Makeup Review & Swatches : Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box

Second date!  Second date!  Second date with Urban Decay...as promised last week!

My Urban Decay Fairy Godmother presented me with Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box and I swooned when I saw the cool packaging. 



The palette is in an awesome wooden box which slides open on the top left hinge.  Now, that is just genius!  It's like none of my other eyeshadow palettes so yeah, the packaging impressed me before I even looked at what it contained!

There's definitely no disappointments with the contents of Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box.

10 eyeshadows - great colours and many combos to be created with them.  There's also a brush and side mirror to help you if you're out and about with this palette.  I didn't actually put the brush to the test but let's be honest here; it's not gonna be a killer brush but it's adequate for touch-ups on the go.

UDPP Is Magic

And ooh la la!  How cute is the mini Urban Decay Primer Potion?!!!  If you have oily eyelids and you haven't tried this yet, you are sorely missing out!  Not only does it make eyeshadows pop, it also prevents them from creasing so easily. 

BTW, according to Urban Decay, Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box is eco-friendly so woohoo, if you're an eco-lover!

From left to right : YDK (bronzed mocha with golden microglitter), Flipside (electric teal with blue sheen), Grifter (sheer lavender with lots of silver microglitter), Uzi (metallic silver with big iridescent sparkles), Twice Baked (brownie brown with gold glitter), Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (golden beige with bronze, gold, & silver glitter),  Flash (bright iridescent purple), Oil Slick (black with silver glitter),  Kiddie Pool (ocean blue with iridescent glitter),  Half Baked (subtle, lustrous bronze)

Likes :  10 shades to choose from, comes with mini UDPP, mini brush and mirror, fab eco-friendly packaging

Dislikes :   Mini UDPP runs out pretty quickly and if you've already got other UD palettes, you'll realise that there are some repeat shades

Overall :  I love it!  But then again, I'm totally biased because I am a sucker for packaging and a sucker for cute dinky products like the mini UDPP.

Swatches

For the third and last Urban Decay eyeshadow palette review - same time, same place, next week?  It's a third date! 

Review & Swatches : Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette is one of my new loves.

A couple of months ago, the Urban Decay Fairy Godmother gifted me with not 1, not 2, but 3, yes 3 other eyeshadow palettes!!

When I opened the surprise package, I can confirm that there were plenty of *squees*!  I am indeed a blessed beauty blogger!

Today, I am showing you the Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette

What Urban Decay Say

This baby is a classic!  We packed a smokin' mirrored compact with 10 of our best-selling shades.  A must for any Urban Decay eyeshadow fan.

Review

Urban Decay is a brand I am familiar with - even though it is not available in Australia - because I grew up with it in my local Boots store.  (For the uninitiated, Boots is a UK pharmacist / cosmetics store and I was a loyal customer there since forever...but for some reason, they have stopped stocking UD products, and Debenhams (think Myer) stocks their goods. 

To be honest, my sister is a bigger fan of their products because her make-up collection has Urban Decay everything from eyeliners to UDPP to their palette sets.

When everyone went crazy over the UD Naked Palette, I just didn't get it.  I still don't.  But that's because I'm not a fan of anything brown.  I love colour!!!  Bright colours!  And that's why I love this Urban Decay Ammo Palette.  The packaging is sexy with its trademark black and purple colours.  It's filled with 10 sexy shimmery shades, a handy mirror inside the box with a sponge applicator.  Very handbag-friendly!!

The downside is the cost.  Okay, it's not crazy like Chanel prices, but if you're largely unemployed, you may want to add it on to your wishlist, like I did...and you never know when the Urban Decay Fairy Godmother may pay you a visit!  *wink*

One more thing, I should mention is - What is with the many aliases of this palette??  On UD website, it is known as Eyeshadow Ammo Shadow Box, on Sephora it is known as Ammo Eye Palette and in UK, it is known as Shadow Box!!!  Confusing much??!!

