The Black Pearl Blog - UK beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog

NYR Pure Essence EDP No2 Rose - review

Today I am reviewing another addition to my perfume collection. I don't own many perfumes to be honest. I think there is around 10 bottles on my dressing table at the moment. I always wanted to try natural perfumes and the first one I got to test, was Liz Earle Botanical Essence no1 which I really liked and it lasted on my skin for a good couple of hours. The one I am reviewing today is Neal's Yard Remedies Pure Essence EDP No2 Rose.

Urban Decay NAKED palette dupe- MUA Undressed palette- comparison and swatches

I became a big MUA enthusiast recently :) and I am loving all their palettes. The one I was excited about the most is the Undressed palette. The name is an obvious hint that it was created based on Urban Decay Naked palette. Well... It is a great dupe in my opinion! Read on for more details and have a look at my swatches of all shades. They are a really close match.

If something is hyped about and everybody and their mother owns it - I usually buy it to see if it is as good as everybody claims it to be. Urban Decay was always my go to brand when it comes to eyeshadows and I had a little UD addiction going on in the past, so when I seen the 1000th review of Naked and Naked2 I bought both.

I am really happy with all the shades and the quality and I can't deny, that Urban Decay does the best eyeshadows on the planet- in my opinion anyway. Not everybody can afford a £36 eyeshadow palette though, so many brands released cheaper alternatives. MUA Undressed palette is one of them and the RRP is £4, but I got mine on sale for £3.00!!! Can you believe it? The full palette comes at a price of one little Urban Decay shade from the Naked Palette :)

I am a bit of a makeup snob and I want to own the most expensive and luxurious products in the world, but to be honest... the only high end make-up product I keep repurchasing is Lancome Teint Miracle foundation. I don't like to spend more than £20 on a beauty product, but I do make exceptions sometimes, if I really want something.

THE COMPARISON:

-the packaging is totally different and I actually prefer MUA, as it is more sturdy/

-there is 12 shades in both palettes

-all shades are a very close match, dupes of matte eyeshadows from Naked are matte in the Undressed palette and the shimmery UD ones are shimmery in the MUA dupe. (unlike in the fake Naked palette)

-the pigmentation of both palettes is really good

-Urban Decay shadows feel more luxurious and the quality and pigmentation is better. The quality of MUA Undressed is surprisingly good too and all the shimmery shades are creamy and apply beautifully, but matte shades are slightly less pigmented than UD ones.

-I don't need a primer if I use the Naked palette and the shadows stay on my eyelids all day, except matte shades(they need a primer) All shimmery shades from MUA undressed stay put for most of the day- around 8 hours, but with a primer they last all day and look perfect. Matte shades need a primer no matter what to last for more than 2 hours.

I think that MUA Undressed Palette is an amazing dupe of the Naked Palette and if you don't want to splurge £36 on eyeshadows, there is no need to do it. Please, do not consider buying fake UD makeup from ebay etc... It is very dangerous. Why risk your health, if you can get the same shades from a brand you can trust for a fraction of the price? I don't see the point of buying fake makeup, knowing that it is definitely fake. We want the product to be good quality and to give amazing results, so If you buy a fake it is a totally different thing, so why buy it just for the packaging?

I wrote a comparison post about the real UD Naked palette and an ebay fake a couple of weeks ago, so if you want to have a look and consider buying make-up on ebay, please read my post here.

There is no need to risk your health, if you can get a perfectly safe dupe for £4!!!

Many bloggers find great dupes and share reviews on their blogs, so if you want to find a cheaper alternative of a product, I am sure you will find it in the blogosphere.

BARGAIN ALERT! ESSIE NAIL POLISH FOR £1.99!

Hi everyone.

After posting a picture of Essie nail polishes for £1.99 each on Instagram and Twitter I got tons of emails and messages asking me where to get them so cheap. Well... the credit goes to Tereza from Cityscape Bliss and she credits Lydia from Lydia Sparkles. Ok, I credited everybody involved in this bargain haunt (that I know of) :)

A big, big thank you goes to Tereza and Lydia for sharing their bargains with me :)

As soon as I heard about this BARGAIN, I went to www.fragrancedirect.co.uk and ordered 8 bottles of Essie polishes. I already own a couple of bottles and I loved the formula, so I didn't think twice.

I received my package today and I am very happy with the quality, so I ordered another six bottles :)

I know... I went a bit crazy, but I am in love with ESSIE! All the colours are lovely and need 1 or two coats to give an opaque finish. AMAZING!

To make your life easier, I swatched all the ones I got in my first order and I will probably do some NOTD posts soon as well. If you are unsure about the shades, google them and you will see loads of swatches. That's what I did before placing my order.

The delivery is £1.99 for second class and £2.99 for first class.

Here is what I got:

L-R: Ridge filler, Lady Like , To Buy Or Not To Buy, Carry On, Bangle Jangle, Brooch The Subject, A Crewed Interest,Very Structured.

