Recent and Upcoming Urban Decay Launches

Urban Decay have been busy, haven't they?!

When I went to their presentation on recent and upcoming launches last week, I was properly blown away. Both by particular launches (*cough* Vice Vault *cough*) and the whole presentation. They are a brand that is savvy about trends but also about listening to their customers and what they actually want. We were told that Wende, one of the founding partners of the brand, personally reads through comments on their social media and considers fans' opinions when launching and creating new products.

The biggest launch of recent months is the Naked Ultimate Basics Palette (RRP €47.00), which went on sale on the 29th of September and is already proving a firm fan favourite. The latest in the Naked family, it delivers the all matte selection of shades that lovers of the previous palettes were crying out for. Featuring 12 all-new neutral shades that are exclusive to this palette and different from the shades in Naked Basics and Naked 2 Basics. Some shades, however, may trigger memories of colours from other UD palettes, such as Extra Bitter, as they are refined versions of some of the most popular eyeshadows that the brand has produced. Speaking of Extra Bitter, of the sample pool of bloggers and makeup fans I have chatted with, it's the winner and the one shade I've managed to wear yet. I can state that it truly is gorgeous and blends out and builds like an utter dream.

Another product that had people oohing and aahing was the Naked Illuminated Trio (RRP $36.00), which is part of this year's Holiday collection and brings together three of the brand's beloved marbled highlighters in one palette that makes for a perfect gift. Given the obsession with highlighting, I struggle to think of anyone I know that likes makeup who wouldn't be pretty delighted with this as a gift. Featuring a gold (Pyrite), ivory (Oasis) and peach (Twilight) highlight shade, the palette suits a variety of skin tones and preferences or someone who merely likes options/layering/mixing highlight shades.

Other new products include the long-lasting, high-coverage All Nighter Foundation; the re-invented Brightening and Tightening Complexion Primer Potion that is now for all over the face and not just the cult-favourite for the eyelids; the Perversion Waterproof Fine Point Eye Pen, that extends the ultra-black Perversion line from just mascaras to eyeliners as well; and the Razor Sharp Long-Wear Liquid Eyeliner, that is offered in a very wide range of shades.

It was, however, the Vice Lipstick Vault that blew everyone away. The second it was put on the table, the room erupted in excitement. This limited special edition and latest "vault" product houses all 100 shades in the Vice line in one giant, beautiful box. It's enough to make one weep at the beauty of it. I don't know who's buying it but it's damn gorgeous.

(In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, while I did not strictly review any of the products here, I would like to point out that I did receive free samples but was not paid for my comments and all opinions are entirely my own)



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5 Years of Beauty at Topshop

The fact that Beauty at Topshop is celebrating its fifth birthday this year makes me feel really old. When it was released, I was in second year of college and living with a best friend rather than in university accommodation for the first time. My other best friend and I had made the annual student night at Topshop a tradition and when I saw the lipsticks that newly graced the store displays, I went a little mental. I only bought two but considering I barely wore make-up even to dressy events back then, it seems rather a unique incident.

Since day one, I have loved the range of colours, the quality, packaging and price point. A Topshop lipstick feels expensive, even though it is not. The nail polishes have regularly offered my colour of the season. And the rainbow of eyeliners have allowed me to mimic catwalk looks as I learned about make-up and how to use it.

The capsule collection to celebrate 5 Years of Topshop Beauty is a gorgeous collection of their most iconic and in-demand pieces. It is made up of five essentials: the Matte Lips, Cream Blush, Magic Liner, Glow Pot and Nails. The lips come in five of the best-selling shades, Rio Rio, Innocent, Beguiled, Nevada and Ohh La La, offering a range of tones from nude to pink, peach to orange-red and vampy blood-red. The Nails come in five shades also (sensing a theme here?) with one glitter (Adrenalin), one metallic (Heart of Gold) and three opaques (Green Room, Boy Next Door and Parma Violet). The blush, highlighter and eyeliner only come in one shade each but all of the products are sold in special rose-gold packaging that immediately suckered me in.

While none of the products were new or new to me, I hadn't tried some of the shades so I grabbed a Glow Pot, Cream Blush, nail polish (Parma Violet) and lipstick (Rio Rio).

The Glow Pot (Polished, £9.00) was the first I had owned rather than borrowed and it has become my go-to highlighter since purchasing it. I don't wear highlighter often, only when wearing make-up for an event, but I do pop a bit on the tip of my nose and in my cupid's bow now and then with minimal make-up. It's not too in-your-face, which I like. The consistency is great too. The only really issue is that it can be a wee bit tricky to get out of the pot.

The Cream Blush (Head Over Heels, £7.00) is the perfect pop of colour for daily make-up. It's very  pretty and light and only needs fingers for application - though you can blend it out with a brush if you like. Again, consistency is smooth and it's a really nice size for popping in a bag.

As I said, I've always been a fan of the Nails polishes. Parma Violet (£6.00) is a really pretty pastel purple and I really like it but I've been wearing polishes with better formulas for so long now that I had forgotten that these can be a little tricky to apply. Bonus though: they smell like nineties nostalgia in a bottle.

Again, the Lips are products I've loyally enjoyed for years. Generally the matte finish can be difficult for me with my habit of biting and destroying my lips but with a layer of balm underneath, the colour actually spreads quite nicely. I've been after a shade like Rio Rio (£8.00) for a while now and really like how it looks - I feel like it makes my eyes look very blue.

But, really, it's all about that packaging! So, so gorgeous. For those of us more obsessed with design than make-up, it's a real draw.

At the end of the day, these products are great value, pretty, good quality and cruelty free. They appeal to girls and women of all ages alike and are totally accessible. All major bonuses and reasons to support the brand in my eyes.

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