Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV

Swatches:

Blue Bus, Gunmetal, Cobra, Baked (No Primer)

Bender, Gravity, Lost, Hijack (No Primer)

Midnight Cowgirl, Sin, Midnight Rodeo, Crystal (No Primer)

Bust, Missionary, Skimp, Zephyr (No Primer)

24/7 Waterproof Eyeliner

I bought this from BuyaPowa on Sunday, for the amazing price of £27.50, which is £18.50 off RRP! Such a bargain! I know recently, that loads of people have had doubts about BuyaPowa, due to the whole 'fake' MAC items they've been selling, and I would be a liar if I hadn't been a bit weary of it because of this. But I bought my Naked 2 palette from them, and that's authentic and great, I use it all the time with no problems, so I thought I would be alright with this, and I was right. 

I have two other Urban Decay Book of Shadows, and to be perfectly honest, I rarely get round to using them. But if I'm to have plenty of eyeshadow choice, it has to be Urban Decay hands down. This is the fourth Book of Shadows, and the most recent. Saying that, this has been out for quite some time, and is known for being quite gimmicky. When I say gimmicky, I mean all the little add ons they've tried to force in to it. 

This is the first Book of Shadows, actually I think probably the only make up palette that comes with a speaker. Yes, that's right a speaker. It has two leads, one to plug into your pc/laptop, and another that can go into an mp3 player/iPhone. The idea of this, is to plug into your outlet of choice, and watch the tutorials that Urban Decay have supplied within the box. They come on a piece of card, with a QR scan code that you scan with using your phone. For me, when I tried, it wouldn't focus or pick up the code for some reason. But basically, they've added a little holder for your phone, and you place it inside the lid of the palette, plug in the speaker, watch the tutorials and join in yourself! Obviously I haven't tried this yet, seeing as though I can't get the tutorials up! I tried the speaker with my iPhone, and it's not too bad. It comes with a keyring chain, so you can take it with you if you fancy.

It also comes with a mini eyeshadow primer, as standard. But in the new squeezy tube, which I have yet to try. A mini mascara, and a waterproof eyeliner. Because the eyeliner is so long, I thought it was a pen liner, but unfortunately it's a really thin brush. Which is probably to most peoples liking, but I find you need to have a really steady hand for them. Even though I have mastered applying eyeliner over the years, I still find myself making silly little mistakes, and for this reason prefer using pen liners or a thick brush with my gel liner. But I'll give this a try! When I was swatching it yesterday, I really scrubbed it and found it hard to get it to move, even when I licked my finger and dragged it across it didn't smudge or budge, definately waterproof!

When I finally got the palette and looked at the shadows, I was excited about Blue Bus, Bust and Crystal, but unfortunately these were the 3 lacking pigmentation! I had to swipe them numerous times, but still nothing :( Maybe if I try a primer they will improve, but I'm not getting my hopes up about that. Other than those 3 shades, the others all pack a punch! Check the swatches to see what I mean. It's what Urban Decay is known for, and they don't disappoint (unlike the 3 that do!)

At the end of the day, I will always choose Urban Decays eyeshadows over MAC and other similar brands. They're always so much more pigmented and longer lasting. If you somehow have missed out on trying one of their palettes I urge you to! They've also just released their own 'Build Your Own Palette' to rival brands like MAC and Fashionista, but the price has put me off so far. I do know that they have reformulated their shadows and released shadows that were only available in their palettes, to buy seperately (hello, mushroom!) I think I will cave and end up creating my own, so look out for that!

Do you own any UD Book of Shadows or palettes? Do you think they're better than other brands? Are they worth the money? And have you purchased their new Build Your Own Palette yet? If so, show me! I want ideas for shades to look at! :)

xo

BuyaPowa - Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. IV

I've already purchased mine! There's only 17 left, so I thought I'd let you all know as the price is great. I know it's been out for a while, and I've been wanting it for ages but never got round to purchasing it. But for this price I couldn't turn it down! So be quick, you get so much for such a cheap price! :) And P&P is something silly like £1.95!

BuyaPowa - Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh EDT 75ml

One of my favourite fragrances, light and floral with a twist. Such a beautiful bottle, even to display on your dressing table! And this price is a complete bargain, save over £10 on RRP! I thought I'd let you all know, as it's too good a deal to pass on!x

Urban Decay Naked 2

Yes I know, I'm late to the party. But only because I wanted to be! I don't really spend loads of time doing eyeshadow, but when I do, they are usually nudes and from my first Naked palette or from my small collection of MAC shadows. I kept thinking about this palette, and when I get in this sort of mood, I end up NEEDING it. So I saw it was a up and coming co-buy in Buyapowa, I knew I had to keep my eye out for it. Unfortunately, the email was sent saying it was available ten minutes too late and they were all sold out. (Nice one Buyapowa, not the first time either...!) Luckily they listed again and I was bang on it! So I got this baby for just £26, which is £10 less than the RRP. Not too shabby.

The lipgloss that comes with the palette, shade name 'Naked'. It's plumping, which I really do not like. My lips are an alright size, and if I wanted them to sting or tingle I'd go and play with a wasp! The colour is really pretty and neutral, so great for everyone, but I really think they should of just stuck with their eyeshadow primer - can't go wrong, I've got loads of half empty ones from all their palettes, and all the outside of the packaging is scratched and worn away, so a new one would of been good. Seeing as I use MAC Painterly as a base now, I probably won't be buying a full sized primer potion anytime soon.

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper

These first 4 shades are definately too warm for me. Putting yellow shadow on eyelids, YU CRAZEE! And it's also not very pigmented and chalky. Half Baked and Chopper look almost identical in pan, but as you can see Chopper is a bit more copper. Bootycall is an alright highlighting shade and I'll get use out of this shade. HB and C are very pigmented, even with one swipe. What you usually expect from Urban Decays shadows.

