OUT NOW // Urban Decay x Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection - first look, inital thoughts and swatches

Long time readers will know that anything Alice in Wonderland orientated excites me to no end. When one of my best friends forwarded me a link to an article showcasing Urban Decay's newest collection inspired by new movie Alice Through the Looking Glass, excited was a bit of an understatement. The collection includes an eye shadow palette containing 20 shades inspired by the film. And then also five limited edition lipsticks - some colours not for the faint hearted!

Source: Urban Decay

Source: Selfridges

Six years ago Urban Decay released an Alice in Wonderland palette based on the first film called Alice in Wonderland: Book of Shadows. This received rave reviews and sold out in record time. So there are huge expectations again this time round.

The version 2.0 palette is a work of art. Beautifully packaged, with quotes, a 3D pop up butterfly and a lot edgier than the first palette, it's definitely a lot more in-line with the Tim Burton aesthetic of both films. I love the shades 'mirror', 'kingdom', 'chessboard' 'chronosphere' and 'dream on'. However 'hatter', 'metamorphosis', 'bandersnatch' and 'heads will roll' are a bit out there for me personally! All shades infused with UD's trademarked Pigment Infusing System, reportedly guaranteeing good staying power as well being easy to blend with other shades. As I haven't yet managed to get my hands on the collection to play around with - and doubt I ever will as I reckon this will be even more popular and sell out faster than the first collection(!) - I can't share any swatches with you. For a full list of colours and swatches, this is the best place to consult.

Source: Selfridges

I've seen countless looks and tutorials of this product in use and although some of the colours are at first glance pretty out there, they all blend perfectly and compliment each other well. My favourite look to date is on Urban Decay's Instagram and shows two contrasting colours blended to perfection:

Source: Urban Decay

The Alice Through The Looking Glass collection will be available on the Urban Decay website from 1st May and in-stores from 5th May. Which must be some sort of sign as my birthday is 5th May! ;)

Will you be purchasing anything from the Alice Through The Looking Glass collection?
And if you already have, do let me know how you're finding it!

7 alternatives to chocolate advent calendars

We're mere days away from December. Then the count down begins. Oh my.

Have you got to that age where although chocolate is still awesome, you feel like chocolate advent calendars are a little done? There was a time where eating chocolate first thing in the morning was exciting. It felt naughty. Now it seems to have lost its novelty. Each year more and more brands are jumping on the advent calendar band wagon. Admittedly mostly beauty brands / products. But as you will see below, there are some lovely other little surprises to be found behind each door:

Body Shop advent calendar: I've seen this featured on some blogs lately and the selection looks amazing. I haven't managed to locate any online or in my local store though. Not sure if it sold out, or if it was just a blogger promo / sample type dealio.

Yankee Candle advent calendar: Fill your house with the smell of Christmas on the days leading up to the holiday - to me, this feels like the most festive of all the advent calendars I've seen. But then I have major candle bias. Love 'em.

Benefit advent calendar: A great way of trying out new beauty products

Boots advent calendar: A more affordable version of the Selfridges one (below)

Whisky advent calendar: If you like whisky and you've got more money to spare, this would be a very merry count down!

Ciaté nail polish advent calendar: A nail polish a day. Genius.

Selfridges beauty advent calendar: Always sells out in record time. But with daily delights from Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent, etc, this is hardly surprising. Each year I um and ah over the price - trust me, it's a LOT. I decide to give it a try and what... it's sold out? Well I guess that answers that then.

What would your ideal advent calendar contain?