and got picture with a lovely pair of silver stilettos! By uploading that to Facebook or tweeting it could get you a signed book.

I then managed to run to Burlington Arcade, which had a Victorian fun fair theme… think popcorn and candy floss, performers, burlesque girls…all very pretty; but I went straight for Lulu Guinness shop, to take part on their promotion by being picture with one of their bags a tweeting it. I chose the red lips, of course!!!

Overall, I had a lot of fun. So a few things for my next year’s FNO: plan ahead, list the places I want to see but be sure and not disappointed I will not to actually make it to half of them; don’t just look for goody bags, as they usually only come your way when you make a purchase and remember to email Louboutin earlier!!!!

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Have you been to FNO this year? How was it for you?

Nails of the week – purples and blues

This has been a weird nail week for me, nothing seemed to make me happy.

I started it with a colour I was very excited about: Estée Lauder Ultra Violet. The colour in the bottle is stunning, a fine glittery purple base with multi-chrome ranging from dark pink to the greens and yellows.

It was a disappointment, with two coats, there was no sign of the amazing colour effect. It was just a dark plum base with some magenta sparkles, not that this is not pretty, but it was a let down. Application was fine, and durability was ace.

I applied the foil transfer in a nice holographic magenta, but foil transfers rub off too quickly, even with Seche Vite on top! In three days, it looked a bit rubbish and I had to remove it!

Staying close to the purples, I used Color Club Total Mystery, a metallic deep cobalt blue base with magenta sparkles. Application was awful! Colour Club polishes take sooooo long to dry, that I had to redo 4 nails as I got marks on them. I usually never go back to nails just on application, so it was a big pain. Once it is dry, though, it won’t go away – durability is amazing! I then applied the striping tape near the tip, in a similar colour to the foil, a holographic magenta. Again, the tape only lasts a few days, so I knew this one was going soon…

And that is how I ended up with two manis in a week; not that I don’t like doing it; I love! However, I just don’t have enough time, so once a week is just about what I can manage!

So, what do you think about my not-last-longing manicures of the week? Do you use the foil transfer/striping tape? Any tips to make it last?

Rating:

for both, mainly for the art durability let down; otherwise, would give a three star!

Product review: Eye primers – Urban Decay x e.l.f. x NYX

It is not a surprise my eyeshadow tends to crease after a full day at work; our eyelids are the one of the greasiest part of our faces, even for people who don’t have oily skin.

Using an astringent on the lids before applying make up can help, but a good primer is the best bet to keep your peepers looking freshly made up all day.

I had used MAC’s Moisturelush eyecream, used by a MAC MUA as a primer, but I felt it was more like an eye are cream than anything else. It has a nice sheen to it though.

E.L.F. Eyeshadow primer

The first real primer I bought was the e.l.f. one; at £1.50 and alright reviews, it was a no-brainer! I was quite happy with it for a while, and although shadow durability didn’t seem to be much better with it, it really made shadow colours stronger, and that was enough for me. I bought the sheer one, and it has a wand applicator, which is quite practical. The consistency is quite nice, a bit on the thin side compared to the others I am reviewing, it applies evenly and dries colourless. It served me well for many months!

NYX Eyeshadow Base

Also based on reviews, bought the NYX primer, priced at £5. I went for the white pearl one. Its consistency is quite hard, and I found it quite difficult to use from the pot as it is small, round and quite deep. For someone like me, with long nails, it is a nightmare, so I had to use a make up spatula in order to avoid having tons of the product under my nails everyday. Again, durability wasn’t amazing. A bit better than the e.l.f. but nothing to write home about. Also did the job well on making shadows colours stronger.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Now, the star of this review has to be the Urban Decay primer. Seriously. AMAZING!!!!! I went to their counter at House of Fraser to pick up the All Nighter long lasting make up setting spray (review to come soon), which I had tried a few days before in the same counter, and the girl was sooooo nice (seriously, I cannot say this enough!), she offered me a sample of their new foundation (reviewed here) and when I asked about the eye primer, she put a little bit in an empty foundation sample bottle so I could try at home.

