If you've been around the make up world for the last few years, you'll know how bad eyeshadow palettes are criticised.

Every YouTube video I watch for every eyeshadow palette, has been pretty bad lately. A bit of history, I didn't purchase the HB rose gold textured palette due to the really really bad reviews, mainly the glitter shadows, although I liked the colours. I then received it as a present, and I literally kicked myself that I did not buy it sooner. It's one of my faves!

Most reviews I watch, the reviewer would say they hadn't watched any other reviews so they were not biased. I've decided to do things a bit differently. For this review, I went through the most popular videos on YouTube, took all the 'opinions' about this palette, and will tell you if these claims are true/false. The opinions are of course my own, just like the others, but I wanted to be different lols.

So, here's the palette.


So Huda categorised her shades into:

- Eight matte shades:



The mattes are pretty pigmented. They blend really really well. There is kick back in the shadows, but this is as expected with pigmented colours. One thing I noticed was Amethyst isn't a true matte, there's definitely glitter in it. I thought it might have been from another shadow, but even in the deeper layers, there is definitely a fine glitter in it. But it's so fine, it definitely doesn't make a difference.

They are really blendable, and work pretty well.

- 6 pressed pearls




With flash:


These are crazy pigmented. They are different to the textured glitters in the Rose Gold palette. They're really buttery, pigmented and work really well with a brush.

- Three duo-chrome Toppers



With flash:


Huda actually says these are eyeshadow 'toppers'. These should be used with another shadow underneath. I've tried this with and without, and feel these look really good either way, but also very different if you use them underneath another shadow. I feel this is a really cool idea, as it just gives more ways to use the shadows.

Retrograde is a pink shadow - with blue glitter.

Twilight is on the similar spectrum as Retrograde -with pink/blue glitter.

Celestial is a gold shadow with pink glitter - this reminds me of my topshop highlight.

One pure glitter:



With flash:


So this is the shadow a lot of people have issues with. I'll touch more on that below. The reason I swatched twice was because the right is without a setting spray, and the left is with a setting spray. Huda actually says this is used best with a setting spray. I personally feel this works best with a glitter glue, because it literally is a loose glitter!

I actually think this is really unique. I am a huge fan of loose chunky glitter, and normally buy single loose glitters ranging from £10-£12. This is a really cool shadow, and it being in a palette is much better than purchasing single ones at a time. (I may write a post of my loose glitters, should I?).. If there was a palette of pressed chunky glitters, I'd so purchase.

Huda says these should be used on top of another shadow.

True or False?

Mostly, the reviews for this palette have been OK-ish. I've taken actual opinions from other reviews/YouTube videos and here's if I agree or not!

  • The eyeshadow colours are scattered; warm shades are not with warm shades, this is really bad! - Uhhhh... lol.. I don't even know what to say to that. I think that this palette is really eye catching. When I first saw it, I knew I needed it. I think Huda and her team probably worked really hard to make it eyecatching. I have to say - the mattes, Amber & Saffron are really similar. I wouldn't have minded if one or the other wasn't in there, and replaced with a different colour. 
  • The glitter eyeshadows break when you aren't even rough with them - Ok so I think these are mad buttery. I saw one girl's 'Twilight' break, so this is the first shadow I used. There was no way it could have broke if you use it normally, I stuck my brush in it as I normally would, if not more forcefully, and nothing happened except a normal dent. 
  • Matte's aren't pigmented and are streaky when applied, like the ABH subculture - no they're buildable and definitely really pigmented. I have to admit, the reviews of subculture made me steer clear of that palette - so I can't give an opinion on if they are similar. 
  • My shade Cosmo has fallen out! I turned my palette around - and shook it. I am happy to say it's still in the pan, and not one piece of glitter fell out when turned around. When I put my brush in to get the swatch with the setting spray, the glitter moved a lot and caused a dent - which is worrying, however, it's not going to look like a normal shadow in a different pan, because this is near enough the first shadow of it's kind! 
  • This palette lacks an inner corner highlight. - Nefertiti pls. 
  • The duochromes are not good with a brush at all - Yes, they definitely work better with your fingers, I found that they didn't look as glittery when applied with a brush, however I feel this is the case with a lot of glitter shadows. 
  • Amethyst isn't as pigmented as it seems. True. I don't feel like this is as pigmented as the others, this is probably due to the the certain pigments used in this colour. The other mattes are fab though. 

My overall opinion:

Do not purchase this palette if you're not light with shadows. A little goes a really really long way, for both mattes and glitter.

Do not purchase this palette if you are a beginner in shadows. This is noooot a beginner palette. This is a really creative palette.

This is a pricey palette - if you feel like the colours are not what you would wear, there's no need.

The only colour I don't like is Amethyst, as I'd never wear a bright purple shadow.

This is the most innovative, unique palette out there so far. After all, if it was the same as a staple palette, wouldn't Huda be slated for copying another palette?

Huda, you're doing great sweetie!

23 September 2017

Is the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette the worst eyeshadow palette ever?


3 purchases of this highlight, endless questions.. it's time I publicly answer this question.. Which highlighter are you wearing? 

