So I'm back at it again with another Christmas gift. Some of you who regularly read my posts will remember that I have been eyeing the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk palette for quite some time, so I was very excited to receive it as a gift and then put it to the test. This palette retails for £56 which was just slightly over what I feel ok with spending on eyeshadow so I'm glad I got to try it!

What drew me in with this palette was the colour story and I liked the inspiration behind it. It also has some duo-chromes that have a blue shift to them, for some reason I always think this is revolutionary and I fall for it every time, plus I'm also a sucker for purples in palettes. So I really wanted to try this out. I had never tried Huda's formula before as well so it was twice as exciting.

Swatches left to right: Desert Sand, Musk, Eden, Amber, Blood Moon and Oud

Swatches left to right: Celestial, Nefertiti, Twilight, Amethyst, Royal, Retrograde

Swatches left to right: Cashmere, Angelic, Comso, Turkish Delight, Saffron, Blazing

For this look I used Eden as a transition shade and Amethyst in the crease and outer corner, using Oud to further deepen my crease. On the lid I used Twilight, I wasn't happy with the pigmentation of it so I added Stila Sea Siren on the centre of my lid to make it pop. On my lower lash line I used Amethyst and a little but of Oud. For my inner corner I used Becca pressed highlighter in Opal. My lashes are Ardell 603.

For this look I used both Musk and Eden (as there aren't any light or medium brown shades) and added a bit of Amethyst and Oud to deepen the crease ever so slightly and took what was left on my brush on my lower lash line. On the lid I used Twilight with Cashmere layered on top. My lashes are Ardell 110.

Here I used Eden as a transition shade, Blazing in my crease and Amber to deepen my crease. I also used Blazing and Amber on my lower lash line. On my lid I used Blood moon, with Nefertiti in the centre of lid and also on my inner corner. My lashes are Ardell 603.

For this look I used den as a transition shade and Blazing upper crease. I then took Amber lower down, in the outer V and along the lashline. I applied Oud below Amber and packed all over the lid, in the outer V and along the lower lashline. To cut my crease I used Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define Concealer in C0, after I applied Stila Glitter & Glow in Diamond Dust to define the cut crease. I then blended the edges where the concealer ended to my lid and outer V. For lashes i used Ardell Demi Wispies.

I used Eden and Musk in my crease and Amber to deepen the crease. On my lid I use Celestial and for my inner corner I used Nefertiti. My lashes are Ardell 110

For this look I used Eden as a transition shade and Blazing and Saffron in the crease and along my lower lash line. I used Oud to deepen my crease and then packed Turkish Delight on the outer third of my eye. I then applied some Too Faced glitter glue from my inner third to centre of my lid and then applied Nefertiti on top of where I applied the glitter glue, focusing it on the inner third of my eye. Finally on the centre of my lid I applied Cosmo. My lashes are a mix of individual lashes. (I would have added a larger lash for this look had I had time; it started getting dark and I use natural light.)

For this look I used Musk as a transition shade and Saffron with Oud to build my crease, I also took these shades onto my lower lash line. On the centre of my lid I applied some J Cat Prismetal shadow in Chrome Galaxy and then I added some Blood Moon on the inner and outer portion of my lid, then I took Turkish Delight to blend the two shades together. Finally I applied some Nefertiti on the centre of my lid and then also on my inner corner. I can't remember which false lashes I used but I think it was a combination of two different ones.

Here I used Eden as a transition shade and Amethyst in my crease and lower lash line. On my lid I applied Stila Glitter & Glow in Embellish with Angelic and Nefertiti on top. For my inner corner I used Stila Glitter & Glow in Stylish. My lashes are the Ardell 700 slightly trimmed.

For this look I used Blazing in my crease but I blended it out further than I typically do. I then used Saffron lower down in my crease, packed it on my lid and then along my lower lash line. Then I took Oud and applied it to add a bit of extra depth in my crease. I added some Too Faced glitter glue on my lid and then over top I packed on the shade Retrograde. I couldn't find a good inner corner highlight so I used a combination of Neferttit/Becca Opal/ Retrograde. My lashes are Ardell 603.

Swatches left to right: Huda Beauty Retrograde, Urban Decay Solstice, Clionadh Cosmetics Grisaille

So in general I have enjoyed using this palette this last month. I like the colour story a lot and all the shades are flattering on me. I have realised though that Huda's formula is not my favourite. It's not bad, but I found I had to work slightly harder to blend out product than I have to with other formulas. The duo-chromes where also slightly lacking for my taste; they're ok but there are dupes out there that are more intense and pigmented so if you're getting this palette just for them, don't.

After creating some looks using this palette I feel like some of the shades could be swapped out or replaced with something that would add more to the colour story. I did notice that when applied to the lid, Celestial and Angelic actually look really similar to the point where you can't really tell them apart. I think this palette could also have benefitted having a deeper cool-toned shade as well.

