Tell Me About It Stud - MUA Pretty Edgy Palette

I realised today that I forgot to tell you in my last post (ironically) that I'm back at uni! It's nice to be back and seeing everyone again plus the weather here is soooo much nicer than it was when I was back home! It does, however, make this MUA Pretty Edgy Palette that I bought on a windy, rainy day back home seem a little bit unseasonal but I'll soldier on all in the name of beauty blogging (cry me a river right?).

Top Row L-R: Antique, Bow, Toile, Ruffle, Flounce, Lace
Bottom Row L-R: Sinful, Gothic, Wrath, Envy

Lots of people talk about MUA products but I've never really been that drawn to them...I had a red lipstick of theirs years and years ago that I loved (but I used to get it all over my face) and I have another eyeshadow palette that I bought instead of their Heaven and Earth Palettes (which are supposedly Naked palette dupes) because I already had the real Urban Decay Naked palette so instead I bought this other MUA palette with a ton of blue shades which (obviously) I never use.

However all that being said I was browsing the super drug website ages ago one evening (yes some people have crack, I have online makeup shops) and saw they were advertising the release of their new MUA Pretty Edgy Palette and (I'm not gunna lie to you) the packaging drew me in in much the same way it did with my Kat Von D Palette. The packaging is much swankier than previous MUA palettes; it comes in a black case with a huge mirror on the inside of the lid, the shadows are square not round (try to contain your shock please) and, the bit that got me the most excited, the lid is covered with studs!

The studded lid in all it's glory!

When I first went to get the palette it was sold out because it had just been released and then after a while I just forgot about it and moved on. Then when I was home at Easter I saw it and I was immediately like 'I have to have it!'. The colours in this are really pretty too and since I've tended to err on the neutral side of eyeshadows I figured I could justify (in my head at least) buying this largely purple toned palette (plus it was really affordable so I figured what the hell!).

The shadows themselves are on the dryer side which makes them a little more difficult to work with and there is some fall out too, so you would probably want to use a primer and do your foundation, concealer etc after you've finished your eyes. However the colour selection is really nice and the combination of shimmers (top row) and mattes (bottom row) is very complimentary.

L-R: Antique, Bow, Toile, Ruffle, Flounce, Lace

The colour pay off of the shadows is really nice too, although I would say they don't look exactly like how they do in the pan when you apply them, which is a little bit of a shame as I was really excited about some of them, particularly lace which I have all over my lid in the picture above. They are really long wearing with a primer (I haven't tried them without yet) and I was impressed that even the matte black shadow, Envy (which I used as like a smoky eyeliner and comes out slightly more browney than it looks) had really nice pigmentation as I've tried a few matte shadows from the drugstore which were pretty much invisible once applied.

T-B: Sinful, Gothic, Wrath, Envy

Overall I would say I'm not hugely blown away by this palette in that I will obsessively use it every day but I think it is a nice addition to my collection and will be used. For the price point I think it's worth the money and taking a punt on as the shadows are nice but I can't lie and say I'm not disappointed that they don't swatch as the same beautiful colours they look in the pan.

Have you tried out this palette yet?? Let me know what you think in the comments! Oh and by the way I joined Pinterest recently so if you want to follow me there you can here. Keep an eye out for my next post about what I bought in my mini haul!

Eyeshadows For A True Romantic - True Romance Eyeshadow Palette

After another busy day at uni I'm counting down the days till the Easter holidays when I can go back home and just chill for a little while. Of course that will probably involve some shopping (what better way to relax??) and when I was home for Christmas I think the excitement of not having to buy a weekly food shop for a while caused me to go a little overboard with my shopping i.e buy practically everything in Boots (of course I joke...I didn't buy nappies or mens shaving cream).

One of the many makeup purchases I made over the Christmas break was the Kat Von D True Romance eyeshadow palette in Saint. I'd been getting bored of my Urban Decay Naked palette (which is excellent btw) and was looking for something to change it up a bit and excite me into creating new eye looks. There were various different palettes I was considering but after many unsuccessful trips around Newcastle I decided upon this one.

L-R heavens, enjoy the silence, <3, downtown,
sunny, pray for me, bookworm, caravaggio

I saw it first in one of Essie Button's beauty videos on YouTube and thought the shadow colours looked beautiful (also the packaging is amazing!). Kat Von D was like my idol when I went through an emo faze in middle school and although sadly (in my opinion) LA Ink started getting a bit boring and samey I can't help but admit the middle school Chloe inside of me couldn't wait to get her hands on some of Kat's makeup line. Unfortunately the Kat Von D makeup line isn't widely available here in England and although you can get items off ebay, Amazon etc. I never 100% trust sellers with makeup which is so easy to knock off to a lower quality so instead I purchased mine from Rose's Beauty Store. This site is great if you want to get your hands on something which isn't really available here but is in America, you will pay more than you would if you bought it in America but trust me the difference is way less than a flight.

Pretty packaging

When the palette first arrived the first thing I noticed was the packaging. First off the cardboard box it all comes in is so pretty (but sadly I don't still have it so I don't have a picture to show you). Then there is the packaging of the palette. It is black with a rose design (my favourite flower) stamped onto it with the Kat Von D logo embossed on top. I have read reviews where people complain that the packaging feels very plasticy and cheap and I would say it doesn't feel extremely luxe. However it is in keeping with Kat's overall aesthetic and middle school Chloe enjoys that very much. 

Lovely neutrals

Now to the bit you've all been waiting for...the shadows themselves. They are all really pigmented and beautiful to wear (my personal favourite is downtown, the rose gold shade). All of the shadows are shimmery apart from caravaggio (which is a matt dark brown) and <3, and bookworm (which both contain chunks of glitter). I do love this palette so much and use it almost every day in conjunction with my Naked palette or other shadows as, despite the fact it is so neutral, I do find it difficult to create looks only using these shadows due to its lack of matt colours, which I prefer to use for blending. Also I would recommend using a good primer (mine is Urban Decay's primer potion) underneath these shadows as they are quite powdery and so you have to be careful to avoid fall out when applying them. I would also say press your brush into the pans rather than dragging it across (as I found the hard way this just makes a total mess). These aside however I think the colour pay off of these is fantastic, they are very easy to wear and...you never know I might be tempted to try another one of these palettes over the Easter holidays! I can hear my bank account complaining now....

Swatch of (L-R): heavens, enjoy the silence, <3, downtown and sunny

Swatch of (L-R): pray for me, bookworm, caravaggio