My visit to Urban Decay

I'm sure ever lady loves to be pampered, and usually I'm the one pampering my friends... Painting their nails or doing their make up (you know who you are) but recently I booked myself in to the Urban Decay counter in Cardiff for my very own make-over.

Most make up counters offer this service, usually there is a deposit to pay which is then redeemable against product on the day. 

Urban Decay offer three levels of make over, I opted for a VIP make over which was £25. It's an additional £10 if you wish for them to appy lashes for you. 

Firstly came the worst part... Taking all of my make up off in the middle of a busy Debenhams... The make up artist - Haddie, prept my skin with B6 formula as a primer. 

Then applying eye make up using the primer potion in Eden and mainly using the Naked 2 and Naked 3 palettes which is great as these are the ones I have at home. 

Then my skin using my favourite foundation at the moment - Naked Skin and finishing with a loose powder. I went for a deep contour on my cheeks ala Kim K. 

Haddie finished off my look with 24/7 Iip liner in Streak and the matching Naked gloss. 

I loved my finished look, and the Urban Decay ladies too a lot of time on the make up to make me look fabulous! Would definitely recommend of you're planning a special evening. 

Follow the girls on Instagram to check out their latest looks: @UDCardiff 

If you wish to book you can call Debenhams on: 02920 381525

Rhian Xx

    

     

 

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess

Now I happened upon this fragrance almost by accident. The reason? It was a gift from my lovely friend... And the reason it was a gift? Well because as she describes it. "It's you in a bottle" and on first sniff I would definitely agree!

 

Craig David once asked "what's your flavour?" And to Mr David I would always 100% simply respond with coconut! Which is why this fragrance is perfect for me. 

The fragrance contains scents of; Bergamot and Mandarin,Tahitian Gardenia Petals and Coconut, warmed with Amber, Sandalwood and Vetiver. Now all of that simplified basically means it's a holiday in a bottle. Fresh and tropical smelling.. Perfect for the summer. 

Estée Lauder are calling this scent a Eau Fraiche Skinscent as opposed to a perfume or toilette. Which makes sense as the light fragrant is most similar to a perfumed body spray. However it does have staying power and I've had lots of compliments when wearing it. 

The bottle is also a thing of beauty, in a metallic gold it is simple yet classy. 

Bronze Goddess is available in a 100 ml size for £45. 

If this product did ever come out in a perfume it would definitely be on my wish list. 

Totally tropical!!

Rhian Xx

Illamasqua Translucent Powder

Since I have been getting more and more in to contouring and highlighting with my base foundations, I found that applying a pressed powder to the top covered all of my hard work so I decided to try this translucent powder instead.

Now coverage for me was always previously an issue and wanted to plaster as much on my face as humanly possible to cover blemishes. Since I've got older the odd blemish doesn't bother me as much anymore and I would rather my make up didn't look heavy and caked on to my skin. Whilst a translucent powder doesn't essentially offer coverage it just finish and set the foundation and it mattifies without adding additional colour and so changing the shade of your face - or in my case ruining my contour work. 

This powder is great. It's ultra fine and finishes off my make up amazingly well. I also have to mention it smells fab as well.

      

The other plus point is even if you apply several layers it still doesn't change the colour on your face so no need to panic if you have too much on your brush.  

The Illamasqua Translucent Powder retails for £24 and it will last you a good while. 

Are you a fan of translucent powder? Which is your favourite? 

Rhian Xx

Nars - Instant Line & Pore Perfector

My biggest bug bear when it comes to make up is finding something to hide my pores!

I was randomly browsing the Nars website and come across this little product and thought "surely it's worth a try!?" 

Now it's fair to say the product it pretty small... It's smaller than a lipstick in size and for £20 you don't appear to get a lot of product for your money. 

Now I don't have an issue with lines as yet... But I do have an issue with pores. This product does a job in smoothing over the appearance of my pores but it's not as amazing as I expected and it still requires quite a bit of product to get the result I want. With that in mind this little 1.7g stick is not going to last me very long at all. 

I usually love Nars products but for me this one falls a little short of my expectation. 

Have you tried this product? Did it work for you? 

Rhian Xx

Kevin Murphy Color Bug

It was only two weeks ago that I started playing with the pressed pigments in the Urban Decay Electric Palette and put them in my hair... As much as this is amazing and you can select loads of different colours it can be quite time consuming.

However in this months Latest in Beauty box you get a Kevin Murphy Color Bug. This nifty little tool applies colour to the hair quickly and affectively. It's also still visible on darker hair colours. 

Check out YouTube to see Kevin use his Color Bug on different hair colours. 

It's like a big eyeshadow but for your hair! 

It has a chalky texture but can be set with hairspray. Only designed to last for one night and washes out easily this is great for festivals or for night outs where you fancy a pop of colour. 

It retails at £14 and comes in 5 different colours; 

Purple

Pink

Orange 

Neon

White. 

Great fun! 

    

Rhian Xx