Eyeshadow Swatches

Eyeshadow swatches (minus primer) from left to right in Smog (deep coppery bronze), Mildew (shimmering metallic green), Oil Slick (black with rainbow glitter), Last Call (iridescent plummy purple) and Chopper (shimmering fawn with glitter).

Followed by Maui Wowie (sandy sheen), Shattered (bright iridescent aquamarine), Polyester Bride (sheer white shimmer), Grifter (sparkling pale purple)  and Sin (light shimmering champagne).

Even without eyeshadow primer, the colours look pretty intense; but for staying power on oily lids, I would highly recommend the legend that is Urban Decay Primer Potion!

And yes, you may call me the worst eyeshadow swatcher in the beauty blogosphere!

For the next Urban Decay eyeshadow palette review - same time, same place, next week?  It's a date!

Review : Dermalogica Concealing Spot Treatment

The good people at Dermalogica read about how I popped my pimples and were flabbergasted.  Popping pimples is a no-no and can cause scarring so they sent me Dermalogica Concealing Spot Treatment to make me change from my naughty ways.

Did I like it?  Well, read on for my review...

What Dermalogica Say

An intense treatment with a natural-looking tint ideal for daytime coverage of breakouts. Sulfur and Zinc Oxide quickly target, conceal and help clear breakouts. An amazing alternative for those who prefer treatment products free of Benzoyl Peroxide. Contains no artificial fragrance or color.

What I Say

Now, I have desert-dry skin which means I rarely get spots so if you've read my post on zits, you'll know that when one does creep up, I get uber-excited about popping the sucker.  But I was willing to give Dermalogica Concealing Spot Treatment a try and so I waited...and waited...and waited for the formation of a zit.

One evening, I felt the throbbing power of a chin zit and ooh la, la!  I looked in the mirror and there was indeed a red pulsing spot which was in its initial stages of birth.  This is the stage where I'd usually touch it with dirty fingers to make it ripen faster, but this time, I brought out Dermalogica Concealing Spot Treatment.

Dermalogica Spot Treatment magically blended into my skin colour and toned down the redness of the spot.  I didn't think much of it as I went to bed.  I woke up the next morning to see that the spot had diminished in size and the redness was gone.  Another dab of the product and by the very next day, there were no remnants of the chin zit.

A miracle?  Well, it's difficult to say because I've only tried it on one spot..and I've been waiting but I haven't had another zit for a while.  Don't look at my Husband because he NEVER gets spots.  So it's pretty hard to say based on one spot.  But I was impressed with how well it concealed and dealt with that one spot.

Newspaper Print Nail Art Tutorial

Today I am excited to bring you another easy nail art tutorial - Newspaper Print.

How totally awesomely cool is this?  I wish I could credit myself for this pretty print but it wasn't me and the internet is flooded with it.

Basically, if I can do it, you can do it too.  I've broken it down in 4 easy steps so let's get to it...

What You Will Need

1.  Base coat and top coat (optional, but recommended to protects nails and make polish last longer)
2. Light coloured nail polish (if you choose something too dark, the newspaper print will not show up as well) - I used a pale pink shade - OPI Step Right Up! from the Femme De Cirque collection which was sent by PR for review
3.  Vodka in a spoon - not for you to drink, but to drown your nail in it
4.  Snippets of newspaper in similar sizes to your fingernails
5.  Nail polish remover and cotton pads

Newspaper Print Nail Art Tutorial - 4 Easy Steps

Step 1 :  After base coat, apply your nail shade of choice and wait till it is completely dry before moving on.

Step 2 :  Drown your nail in the vodka.  That's right, get it drunk!

Step 3 :  While the nail is still wet, wrap the snippet of newspaper tightly around nail and press it till the newspaper is soaked through. 

Step 4 :  Remove wet newspaper clipping and admire.  Use the nail polish remover to remove any print outside your nails.  Repeat for all nails.  Apply top coat and you're done!

