Naked2 Urban Decay Basics Palette

I finally have my hands on an Urbay Decay Naked palette and it is none other than the Naked2 Basics palette.  Having seen that Cohorted were going to have it on offer, I decided that if I was going to try something, a basics palette was a good place to start and I got it for an amazing price!  With an RRP of £22, I managed to get this with a 30% discount making it just £15.40, how amazing is that?

The palette comes with six cool-toned shades. Five mattes and one satin to highlight and they are:

Skimp - pale nude satin

Stark - nude-pink matte

Frisk - warm grey matte

Cover - muted warm-red matte

Primal - muted brown matte

Undone - deep, smoky brown matte

When I first looked at this palette, I was chuffed with the different shades as they are all ones I am likely to use.  The one issue I've had so far with the other palettes is that I'm not totally sure I would make that much use of them, even though I prefer the natural eye look, to something more out there and colourful. What I love about all of the shades in Naked2 Basics Palette is that they all have a rich, buttery feel to them, which makes the application really easy and Skimp, as you can see from the swatch above, has a slight satin finish to it. Now all I need to get my hands on is the double-ended applicator brush to accompany my palette.

I'm not sure that this palette is yet in sale in the UK, I haven't been able to find it that it is, but keep an out on for the next Cohorted announcement to get one, because for the price I paid, it is more than worth it and I have no doubt I am going to be continuously using it.

Are you a fan of the Naked Palettes? do you have a favourite one?

The best ways to take care of your skin

Source

Are you tired of your skin never doing what you want it to do? Have you tried every product without the desired results? Skincare is an art form, and requires a lot of trial and error. Skin experts and dermatologists know the best ways to care for your skin, no matter what your skin type. Here are some tips to help you take care of your skin the right way.

Figure out your skin type

All the products in the world will not do any good if you are using ones that do not work well with your skin type. Most brands are made for most skin types, although there are products that are more suited for skins that are more oily, or dry and flaky.

Protect yourself from the sun

Being sun safe is one the best ways to protect and take care of your skin, says the experts at the Cosmos Clinic. Use plenty of sunblock; find a moisturiser with sunblock built in so that it doesn’t feel too heavy during the day. Whenever you’re outside try to stick to shady areas and do not stand in direct sunlight for too long. If you know that you’ll be in the sun for long periods of time, wear protective clothing and reapply sunblock for optimal results. The sun can have damaging effects on your skin that might not show up right away, but can have dramatic effects in the long term.

Avoid smoking

Smoking causes skin to shrink and become prone to wrinkles. Smoking limits the supply of blood and oxygen to the veins in your skin, and therefore your skin looks weathered and older. It damages the collagen in your skin and stops your skin from retaining elasticity.

Be gentle

Be careful with your skin. Treat it delicately and the results will come. Taking a shower, or bath for too long, or having the water too hot can have adverse effects on your skin. Take care when using soaps that strip your skin of its natural oils and leave it feeling too dry. After stepping out of the shower, pat your skin dry. The blotting effect will keep much of the moisture still in your skin. Also, take care when shaving to lather well and shave with a clean, sharp razor.

Rest and eat well

Too much stress can culminate in your skin. Uncontrolled stress can make your skin breakout and inflame. Managing your life balance can help you to keep your stress levels in check. Make sure to get plenty of rest to keep your skin looking fresh and rejuvenated. A healthy diet can help you to feel balanced and stress free. A diet rich in proteins, produce, and whole grains can help to create younger looking skin.

Skin care is extremely important. What you do, or don’t do can have effects on your skin health in the future. Create a skincare plan and make it a habit. Find out what works for you and stick to it. Click here for more tips.



*This is a sponsored post

Blogging Essentials worth Investing in - Lighting!

When I was asked by the amazing people at Joebloggers "What are the things worth investing in" as part of a Legal and General campaign, I took some time to think about it. It was quite a gloomy day and I had been attempting to take some blog photos for hours, the light being horrid, I downed my camera and quickly had a strop, grunted and sighed alot - then the answer came to me - Lighting!

So having made my decision I did a bit of research, read a few blogs that gave hints and tips and decided that a portable Camera Photo Studio Box Light Lighting Cube Tent Kit with Tripod would be brilliant and the kit I had seen came with four backdrops at a cost of £35.  Now to some people, this might not seem like a lot, but I have little room to spread myself about, I live in a one bed flat, affectionately referred to as 'the shoebox' and there are three cats who also live here and like to be actively involved in everthing, so this for me is the perfect solution.

