Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Palette Review

I love eyeshadow, and especially love eyeshadow palettes, but I find that a lot of them contain very shimmery and bold colours, which are great, but I really needed something more subtle for work, and although drugstore eyeshadows can be really good, the pigmentation just wasn’t there for a lot of shadows. So, a couple of months ago, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette. I opted for the Basics 2 over the original because I felt that the shadows were more cool toned, and suited me better. The shadows are also matte, which is perfect for me as I tend to prefer simple and subtle eyeliner looks.

The palette itself is very small and compact, but does include a good sized mirror. Inside the palette there are six shades: Skimp, Stark, Frisk, Cover, Primal and Undone. Honestly, I love all of these shades, and use this palette pretty much every day. The shadows are lovely and soft, and they’re very easy to blend.

Skimp is a very light shadow, and is the only one in the palette that isn’t matte. I wouldn’t say that Skimp is shimmery per se, but it does have a slight shimmer to it, which makes it very pretty on its own, or just to brighten up your overall eyeshadow look.

Stark is probably my favourite colour in this palette. It’s hard to describe the colour really, it shows up slightly peachy on my skin tone, but it makes a very pretty base, and adds a little more colour than just using Skimp alone. I like to us Frisk as more of a transition colour in the crease, and if I want more definition then I usually mix together Cover and Primal. Undone is a very versatile shade, and I’m a fan of it because it’s dark enough to use as an eyeliner, or to create a smokey eye with, but it’s also not quite black. Sometimes I find black to be too harsh on my skin tone (I’m very pale), so Undone is a good alternative, but is still as versatile and bold as a black shadow.

Compared to some other eyeshadow palettes the Naked Basics are fairly pricey, but I think the quality of the product and the fact that I use all of the shades really makes it worth it for me. I still have plenty of other eyeshadows that I love and use regularly, but this palette is my perfect ‘everyday’ palette, and it’s also great for travel.

You can purchase the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 here on FeelUnique, or here from Urban Decay for £23. I really love Urban Decay as a brand, and can’t wait to try out more of their products, especially the new Ultimate Basics palette!

Kingston upon Hull

For today’s post I decided that I wanted to talk about the place where I was born, and have lived all of my life, Kingston upon Hull. To be honest, Hull gets a bad rep most of the time, it’s often branded as a boring and lifeless city, and the phrase ‘it’s always dull in Hull’ has been heard one too many times. Today I wanted to write about everything Hull has to offer, because it isn’t all dull and boring and lifeless, Hull is a city with history, it’s a city that’s always moving and changing, and sometimes people seem to forget that. Hull was named the 2017 City of Culture, and we were given the title for a reason, we have attractions such as The Deep and Hull Truck Theatre, as well as plenty of museums, parks, shops and restaurants. Hull has so much culture, and I am proud to be from Hull. Below I have included some photos of just some of the things that Hull has to offer, as well as some links to pages about Hull, our history, and our future. I hope that you find some of the information useful/interesting, and I hope that this post gives you a small glimpse into just how amazing Hull can be if you give it a chance.

The sun setting over the Marina

Looking Up

Flags

  Hull has some amazing boats in the Marina...

...And some amazing cider from the Minerva Pub

The Humber Bridge

The Deep

Links:

All About Hull

City of Culture 2017

Visit Hull

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I can't believe that we are at this point in the year already, it seems like Summer was only  few days ago. I love this time of year, when the nights get darker and you have the perfect excuse to stay inside and snuggle up. I love Halloween, but unfortunately I'm not doing anything this year, and I'm at work all day. So we have a big bowl of sweets and treats ready for the Trick or Treaters! I did attempt to carve a pumpkin, and although it's not the best, I'm proud of my efforts.

I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween!

50 Questions You've Never Been Asked

1. What’s your favourite candle scent?

I absolutely love candles, so it’s pretty difficult to actually pick my favourite scent. I love Autumnal and Christmas candles, and you can never go wrong with Vanilla, but I’d probably say my favourite scent is Dark Orchid or something similar, I love deeper, muskier scents.

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?

Ooh, his is tough, and it’s something that I’ve never really thought about before.