Easy Newspaper Nails to impress your family and friends!!  It'll only take around 15 minutes.  What do you think?

How To Pop A Pimple

Pimples, zits, spots - no matter what you call them, they are one of the most unwanted vile things to exist on anybody's face.

And for some reason, they pop up when you least want them to, e.g. first date, wedding day.

Here's a quick quiz to see if this blog post "How To Pop A Pimple" is suitable for you.

When you get a pimple, do you :-

a)  Shrug your shoulders, dab on some anti-spot product and let it disappear on its own accord
b)  Call your dermatologist on speed dial and get the next available appointment
c)  Check it every few hours to see if the sucker is "ripe" and once it is, you pop that pimple and get a 'popgasm' watching the pus shoot out

If you chose a), then please click away right now because we cannot be friends.  Well, we can be...but if we ever meet face-to-face and you have a zit on your face, IT WILL BE CALLING OUT MY NAME!!  And I will be forced to leap on you and pop that pimple!

If you chose b), then you are one heckuva lucky rich bitch!  And you can also click away from this post because you'll get a professional to pop your pimple, so this post is no use to you whatsoever.

If you chose c), give me a *High Five* and carry on reading about how I pop my zits...

Please note that this is MY guide on how to pop my pimples and it is not necessarily the "proper way", but it works for me.

The secret to the perfection of popping a pimple without facial scarring is all about patience.  Wait, wait, wait until the timing is right when there is a visible white head and then pop that sucker and get a 'popgasm' when pus erupts.

So here are some pointers :-

1.  I can tell when I get a zit because it starts off as a red bulge which begins to pulse.  It's like it's teasing me, "Ooh, guess who's here?"  I will feel it and gently compress it to get a rough idea of the size and severity of the spot.  It's a big bad boy if it hurts upon light pressure.  On the first day, popping the pimple is a no-no.  You can squeeze all you like, but it's just gonna hurt.  Instead, speed up the ripening process by poking the zit every hour with unwashed fingers.  The more bacteria, the quicker the ripening process.

2.  Sometimes I will apply toothpaste on the pulsating zit before my beauty sleep.  The alkalinity and the mint will soothe the zit and in the morning, you may find the red pimple has calmed down and is dissipating.  In such cases, there will be no pimple popping  - *insert sad face*

3.  Of course, it's natural that you want to cover up the bad boy with layers of concealer.  But I don't like to do that because it just makes my zit stick out more with cakey concealer.

4.  Instead of letting people squint their eyes and wonder in bewilderment at "WTF is that thing on her face?", I point it out to them.  "Look, I have a huge pimple and it wants to say Hello!"  This makes them laugh and not stare at me for the rest of the day.  Embarrassment averted from both parties.

5.  It's Day 3 and that bad boy is still teasing you.  This is when I start using my nails to squeeze around the surrounding area of the zit.  Basically, the white blood cells are taking their sweet time to form a visible white head so this process will hurry them along.

6.  So you see the sign - the visible white point has arrived.  But I don't like to burst it straight away because pus will ooze out slowly and then it's over.  That's no fun.

Wait a couple more hours because the white point will enlarge to almost the size of the pimple.  At this point, it is begging you to burst it now, please!  Smile and take a shower and be extra careful not to "accidentally" burst your zit while you shower.  The heat and steam from the shower will make the pimple even bigger.

It is now time!!!

Using clean fingers, squeeze out the surrounding area of the pimple and watch it erupt.

Props if you get pus on the mirror!

It is important to keep squeezing until all the pus is out along with some blood because if not, the pimple is not dead.

I repeat, the pimple is not dead.

It will come back to life again to haunt your poor face!

Splash some cold water on the bleeding area and apply some toner using a cotton swab.  Leave it to scab over the next few days and wait for it to drop off to prevent facial scarring.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

I hope that was a useful guide on how to pop a pimple!  If you have any extra tips or pimple stories, please leave a comment.