Tease, Snake Bite, Suspect, Pistol

I heard that Tease was chalky and not very pigmented and it definately is :( as it's a matte shadow, it takes a lot of building up. I love this shade, but it's too chalky and more difficult to work with. Snakebite, Suspect and Pistol are three of my absolute favourite shades in this palette, all beautifully metallic and pigmented. You can easily create quick and easy looks with these shades. I used Snakebite and Suspect along with a few others last night (on top of Painterly), as I was in a rush it was nothing spectacular, but they all blended well and looked gorgeous together, so I'm impressed and happy with these shades.

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

Verve is quite silver based, don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous colour, but looks quite random in the palette. Lovely as a base colour also. YDK is extreeeemely pigmented, and has glitter in also. Busted is a dark brown, but a lot cooler in tone than Snake Bite. Blackout is the matte black in this palette, a colour that most people were looking forward to. In pan, it has glitter in, but when swatched it's not AS noticable. I find it very chalky and not that pigmented, but probably a little more pigmented than MAC Carbon. Still on the look for a matte black that wows me. 

The double ended brush that comes with the palette. I got the applicator brush in the original Naked palette and I do use it, so I will probably use this aswell. Although when trying the crease brush I wasn't too impressed, but I'll have to try it again. 

The case is metal and hard-wearing. I thought it would close magnetically, but it snaps shut and you have to really pull it apart to open it. Has a long large mirror inside, good for touch-ups I suppose, but I won't be using it as I don't carry palettes around with me. I do like the packaging a lot more than I thought I would, when seeing pictures of it I wasn't overly fussed about it, as I do love the velvet and magnetic fastening on the other Naked. 

I would prefer to de-pot all the shadows from both my Naked palettes and put them together in a Z Palette or something similar. That way I can easily mix the shades from each and find more combinations a lot easier. Because I will only usually get one palette out and just use shades from that instead of combining them or using MAC/other shadows aswell. I don't have the stomach to do it though! Even though I know I would prefer it so much more! 

I am glad I purchased this palette, unfortunately I think it's not excited people as much as the original, and Urban Decay have tried to make it different, and the outcome wasn't as expected. A few of the shadows quality aren't up to scratch, which doesn't answer the question "Do I need both?" It's totally your preference. For me I only really use nude shadows now, so I think I'm all set eyeshadow wise, and I have found a few new favourite colours from this palette.

At the moment Debenhams are offering 10% off Beauty & Fragrance until 11th March, and free delivery is also available. So if you're interested in this palette, you can purchase it online from Debenhams for £32.40 right now. Or it's available from pretty much anywhere, including; House of Fraser, John Lewis, HQHair, etc.

Did you give in and buy this palette? Or are you still deciding? Do you think it's worth having both?

x

OPI Original Nail Envy on BuyaPowa

Only 100 available! And they're going to go fast!! I've already purchased mine :) Can't believe how cheap it is! Thought I'd share the good news.

Also, until 8am tomorrow, Illamasqua are offering 20% off everything on their site to celebrate reaching 50k followers on facebook. Just use code 50KFANS. There's also FREE delivery! Don't you love it when this happens?! 

x

Nicki Minaj for OPI

Probably the most sought after nail polishes at the moment. For ages I couldn't decide if I liked them enough to purchase. I knew I wanted the turquoise one and the pink one (not like I need another!) Anyway, as I kept putting it off, I finally saw it pop up on Buyapowa for £8 and thought it was too good to pass up! 

Moving on.. Nicki Minaj's collection consists of 6 polishes, 2 of which aren't in the Minis pack. A glitter polish called 'Save Me' which has bar glitter in (so 90s!) and 'Super Bass Shatter' which is a shimmery dark purple, which does look really good over the colours, but I never wear shatter polishes as it is. 

The colours that come in the pack are very vibrant and catapult us straight into that summer feeling. I've already sported 2 of the 4 polishes on my nails and love them.

The colours from L-R are; 'Did it on 'em', 'Fly', 'Pink friday' and 'Metallic 4 Life'.

I have to say, 'Did it on 'em' isn't really to my liking, it reminds me of OPIs 'Who the Shrek are you?' which came out with the Shrek collection. Don't get me wrong it is a nice colour, but on my oh so pale skin it just makes my hands look so washed out and awful. On medium to dark skin tones this will look so good! But for me, it's a no no.

'Fly' is a beautiful turquoise/teal which leans more blue. I find that after 2 coats I still have visible nail line, but it's not really obvious. It is a gorgeous colour though, and I think it's a favourite amongst most.

'Pink friday' is obviously appealing to all girly girls across the globe! I'm a sucker for anything pink, it could literally be a pink toilet brush and I will want it! Sad I know... It's a thick creme polish and applies well, opaque after one coat, but perfect after two! I've already worn this and I love it. It's more of a warm pink than cool, and will suit most skin tones.

Finally is 'Metallic 4 life', another one I have already worn, and it looks great on nails. It's a sort of jelly finish, and on the nails translates as a grey/charcoal colour. You build up the colour to how you want it. Obviously I wanted it to be more black, so 2-3 coats is what you need, depending on how thick you paint it. Has different sized silver glitter in. Another polish that will look great on all skin tones.

All the swatches are 2 coats each. And you can see how they all finish off. Look for the VNL on 'Fly' and a bit streaky on 'Did it on 'em'!

What do you think of this collection? Have you got it? Or do you want to purchase it? Buyapowa keep listing these on their site, but be quick - they keep selling out!

x