Next morning, I used it on my morning make up routine; went to work and went for a spin class on my lunch break. I kid you not, after sweating buckets (as you do on a spin class!), I went off to the changing room and when I looked in the mirror, to my surprise, my eyeshadow and liner were still intact. It didn’t all melt into the crease, I had no smudges; I didn’t look like a panda, as I often do after the mentioned class.

So I am sold, with no doubt, the Urban Decay is the best from this lot. I bought the product since, at £14.50 for a 11ml tube and have been so happy I cannot describe. On holidays, baking in NY and then at an outdoors wedding, the primer, used in conjunction with the make up setting spray, kept my make up in place and eyes and face looking fresh for a whole day.

I am very impressed and have now developed a love affair with Urban Decay!

Nails of the week- purple with multicoloured foil

Yes, I have been totally MIA. I have the best excuse for it though; I was on holidays!!! Yay! Well, not so much yay as I am back. Boyfriend and I spend 11 amazing days in the US – New York, Chicago, northern Michigan, plus a quick dash over the border to Canada, to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

So I had to wisely choose holiday nails, which would look pretty on my holiday snaps and to last me a week until I had to change it for the wedding I attended. I knew I was going to wear red for the nuptials, as I was wearing the prettiest yellow dress, so decided to go purple before that.

I bought an unbelievably bargainous ColorClub set from TKMaxx, I mean, £7.99 for six polishes and a topcoat. Amazing. I bought the Alter Ego”Keep it under cover” set, with lovely berry shades.

I recently discovered the foils sheets; so ordered five varieties from eBay, plus glue; and I had been looking forward to using it, as the effects I saw were very pretty!

My choice was the ColorClub Secret Agent as a base and after it dried I applied the glue with irregular strokes, let it dry until I couldn’t see it anymore and pressed the foil sheet rainbow Swirl, a pretty silver base with blue, green, pink, lilac and yellow swirls, on to the nail. The colour transfered nicely, and it was pretty easy to do; I applied a bit more glue where I thought there were gaps or I hadn’t applied enough first time around and repeated the process. I then applied a topcoat.

The result was fantastic. I was delighted with it. Pretty, very pretty and quite different.

Now, the durability wasn’t the best. Whereas the polish was great, after a few days the foils started to rub off, especially on my index finger… bits of it were coming off, and even though it wasn’t a massive problem, as the base colour was still going strong, it lost a bit of its appeal.

Still, I am certainly going to do it again (actually, I have already, as I had a plain red manicure for the wedding, and removed it a couple days ago to replace with a new foil effect one!).

Rating:

for the prettiness

Eye make-up look challenge – black and silver

Haven’t posted an eye make-up look trial for quite sometime now; but I managed to get this one out and wanted to share how it went.

My aim was to create a dark silver smokey look, with black, as I had just bought a black silver-studded crop top! I wanted it to be dramatic so I added extra big lashes!

I started with the primer (e.l.f, not shown), and brushed the silver pigment all over the lid. I then lined my upper lash line with the gel liner, extending the flick at the end, and my lower water and lash lines with the eye kohl, also extending the flick parallel to the top one. Then, I generously applied the matte black eyeshadow and smoked it, with the pencil brush for definition, just in the corner and around the crease shape, blending just a little bit towards the centre.

I applied the supracolour cream on to the inner corner of the eye and between the upper and lower flicks, as well as to 2/3 of the way of the lower lash line. I brushed the sparkles all over the lid and the highlighter on the brow bone. Finally, I applied the lashes.

Happy with the look, definitely wearable on a night out! I would however, tone down the lashes, and wear a slightly smaller pair!