Now, I have never ever been asked this question when I am not wearing this highlighter. I almost feel like I invented it.. as it's not widely known.. except for on me. 

I have been asked about this highlighter more than 30 times. And when I reveal the secret, people are almost in shock as it is so affordable. 


It's £12.50! 

Now the reason people ask me, is because it's such an unusual amazing highlight. Its base is gold, but instead of basic gold or silver glitter pigments, it consists of pink, purple and blue finely milled glitter pigments. It's not chunky where you can see the glitter, in fact it's the finest glitter I've ever used in a highlight. 

Now, in pictures, not many people ask me.. it's more in person as the camera doesn't do it justice.. like most things. I've been stopped on the tube, whilst I'm shopping, when at social events, and the funniest - I was once working in Kensington & this lovely lady wanted me to go with her to buy it! I didn't go.. but I wrote it down for her. 

I've gone through 2.5 pans of these, and it'll never get old. It's great to wear all year round, for daytime, and evening glam! It's £12.50! Unlike some crazy expensive highlights, it's super affordable and always in stock in the Topshop beauty sections.. for now. 

One thing, some people lighter, and some people darker than me, have purchased this. And I've had reviews back saying it doesn't look the same on them as me. It's probably going to match skin tones differently, but a way to overcome this, is to mix it with a highlighter that you know will suit you! SO use a gold highlight base, and apply this on top. It's also very very different to other highlights, so don't be afraid if you think it doesn't suit you, it probably does! 

I really like mixing this with other highlights too. One I know that really goes well with this is the Burberry Fresh Glow Highlighting Luminator stick. 


So for extra bling, mix! 

I've now attached some images of me from the past year wearing it! You can see the difference from a usual gold/silver highlight as instead of having gold/silver reflections.. it's more pink/purple. 






If you have this/purchase this.. do you like it? Let me know! 


15 September 2017

The Highlight You ALL ask me about!

I write posts about what I wear, on Wednesdays, because I like the number of W's in this sentence. Wonderful.

 Culottes - Zara £25.99

 Top - Topshop £15
Trousers - Zara - Sale :( 

 Top - Zara - Sale 
Jeans - Topshop £42
Espadrilles - Chanel

Shoes - Chanel
Trousers - Bershka £17.99

 Jumpsuit - Bershka £22.99


Trousers- Zara- Sale :( 

6 September 2017

What I'm Wearing Wednesdays..


 This year, I spent a lot of time researching how to improve my skin texture. My acne from previous years has subsided a lot, and I decided to go for skin peels at a high street branch for pigmentation marks, and general brightness.

The results were really really good. My skin looked brighter instantly, smoother and pigmentation marks visibly cleared after 3 sessions. The price wasn't really good. I was also not really impressed with what they did. All they really did was clean my face with an alcohol wipe, slap a mixture on your face, let the mixture air dry for about 10 minutes, wash it off.. and put on some SPF. Maybe it was the place I chose, but I researched, and most places do this. I went for a Vitamin C skin peel as they advised. Each time, they increase the dosage. When I asked, they don't actually increase the dosage of the vitamin C, rather the AHA + BHA acid they use. If I had active spots on the day, they would also place some salicylic acid on the problem area. It stung a lot. But like I said, the results were really great.

However, I decided to actually see if there was a cheaper alternative to this method, and yes! There was. My friend Aya told me about this, explaining how inexpensive it was so I thought I'd give it a go.


It's called The Ordinary! It is amazing. I'll run through how I use it to give effective results, along with prices. 

So I stuck with roughly the same routine as the high street clinic I visited. 

First, I use the AHA 30% + BHA 2% peeling solution, as the base. You put this all over your face with a brush, and the first time you use it you start with one layer. The following week, when you use it, you add another layer, so 2 layers, and can build it up to 4 layers, as your skin will be more tolerable to the formula. You literally only leave it on for about 5-10 minutes. It will sting a lot, but to neutralise the stinging, when you take it off, you must take it off with cold water. This product is £6.30. £6.30!! I have purchased another already. 

So while doing that, if I have any active spots, On the 2nd layer, I add salicylic acid just to the spot. The bottle doesn't instruct this. It says to keep it on in the PM, but I have found combining it with the AHA + BHA works really well. This product is.. £3.90. Woah. 

Now the advanced retinoid is something I use nightly. I use retinoids that are actually prescribed normally, so I find this really really weak. I guess it does do something, but for me, it's not as great as the other two. This one is £8. 

When I do this, I literally get the same results as I was at the high street clinic. I was advised the Vitamin C skin peel, but I realised the majority of the components was just AHA+BHA anyway, so this works great. My at home formula was definitely not as strong as the clinic, it takes longer to achieve the results, but it is so much easier than waiting for an appointment & spending a lot of money. :) 

The best thing is, last month, The Ordinary opened up a shop in the centre of Covent Garden, so now you can actually go in and get help with what you need. They've got foundations and primers that I am really excited to try, and I still can't get over how cheap this stuff is. They have a big range for a lot of different skin types, so make sure you find out what would work for your problem areas 

You can also buy from cult beauty & beauty bay. 

1 September 2017

Cheap Professional Skin Peel @ Home!

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