VLOG 2 (VIDEO)

A rather mundane blog this week, next week should be looking up with a trip to Nottingham to annoy you with.

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE: METALLIC LIP TAR: ELECTRIC GRANDMA (£9.99)

Despite not having the best of luck with my most recent OCC Metallic Lip Tar (Iced), I still had high hopes for Electric Grandma. I'm not a huge fan of coral lips, except in the summer, so it's not usually a colour I'd go for at this time of year, but being one of the brightest in the range, I couldn't help myself. The curiosity definitely paid off.

Electric Grandma (the name itself is reason enough to buy it, in my opinion) is a bright, pretty coral with a distinct gold shimmer; in fact it's so shimmery, it boarders on glittery.

The formula for this particular Lip Tar looks a little stickier in the pictures than the others, but I can assure you this is not the case. I think this is purely down to the creamy colour and shimmer of the product, rather than the consistency. 

I actually really love it. Yesterday I filmed a punky makeup tutorial using this on the lips, with heavy, green makeup on the eyes and I was really pleased with the results.

I'm also looking forward to mixing it with some of my other Lip Tars to see what effects and colours they can make.

PUNK MAKEUP TUTORIAL (VIDEO)

OCC: METALLIC LIP TAR: ICED (£9.99)

After reviewing and loving a couple of OCC's Lip Tars (Super NSFW and RX), I immediately got hold of some more. I was particularly interested in their new Metallic range, as I loved their metallic red so much. 

Iced utterly intrigued me, it looked like a metallic white; I assumed it'd come out silver and couldn't wait to try it. Alas, I was supremely disappointed.

I applied it in exactly the same way I did the others, but instead of the stunning results, it came out streaky and not nearly as pigmented as I'd expected it to be. 

The consistency of the product was exactly the same as the others, but the way it went on the lips wasn't even close. In the picture above, I had to apply about three layers just to get it to that level of coverage and even that's not great. It also means you have to use triple the product just to get any sort of  colour payoff. 

It looks underwhelming and not really metallic at all; so disappointing. The only reason I'm so disheartened is because the others are so perfect.

Reluctant to give up on this product, I had a thought; I have a regular black Lip Tar, also by OCC (Tarred, which I'll be reviewing within the next couple of weeks). I put some Iced on the back of my hand, and added a drop of Tarred.

Mixing Iced and Tarred made this awesome metallic grey (it really reminds me of the film Alien). The metallic-ness (technical term) that wasn't present in Iced was more than present in this new grey concoction and I absolutely love it. I can 100% see myself using this combination in the future and it wouldn't be possible if OCC's Lip Tar formula wasn't so smooth, pigmented and generally amazing. I can also see this leading me to mixing it with my other Lip Tars to try and get the most out of the product.

It just goes to show, if you don't like a product, don't just bin it and write it off as a failure; mix and match, try it with different products, experiment. You might just find yourself pleasantly surprised.

VLOG 1 (VIDEO)

A week in my life.

MAKEUP TUTORIAL: MONOCHROME (VIDEO)

MAKEUP TUTORIAL: '50s INSPIRED (VIDEO)

TUTORIALS USING URBAN DECAY'S AMMO PALETTE

After my review of Urban Decay's Ammo Palette a couple of days ago, I wanted to experiment a bit more, so decided to come up with a couple of looks using it. One's a pretty, natural look... the other... not so much.

I'll start with the natural one.

This look is incredibly simple. Just prime your eye and add Polyester Bride to your brow bone and inner corner, cover the whole lid in Maui Wowie and then add Smog underneath the eye and also blend it into the crease. Add some liquid liner to the top, wing it out, apply some mascara to your 'lashes and white eyeliner to your bottom waterline and you're all set.

Next... the not-so-natural one.

I fancied using different colours on each eye, not just to be different but so I could get the most out of the palette for you lot.

The first step is the same for both eyes: prime and add Polyester Bride to the brow bone and inner corner.

I then covered one of my lids in Grifter (it's a lot more pigmented in 'real life' than in this picture).

To the same eye I just used Grifter on, I then used a pencil brush to blend a bit of Oil Slick into the crease.

I softened the look by using a fluffy blending brush to buff in some Last Call over the top of the black (always go back and make sure that your highlighter blends into the colour beneath it).

Finally, I just added some winged eyeliner, mascara, false eyelashes and Morphine eye pencil by Urban Decay into the waterline. I also brushed Shattered through my eyebrows.

