Face of the Day- Punk Baby

I haven't had the chance to experiment much with make up in the past month or so. Since starting my new job I've been wearing the same minimal daily make up in order to save precious time in the morning. Weekend mornings are my only chance to play around with make up and take my time creating looks. I've gotten a few new eyeshadow palettes recently but I keep being drawn to the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette. This past weekend I decided to emulate a more pared down Gwen inspired look. 

I know you're all probably tired of hearing about this palette. It's been all over the internet over the past few weeks. I have to admit when I saw the first preview images of the palette I wasn't too sure about it. It seemed like a lot of very similar neutrals with some weird bright shades thrown in, which looked a bit strange to me. However when I saw the palette in person I was really taken aback by how much I liked it. I haven't been the only one to note that this palette has to by seen in person to be fully appreciated.

I haven't had the chance to play around with it too much, however I have already used the royal blue shade, Danger and let me tell you it is an absolute stunner of a shade. I want to write a more in depth review once I've tried a few more looks, but for now I am hugely impressed with this palette and I find myself excited to use it everyday. 

I began this look by using the YSL Top Secret Moisture Glow, a skincare/make up primer hybrid product that gives incredible hydration to the skin and prepares it for make up. I tend to save this for use under my beloved Estée Lauder Double Wear Light as I find that my skin has to be perfectly hydrated in order for the foundation to look as good as it possibly can on my skin. Moisture Glow has the most beautiful velvet texture and sinks into the skin quickly and easily giving my skin an injection of hydration and a great blank canvas to begin my foundation routine. 

I mixed two L'Oréal foundations together for my base. The Infallible 24-Hour Matte and True Match in the shades 01 Porcelain and C1 Rose Ivory respectively. I have to admit I've found both of these foundations difficult to work with. I find that less is more with both of these. I have to be very careful with the amount of product I use because both have a tendency to sit in my pores if I use too much. I've found that they work better on my skin mixed together.

To give my brows a little more definition I used the Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil. Billion Dollar Brows is a relatively new brand to me and back in November I got the chance to meet the company's founder Natalie Plain. She demonstrated some of the brand's key products on a myself and a few of my fellow bloggers including this brow pencil. It's quite similar to my favourite brow product, the Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil, except the nib is a bit thinner on the Soap and Glory one making it a bit easier to do smaller strokes and gives you more precision. The Billion Dollar Brows pencil is supposed to be a universally flattering shade which I can't attest to as I haven't seen what it looks like on people with lighter coloured brows.

I think both are great colour matches for me and would recommend either if you're in the market for a new brow product, however the Soap and Glory Archery is €11 compared to €24 for the Billion Dollar Brows pencil so I'll definitely be sticking to repurchasing the former again as there isn't enough of a difference between the two to warrant the extra €13. I set my brows with the translucent Bourjois Brow design Brow Mascara which is light formula and does the job without leaving visible residue. 

For the eye look I used a few shades from the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette. I primed my entire eyelid first using the Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer Potion. Under my brows I used a little bit of Blonde which is described as beige with iridescent pink shift and is a great highlighting shade. I then went in with Baby all over the lid and darkened the crease with Anaheim and a tiny bit of the gorgeous reddish brown matte shade Punk. This is such an easy eye look to achieve and the colours blend beautifully together. I added my favourite liquid liner, Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Perversion and No7 Midnight Lash Mascara which gives great volume and definition for a wide-eyed look. 

I used YSL Touche Éclat in 01 to bring light to the skin and then Clarins Instant Concealer to cover any redness and dark circles under my eyes. I've been loving this combination recently as these two products are both very light and easy to work with and they give radiance and coverage at the same time with a natural finish. 

I then used NYX HD Blush in Taupe, Urban Decay Afterglow Blush in Score and theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer to give colour and definition to my cheeks. I finished off the skin with a light dusting of No7 Perfect Light Pressed Powder in Translucent on my T-Zone just to set the foundation there as I can get a little oily throughout the day. 

Finally on my lips I used one of the sample of the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani lipstick Ex-Girlfriend that was included along with the palette. There were four samples altogether, the three others are quite bright shades but I thought Ex-Girlfriend would work well with the eyeshadow as the shade is very subtle and the finish is sheer. The formula of this lipstick feels gorgeous, it's easy to wear and feels very hydrating. I can't wait to get my hands on the full sizes of the lipsticks when they're released next year.

Let me know if there are any particular looks you would like to see when I write the more in depth review of the palette. Although I haven't used all of the shades yet I already love the palette and can't wait to continue trying it out and seeing what I can do with it.

Happy New Year to all of my readers! I hope you have a great start to 2016.

Emma x