One of the best base products I ever started using was primer, it makes applying foundation easier, look smoother and helps your make up last all day. I was recently sent this Essence 'You Better Work' Gym-Proof Primer* to try out, I’ve sampled it quite a few times now and been using it for around a month.

Yesterday I was kindly invited to attend the Celebrity MUA Masterclass in association with Debenhams Beauty Club. The event was held at the beautiful St George’s Hall in Liverpool which is right next to Lime Street station; the hall inside is just amazing and I could spend all day exploring its beauty.
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Birchbox have given us all retro vibes with this months boxes, back in January us subscribers had the option to choose which box we wanted to receive in February. There was actually 3 options to choose from, 3 different box designs; one for the 70’s, one for the 80’s and one for the 90’s! All had retro shapes and feels to them and totally worked for each era. Being a 90’s baby I went with the 90’s box which has all the pastel colours going on and could totally be a shell suit design!

I’m a sucker for a good mascara and enjoy trying new mascaras whenever I can so when Urban Decay sent me the new *Troublemaker Mascara to sample I was chuffed as hell! Urban are major favourite of mine and I’m never disappointed by them or any of their products.

Leighton Denny Nails are a good quality nail polish brand with lots of shade ranges and products that help you achieve amazing looking nails. I’ve used LD before, I’m always impressed with how smoothly LD polishes go onto my nails, every one of the polishes I've tried are smooth and have amazing colour pay off.

LD’s PR company kindly sent me three Halloween themed nail polishes and a beautiful glass nail file to sample over the spooky month of October. All 3 shades have themed shade names and the colours are perfect for All Hallows’ Eve outfits and costumes.
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A couple of week ago I attended the launch party for the Beauty Book App at Neighbourhood restaurant in Manchester. The Beauty Book App is a handy database of beauticians and salons where customers can leave real reviews and photos. It allows new customers to read reviews and see images of what the business offers. Salons, MUA's, beauticians, hairdressers and Spa's can join the app, upload their information and then their customers can leave true and honest reviews. Once the customers add their review they are published straight away so there's no editing or declining the review from the businesses.

Lashes have become a permanent item in my makeup bag, after not ever wearing them properly until this year they've become something I pick up regularly. I was recently sent this pair of *DANIA lashes to sample from Pinky Goat, I've worn the lashes a few times now and here are my thoughts.


Pinky Goat was founded by Maha Morley-Kirk and Elle Hardy who both have years of experience in the fashion and beauty industry. They developed the Pinky Goat brand with their experience and passion for beauty and they continue to create new collections for us makeup lovers and professionals. PG won the Pure Beauty Awards for Best Beauty Brand in 2015 and was the silver winner for Best New Eye Product in 2016. Each of the lashes and products are produced using quality materials and they make sure their products are sourced ethically from around the globe and are cruelty-free. These lashes are exclusive to Superdrug in the UK and available via the Superdrug website and in stores.


Each set of lashes comes in sleek black packaging with yellow/orange/pink shades over the PG logo with gold and pink text; I think it all looks very glamourous. The DANIA lashes are made from human hair fibre and add volume, length and open up your eyes when worn. I found these lashes to be lightweight and comfortable once applied; they have a natural long lash look when on which isn't too intense but is enough to achieve a dramatic natural look. No mascara is needed with these lashes and the length of them is perfect for me. The lash band is flexible so will hug any lash line beautifully and the lash band is also clear so theres no bulky band to see.


Applying lashes has become less of a chore for me, I purchased a small tweezer like tool which holds the lash in place for me whilst the glue dries on my lash line. On my first wear of these PG lashes, I measured them against my eyes and cut them to size before applying any glue. With a small amount of glue the lashes stayed put all day with no movement or loosing. Removal was easy too, pulling them gently from each side of the lash, there wasn't any tugging or discomfort. To keep the lashes in top condition, I removed any excess glue from the lash band then washed them before placing them back in the case to dry after every removal.

I feel like I'm still a newbie to lashes but I am trying more and more styles and ranges lately, these Pinky Goat lashes have been one of the most comfortable set of lashes I've sampled yet, the clear band gave me a more natural look than some other lashes do and although the packaging stated up to 3 wears, I've had them on 5 times!

I'll definitely be picking some more styles up from my local Superdrug!


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Being a makeup fan and Street Art admirer I am so excited about the collaboration between Urban Decay and Jean-Michel Basquiat that recently launched. I first caught wind of the collection through social media a bit ago; the UD socials were showing a launch party and all the products looked amazing! Bright and bold shades with creative packaging and we all know that Urban know how to do packaging!

Liv from my local Urban Decay counter in Debenhams invited me down to see the collection and give me a creative eye look using the new products. Arriving at the counter I could see the special stand filled with the Basquiat products. My first thoughts was how fantastic the packaging looked in person, then I picked a palette up and was even more amazed; the palettes and lipsticks packaging have a canvas-like feel to them. This really shows the artists work in a new creative way for a makeup palette.


The full collection is made up of 2 eyeshadow palettes, a blush palette, 3 lipstick shades and 3 liners, these are all available on the Wigan Urban Decay counter. You can also get a vault filled with the whole collection and and 3 makeup bags from the UD website; all of which have Basquiat designs on them.

Eyeshadow Palatte's Tenant and Gold Griot

Tenant is my favourite of the two palettes because of the bright and bold shades included; I've always been more of a fan of colourful eyeshadows than nudes/browns. This palette opens landscape and has the Basquiat's art work all the way around. Each of the 8 shades included is based on the colours used in the artist's work from 1960 (bright pink) to Exu (bright green). There are 4 matte shades, 1 matte-satin shade, a metallic shade and 2 shimmer shades; there are so many looks to create with this palette.


Gold Griot is the neutral palette in the collection featuring nude and brown shades, to me its like the base of the art work before the colour is added. It reminds me of a wood background (which is what the Gold Griot art work was created on) and brick work. I really like that this palette opens portrait which gives it an edge since this is different to the other palette Tenant and other Urban palettes. The shades range from pale nudes like Enigma to deep navy like Pseudonym and has shimmer shades like Influence so you can still have a stand out eye look without the bold shades in the other palette. Gold Griot includes 4 matte shades, 2 shimmer, 1 matte-satin and a metallic gold.


Every shade in both the palettes have UD's pigment inclusion system included, they are all blendable with a velvet texture; I'd expect nothing less from Urban. Both palettes also come with a double ended brush to apply each shade easily and on the back of the palettes is a cutout so you can hang the palettes up on display just like the pieces of art work they are.

Gallery Blush Palette
Another art work filled palette but inside is a face palette featuring 2 blush shades, 1 bronzer and a highlighting shade. The 4 shades have UD's afterglow formula so you have 8 hour long lasting wear. Jawbone is a medium bronze shade so it can be used on any skin tone, I'm very pale and this was perfect on me but can be built up for a darker look if needed. The gold-champagne shimmer (Now's The Time) gives an amazing glow to the upper cheek bones. Having 2 blush shades in the palette also means anyone can use the palette, you have a medium pink shade X-rated and a radiant berry NOHO which can be used alone or mixed to make your desired shade. Gallery Blush is a great travelling palette with having everything you need in one place and in a lightweight palette. This palette can also be displayed just like the eyeshadow ones, just hang up using the cutout on the back of the palette.


Lipsticks in shades; Abstract (brown), Exhibition (purple) and Epigram (nude)
Each of the lipsticks have the same formula as UD's Vice lipsticks so they are highly pigmented, have a creamy texture, super long lasting and are easy to apply. The shades aren't bright and bold shades but more neutral however you have some colour with Exhibition having a purple tone to it. Abstract is the brown shade and reminds me again of brickwork and Epigram is the perfect nude. Each lipstick has canvas-like packaging with Basquait's art work all around.


24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in shades; Post Punk (neon green), Vivid (blue), Anatomy (Brick)
The collection is complete with 3 eye pencils in 2 bright shades and one neutral, all of which work really well with both eyeshadow palettes or on there own. All 3 of the pencils have the standard 24/7 formula being waterproof, creamy glide on and long lasting, you can blend out each shade after applying for a more intense look. UD's 24/7 liners contain moisturising ingredients with vitamin E, cottonseed oil and jojoba oil. Vivid is my favourite shade out of the 3, this bright blue shade is just like nothing I've seen before. Post Punk is a neon green shade adding a pop of colour to any look. Anatomy is a brick brown shade and the neutral shade from the range. Although the pencils themselves don't have the Basquiat art work on them, they have the collaboration text on them.

Liv gave me a bold and colourful look using the Tenant palette and Vivid liner along with some UD favourites Moondust, Razor sharp liner and Heavy Metal glitter liners. I was really happy with the look being a full colour fan and I've tried recreating the look at home. To finish the look Liv applied the Exhibition lipstick and used one of the new lipstick top coats to add some glitter to my lips.

The Basquiat collaboration really is an art work collection, each time UD collaborate I am blown away with the creativity they put into the shades, packaging and products. I also think this collection is really good value for the money, the palettes aren't as expensive as I thought they would be and you always know that your getting the UD quality you'd expect.

You can pop into Debenhams stores and see the collection for yourself now!