 On the other eye...

I covered the lid and underneath my eye in Shattered, and then blended Last Call into my crease and outer edge of my lower eyelid.

 Then, as I did with the other eye, I applied winged eyeliner, mascara, false eyelashes, Morphine in the waterline and Grifter through the eyebrow.

As you can see, they both, especially the second eye, create a really pretty, pastel look. Obviously, if you don't want wear different makeup on each eye, you don't need to at all. I think the second is my favourite, since it's different from anything I've done before.

On the lips (please excuse what my lips are doing... I have no idea either), I used Iced Metallic Lip Tar by OCC all over, with Vintage Lip Tar by OCC in the middle. I did this by simply covering my lips in Iced and then applying Vintage to the inner third of my bottom lips. I then pressed and rubbed my lips together a bit. I'm not sure I like the effect of these two colours together, but I reckon this could look awesome with two different colours. I'm happy to keep experimenting.

URBAN DECAY: AMMO PALETTE (£23)

Urban Decay have started 2013 in fine form as they release the Oz themed Glinda and Theodora palettes. However, they somehow found the time to create this stunning little number: the Ammo Palette.

The Ammo Palette is a gorgeous little selection of ten of Urban Decay's most popular eyeshadows and I absolutely adore it.

The palette itself is a lot smaller than I expected but that makes it really handy for travelling (you even get a mini bottle of Urban Decay's fantastic original Primer Potion); the only thing that I'd mark it down for is that the lid doesn't click closed, it's magnetic, so might get pulled open quite easily in your bag.

Each of the colour is shimmery and the formula has that delicious, velvety feel that we've come to expect from Urban Decay, which has apparently now been improved! Insert statement about not being able to improve on perfection...

What Urban Decay have also done, is vertically matched shadows to help you decide what colours to match up. Obviously, this shouldn't limit you, matching colours that 'clash' can be half the fun of makeup. 

SMOG

This shimmery brown's first home was the Naked Palette. Using this all over the lid or in the crease will add a different dimension so a neutral or brown smoky eye.

MAUI WOWIE

Maui Wowie is a colour that's always intrigued me but I've never thought it looked special enough to justify purchasing a singular pot of it. How wrong I was. This is possibly my favourite shadow in the whole palette; the colour is so unusual. I can only describe is as champagne that's had algae growing in it. Okay, that may not sound cute but it really is so pretty. The other day, I wore this all over the lid with Mildew in the crease and Polyester Bride on the brow bone and inner corner of my eye, and it was one of my favourite makeup looks ever.

MILDEW

I'm not a fan of green. At all. So you can imagine my surprise when this mossy, shimmery green turned out to be my 2nd favourite shadow in the palette.

In the pan, and even the swatch, it doesn't look that spectacular, but it was what it did to my eyes that made me fall in love with it. On my brown eyes, a mixture of the green and shimmer made my eyes stand out amazingly. I was so taken aback by its effect, that I kept having to look in the mirror to see it was as good as I thought it was.

If you've also got brown eyes, wear this with bright red lipstick for an awesome look.

SHATTERED

I've gone from having next to no blue makeup in my collection, to having loads that I'm really enjoying using.

Shattered is a pale, shimmery blue that looks great on brown eyes. 

It does come out slightly greener than it looks in the pan, but this doesn't make it any less pretty.

OIL SLICK

Urban Decay are renowned for being able to make their blacks really black. Oil Slick is a seriously pigmented black with silver glitter; using this could add a cool twist on a smoky eye. 

POLYESTER BRIDE

As soon as I saw Polyester Bride, I couldn't help but think how similar to Zephyr (which I use a lot) it looked so I swatched them both next to each other on the back of my hand as a comparison.

Polyester Bride is basically Zephyr's lighter, brighter cousin; great as a dramatic highlighter and to dot on the inner corner of your eyes to enhance them.

Urban Decay's new formula is also a lot more velvety and pigmented than it used to be, making this the clear winner. Sorry, Zephyr.

LAST CALL

As you all probably know, I already own Last Call and use it quite a bit, but with Urban Decay's new formula it looked somewhat different. The colour itself is a lot more even and the pink shimmer shows through far better; a seriously lovely colour.

