Festive and Fiery - A Christmas Colour Explosion!

First off, I don't think it's any secret that I'm a drama queen, so I don't think that it's going to come as a surprise that it didn't take me long to create a video tutorial for this dramafest:

I LOVE how this turned out (full face pic at the end of the post), so I really hope you like it too :) It goes without saying that The Electric Palette is the focal point of this look - but the other absolute stars are the e.l.f. HD cream blush and the e.l.f. cream eyeliner. I love these products and they have permanent places in my 'makeup essentials' (and my heart).

As I mention in the video, I really feel like this season is the ultimate in terms of being able to experiment with colour, and more daring looks. If you're typically a 'neutrals & nudes' sort of gal - this is your time to mix it up! If you're a colour-junkie like me, then you're probably already in your element :)

So the product breakdown is as follows:

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer Potion (anti-ageing)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (milk)

UD Naked 3 Palette - 'Limit' on crease

UD Smoked Palette -  'Kinky'  & 'Freestyle' as blending/transition shades

UD Electric Palette - 'Slowburn' (inner), 'Jilted' (outer) & 'Urban' (outer V & above crease)

e.l.f cream eyeliner - Black - mahoosive winged liner on upper lashline

UD 24/7 Liquid Liner - 'Perversion' (lower lashline)

UD 24/7 Glide-On Pencil - 'Empire' (waterline and a little on outer top lashline)

Eyelure Volume 100 Lashes

UD Naked Flushed Palette: Highlighter (inner corner highlight and mixed with Naked3 'Strange' for brow highlight.

Face:

Smashbox Colour Correcting Primer - Green

UD Naked Skin Beauty Balm applied with Urban Decay's Good Karma Optical Blurring brush

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick applied with Urban Decay's Optical Blurring brush

UD De-Slick Mattifying Powder (using giant fluffy powder brush from Barry M)

e.l.f. HD cream blush - 'Headliner' applied with e.l.f. small stipple brush

Lips:

Maybelline Baby Lips (applied before makeup started)

Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain - '001 - Honey' - a beautiful nude to complement any bold eye look.

I really hope you liked the look and the video - if you have any comments, questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you! You can tweet me at @CharleyShadow or just comment on this post or the YouTube tutorial!

Have a beautful day, lovelies!

Char xx

Electric shock: Urban Decay's new masterpiece!

On Good Friday I had the pleasure of attending Urban Decay's Electric "Secret Launch" party in Cardiff. Lots of other beauty bloggers have already covered the event itself, such as Rachel and the gals at CSI Beauty Blog, but what I wanted to talk about was the product itself. Since learning of its imminent launch a couple of months ago- I had been frantic with anticipation. When I THEN learned that my local Urban Decay stockists would be holding the "secret" (not so much of a secret for anyone who follows @UDCardiff on Twitter) launch party, I was like a child waiting for Christmas. So let's not hang about, we all know that I raced straight from the event to Debenhams, to buy my palette, and here it is (apologies for its appearance, I literally couldn't wait to get my mitts on/into it.

From the unmissable outer casing to each of the buttery soft, pigment explosions inside, there is nothing cautious about this palette. Everything about it screams "LOOK AT ME" and you can't help but stick your fingers into the pans (clearly - sorry again about that) to see if the colour payoff is as unbelievable as it looks - the answer is yes.

At this point, there are a couple of things to remember. The first - and maybe most important - is that NOBODY needs to look at this and try to figure out where they would wear a fuschia, cyan and acid-green eye look (everywhere, obviously). If you like a neutral eye, this could be the teensy pop of brightness you were looking for, to spice things up. If your day-to-day is a straightforward winged liner, why not use these? Applied alone with a wet brush, or to boost the impact of a colourful pencil liner, you could really stir up your go-to look!

The second biggie to remember: these are NOT eyeshadows, or should I say not JUST eyeshadows. These are pressed pigments. Do not feel restricted to using these on your lids! Why not put the beautiful orange-red 'Slowburn' or gorgeous hot pink 'Savage' through their paces as blusher? Why stop there? If you're feeling really adventurous, go for one of the other colours! Better yet, do what I did and make yourself some custom lip colours? Mix and match different amounts of different colours to create some bold lip looks! I have a blog post in the pipeline regarding that, as it happens.

I think I'm going to walk away now before I destroy what's left of my furiously-typing fingers!

Watch. This. Space.

Have a beautiful day, Lovelies!

Char xx