High End Make-up Haul and Review

So!! I'm not really going to put much of an introduction for this post. I just want to say that from now on i will be posting regular reviews, make-up looks and nail designs every Tuesday and Thursday (maybe Friday).

Lets get stuck in!!!

This is a bit of a high end beauty haul. I've always loved the idea of being able to afford the high end make-up products like Chanel and Dior (come on! Who doesn't!!). My two most desired products are from MAC and Urban Decay. I love Macs products because they are staples that everyone can use! They have such a huge variety of products available too and the collections they bring out are always gorgeous! Urban Decay is the same, I mean everyones heard of the Naked palettes by now! (If you haven't, i'm sorry but where have you been?!) But the main reason i love UD is it's bright, colourful and sparkly shadows and eyeliners! They're prepping and finishing products are raved about too!!

I'll start from when I decided to take a leap and purchase my first high end make-up product! Urban Decay brought out a Vice Palette about a year ago and it was snapped up all over the world and beauty gurus everywhere spoke about it! So when they announced their Vice 2 palette i got VERY excited! Especially when I saw Xsparkage (www.xsparkage.com) review and tutorials using it I knew i had to have it!!!

The price did put me off a bit for a while but i think that was just because I had never spent that mach on one make-up product, ever!! But I went up to my nearest UD counter (Debenhams, Silverburn, Just outside Glasgow) and just took the plunge!

•  I love the packaging, the colour and pattern is gorgeous! It reminds me a little bit of butterflies wings! Anyone else see it?
• I also love how it opens, theres a button to push on the front and when you push it the lid slowly opens up to reveal a full sized mirror and the 20 shadows

• There is 20 gorgeous brand new, never seen before shadows. A great mixture of matte, shimmer and metallics. All just begging to be used!
• The great thing about this palette is that all the shadows can be used with each other to create so many different looks, smokey, bright and natural.
• Theres hardly any fall out either! Which from the reviews i've read is unusual for UD's sparkly shadows! But even the shadows that are packed with shimmer and sparkles there is barely any fall out!!
• The double ended brush you get is amazing quality too! One end is a normal shadow brush and the other is a blending brush. They are just fantastic!
• My favourites in the palette are: COAX (4th on top) which is a gorgeous pink metallic! I was surprised i liked this so much since i'm not really the biggest fan of pink but i think it'll look great as an accent colour in a look. PRANK (1st on 2nd row) which is a dual tone shimmer, dark blue base with electric blue shimmer through it. DAMAGED (2nd, 3rd row) A beautiful metallic green that i can't wait to use in a mermaid inspired look!!! BETRAYAL (4th, 3rd row) A dual tone light lilac shimmer that in certain light almost looks as though it has blue through it. Last but not least TOXIC (2nd, 4th row) a rose gold shimmer that is going to be perfect for the Autumn!

Swatches (Left to Right) Coax, Prank, Damaged, Betrayal and Toxic

When I bought the Vice 2 my blog came up in conversation and the girl gave me 2 samplers! One of the Naked foundation and one of 4 lipsticks. I have to be honest and say i actually haven't tried the lipstick samples but I used the foundation the next day and I fell in love with it!! The shade was 1.0 which was a bit too light for my skin but I wore it with some bronzer and it wasn't too noticeable! Normally with foundation i've used in the past, by about lunch time it's slid and is looking ridiculously oily on my T-zone! So when I got home at the end of the day and realised that the foundation was still in place and completely matte i knew I HAD to have it!!

So on Friday I went back up to the shopping centre that has a UD counter I asked to be matched to a shade and the girl was lovely and actually re-did my whole face using UD products! Finishing it with the All Nighter setting spray! My shade in the Naked foundation is 2.0.

• The packaging is so clean and high end looking! I love that you can see the product in the tube!
• The pump is hygienic! and is easy to keep clean!
• This foundation is honestly the best foundation I have ever used! It blends in perfectly and you can build it depending on how much coverage you want! Obviously if you build it too much it will cake but thats the same with most foundations! (despite what they claim!)

The girl at the counter used the Good Karma optical blurring brush to apply the foundation, I loved the way it felt on my skin and i've been looking to start applying my foundation with a brush because it really is so much more hygienic!! So I decided to add it too my basket too!

• I dont really have much to say about this other than it is amazing at giving you that flawless, airbrushed look!

The girl then set my make-up with the All Nighter Setting Spray, because whenever i bought a cheap one it just didn't do what UD's setting sprays claimed to do and some even made my skin greasier and actually break out!!

• It has 2 lids, the big purple one and then a second covering the actual pump which i thought was a great idea!! Very hygienic!
• Dry's immediately so you don't have to wait for it to dry before you can touch your face or open your eyes!!
• I used this to set my make-up for a wedding i went to on Saturday. I was so tired when i got in that i didn't take my make-up off (which i'm now paying for with a horrible break out!!) and it was still perfect when i woke up! I mean i could of seriously gone back out and it would of looked as if i'd just done my make-up!!

Heres a wee picture of them all in their original packaging!

Wow! this is going to be a looooong post!!!

Right now onto MAC!!!! I'm claiming I "accidentally" walked into the MAC counter....although i'm not sure people are buying it!! I've often gone in and looked at all the MAC products and if i'm being honest I always feel a little bit intimidated by all the products! theres just so many to look at and I always was scared that if I asked one of the girls for help I would be forced into buying something i didn't actually need! This time was different, i decided i would ask about a red lipstick for the wedding i was going to the next day. So when a girl approached and asked if she could help me i took a deep breath and jumped right in! I told her what I was looking for and she immediatly told me i should buy what she was wearing because it would go with my eyes! I'm not really sure if that was her way of making sure i bought it and if it was it kinda worked! The lipstick turned out to be Viva Glam The Original part of the RuPaul collection. It is based on the original formula first introduced in 1994. 

• The colour is a gorgeous matte deep red that looks super sexy!
• I love the packaging! It's compact and the deep red accent when you open it up is really lovely to look at
• The formula of this is rich and soft and surprisingly quite moisturising for a matte! It also acts almost like a stain, I didn't need to keep reapplying after having a drink!

The girl then recommended the matching Viva Glam lipglass and let me test it on my hand. I loved the feel of it so i decided to take it too.

• Again compact and small, perfect to put in your clutch on a night out!
• The formulation is gorgeous! Its not sticky at all so you dont have to worry about your hair sticking to your lips on a cold winters night!
• It is a gorgeous colour perfect for Autumn/ Winter and I cant wait to rock this and the lipstick on nights out!

Swatches (left to right) Lipstick, lipglass and both

As I got to the counter to pay the girl pointed out the new In Extreme Dimension 3D Black Lash (phew! such a big name!) mascara. I'm always looking for new mascara that will make my lashes look fuller and longer. The girl claimed that this mascara would definitely give that false lash effect without clumps, and you know what? She was right!!

• It's truly amazing! The packaging is gorgeous and sleek. I love the shape of the lid and it actually makes it a little easier to hold
• The brush is large but is so precise and really does make it look as if you have fake lashes on!

Here's a picture of the packaging, I really can't help it i love the way MAC boxes everything!

So thats the end of this high end make-up hauls/review!! BUT!!! I thought i'd throw these in at the end since i bought them on the same day as i bought the majority of the things here!

I've been looking to replace all my old perfumes slowly and I went into look at the Vivienne Westwood 'Alice' perfumes. I smelled them all and decided that i would go for Naughty Alice. Im not great at describing smells so i'm not even going to to try and explain it all i can say is that it smells good. I decided to buy the gift set which came with a 50ml of the perfume and a moisturiser. But the box it came in doubles up as a jewellery box with a little mirror on the inside! Also because i bought the 50ml perfume i got a free Vivienne Westwood sketchbook! 

I also got this....it's my first Autumn/Winter candle this year, a Yankee Candle called Fireside Treats and OMG! it smells like toasted marshmallows! I just adore it!! I actually originally picked it up as a gift for my best friends birthday but ended up buying two because i just couldn't leave without one for myself! I had it burning in my room last night and everyone in my house could smell it and wherever you went in the house all you could smell was toasted marshmallow! *sigh* I love autumn!

Right so i'm soooo sorry about the length of this post!! I really didn't think it would turn out this big, turns out i had a lot to say then!

Speak soon! 

Kat

xoxox