GRIFTER

Grifter is a really unusual colour, very similar to Morphine, it's a strange, almost two-tonal, pinky-purple with blue undertones. This would look great on any eye colour since it's so unnatural and unique.

CHOPPER

Chopper is metallic copper found in the Naked 2 Palette. It looks spectacular on blue eyes.

SIN

Sin is a peachy, shimmery nude; really pretty and great for a neutral or natural look.

If you've heard of Urban Decay but have maybe held off purchasing one of their palettes because of the price, I'd really advise trying this one. £23 for ten best selling, high quality eyeshadows is an amazing deal. The palette contains a pretty good variety of colours, so it can be used for any occasion,  includes a brush and primer, and is small enough to easily take with you anywhere.

This really is a flawless product.

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE COSMETICS: LIP TAR (RX) (£9.99)

Ever since I started my love affair with OCC Lip Tars, I was aching to get hold of some more in some different colours.

RX caught my eye for... obvious... reasons. I don't own many blue beauty products, which is odd considering how good blue looks with brown eyes, so I thought I'd go for it and give this a go.

The formula, as ever, smelt and tasted slightly minty (which isn't unpleasant at all) and this disappeared pretty quickly after applying it.

The product was thin and completely not what you expect for a lip product that's so pigmented. You expect it to be thick, sticky and gloppy but it actually goes on lightly and, when you pat it in properly and dab away the excess, you barely notice you're wearing it and it lasts for ages.

It's consistency is halfway between regular lip gloss and water, so not too runny but not uncomfortable either.

The colour itself is a bright, electric blue that looks exactly how it does in the tube. It doesn't lose any of its pigment after application and I was incredibly pleased with how easy it was to apply evenly with the handy brush included.

I'm not sure how many chances I will get to wear this out! But I am definitely using it in my makeup tutorial video on my YouTube Channel tomorrow, so we'll see how that turns out!

ILLAMASQUA: 'SPECKLE' NAIL VARNISH (£14.50)

Illamasqua's new I'MPERFECTION range has caused quite a stir in the beauty world. The completely unique egg shell effect nail polishes have had us all intrigued and itching for a glimpse of this fascinating varnish first hand.

I managed to get hold of a bottle of 'Speckle', the lilac addition of the selection of nail polishes. The other polishes in the collection include 'Fragile', a pretty, pale blue; 'Mottle', a mossy green; 'Scarce', a nude-pink; and 'Freckle', a speckled nude.

As well as all sharing adorable names, these varnishes have another thing in common: they all look like egg shell.

As you can see, it has the initial colour (in this case, lilac), with tiny specks of black and then fewer, bigger specks of black. When applied evenly, it creates an amazing effect, which I've never seen before.

The formula is pigmented but reasonably thin so the drying time is minimal. I've used two coats above, but you only really need one and it doesn't feel too thick or as if it'll chip easily.

This nail varnish is so pretty and I commend Illamasqua for producing something so unique in an industry where that's practically impossible these days. The polish itself is incredibly pretty and absolutely perfect for Easter. I'm seriously looking forward to purchasing the rest of the polishes in this collection.

JANUARY '13 BEAUTY FAVOURITES

I attempted to record a video on my January beauty favourites for my YouTube Channel last week, but, since I've decided to stop mentioning and reviewing Rimmel products and the bulk of my January purchases were from Rimmel, I had very little to actually talk about!

Therefore, I decided to write a quick blog about my January beauty favourites instead.

I bought Benefit's famous They're Real! Mascara right at the beginning of the month after a long period of pondering over the price. The review I gave it was good, but had a distinct disappointed tone to it. However, I've been using it regularly (every time I wear makeup) this month and I can safely say it's really grown on me and I completely love it.

As you can see here, it goes on my bottom lashes in particular really well. The formula is thin and doesn't clump so can therefore be build-able and pretty spectacular.

My second favourite is this gorgeous champagne nail polish, Sand Dune, from Ciate.

In terms of chipping, this isn't the best nail polish I've ever come across but it goes on well, dries well and the colour is beautiful.

My final favourite was OCC's Metallic Lip Tar in Super NSFW. This is one of the best lip products I've ever tried; the formula isn't gloopy but is so highly pigmented, you hardly need to use any product. It lasts forever and the colour itself is stunning. OCC's colour range is pretty impressive as well.

Check out my latest makeup tutorial ('Monochrome' - basically a video version of the smoky eye picture tutorial I posted here last year) on YouTube: