Recently I went on a cheeky little cosmetics spree on the Debenhams website, buying up big from the Urban Decay range.
I’d used a couple of Urban Decay products before and liked them so thought I’d be a bit adventurous and try out a few new (to me) beauty bits.
Urban Decay offer a range of vegan-friendly cosmetics and the brand is officially certified as cruelty-free by both The Leaping Bunny Program and PETA. If this is a factor in your cosmetic-buying choices, it is worth noting that the brand is now owned by cosmetic giants The L’Oréal Group, which in itself is not cruelty-free. I started to explain more about my views on this but got a little carried away; soon my “brief” explanation turned into a post of its own so stay tuned for that ramble!
But for now, it’s back to pretty, pretty make-up.
Brow Box (Honey Pot)
The first thing I added to my basket, having seen so many recommendations for it online, was The Brow Box. Now, I’ve never been one to fuss much over my brows – just a quick pluck, the occasional wax and they were set. But given that I have a few schmancy events coming up, including a wedding, I decided to invest and start practising what the beauty gurus of YouTube preach.
The kit comes not only with the brow powders and setting wax but also has a mirror, two brushes and a pair of mini tweezers; all in this cute, compact little box, perfect for chucking in your handbag or travel washbag. I recommend using full-sizes brushes but the mini brushes will come in useful when travelling without my full make-up kit. Given that I have blonde hair and fair skin, I stuck with the lighter powder shade and a few YouTube tutorials later, my brows were on point! Converted.
Brow Box – £19.50
Cannonball Ultra Waterproof Mascara
Since the elf website shut down (sadface), I have been looking for a new cruelty-free waterproof mascara. I have fairly long yet blonde and thin eyelashes, so I like a bold mascara that brings them out. The Cannonball mascara goes on smoothly with no clumps and although it’s not the most lengthening of mascaras, it thickens the lashes and gives them a pretty, feathery look. It stays perfectly without smudging and comes off pretty easily with a good dab of eye make-up remover.
The mascara comes in really cute packing with a turquoise lid and water-design font. The only improvement I would make to the product would be a curved brush for extra curl and length.
Cannonball Waterproof Mascara – £15.50
24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner (Perversion)
I used to be terrified of liquid eyeliner and would stick to pencil or crayon liners. But in the last 12 months or so I have seen the error of my ways and become a convert. For perfect wings (or in my case, something that just passes as a wing), nothing beats liquid liner.
The waterproof liner comes in a range of colours but I played it safe and went for the plain “Perversion” black. The liner goes on smoothly but does need a couple of coats to get a decent pigment and thickness. To be honest, I didn’t love this; I would prefer a slightly thicker brush as I like bold liner and I found the thinness of it made the liquid splash a little. But if you’re into delicate lines and are perhaps a little more skilled than I am, this does the job.
24/7 Liquid Eye Liner – £14.50
Heavy Metal Glitter Eye Liner (ACDC)
The Heavy Metal liners are a range of glittery eye liners with rock and metal-inspired names like Glam Rock, Distortion and Spandex. But the patriot in me came out and I couldn’t go past the Akka Dakka-inspired purple. The ACDC glitter liner is obviously not for every day wear but great for adding a little sparkle to an evening look or perfect to rock an alternative eye at a gig. It goes on quite clear so takes a few layers to get the purple to really show but I guess that’s handy if you’re not sure how bold you want to be!
Heavy Metal Glitter Eye Liner – £14.00
Moondust Eye Shadow (Moonspoon)
Eye shadow is a make-up product that I don’t wear all that often. But I was on a bit of a glitter-binge and couldn’t go past the gorgeous Moondust Eye Shadow range, with a host of space-inspired names. There’s Stargazer gold, Zodiac green and Intergalactic purple. I went for the slightly safer Moonspoon silver. The pigment is not too intense but you can build it up for maximum glitter effect. If you do want to go all-out on the sparkle, then you could pair it with a Heavy Metal Glitter Eye Liner.
Now if anyone has any tricks for putting on glitter eye shadow without shards of glitter sprinkling down all over your cheeks, please share your wisdom…
Moondust Eye Shadow – £14.00
B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray
This is probably my least favourite product in the haul. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but I definitely didn’t love it. Being cursed with massive pores, I will try anything to reduce them and the appearance of oil that comes with them. This spray is supposed to do both and although I think it did help mattify my skin a little, it didn’t work any better than a standard primer. And for the price I paid, this was a little disappointing. I am going to keep using the product but also use a standard primer.
On the plus-side, the packaging is really cute! The spray comes in a matte purple bottle with a neon greed spray nozzle. For some reason, I just really loved the random, bright nozzle!
B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray (118ml) – £22.00
De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray
On the other side of the spray bottle, my discovery of make-up setting sprays was one of my best beauty finds of all time. As someone with naturally oily skin, who reaches for the powder several times a day and can never go from day-to-night without redoing her make-up, setting sprays are my dream product. They keep make-up in place for so much longer, reduce caking, and control shine. The de-slick setting spray is designed specifically for oil control, so absolutely perfect for me.
I’m not going to pretend it’s a miracle product that keeps your make-up perfect until you remove it at night but it definitely keeps everything in place longer and reduces the need for touch-ups. I bought the travel size to test it out as I have previously used the Urban Decay All-Nighter spray. I like both but think I will stick to oil-control for now.
De-Slick Make-Up Setting Spray – £21.00
My favourite product out of this haul has got to be the Cannonball Mascara with the Brow Box coming a close second. The mascara just gives soft, full lashes without caking or clumping. The brow box is something new for me so I was excited that I managed to do okay with it. I won’t bother doing my brows for every day work wear (I am not a morning person and like my morning make-up routine to be as swift as possible) but will definitely whip out the kit for nights out or special occasions.
My least favourite was the Complexion Prep Spray because I just don’t think it made all that much difference to the appearance of my skin or my make-up staying power. Perhaps it is genius on some skin types but this product just wasn’t for me.
In short, there is what I thought…
Loved:
Cannonball Ultra Waterproof Mascara
Brow Box
De-Slick Setting Spray
Liked:
Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner
Moondust Eye Shadow
Meh:
24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner
B6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray
Now, I’ve just realised that I completely missed out my lips in this haul. Oops! I may just have to check out the lipstick range…
This is not a sponsored post. I just like sharing my finds!
I used to be a huge fan of the urban decay pencil eyelinners (slightly metallic, bendable and long lasting) and the make up setting spray. Then I found they sold out to the rather evil L’Oreal and was totally gutted!
Yeah, I have really mixed feelings about that aspect of Urban Decay so will be doing a post on that topic very soon! 🙂
I’m the same with the body shop as they still put massive amounts of money into supporting people from disadvantaged communities to be independent etc. My bloke still uses some of their stuff which I borrow occasionally. I’ll look forward to reading your post. :0)
Oh, no! Do The Body Shop test on animals? I don’t own any of their products but I always thought they were cruelty-free. Sad!
They used to be until they sold out (god knows why) to L’Oreal. So although those particular product aren’t animal tested, most of the profit goes to L’oreal which helps fund their animal testing.