Christmas 2017 Makeup Haul Review

Being a poor poor Uni student I don't always get the chance to buy really nice makeup for myself (even though I have a whole crate full already but that's besides the point...). When Christmas came around at the end of last year I was very lucky and many family members spoiled me with some rather lovely makeup bits. They were pieces I certainly wouldn't have been able to buy on a budget for myself but with that in mind I thought I'd test all of them and let you lovely people know my thoughts.

URBAN DECAY PRODUCTS 

Urban Decay Naked HEAT Palette

Urban Decay are good at what they do and there is no denying that. They have good vibrant products that are not only nice when on but also long wearing. Out of all the Naked palettes (I own all except Naked 3) I'd go so far as to say this is my favourite. The colours themselves are really pigmented and smooth and easy to blend. Another great thing about this palette is that these kind of shades will work nice with lots of different eye colours. The mix of matt shades and glitters and wonderful and I've been very obsessed with it. What's also lovely is the brush that it comes with is high quality and easy to use.

Urban Decay 'All Nighter' Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

This a liquid spray and it finishes really nicely on the skin. It dries quickly but doesn't leave the makeup feeling dried out on your face or cakey. I've worn it a few times and noticed it defiantly helped my makeup stay looking nicer for longer and didn't crease on the face.

Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara

I've used a lot of mascaras in my time and this would certainly be in the top five. It truly helps to extend your lashes and separates them so they're not all clumped together to give a false lash affect. It's nice to apply and the applicator helps to get the tiny hairs near the corners of your eyes as well. Another thing to note is when wearing it for a long time it doesn't start crumbling and flake off your lashes as that is one of my pet peeves with certain mascaras.

Urban Decay Liquid Moondust Eyeshadow

I have the colour 'Zodiac' and it is a gorgeous dark green glitter. I tried using this two different ways as I'd never used a liquid eyeshadow before. I tried initially putting it on my lid with transition shades however I did find it hard to blend as it dries quickly. However, later on I tried putting it on top of a green smokey eye look to add some extra glitter and that worked much better. I think this would be excellent for a cut crease, eyeshadow topper or even an eyeliner. It dries really quickly and the glitter doesn't crumble of at all which is a massive bonus.

CLINIQUE - COLOUR ON THE RUN

This little box came with three lovely products which I'll review separately.

Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm

I have the shade '01 Amp'd Up Apple'. Similar to the liquid eyeshadow, I'd never used a cream blusher before so experimented with using it. This shade is rather vibrant which is good as it means you don't need to apply a lot to your cheeks if you want a natural blush look. I found when applying it it was easier to put it on the pad of my finger and then dab it on rather than applying it straight on but either way it goes on nicely.

Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Colour Balm

The shade I was given was '06 Roomiest Rose'. Usually I do prefer nude matt shades yet I did like this colour and it was lovely to wear. It was certainly moisturising and didn't make my lips feel dry, which is good during the winter months. I think this vibrant pick shade is more of a Spring/Summer colour to me but either way it was nice on the lips and you didn't need to put on much to get the colour at its best.

High Impact Mascara

This mascara had a nice applicator and the formula really helped to darken my lashes so they stood out more. It's a nice thick applicator that doesn't make your eyelashes look too clumpy.

NO7 PRODUCTS

I also got a box of small NO7 products as well. It came with four products but one is a night-time skin care item which I haven't had the chance to use yet but I have tested all the makeup pieces.

*Side note - I think boxes like these are perfect if you want to try out a few products but aren't ready to buy the larger products yet. It's almost like having a taster box*

Airbrush Away Primer

This primer was really soft when applying to the skin and felt very moisturising. It rested on the skin well without feeling cakey and was easy to apply makeup on top of. I found my makeup stayed on well with this even when I didn't use a lot of the product. This is something I'd potentially buy a big version of because a little goes a long way which means more worth for your money.

High Shine Gloss 

I have the shade 'Roaring Red' and in the tube it's very bright but I found when applying it it took a couple of coats before it got to the real intense colour. Again, I do prefer matte shades but I still felt the formula was just a bit thick. Although this is the case it lives up to it's name of high shine and does smell very nice just for me it wasn't my favourite product I'd tried.

Lash Impact Mascara (Black) 

This was a good mascara but it wasn't the best. It really did help extend my lashes, perhaps better than the Clinique one, but the formula wasn't very dark so although my lashes were long they weren't very dark. This however is a personal preference but it does work well and gives a lovely effect on the lashes.

I was quite fortunate that I liked nearly all the products I've tried and I certainly think a lot of them are worth their retail price (especially the Urban Decay pieces). All in all it was a good Christmas but if anyone else out there got some new products over Christmas and liked them and think I should try them then contract me - @WordsofWallis on Instagram or Twitter or even comment below on the blog!