Urban Decay And Smashbox Haul + First Impressions! (WITH SWATCHES!)

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, nor was I asked to do this. I purchased all products - except the Urban Decay Shadow box which I purchased with my own money - with gift money. Photos are taken in natural lighting with no filter applied. All photos owned and taken by myself.

Today I wanted to show you the beauty part of my recent haul. The rest of my haul consists of skin care products and clothing. I'll be blogging those soon!

In some cases I have already used the products I bought before but some of them are brand new to me.


Here's a round up of what I got:

Urban Decay Custom Palette

I had been desiring a custom palette by Urban Decay for the longest time. It was the daunting price tag of £57 for three shadows (the palette comes with one 'free' eye shadow, though it isn't free, the price is included in the price of the palette itself) and the palette itself that I felt deserved a heavy amount of consideration.

However, I loved the idea of being able to mix and match Urban Decay eye shadows to my liking. I am forever taking my UD eye shadows with me when I am away from home and I'm usually stuck because many of my favourite shades are in separate palettes. This means I only have the choice of taking multiple palettes if I want certain shades which is too inconvenient since multiples take up too much space. Therefore I end up taking a single palette with maybe one or two small single eye shadows from other brands to give me the colour selection I want.

This palette appealed to me for the reason that I could carry a few of my favourite colours without compromising space or weight in my day bag or luggage. Its compact casing with its striking floral design (a more muted design of the UD shadow box) is very sturdy so I imagine it would stand up to travel well. I intend to purchase more individual shadows for this palette so I will definitely dedicate more posts to it in future.

I heavily recommend the majority of Urban Decay eye shadows. Aside from the vast amount of available colours they have a smooth, soft and blendable consistency in multiple finishes.



A bronze shade with a gold pearl-shimmer (a pearl finish resembles the appearance of a pearl whilst shimmer is often a more textured finish, usually created using glitter. But don't be mistaken, shimmer can be subtle!) hybrid finish called Baked came with the palette. I adore its blendable texture, highly pigmented colour pay-off and the reflective gold elements within it.

When choosing shades I focused on which types of shadows from my own Urban Decay palettes that I reached for the most. I spent a lot of time looking through their selection, swatching every colour and giving heavy consideration toward what shades I felt I would wear a lot. 

My first choice was Peace. An intense sky blue shade with a reflective finish that I was introduced to via the Deluxe palette long ago. This shade was one of the first to be completely used up in the entire palette.
 

Next was fishnet, a majestical magenta, for much the same reason. This shade is also in the Deluxe palette.

Since I have already owned Peace and Fishnet I was already familiar with their significant pigmentation and amazing consistency.

Lastly I chose Laced. I had never used this shade before, nor is it in any palettes I own. (Though I know this has featured in one of the UD Vice Palettes, but I do not own that particular palette.) Through swatching I found myself drawn to its matte finish and light pink-taupe hybrid of hues.

Laced really surprised me. Matte shades can often lack the same level of pigmentation as shimmer or pearl finishes but this shade holds up very well. It is extremely pigmented and blends wonderfully. It also pairs nicely with many other Urban Decay shadows.

Urban Decay Custom Palette Swatches

Smashbox Double Exposure Palette

A 14 shade palette combining neutral mattes and shimmers blended with more colourful hues that can be amplified via use with water or a suitable mixing medium (such as MAC Fix+). Inspired by the colours and levels of exposure in real photography. Which actually made me love it even more!

When using with water ensure that you use a damp brush, not a wet one (remove excess water by blotting your brush on a paper towel, tissue or     small towel first). A brush that is too wet can result in the colour not applying properly and too much moisture on your shadows is a breeding ground for bacteria. 

If using a mixing medium be sure to spray the brush and not your eyeshadow directly. Pick up the eye shadow on your brush, apply mixing medium to the brush and then apply the colour. Wipe excess product from the brush on to a dry paper towel or tissue in between uses. 

The shadows in this palette are incredibly soft, blendable, highly pigmented and extremely long wearing (I always wear an eye primer with any eye make up to prevent creasing, smudging, etc so that does help my make up stay in place. However I noticed that these wore extra long - 10 plus hours - in comparison to other brands I own.)

Smashbox Double Exposure Palette Swatches 

(Upper row)

(Lower row)

 
Look out for future tutorials on my blog featuring these palettes (coming very soon!) AND also on my youtube channel bluesparks24

 
For photos of me demonstrating some of the featured shades in this palette visit my Instagram below sparklestarcupcake



Do you own any of the featured products? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!