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?

Another tough one, again I haven’t ever given this much thought.

4. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married?

I’m not sure to be honest; I haven’t given marriage a whole lot of thought really. I suppose I’d like to be in my mid-late twenties when I get married, but when it’s supposed to happen it will.

5. Do you know a hoarder?

Not as far as I’m aware, no. I have a tendency to hoard plenty of crap that I don’t really need though.

6. Can you do a split?

Most definitely not.

7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike?

I really don’t remember, maybe 8? I was terrible at riding a bike, and I remember riding it into a tree one time. I still can’t ride a bike very well, I’m very uncoordinated and I just never took to it easily.

8. How many oceans have you swam in?

One? I think I’ve swam in the Atlantic Ocean and that’s about it.

9. How many countries have you been to?

Let me think, I’ve been to; Spain, France, Holland, Belgium, Wales, Scotland and England (Does that count? I live in England). So I’ve been to seven different countries. I’d definitely love to travel more and explore new places.

10. Is anyone in your family in the army?

No, nobody in my family is in the army.

11. What would you name your daughter if you had one?

I really don’t know, I’m not sure if I’d want children, so I haven’t given this much thought at all. I like the names Lilly and Holly, I probably would go down a floral route to be honest, as I think they make really pretty names,

12. What would you name your son if you had one?

Ooh, again, I’m not so sure. I’d probably say Sherlock, or maybe Castiel. Kidding.

13. What’s the worst grade you got on a test?

I don’t actually remember, I left school quite a while ago. I think I got an E on a Physics test once, it didn’t count towards my final grade but it still wasn’t good.

14. What was your favourite TV show when you were a child?

These questions are probably going to be boring, because my memory is terrible. When I was younger I loved Brum, Teletubbies, the Tweenies and Sesame Street.

15. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight?

If only I could remember!  I usually rotated my Halloween costumes, and I was never dressed as anything exciting. I have a feeling I may have been either a witch or the devil.

16. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?

I’ve read the Hunger Games, but never Twilight or Harry Potter.

17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent?

Probably a British accent, but then again I am British. There’s no such thing as a ‘British accent’, but I’d like to have a nicer accent than my Northern English one.

18. Did your mother go to college?

She did not.

19. Are your grandparents still married?

No. The only grandparent that I have left is my Grandma on my mother’s side.

20. Have you ever taken karate lessons?

Nope, and I don’t plan on it. My hand eye coordination is terrible.

21. Do you know who Kermit the frog is?

How would you not know who Kermit is? Of course I do!

22. What’s the first amusement park you’ve been to?

I think it would have been Alton Towers which is a pretty big amusement park in England. After all of the incidents with their rides I probably wouldn’t go back, but I did have fun when I went. It’s actually strange that I enjoyed it because I’m usually terrified of rides.

23. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in?

Probably French or German, because I think it would be useful. Actually, I’d love to be able to speak Latin, even though it would be pretty useless I would still love being able to use it.

 
24. Do you spell the colour as grey or gray?

Grey.

25. Is your father bald?

Partially bald, he still has some hair left.

26. Do you know triplets?

I don’t know any triplets.

27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook?

Honestly, I didn’t think either were the best, the Titanic was obviously very sad, but it’s such a long film. I probably preferred the Notebook, even though I sobbed at the ending.

 
28. Have you ever had Indian food?

I have, I love Indian food!

29. What’s the name of your favourite restaurant?

Hmm, I don’t know if I really have a favourite restaurant to be honest, although I do love going to Toby Carvery.

30. Have you ever been to Olive Garden?

I haven’t, as far as I’m aware there aren’t any Olive Gardens in the UK.

31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores (Costco, BJ’s, etc.)?

No, I don’t.

32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?

If I was born a boy my parents would have called me James.

33. If you have a nickname, what is it?

My most used nickname is probably Lala. I’m not sure where it came from, maybe inspiration came from the yellow teletubby, but my sister has always called me Lala and I guess it stuck. I also used to be called Piglet when I was younger.

34. Who’s your favourite person in the world?

I can’t pick one! That’s not fair at all, my favourite people are my mum, dad and sister.

35. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs?

Probably the suburbs, but I would love a really big house in a rural area, I would love the space and I really love nature and being away from the city.

36. Can you whistle?

Barely, I can’t whistle properly though.

37. Do you sleep with a nightlight?

I don’t, I like to sleep with my room pretty dark.

38. Do you eat breakfast every morning?

No, not always. If I have to wake up early or if I have to get to work I sometimes forget to have breakfast. It’s a bad habit, but sometimes I just can’t face food that early in the morning.

39. Do you take any pills or medication daily?

I don’t take any pills, but I do have an asthma inhaler that I use daily.

40. What medical conditions do you have?

I have asthma and Hypermobility, so nothing serious.

41. How many times have you been to the hospital?

I’m not sure, I had a few big asthma attacks when I was younger and I had to go to the hospital, and I’ve broken/sprained a few things, but I haven’t been too many times.

42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?

I have, I haven’t actually watched it in a while though.

43. Where do you buy your jeans?

Marks & Spencer’s, usually.

44. What’s the last compliment you got?

I really don’t know.

45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?

Not always, usually I do if it was a particularly weird dream.

46. What flavour tea do you enjoy?

I love black teas, and my favourite is probably Cornish tea or Early Grey, but I HATE fruit tea, it makes me feel so ill!

47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?

I have a pair of Dr Marten’s, a pair of convers, some boots, some wellies, some walking boots, and few pairs of flat shoes. I probably have about 10 pairs.

48. What religion will you raise your children to practice?

I’m not even sure that I will have any kids, but if I do then they can believe in whatever they want. I’m not religious, but if they choose to be that’s fine by me.

49. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn’t real?

Again, I’m not sure. Maybe 10?

50. Why do you have a Tumblr?

Tumblr can keep me occupied for hours, and I always find really interesting things to read on there.

221B or not 221B

On the 1st October I was lucky enough to visit London for the day, it was a long day, and involved an early start, busy tube trains and a lot of rain, but it was definitely worth it.Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Sherlock Holmes, and a trip to London was the perfect excuse to visit Baker Street, and to fangirl about Sherlock.

Of course, Baker Street wasn't the actual filming location for 221B in the BBC show, so after a wander down Baker Street and a look at all of the interesting memorabilia in the windows of the museum, we headed to North Gower Street, the real location of 221B, and of Speedy's cafe.

It was pretty strange being this close to the 'real' 221B, you can even see Sherlock's front door in the background! As a big fan of Sherlock it was amazing to visit these locations. After we were all Sherlocked out we had a wander around the rest of Central London, and on our walk we passed the Royal Courts of Justice AKA real life Hogwarts. I couldn't help but take a photo, since the rain decided to clear for a little while to show a beautiful blue sky.

I hope to go back to London again soon and explore more of what the city has to offer, but visiting 221B and Baker Street will be on my list of favourite memories for a long time to come.

The Fundamentals of Caring

Last night I was just flicking through Netflix, trying to figure out what I wanted to watch, when I stumbled upon the Netflix original film ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’. I don’t know what drew me to the film, but I just thought that I’d give it a go. The film has a fairly small cast, including Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts and Selena Gomez, and although I wouldn’t have thought that these three would work well together, I was wrong, because they really do

.

The film follows the story of Trevor, a disabled teen who moved from England to the US, and now rarely sees beyond the same four walls, and Ben, a writer who became Trevor’s caregiver after suffering a personal tragedy. I’m not going to summarise everything that happens in the film, because really I’m never going to do it justice. It’s the kind of film that, once it’s over, you just want to rewind and watch all over again. I can’t really explain what it is that I loved about the film, but I think I loved the fact that it was very real and raw, it didn’t romanticise disability, nor was it a soppy rom-com with no real meaning, it was a film about friendship and overcoming everything that life throws at you. The last couple of minutes of the film saw me crying, and then suddenly laughing, and that very much describes the tone of the film. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll want to watch it all over again. So go, grab a cup of tea, light a candle, snuggle up, and press play. You won’t regret it.