Products I used:

NYX loose pearl powder pigment in silver
H&M eyeshadow in Party Silver (sparkles)
MAC eyeshadow in Carbon (matte)
Bodyshop brilliance powder (highlighter)
Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama gel liner in black
Kryolan Supracolour in silver
Maybelline Volum’ Express One by One mascara
MAC eye kohl in Smolder
Duo eyelash adhesive (clear)
Eyelashes from eBay (given to me by my dear friend Gisele)
MAC brushes 219, 239, 283, 209, Maybelline eyeliner brush and Elf brush (for the Supracolour)

Difficulty level:

Product review: new foundation trial – YSL x Urban Decay

My little samples

My foundation has been purchased from MAC for a good eight years. I have been through almost every foundation they have, seriously, no joke – Select FPS 15, Face and Body, Mineralize Satinfinish, Studio Fix Fluid – and at the moment I am wearing Matchmaster, which I really like.

Foundation is very important for me; I have it on my face pretty much everyday, so I am quite particular: I like a medium coverage that you can build up, natural looking, hard-wearing, that doesn’t aggravate skin conditions and fells nice on.

Being a fan of Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat, I was really looking forward to trying their new foundation, Le Teint Touche Éclat, which retails for £28. After reading several reviews and seeing it described as “magic”, “revolutionary” and so on, I decided maybe it was time to leave MAC and venture into a new world of foundation.

So I booked myself a colour match appointment at the YSL counter and went in full of hope. Foundation aside, I was bitterly disappointed and frankly, infuriated. The beauty assistant treated me soooo badly. The first question she asked, before anything was “Do you actually intend to buy the product or are you just gonna try?” Rude. I politely replied I used another brand but wanted to try something different; if I liked it, would purchase. She looked unimpressed and didn’t even tell me about the product and the technology, criticised me for wearing powder (without explaining that you shouldn’t with this new foundation, as this is what it was taken away!) and was usually quite abrupt on her comments. And it got worse when I asked for a sample. Anyway, after insisting I left with a sample, which I tried for a few days.

Rant over, now to the foundation: it is not for me. It spreads and blends well, the consistency is medium; not too thick nor too thin. Its coverage is very, very light, so if that is what works for you, you will probably love this one. I struggled to build it up to a level that I feel good about. Also, because the formula has taken the powder finish out of it, I felt it was a bit sticky on my face,. The finish wasn’t great on me, it didn’t photograph well; as I mentioned before, my skin is far from flawless, so I wear foundation to diminish visible problems – but unfortunately you could see everything I want my foundation to conceal in the pictures!

The second product I tried in the past weeks was the new Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition liquid make-up, by Urban Decay, which retails for £27. The consistency of this foundation is quite fluid, and I though the coverage was going to be super light, as it is more liquid than the YSL.

I came across this sample because I wanted to buy the Urban Decay’s All Nighter long-lasting Make-up Setting Spray (which I will review soon) and the outrageously lovely girl at the counter (take a lesson here, YSL) offered me the sample (and another lesson here). I also left with a sample of the Eyeshadow Primer Potion (which will be reviewed alongside the ones I have been using) – mind you, she didn’t have any samples but she put some in a little pot so I wouldn’t leave without it. THAT’S GOOD SERVICE.

So back to the foundation; the coverage is actually a light-medium, maybe a bit too light for me, but buildable. It has a nice finish to it, they describe it as demi-matte, and I actually quite like it, it looks fresh and natural on me. A serious contender to bump Mac’s crown off, I’ll keep wearing it and will make up my mind when my current bottle is over!

A couple of things to learn here:

I refuse to be mistreated, so I put a complaint with YSL and the department store. YSL is yet to reply. The department store, even though I knew from the offset that the beauty counter staff are not their direct employees, was extremely apologetic in their response.
How important it is to try products properly before investing in them. Each skin likes different products, so always worth bearing that in mind when thinking “uh, she said it is bad” or “she said it is great!”. Try it, that’s why they have samples. Just go in and ask!

What about you? Have you tried any of the foundations above? What did you think? Or do you love another brand?