When my package arrived, I was far too excited, the box was huge and I momentarily forgot what it was, then came a squeal of delight.  Inside my box I had the following:

• Studio box size: 50x50x50cm
• Double warm white LED spot light
• Light cable length: 150m (each)
• Backdrop color: Black, Blue, White, Red
• Tripod and stand

Now to be, this is the best bit of kit, besides my Canon EOS1000D camera that I own and it most definitely makes taking pictures a lot easier, especially when it is dark outside!

Described as being a complete photo studio kit, I was delighted to find that it folds away into a neat carry case which takes up absolutely no room at all and I can put it neatly away in my wardrobe or under the bed out of the way. Setting the whole thing up was also incredibly easy too, much more so than I thought it would be and everything is fully adjustable, the tripod which fits my camera perfectly, allows for me to take a really nice close up without getting my hands, camera strap and anything else in the way. Once set up, it is made of both aluminium and steel and is really sturdy, the height is fully adjustable as well going from 25cm to 45cm, though I am yet to change it from the original settings.

The box itself is made is 100% pure white nylon fabric with a stainless steel frame photographic light tent and given it's size, everything that I need to photograph, including any of the cats, fits in there nicely. If I decide to change the background to either blue, red, or black, I can easily do so and each one fits snugly using a velcro fastening.

The final important item within the box are the two LED Lights/Lamps which also fold away and again you can adjust the light angle using a simple click of a button.

I am chuffed to bits with this piece of kit and whilst I am still getting to grips with how it works properly, I hope some of you will begin to notice the changes to my photographs.

If this sounds like something you fancy trying out, you can find it HERE.

Do you use lighting to take photos? is there something you would recommend?

Purrfect Box!

When asked if I would like to review a subscription box, I was all excited, I then continued reading to find the email was infact meant for one of my cats and not for me. If you read my blog or my Hubby's blog, you will know that we have three cats, all male tabby's and often mentioned with the moniker #furkids attached to them and they often make appearances on Instagram.

The Purrfect box** is a brand new UK subscription service which allows you to treat your cat, or your dog each month you will receive each month treats, toys, accessories, hygiene and personal care products customized and based on the cat's age, size, weight, fur type and preferences. Each month has a different theme so you get different goodies each month. The cost is £19.50 per month or £15.50 if you subscribe yearly and this was what was in my first box.

As you can see, there was some excitement as to what was in the box.  My boys love boxes and paper bags, especially Primark bags, so as soon as they see one, they want to be in it.

So in the box there are five different items, all nicely packaged ready to get your cats attention. So in my box we had:

Hills Cat Shrimp Snacks - These are heart-shaped biscuits which most definitely remind me of shrimp paste, you know the stuff that you used to get in sandwiches from your Nan, and as soon as the packet was open, all three of mine wanted to know what they were.

Trixie Multivitamin Paste - I wasn't too sure how this would be recieved, but unsurprisingly, all three of them loved it as soon as I squirted some onto the pink box they had been fighting over just moments ago.  The description says it will add shine and lustre to their coats, so I intend to add some to their food each morning to see if there is a notable difference.

A Spot Laser Toy - Always guaranteed to have hours of fun with this, as soon as the batteries are in and the red light appears, off they go zooming around trying in vain to catch the red spot.

As you can see by the noisy video below, Dexter was trying as hard as he could to catch the red spot.

The Wasabycat Scratching Post - This caused the most amount of interest in my box, infact I couldn't;t get near it for a good hour whilst the three of them fought over it, rubbed themselves over it and generally became a dribbling wreck.  The post itself, is more of a box which has little vents in it to shove the accompanying catnip into.  It has a scratching mat on the top and out of the three of mine, Asbo scratches the most and Dude tries to chew it.

The final item is a 4Cats Valerian Heart Toy and again, this was fought over too, possibly because it had been next to the catnip in the box and the scent had clearly rubbed off.  This is a favourite of Dude and he had a great time playing with it, as did Asbo when he could get near it and Dexter just sat back and watched everyone generally looking a bit daft.

To see the look on the faces of my three boys as soon as I opened the box was amazing, they loved each and every item within the box, which you can see from the photos and even now, a few weeks after getting the box, all of the items are still played with, rolled over chewed, dribbled on and fought over, so for me, this is great value for money and is definitely something I would think of subscribing too.

What do you think to this box? Have you got it, would you buy it?