My Top 5 Eyeshadow Palettes

Today I want to talk about my favourite eyeshadow palettes, my Top 5 to be exact. I think palettes are great for travelling especially when they have everything you could possibly need. Neutral palettes are what I usually reach for but palettes with different colour options are a nice, welcome change too (apart from being pretty to look at). Here are my top five palettes (in no particular order) and why I like them so much.

First up is the KIKO Queen Of Hearts Eyeshadow Palette in 03 Elegant Ebony. Unfortunately this was limited edition so you can't get it anymore but luckily you can find dupes of all four shades in the palette. Why is this one of my favourite palettes? The packaging is one of the reasons of course but also the fact that is comes in a portable format complete with mirror and all four shades in it are very wearable - you get a matte light brown, a matte medium brown, a matte dark brown and a shimmery copper-gold. All of them have exceptional colour payoff and the matte ones can also be used for your brows!

Next I have this very girly quad from Catrice Cosmetics in the nuance 100 F'rosen Yoghurt. I mostly like to use this at this time of year with anything plum/burgundy being my favourite during autumn/winter. However the colours are also very wearable in summer too especially the lighter ones. I also really like the all over transparent packaging. Again you get three matte shades and a shimmery one. The pigmentation is not that intense with this palette but I still like it because all the colours buildable.

Sleek i-Divine Palette in Vintage Romance is also another one of my favourites but I mostly like to use for night looks as out of twelve eyeshadows, you only get one matte shade, the rest are all shimmery. I like the colour selection in this palette especially the golds and purples. Not to mention the value for money of these palettes couple with exceptional quality and pigmentation!

Lastly, and this comes to no surprise, are my Naked 3 and Naked Smoky Palettes from Urban Decay. By now you all know how much I love these palettes and they are the ones I reach for the most. In each palette you get twelve shades with different finishes so you really have everything you could possibly need. Each palette also comes with a large mirror and a double ended brush, all encased in pretty packaging!

Those are my top five eyeshadow palettes, what do you think of them? What are your favourite palettes?

London Haul

Last week was one of the best so far for 2015 as I got to spend it in London with my boyfriend and his family for graduation. It was my first time in London and it definitely won't be the last! There's so much to see and do! 

It goes without saying that a trip to London is not complete without a little shopping so I planned out a full day of shopping in the most popular districts and streets of this magnificent city. My visa was definitely not happy with this but I really did enjoy myself and that's all that matters ;) Here is what I bought for myself.

The first hop we hit was obviously Primark. All Maltese nationals love Primark and I could now see why myself. I mostly grabbed myself a handful of polishes, a lipstick, face and hair masks, foundation sponges to use for nail art and a cute three-row necklace. I have already swatched the polishes and happen to really like the Angelica ones for they have a very nice formula and brush. My favourite thiugh is the spherical one which smells of orchids when dry and has a perfume bottle shape. Keep your eyes peeled for more nail polish and nail related items that I got online in the next haul post.

At the bottom of the picture is Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude which I have been looking for forever and I managed to find at Boots. The Balance Me lipgloss and Garnier moisturiser sample were free with a Glamour magazine issue.

From Primark I also scored this fringed cover-up which I will be taking with me on a cruise come July and a dirty green sleeveless loose shirt with lace details on the shoulders. The other two tops and shirt are all from H&M, another store I look forward to visiting while on holiday. I think they have good quality clothes at reasonable prices and I just can't understand why they won't open a store here :/ I also found a cossack hat at Camden Market and it really does keep me warm :)

Moving on to the luxury purchases, I was in awe all the time while we were browsing Harrods. It is by far my favourite spot of the whole trip, especially their shoe heaven! I just couldn't stop oohing and aahing over all the beautiful Choos, Louboutins, Manolos and Sophia Webster's creations to name a few but I only had a day of shopping so I had to re-compose myself to get what I wanted.

First up, I bought a Michael Kors Jet-Set Tote that I have been wanting for ages and I chose one in a dark blue colour so it matches a lot of outfits. I also got the Rouge Louboutin nail polish which I can say is a very beautiful red and I really love the packaging of it! Also from Harrods, I picked up a few things from MAC for Marija from Pocalocca and while I was there I got the Mineralize Blush in Gleeful and a Retro Matte Lipstick in All Fired Up which my boyfriend chose for me. The blush is very pigmented and you have to be extra careful to use a light hand with it but I really love it for it stays on all day.

I finally got my hands on the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette from House of Fraser which I cannot wait to use! I've swatched a couple of shades and I could see what all the hype is about. They have excellent pigmentation and I'm really looking forward to creating makeup looks with them!

Lastly, I got a London shot glass and a London Eye glass souvenir to add to my personal collections.