L-R: Bangle Jangle, Lady Like, Carry On, Very Structured, Brooch the Subject

L-R: A Crewed Interest, Lady Like, Bangle Jangle, To Buy Or Not To Buy, Brooch the Subject

NOTD: simple white manicure

I always liked the look of glossy, white nails, but most white polishes I tried needed 3-4 coats for an opaque finish. I got Rimmel's London Clouds no 085 from Poundland and I love it! It needed 2 coats and the finish is beautiful! PS. I used fake nails for this manicure. I wish my natural nails were that long... Do you like simple white nails? I think they look very elegant.

Liz Earle Special Edition Rose and Lavender Cleanse & Polish

I can't describe my excitement about Liz Earle Special Edition Rose and Lavender Cleanse & Polish!
I wasn't expecting it in the post, so when I opened the package I had a big smile on my face!

I am a big fan of the original Cleanse & Polish, so I knew that I will love the new rose and lavender one.

Liz Earle Special Edition Rose and Lavender Cleanse & Polish* £19.75 (£2 goes to charity)

I reviewed the original Cleanse and Polish here and I must admit, it is still my favourite cleanser. I repurchased it already and also got a couple of travel size tubes when they were free with a magazine. If you haven't tried Cleanse & Polish yet, now would be a perfect time to do it, because £2 from each bottle sold goes to Princess Trust to help young people in UK. Great cause!

The special edition design is absolutely beautiful and it is the prettiest bottle in my bathroom :)

It is a 150ml pump, which is 50ml more than the original C&P pump. I noticed the size difference as soon as I picked it up :) 100ml lasted me for over 2 months of everyday use (twice a day) so this one will last for over 3 months of constant use.

The special ingredients in the new formula are rose and lavender essential oils, so the scent is slightly different than the original. It is a subtle lavender and floral scent and it is very relaxing.

I use my original Cleanse & Polish in the morning and the special edition at night. It is perfect to remove makeup and daily grime off my face and doesn't irritate my eyes. It is creamy and luxurious and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft. I adore everything about this product and it is my holy grail cleanser. If you haven't tried it yet, why not do it now and support a great cause?

It will be available from Liz Earle website from the 6th of September, Liz Earle stores, John Lewis and QVC.

BIG BLUE EYES! Coloured Contact Lenses Review

Hi everyone.

Today I am reviewing something totally different than my usual beauty products.

I was contacted by www.eyesbright.com asking me if I would like to review some coloured contact lenses from their store. I always wanted to try them , so I just had to say yes. My vision is perfectly fine, so I have never tried lenses before. This was my first pair. Read on for more details....

Big Eyes 15mm Beautiful Blue Contact Lenses* £15.99

Lens Cleaning Solution and Storage case* £2.99

I was a little bit scared to put the lenses into my eyes and at the beginning it was just ridiculously difficult. I was just blinking non stop and couldn't put them in. After an hour of trying I gave up and asked for advice. The lenses come with instructions, but it is hard to put something into your eye if you haven't done it before. Anyway... after hours of trying I finally managed to put the lenses in and they looked huuuuge! The colour is beautiful and makes my eyes stand out, but I wouldn't wear them in public. I would go for smaller ones if I wanted to actually use them daily. I wanted to try big blue ones just to see the effect. I always freak out when something gets into my eyes, so I was a bit uncomfortable with the lenses. It wasn't a horrible feeling, but I could feel them in my eyes.

I think it is because of the size. I must admit, they are far too big.

Taking them out was easy peasy :) It took ma a second! (surprisingly)

Overall I am happy with the outcome. It looks really cool. I felt and looked like a manga character :)

If you always wanted to try colored lenses, go for it, it is fun and looks great on photos. I love photography so it was a great experience for me and my chance to take some interesting pictures.

I can't wait to try green ones and big brown ones too :)

Have you ever tried coloured contact lenses? What did you think?

Holy Grail hair care product: Macadamia Deep Repair Masque (review)

I always wanted to try the Macadamia Deep Repair Masque and thanks to hairtrade I finally got a chance to get my mitts on this precious pot. It is just as good as I expected it to be and I am totally in love with it! Do you know that feeling, when you try something and you can't get over the fact how amazing it is... Well... That's how I feel about this mask.

MACADAMIA DEEP REPAIR MASQUE* 250ml £18.99 from www.hairtrade.com

First of all I love the packaging. The design is simple, yet very eye catching. On the inside there is a little protective lid to prevent spillages and keep the mask safe :) I don't want to waste a single drop of this precious product. Don't you just hate to open a jar of something and it is allover the lid? Not in this case, whoever designed this pot has done a good job. Simple things make a big difference sometimes.

Now onto the mask... I absolutely love it! As soon as I opened the pot I could smell the beautiful, beautiful scent! It gets better, the scent lingers on my hair for days!!! I actually used it two days ago, I just sniffed my hair and it still smells beautiful! The consistency of the mask is very thick and feels luxurious. I use a generous amount on dry ends of my hair and a little bit on the rest of my hair.
It is the best hair masque I have ever used and leaves my hair feeling silky smooth, looking glossy, healthy and full of life!

I am not usually that excited about hair care, but this is a miracle product that works wonders on my damaged hair. It isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny and you won't regret buying it.
It became my haircare hero after a couple of uses! I will repurchase it as soon as it runs out or might even stock up on it in advance. It is love!
Have you tried this hair mask? What do you think about it?