Urban Decay's Naked On the Run Palette

You know when you find a make up palette and you love most of it, but not all of it? Or you buy one because it has a couple of your favourite products in it, but you don't really have time for the rest?

Well, for me, it is the complete opposite with the Urban Decay Naked On The Run palette.

If you are a fan of the 3 Naked palettes by Urban Decay, then you need On The Run in your life! I was actually lucky enough to snuffle this fabulous palette in the Selfridges January sale...it was only a fiver off, but I would have happily paid full price for it, so this was just the icing on the cake really.

The palette comes with 6 brand new eyeshadows in stunning nude shades, a pretty pink blusher, a neutral bronzer, a travel size Perversion mascara, a 24/7 Glide On eye pencil in Stag AND a full size Naked lip gloss in Sesso. Wow! All packaged up beautifully in a super stylish box, with a big mirror on the inside. Not bad for £37...well....£32 if you got it in the Selfridges sale like me.

The blush is such a pretty pink shade. It has blue undertones and a gorgeous satin finish, which blended easily into my skin...lasted a good long time too! The bronzer had a light to medium tone and a matte finish - perfect for an all year round bronzer. It blended well with my trusty Real Techniques brush and was the perfect partner to the blush.

The Perversion mascara was possibly my least favourite item in the palette. It's very useful to have and its handy travel size makes it perfect to pop in your handbag for quick touch ups, but it didn't give the lift or volume I usually look for in a mascara. The eye pencil glided on easily and blended beautifully! The colour I think works well with pretty much all eye colours and skin tones - a cool toned dark brown. Gorgeous for wearing on its own or blended with the eyeshadows to create a more smokey look.

The full sized lipgloss in shade Sesso is so pretty! A warm, light plum/pinky colour with a subtle sheen - making it ideal for day or night wear. It has a semi-sheer finish and is actually not sticky...always a massive bonus for me when it comes to lipgloss.

The 6 eyeshadows are all brand new, which is what makes this such a great partner to the 3 Naked palettes. They range from matte to sheen to sparkly and each colour is just so pretty and easy to wear and blend! Dive is a sparkly, rosy copper shade with just the right amount of sparkle. Fix is a medium brown matte shade, which was ideal for blending with other shades to make a dramatic evening look, or wearing alone for a pretty day time natural look. Resist is a golden taupe - subtle yet with enough of a metallic sheen to make it special! Dare is a taupe brown and so soft and silky and easy to blend. It is matte and is really pigmented. Stun is a chocolate brown with a more distinct glittery finish. It is slightly dryer than the other shades, but the colour when applied is just beautiful! Finally, 5050 - a shade which I first mistook for a highlighter! It's probably my least favourite eyeshadow, and works better for more subtle looks, or as a highlighter shade for the very corner of the eye.

All in all, this is a fabulous palette and well worth the price tag. The only thing I think it is missing is the double ended brush, which comes with the Naked 2 and 3 palette. This would make the palette a 10 as opposed to the 9 I would give it now. Either way...if you can get your hands on the On The Run palette, then trust me...GET IT! You will love it.

Belle x

Beauty Sale Finds

I'm not really a sales kinda girl.

I actually hate the sales. They are busy, loud, crowded, hectic and stressful and having a 6 month baby bump makes it all the more necessary to stay away.

So this year, I decided I would check out what some of my favourite beauty and fashion spots had online. First stop - beauty. I decided to be reserved and only checked Selfridges and Space NK (aka the mothership). I thought I would share with you briefly what I picked up and then over another couple of posts, I will share them with you in more detail.

So my first venture online was to Space NK. I have always wanted the gorgeous Laura Mercier bath and body sets but I never really felt like spending upwards of £40 on indulgent bath treats for myself! So when I spotted the Honey Musk duo set - with bubble bath, body creme and honey spatula - at HALF PRICE for only £15...well, it went straight in my virtual shopping basket.

Next, I spotted something from Lipstick Queen. I have never bought anything from Lipstick Queen, but I have heard some amazing things. I saw the Liquid Asset set of 3 lip glosses, featuring a stunning nude, a bright popping pink and a vampy red. Whereas I am more of a lipstick girl, I thought my collection could do with some high quality lip glosses. Again, this set was £30 and was reduced to half price. So in the basket it went! Now considering this is still available on the John Lewis website for full price, this to me was a real bargain.

Next was the Selfridges beauty sale. There was so much in this sale that I actually got a bit bored going through the dozens and dozens of pages. I filled a basket quickly and in the end, I had to do some serious editing. Which...was a real challenge!

I ended up purchasing the Laura Mercier eyelash curlers, a MAC black liquid eyeliner and...my favourite new palette, Urban Decay's Naked on the Run - a limited edition palette from the Naked range, featuring 6 new eyeshadows, a bronzer, high lighter, blush, eyeliner, mascara AND a lipgloss, all in the famous naked colour ranges. This is definitely getting it's own post as I really am in love with it. It was originally £37 and I think I got it for £30 in the sale, which isn't that much of a saving, but as I had my eye on it before the sale, I knew I had to just get it!

The Selfridges beauty sale didn't have as many bargains as the Space NK sale, it had more like a few pounds off each product as opposed to a decent percentage off, but if you have the time to scroll through the many...many pages, you will be sure to find some good deals.

So as I said, more details coming soon, but in the mean time, did you find any amazing bargains in the sales?

Belle x

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Hello blogging world!

