Nowadays, when brands are launching new products and campaigns every single day, it seems that all the excitement has disappeared. This was not the case with me when I first heard about Urban Decay launching their Cherry Collection and when I saw the first photographs of the Naked Cherry Palette. I could hardly wait to get hold of it firstly, because burgundy hues are my favourite for autumn/winter time and secondly, because you could say that I am the collector of naked palettes as I have all of them.

At the time of the launching of the Naked Cherry Palette in Europe I happened to be in Milan and a visit to Sephora was a must. The palette was in the highest demand from day one and to tell you the truth, I did not expect that I would manage to get my hands on it. I was so happy when I saw it on the shelves of Sephora that I wanted to scream at the top of my voice! I couldn’t believe that I was holding it in my hands.

The packaging is beautiful. It is embellished with a row of cherries and it includes a mirror and double-sided brush – a smudger brush on one end and a tapered crease brush on the other and they are both pretty good. The palette itself is the perfect balance of matte colours and shimmers. There are 12 new shades (12 x 1,1g), ranging from the light colours of ivory, beige, peachy coral, rose gold to the darker colours of burgundy and black cherry. You can wear them all day and night. There are base colours, transition and crease shades as well as the deep burgundy and brownish shades, perfect for adding some depth or a smokey eye look. The texture of the shadows is soft, they are highly pigmented and easily blended. The application is even and non-patchy. As it is the case with all other eyeshadows of the naked palettes, there is some fallout, but I don’t mind as it can be removed easily with a fan brush. The mattes are buttery and they blend easily. The shimmers have a beautiful sheen and you can enhance them by using the wet brush. The eyeshadows do not crease even ten hours into wear if you apply the eye primer first (I always do as it helps not only with lastingness, but also with the colours to stand out.

The shades included in this 12-pan palette:

1. Hot Spot – ivory matte colour
2. Caution – neutral beige matte
3. Bang Bang – shimmering pink with gold shift and iridescent micro-sparkle
4. Feelz – dusty rose matte
5. Juicy – soft warm peach
6. Turn On – pale metallic rose shimmer
7. Ambitious – metallic rose copper
8. Bing – deep mauve matte
9. Devilish – reddish plum matte
10. Young Love – a metallic cranberry
11. Drunk Dial – deep metallic burgundy
12. Privacy – deep brownish-plum matte

Overall, Naked Cherry is a good eyeshadow palette. If you love berry/burgundy tones, then definitely check it out. The hues will suit any eye color – brown, hazel, green and blue. It is also a good value for money as you will get twelve brand new shades. The palette sells for 53,00EUR at Sephora.

Dior has recently launched their Diorskin Forever Undercover Foundation. This is a 24 hour, full coverage water-based foundation with a matte finish, suitable for all skin types. It contains the highest level of pigments out of all of Dior’s foundations and the water-based formula creates a weightless finish.

Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Make-up, describes the new foundation: “Incorporated in a very fluid texture, the high concentration of pigments ensures perfect blemish correction. What’s very new for such a high-coverage product is that you don’t feel or see it. The finish is fresh, and matte enough so that you don’t need powder.”

This foundation comes in a range of 24 shades, from the lightest to the darkest. I bought the one in shade 025 – Soft Beige – Light and I also tried the one in shade 020 Light Beige – Light. 020 was too light and 025 has a bit of yellowish undertone on me. I think the most suitable shade for me would be something between these two, but here, in Beauty Line Cyprus, they do not have the full range of shades. I would also say that this foundation is medium coverage, easily buildable to the full coverage with a second layer. I wore it for about 10 hours the longest. It gives me a matte look which is not cakey. It does not settle into lines and pores and it is transfer proof.  I only have to touch up my nose with the powder after a few hours into wearing as it becomes shiny (I have combination skin).

The bottle is plastic with a nozzle. I like it as it is not heavy and fragile and it is very convenient for on the go. The foundation is a bit pricey (it costs 45,00EUR), but you get what you paid for and you also get 40ml, an extra 10ml as foundations are normally 30ml.

I am impressed with this foundation as it gives me a flawless, medium to full coverage matte look that feels very lightweight on the face and it is long lasting.

I was on the hunt for a good matte lip product and the concept of Clinique Pop Lip Shadow Cushion Matte Lip Powder seemed very interesting and quite different from anything that I have seen and tried so far. It is inspired by backstage make-up artists who press powder over the lipstick to soak up any shine and give a truly matte finish. It has a unique cream-powder formula and it delivers highly pigmented lip colour.

First you should activate the colour by unscrewing the clear cap from the wand and the white lid from the coloured cylindrical cap. Then you should dip the anti-bacterial treated sponge applicator inside the cap to pick up the pigment.

It is allergy tested and 100% fragrance free like any other Clinique product.

I bought the one in the shade of Brown Sugar Pop. Prior to applying it, I had prepped my lips well as suggested by the brand. You can apply the product lightly with the sponge applicator, but you can build up layers for more intensity as well. You should do this quickly as it stains and dries fast. The creamy texture turns into the powder with the matte finish. The applicator is hard to work with as it is rather squishy and this makes the application a little challenging. In order not to spread the powder over the edge of your lips, I would recommend the use of a lip pencil first. The pigmentation is great and the texture feels nice on the lips, but the product can go on unevenly and patchy. It has a decent staying power, but it is not transfer-proof and it comes off with food and drinks. While wearing it, my lips felt quite drying and each and every line was accentuated even though I had a coat of lip balm underneath. In my opinion, this product requires too much effort both for putting it on and maintaining it.

I have not tried any colours other than this one, so I cannot tell if they all behave in the same way. The Clinique Pop Lip Shadow Cushion Matte Lip Powder comes in the range of eight shades. I paid for it 23,50EUR at the Beauty Line, but you can find it cheaper online for the price of about 20,00EUR.

I got the travel size of Ciate Wanderwand mascara in the Lookfantastic beauty box and I will definitely order the full size product once I run out of the sample.

This mascara is pure perfection. Its ultra-black, highly blendable formula creates great volume, length and curl. It lifts and separates your lashes. Even one coat with the hourglass shaped wand makes a huge difference. This applicator makes it easy to apply the product on both the inner and outer corner of your lashes at the same time.  Your eyelashes will instantly look longer and fuller.  You can easily add more coats for greater results. It does not clump and it is smudge-free and flake free. It has great staying power as well. It stays put all day while your lashes maintain that freshly applied look.

It is paraben-free, sulfates and phthalates free.

Removing this mascara is easy and effortless (you will not have panda eyes on the next morning).

This is currently my number one mascara.

It is available at lookfantastic.com for the price of about 23,00EUR.

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NARS Cosmetics radiant creamy concealer is a favourite of both professional make-up artists and make-up enthusiasts. I was looking for a good concealer for ages and I tried many of them, but I was always dissatisfied with something. They were too opaque or too sheen, too dry, cakey or having inadequate undertone. Then a few years ago I came across NARS creamy concealer with the perfect formula.

This concealer is very pigmented and it provides medium to full buildable coverage which is longwearing and it has a luminous lightweight finish. I apply it with a wet beautyblender or my fingers. It blends effortlessly onto the skin minimizing the appearance of fine lines and imperfections, hiding dark circles and signs of fatigue.

I set it with a little amount of compact or loose powder and it does not crease at all during the day. Infused with a multi-active botanical blend (including grape seed and magnolia bark extract), it also helps hydrating and firming your skin. Light-diffusing technology evens out the complexion so it looks softer, smoother and radiant.

It is dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested and it is also paraben-free and sulfate-free.

This concealer comes in a versatile range of 22 shades. You can also use it as a highlighter if you select the one that is two shades lighter than your concealer shade or you can contour your face by using the one two shades deeper.

This is by far the best concealer I have ever tried and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

It is available at Sephora and various online retailers for the price of about 30,00EUR.

At this festive time of the year, there are many events and parties to attend and if you are looking for a foundation and powder that will keep your make-up flawless for long hours, then Estee Lauder’s Double Wear line is the solution.

Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundaton has a long lasting power. It has a lightweight, buildable formula (medium to full coverage) which will not change colour or smudge through heat, humidity and non-stop activity. It has a natural matte finish and SPF 10 sunscreen to protect your skin. It is fragrance free, oil free, non-acnegenic and it has been dermatologist tested.

There is also Double Wear Stay-in-Place Powder Makeup Compact which can be used both as foundation and setting powder. It is as well fragrance free, oil free and it won’t clog your pores. It has a medium coverage and matte finish. The powder comes with the sponge, but I prefer to use it with a brush because this gives a nicer, more even finish. It is silky smooth and it feels comfortable without drying your skin.

I use this as finishing powder over the liquid foundation with great results for my combination skin as my make-up looks as fresh as when I first applied it without any touch-ups all day.

If you are looking for a new brow product, then look no further as Benefit brow line-up has everything you need. Whether you are into pencils, gels, powder, wax or pomades, there is something for everyone.

Here are some of the products from their brow range which I have been using for a while.

Goof Proof Eyebrow Pencil

This brow pencil has a specially designed non-sharpen teardrop shaped tip on one side and spoolie brush on the other. The wider part of the tip fills in and shapes the larger area of the brows while the pointed tip defines the tail. The pencil is waxy, soft and waterproof lasting up to 12 hours. It is very precise and it makes your brows look very natural. The spoolie helps soften the look if necessary.

It is available in six shades.

Brow Zings Eyebrow Shaping Kit

This compact kit contains eyebrow powder, tinted wax, mini slant tweezers and a fold-up dual-sided applicator with an angled brush on one side and a blending brush on the other.

How to use: Begin by plucking any stray hairs using the mini tweezers. Dip the angled brush into the wax and apply to brows. The wax serves as a base for the powder to stick on to. Use the blending brush to apply the setting brow powder. The powder is pigmented, smooth and easy to apply.

This all-in-one kit is everything you need to sculpt, shape and fill brows, especially if you prefer natural softer brows.

It is available in six shades.

Angled Brow Brush & Spoolie

This dual-ended brush is specially designed to apply brow powders, gels, creams and wax and blend them seamlessly.

The angled brush picks up the product nicely. It is thin and sturdy enough to shape, define and fill in brows.

The spoolie has custom-blended fibres that help to distribute the product evenly as well as blend it and smooth it for a soft finish.

If you are a make-up artist or just a lipstick lover, this palette has everything you need. The colour range is perfect. It contains reds, plums, browns, nudes, pinks and corals and it is suitable for any skin tone.

The palette consists of 54 shades including Bobbi’s Top 10 and it comes with a lip brush. There are 23 lip colour shades, 11 rich colour shades and 20 creamy lip colour shades. You can mix them and create even more versatile shades. The pigmentation is very good and although some lipsticks are more pigmented than the others, they are all creamy, moisturizing and they feel comfortable on the lips.

The divider in the middle of the palette is labeled and it keeps the colours organized with the names of each individual shade.

The palette is compact and easy to carry and use on the set or on the go. It is an absolute must-have for make-up artists or for those who love make-up.

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Noir couture volume mascara was designed by Nicolas Degennes, make-up artistic director at Givenchy. Its formula features silica micro-beads filled with keratin to protect the lashes while nourishing rice peptides strengthen them. It is paraben free.

The packaging is gorgeous. The black case with inverted studs adds a touch of glam rock look.

The texture of this mascara is quite dense and I think its formula is a bit too sticky and dry.

On the other hand, the applicator is great. The bristles of the brush are thicker and bigger at the bottom and thinner and smaller at the top which helps in getting the lashes on the inner corner. One coat of this rich black mascara will give your lashes the dramatic look with extra volume. I find it very difficult to apply the second coat because of its dry formula.

It lasts all day and it does not flake.

It is fairly easy to remove.

To my great disappointment, the mascara dried out very quickly and clumped around the brush only one month after opening. Definitely not worth the money (it costs around 35,00EUR).