Day 12 - Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean Review

So I’m reviewing yet another Soap & Glory product…yes, I know, I’m sorry. Soap & Glory are one of those brands that are reliable and you can always expect great products from them. A couple of months back I was looking for a new cleanser, and since Soap & Glory skincare was on offer in Boots I decided to pick up Peaches and Clean. I was somewhat sceptical about this product because I really really dislike artificial peach smells (although I do love fresh peaches), and so I thought that there would be a chance I wouldn’t be able to stand the smell of this. However, the scent is very light and fresh, and honestly not all that peachy and that is definitely a big plus for me.

Now onto the product itself. Soap & Glory describes this as a ‘Deep Cleansing Milk featuring a special clogged-pore formula with PEACH & GOJUICE™ extracts and an OXYGINSENG™ daily skin detox which will help to purify and clarify, invigorate, soften skin, and melt away makeup, dirt, and impurities for a smooth, luminous complexion.’ The bottle holds a very generous 350ml, which I think is excellent value for money, I mean I have been using this product for quite a long time and still have a lot of product left. I find this cleanser does what it’s supposed to, and although it’s no miracle worker it’s definitely a great product.

I use this morning and night, and it’s great at removing make up and cleansing skin. One thing that I have noticed is that since using this cleanser my makeup has applied much more evenly, and I have less redness in general. The cleanser has really helped to remove dry patches on my skin, and has kept blemishes at bay. Again, this product isn’t going to give you flawless skin instantly, but it’s very good at keeping skin clear and fresh.

The cleanser has a very nice consistency, it feels very thick and rich and it really helps to make your face feel clean and moisturised. I do prefer the consistency of this cleanser to foaming cleansers, because it makes my face feel very clean, and not sticky like some foaming cleansers can. The cleanser is more of a ‘milk’ and massaging it into your face feels really lovely.
This is the first S&G skincare item that I have tried, and I’m happy that I gave this cleanser a chance. If you’re looking for a good quality cleanser that removes makeup, cleanses and makes your face feel softer and fresher, then definitely check this out.

You can buy Peaches and Clean here for £8.00.

Day 11 - Christmas Wrapping Ideas

I love Christmas, I love the lights and the colour and I especially love buying and wrapping presents. So I thought I'd share some of my favourite wrapping and decoration ideas.

1. Tissue paper - Tissue paper is amazing, there are so many colours and styles available, you can use it to wrap or to make bows, or you can shred it and add it to the bottom of a gift bag or box. I picked up some gold and red tissue paper from Card Factory, and the best thing is that if you don't use it all for Christmas you can always use it throughout the year for birthdays. Wrapping gifts in a mixture of tissue paper and wrapping paper makes gifts look really nice and quite unique.

2. Bows - Bows are great, and really add a little bit of sparkle to your gifts, they look especially great on parcels wrapped up in brown paper. I bought some large red and gold bows, as well as some teeny bows as well (these are super cute). Try wrapping a gift with gold tissue paper and adding a red bow (or vice versa) to make your presents look super festive.

3. Patterned wrapping paper - I do like to wrap gifts up with brown paper, they look very understated and simple, but I also love using fun paper as well. I bought three rolls this year, some red tartan print paper, some brown paper with stags on and some brown paper with little foil Christmas trees on. I like to use a mixture of patterned paper and plain brown paper to make the gifts look much more exciting.

4. Ribbon - I normally buy curling ribbon, but this year I bought this paper ribbon in black, white and brown, I think that using this with brown paper makes gifts look very rustic and home-made. I thought that this ribbon would work really well with the wrapping paper and tissue paper that I bought, and it looks a little bit more unique than curling ribbon.

5. Washi tape - I have a bit of an obsession with tape, it's so cheap and easy to use, and it can be used for literally anything. It comes in lots of different colours and you can use it to make gifts look extra special, or use it to make gift tags. Places like Amazon and Hobbycraft have lots of kinds of tape available. I keep all of my tapes in a big jar and they’re great not just for Christmas but all year round.

So that’s a few of my ideas on how to make your Christmas gifts look extra special, hopefully you have a few more ideas on how to decorate your gifts and make them very unique and personal!