Well, what can I say. I am a very naughty blogger.

I haven't blogged since last summer and I have missed it so much! The reason? Well...reasons really. Where to start? A new job as a Content Editor, raising my toddler Elijah, having my house extended and moving in with my parents for 4 months, moving back in and reordering the entire house, oh, and falling pregnant again! Yay!

So yes...I have been pretty busy and sadly, blogging fell by the wayside, which I really regret but I am on a mission to bring Belle of the Ball back to life again. At least until the new baby arrives and takes away all my free time.

So, please forgive me for my absence. I have missed you and I hope you have missed me too. I will be back very soon with lots of fashion, beauty and life news.

Until then...thanks for checking back in and not forgetting me :)

Mini French Beauty Haul

 

 When Darren told me a few weeks ago that he would be going to Paris for work for three days, my first thought (after "can I go too?!") was Oooh...French pharmacies!!

 

Any beauty blogger or beauty lover worth their salt are well aware that the French hold a veritable Aladdin's cave of products and brands when it comes to beauty, and their pharmacies are truly the cave of wonders!

 

Stocking brands which we mere Brits can only find in very upscale or Central London pharmacies, or online, both with a very high price tag, the French truly know what they are doing when it comes to the beauty and skincare market, and I was very excited when Darren told me he would be heading there...so...obviously a list was drawn out!

 

Now my list contained about 6 things, which can be found in pharmacies and 5 things, which can be found in Sephora (seriously people, we need to petition to get Sephora reinstated in London!) Darren was very good and went to 3...yes...3 pharmacies for me, to try and find my bits. The boy didn't do too badly. They were out of stock of a couple of the Bioderma bits, so I ended up with 3 pharmacy treasures - the Caudalie Beauty Elixr (L'Wren Scott limited edition bottle), the Caudalie Micellar water and a tube of Homeoplasmine.

 

The two Caudalie products are divine! I fancied a change from my normal micellar water of choice, Bioderma, so I thought I'd give the Caudalie version a go! It's lovely. Does what Bioderma does and smells gorgeous. It's soothing and removed my make-up easily and effortlessly and the grape extract made it super hydrating.

The Elixr is a "beauty mist." The bottle is gorgeous (besides the point I know) It's plant based and soothes, hydrates and tightens the pores - miracle in a bottle. It sprays lightly onto the face and you feel instantly...well, I guess the word is "Ahhhhhhh." It has a lovely herby scent and makes an excellent refresher at any point in the day. I also spray it on before I moisturise in the morning and evening and it's just gorgeous really.

 

There has been a lot of hype about Homeoplasmine. A multi purpose balm or pomade, which has become a cult beauty favourite. It's talked about A LOT and I was keen to give it a go. It's been hailed as the "ultimate balm" and is a must-have for models, make-up artists, nail technicians...you name it. It's basically one of the items, like Vaseline, which helps soothe irritated skin, dry skin, sunburn, chapped lips, chapped skin...everything. It is also an excellent lip balm and a teeny dab on the old cheekbones makes them pop! Another score! 

 

Next was Sephora. Sadly, they didn't have the Hourglass products I wanted, but Darren did manage to get his hands on a couple of the Cream Lip Stains and an eyebrow pencil complete with spoolie (don't you love that word?!) The Cream Lip Stains have had a bit of hype, so I wanted to give them a go. I opted for a nude shade and a deep berry shade - perfect for day and night. They apply easily and smoothly, like a lip gloss, but they have SO much pigment! Seriously, these are as pigmented as a lipstick but have the creamy consistency of a lip balm. The staying power is brilliant, however, as with most stains, they are slightly drying, but I popped on a dab of Homeoplasmine and, perfection! Love, love, love them!

Not much to say about the eyebrow pencil, except it is the perfect shade for my almost black eyebrows and glides on and blends out nicely. Job done!

So there you have it. Not a bad mini haul really. The boy did good but I am already planning the next haul.

Have you tried out any of these products? What are your French Pharmacy must-haves? Enjoy x

Botanics Shine Away Face Mask

You know when you find a product you really fall in love with and you want to shout it from the rooftops?

OK, you might not all be as mad as I am, but when I like something...I like it a lot!

I recently came across the Ionic Clay Mask from the Botanics range in Boots and remembering reading about it on some of my favourite blogs, I decided to give it a go. I haven't bought a new face mask in a long time, as I find my skin doesn't always react well to them. I have uber sensitive skin and for some reason, masks always make me either break out or makes my skin go all red and dry.

What I loved about this mask is the fact that 1) it doesn't break the bank (it comes in at under £6) 2) you only need to use it once a week and 3) there were not a lot of nasties in the ingredients.

I picked up a tube and trotted home, where I used it in the evening after removing my make up and cleansing with the normal Bioderma and Liz Earl Hot Cloth Polish. The instructions recommend applying to clean, dry skin and leaving on for 10 minutes before washing it off. I left it on for slightly less than 10 minutes - right after the clay turned hard and started to crack when I smiled. A quick wash off and my skin was clear, squeaky clean, bright and refreshed! I finished off with my Pixi Glow Tonic and Origins Ginzing moisturiser and was left with very happy, very clean skin.

The clay in the mask really draws out impurities and leaves you feeling fresh and clean, without feeling dried out.

This is the first Botanics product I have tried and I really loved it! Have you tried this mask? What are your top budget masks? Enjoy x