Urban Decay Ammo Palette | Review and Swatches

I've had this palette for ages and it was actually one of my first high-end makeup items. I love it, and as you can see I've hit pan on 2 of the shades (Maui Wowie and Polyester Bride). I'd probably have hit pan on Sin if I didn't already had it in the Naked Palette (where I have hit pan on it). I use this palette most days and love the fact that it's got great neutrals for an everyday look, and then slightly more unusual shades too.

Pigmentation:
As you can probably see above, these eyeshadows have great pigmentation. In my own experience, Urban Decay eyeshadows have some of the best pigmentation available. In particular, Smog, Midlew, Last Call and Shattered have great pigmentation. It's a little hard to see Polyester Bride and Sin in the swatches, but this is simply because I am very fair and it's hard to get them to show up on my skintone as they are similar in colour.

Application
I find Urban Decay eyeshadows a pleasure to apply and these are no different. Although the shades are all shimmery, I don't think I suffer fall out with any of them. The only one I'd be more careful with is Oil Slick as the shimmer is more noticeable and the shimmer particles are bigger. However this can be solved by doing eye makeup before foundation, which I'd suggest using when working with black eyeshadow anyway. The eyeshadows are all easy to apply and go on the eye smoothly. They are also easy to blend with other eyeshadows.

Lasting Power

New Ammo 2 Palette Packaging

I always wear my eyeshadow over Urban Decay Primer Potion as I find it makes my eyeshadow stay put all day. This palette comes with a travel-sized Urban Decay Primer Potion, which is a great addition to your makeup collection if you haven't already used this. I find that these eyeshadows last all day on me and there is no creasing in sight.

Packaging:
This is technically the first version of the Ammo palette, with the current edition sometimes being referred to as 'Ammo 2'. However, aside from the packaging and the addition of a small brush and travel-size UDPP, the palette remains the same. The eyeshadows are all exactly the same as in the older version shown here.

Availability and Pricing:
The Urban Decay Ammo Palette is available for £23 from Debenhams.

I really recommend the Ammo Palette, especially to someone who may just be starting to use higher-end makeup. This palette is one of the cheapest higher-end one on the market and contains 10 great shadows that will enable you to create a variety of looks. I love the fact you can use this for neutral day time looks, night time looks and then slightly more creative looks.

theBalm Cosmetics | Brand Wishlist

1. theBalm Nude 'Tude Eyeshadow Palette - £26 | 2. theBalm Mary Lou Manizer Luminizer - £15 | 
3. theBalm What's YOUR Type? Mascara - The Body Builder - £12.50 | 4. theBalm Balm Jovi Palette - £34 |
5. theBalm Mama Collection - Bahama Mama Bronzer - £12.50 | 6. theBalm Put A Lid On It...Eyelid Primer - £14.50 | 7.theBalm Meet Matt(e) Nude - Nude Matte Eyeshadow Palette - £34 | 8. theBalm FratBoy Shadow/Blush - £16

 Hey everyone, 

So I know I already do monthly beauty and fashion wishlists, but I can never fit all of the products I want onto one wishlist. So I've decided to start doing brand wishlists, where I tell you all the products I want from a particular brand and why. I love reading these sorts of posts so I hope you do too!

I've recently fallen in love with theBalm Cosmetics, their packaging is funny and cute and I've heard amazing stuff about the quality too. I've yet to buy anything but there is a lot I want.

1.  theBalm Nude 'Tude Eyeshadow Palette - £26

I've heard so much about this palette. It's a neutral palette (which of course I love) and the quality of the eyeshadows looks amazing. I also love the design and how compact it seems to be, great for travelling!

2. theBalm Mary Lou Manizer Luminizer - £15

I have seen swatches of this and it looks amazing. It seems to be a very intense highlighter, but that is what I like! It's also cheaper than quite a few higher end highlighters too.

3. theBalm What's YOUR Type? Mascara - The Body Builder - £12.50

I love the branding of this! There are two types of mascara, the 'Tall Dark and Handsome' which is for length and this one, which is meant to add volume. I much prefer volume to my lashes than length so am really interesting in this mascara, love the packaging too!

4. theBalm Balm Jovi Palette - £34

Love, love, love the look of this. The theme of the palette is lovely and they've done well to show it throughout the palette. It comes with eyeshadows, highlighter, blush and lip colours, a great palette for traveling as it has so much in it!

5. theBalm Mama Collection - Bahama Mama Bronzer - £12.50

I always want to try out new bronzers and this looks lovely in the pan, the product is really cute too!

6. theBalm Put A Lid On It...Eyelid Primer - £14.50

I've never tried any eyeshadow primers apart from the Urban Decay Primer Potion, so I really want to try another one to see if there is any difference. I've heard quite a few things about this one, and I love the squeezy tube, easy to carry around.

7. theBalm Meet Matt(e) Nude - Nude Matte Eyeshadow Palette - £34

I know, I want/own too many eyeshadow palettes. But this is a nude MATTE palette. I always find it hard to find matte eyeshadow colours, but they are so much more forgiving than shimmery eyeshadows and work better for a more subtle look. A whole palette full of matte neutral eyeshadows sounds amazing.

8. theBalm FratBoy Shadow/Blush - £16

I have heard so so much about this blush. It looks like a a gorgeous colour and I love the compact packaging. I love blushes, so any excuse to add a new one to the collection and I jump on it!

So that's it!

Do you like the look of any of the products? Are there are of these you own? I'd love to hear what you think of them.

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Sleek Blush by 3 - Pumpkin | Review

I love blushes. As a very pale person I love the way adding a blush to my face can make me look so much more alive. I also love how blushers can compliment the rest of your makeup and how they can change based on the season. In winter, I love deep, darker cheeks but in summer I love peachy, orange cheeks. One of my favourite drugstore/highstreet brands for blushers is definitely Sleek. They make really good quality blushers in a wide range for a very inexpensive price.

Last summer, Sleek MakeUP came out with their 'Blush By 3' blusher palettes. These came with three blushers with a mix of matte and shimmer shades. I immediately fell in love, I love blusher but love it even more when its easy to carry around. I travel quite a lot between my hometown and my university town so having makeup that I can carry with me is a big plus. I was also really attracted to the colours available too.

Shades:
The blush by 3 palette I have here is called 'Pumpkin' and as you can see the shades inside are very vibrant. I love this palette for summer, in particularly the bright pink and bright orange are great summer colours. They are very pigmented too, as you can see from the swatches. This means it is easy to get the colour in the pan on the cheeks, which is often a problem with some blushes. There are 4 more different palettes available along with a newly released Blush by 3 as part of the Candy collection. There are darker shades and more neutral shades to suit everyone.

Application:
The application of these blushes is nice, the shimmer shade is slightly easier to work with than the mattes which can be slightly powdery. But for the price, it is worth having to spend a little extra time blending them. The lasting power on these is also good, although this is increased with a setting spray.

Pricing:
The Sleek Blush by 3 Palettes are priced at £9.99 which works out at less than £3.50 for each blush. At 20g too this means a decent amount of product so this palette will last. Also, the pigmentation on these is so good, that you literally only need a tiny tiny bit on your brush to achieve the colours in the pan. I've made this mistake many a time, putting the usual amount of blush on my brush and then ending up with clown cheeks.

Availability:
The SleekMakeUP blush by 3 palettes are available from Superdrug and Sleek MakeUP.

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