Westfield Splurge: Naked Skin

So...I went to Westfield just after Pay day. Pay day = carried away. There was a parking deal on (such a geek) and it's not too far from me so I went there to find one of the near instinct Urban Decay counters (Debenhams in Westfield) and to go to Ted Baker to get the purse I wrote about in my 21st birthday post here. Obviously I ended up buying other things as you can see below!

 I treated myself to the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation, Benefit Watt's up, Inglot Freedom System eye shadow palette and an Inglot nail enamel. I'm going to do a few different posts on what I bought so this one isn't a monster. I'll be giving my thoughts about my new foundation today.

My priority of my Westfield trip was to buy a new foundation as I had been testing different brand samples and shades for months and had no luck finding the perfect combination of texture, coverage, staying power and colour for my skin until I tried a sample of Urban Decay's new Naked Skin foundation. I was roughly matched by the Urban Decay lady at home in Norwich with her colour card and she gave me a sample of 2.0 (fair with slight yellow undertone) and 3.0 (light with golden undertone). 

There are 18 different shades in the colour range going right the way from 0.5 to 12.0. The .5 shades have pink/rose undertones and the .0 shades have more neutral/yellow/golden undertones. I am wrongly matched with pink undertoned foundations too often because I do have sensitive and pink skin on my face but I of course want a foundation that neutralises this not matches it! I tried both samples but found the darker shade (3.0) a bit too dark for me now my tan has faded (very sad about this) and 2.0 was a teeny bit too pale but I figured I'm just going to get paler at this time of year and I like to warm up my foundation with bronzer anyway. 

Urban Decay describes the foundation as providing a "flawless ultra definition finish" and "natural radiance without shine." The coverage is buildable which I really like and I find this important because during the day I like to have clear radiant healthy looking skin but in the evening when I go out I like to build my coverage up without having to wear a different foundation all together. Another good thing about using this foundation in the evening is it has no SPF...meaning no ghost white faces in flash photographs, this may be a negative for many of you for day time but you can always use a moisturiser or primer with an SPF. 

The foundation contains Green Tea and Vitamin E, which claims to promote collagen production and contains Sodium Hyaluronate which apparently "holds and attracts water for optimal hydration, circulation and nutrient absorption for smooth, soft skin."

All in all, the shade range is really good and I rarely find one that matches my skin as well as this one does, coverage is brilliant and buildable and it lasts for ages. I use a bit of powder (Rimmel Stay Matte) on top on my T-zone and chin but compared to other foundations I have tried it keeps the shine at bay and still allows the skin to look healthy and illuminated. I am really happy with it and definitely recommend it!

Urban Decay Naked Skin: £27 Debenhams

My other product reviews will be very soon :) Do you want to try this foundation or have you already tried it? What did you think?

♥

Bye Summer

Hello beauties. This may seem weird as I am writing this in October but AUGUST is my favourite month...mainly because the 1st is my birthday and it is Summer which means at least some good weather. I already wrote a little bit about my birthday here so I won't talk about that again but for the rest of the month I worked lots, spent lots, had to move out of my house at uni and went to V festival which was AMAZING.

Moving out of my house at uni was actually really stressful as I wasn't very well and my housemates had already moved out so I had to stay there solo. I didn't realise how much unnecessary stuff I had taken with me and how much extra stuff I had accumulated while I was there...this was still the case even though I'd already moved all my clothes out already...My mum came up once I'd packed as we needed my car and hers to fit all my stuff in and they were both jam packed when we were finished. If any of you are off to uni this September just remember you probably won't need ALL your clothes (including the ones you haven't worn for 2 years) like I thought I did, I probably wore a quarter of them! After I'd given my keys back to the worst estate agents in London we went for the lunch by the Thames in Kingston and I drove through Richmond Park to see a friend, LOVE that park.

(From top left clockwise) Lunch, Richmond park, Last Night at V,  First day at V.

V festival was the weekend after that and was well needed! I went for the whole weekend and the weather was absolutely amazing all weekend, even hotter than when I went last year. It was in the 30's which was incredible, I got some unusual tan lines but had a brilliant time. I wore bright summery floral dresses and my favourite Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in 20 most of the weekend. It is events like this where I am so pleased I have my eyelash extensions, no need for mascara and no panda eyes.

Some of the acts I saw:

 Emeli Sande
David Guetta
Labrinth
Maverick Sabre
Professor Green
Tinie Tempah
Tom Jones
LMFAO
Nero
DJ Fresh Live
Rita Ora

I was lucky enough to enjoy some September sun on my days off last month and got to top up my tan a little bit before it fades to ghostlyness. 

Completely clear sky and aeroplane.


I went out to the coast for the evening last week and the sunset was beautiful, I love that time of night. I took Mambo for a walk and he ran straight into the sea, and lay down, naughty seal dog.

New-Beau

Hey beauts, I wanted to write about a few new things I have got this month so far in this post. One of which was a present from my loveeeely friend Emma. She knows how obsessed I am with nail varnish, nail art and new products so she got me the Ciate Caviar Manicure set for my birthday which was sooo thoughtful of her. I'm sure lots of you have heard of it before but it is a relatively new idea. The idea behind it is that you get a unique 3d nail effect. You apply the nail varnish as normal but when they are still wet you pour the microbeads over your nails over the provided plastic tray (handy!). You just need to gently push the beads into the nail varnish so they stick properly and leave the nails to completely dry for 20 minutes, I made the mistake of having a bath after about 10...don't do that as they will just come off. Then all you need to do is pour the excess beads back into the bottle with the provided funnel (even handier!) 

There is a black, white and rainbow set and my favourite is definitely the rainbow so Emma knows me well! I have put a photo of my Caviar manicure accent finger, it doesn't take long at all but I didn't have time to do them all and allow them all to completely dry! I love it, I think it looks unusual and unique. Next time I'll make sure my whole nail is covered in beads as there are a couple of small gaps this time round. Practice makes perfect.

I also went on a bit of a splurge at Warehouse with my staff discount. I bought this dress, a sleeveless silk shirt and some nice thick treggings for Winter as I live in them...I love floral dresses and this is no exception. This one is particularly good for this time of year because it is still feminine but the florals are a bit more wintery. I have been seeing loads of winter floral articles in magazines lately so I think they will be everywhere soon. 

Warehouse: £50

I saw this in Boots and it was on offer as there is 1/3 off Dove body care. I am a total sucker for 'Limited Edition'  products so I snapped it up, it smells delicious and I figured I should accept the fact that Summer is coming to an end and that I should start moisturising in preparation for Winter. I definitely get dryer skin in Winter so I'm sure this will be a staple in my skincare routine during the colder months.

Boots: £2.19

I love finding new products, are there any new things you have bought recently that you love or can recommend?

♥