The one shade that I don't think I will ever be using again is the pressed glitter, Cosmic. I'm personally not a fan of pressed glitters in general (I'd sooner reach for a Stila Glitter & Glow or the glitter multi-chromes by Clionadh Cosmetics), just because they're not the easiest kind of glitter to work with. This glitter, even when applied over glitter glue, had to much fallout I couldn't wait to get it off my face. I will not be reaching for it again for that reason. I am aware of the risk associated with most glittery eye products but I choose formulas with either less fallout or just ones that are eye safe as I'm terrified of getting glitter in my eye and doing irreparable damage.

I like this palette but I found I often wanted to add other products in order to make certain shades pop and make them more dynamic and interesting. I will definitely be reaching for this palette again but I have other things I love more.

Thanks for reading!

So some of my more regular readers may remember a post from a couple of months ago where I had a picture comparison of how my eyeshadow skills evolved. For some reason its one of my most viewed posts which is so embarrassing. One of the main reasons why the first picture was so bad was because I had like 2 eyeshadow brushes at the time (obviously practice has helped too) and over the years I have collected a fair amount of eye brushes so that I could actually blend my eyeshadow properly.

One 'problem' I have come across when buying brushes is knowing their size. For reference, my eyes are slightly smaller than average and are hooded; I do have visible lid space when staring straight forward but its tiny haha. So when buying brushes, I tend to prefer more precise brush heads but I do some bigger eye brushes which I will get into later. Anyway I digress, here is an overview of my favourite and most used eye brushes in my collection.

These two brushes are like a pointed dome shape; the Sigma e45 is a good brush for sketching out the shape of my crease as its quite pointed but still will be able to blend the shadow ever so slightly.

The Zoeva 221 is slightly fluffier than the Sigma e45 so it blends out the product less precisely but still is more precise than your standard crease brush. It gives you control over placement but you can buff and blend more freely.

These two brushes are amazing for blending out shadows. The Sigma e42 is more densely packed so it gives more of a controlled blend, I really like this brush for blending deeper shades in my crease. The Sigma e33 has less densely packed bristles so it is good for blending out the edges of shadows without picking up too much product, so the colour concentration isn't compromised.

These brushes are always the ones I reach for every time I want to wear eyeshadow. They're classic transition and crease brushes with a flatter and wider side depending on how you angle the brush and can even be used to pack colour on the lids. (I would recommend only doing that with matte shadows though, the fluffiness of these brushes can pick up too much of the shimmer particles in non-matte shades which takes away the shimmery-ness of your favourite shades.) These are great all rounder brushes so they're some of the ones I always recommend to people who are getting into eyeshadow for the first time. There are not many differences between these brushes other than that the Sigma e27 is smaller than the Sigma e25, the pros and cons of this is that the e27 will give you ever so slightly more precision but the e25 is more versatile as it is better adapted to blend out larger areas.

The Sigma e38 is a brush that I constantly reach for. this is my go to 'big blending out harsh edges' brush i.e. I use this to diffuse out the edges of my shadow. Its very similar to the Sigma e40 but is slightly smaller and therefor suits my hooded eyes better.

The Zoeva 224 has a similar function for me, although it has less densely packed bristles so it doesn't blend out as far as the Sigma e38.

I use the Morphe M421 and Real Techniques pointed liner brush for cream/liquid products as they're great for precision placement so things like cut creases.

I typically uses my ring finger to apply shimmers or more glittery shades on my lid as I find it works better for me but occasionally when I want more precision I use the Zoeva 237 brush

These two brushes are a great combo for creating a smudged out lower lash shadow. The Smashbox Smudger brush has a precise tip which allows for a lot of precision when blending out shadows on the lower lash line. The Real Techniques smudge brush is larger and more fluffy giving a more blown out look than the Smashbox Precise Smudger brush.

One of the most annoying things about having hooded eyes is how difficult doing winged eyeliner is. These two brushes are very useful when trying to create a sharp wing. The Zoeva 317 brush is the sharpest angle brush I own and it the one I always reach for.

The Pro Art Masterstroke miniature brush range are amazing touch-up brushes for liner (and also for concealing!) due to their small size, so they are very versatile.

Thanks for reading!

Charlotte Tillbury is one of those brands I have liked the look of but never felt like I could justify spending the money on. Luckily i received this product as a gift from my lovely boyfriend! I have been curious about Charlotte Tillbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in particular for quite some time now. I remember when it first launched I, like many others at the time, believed it was supposed to be a foundation everyone was confused why Charlotte Tillbury would release a complexion product with so few shades. Although there has been some confusion as to what this product actually is/does, I would personally categorise this product as a highlighter.

Left: blended out swatch and Right: unblended swatch

This product can be used all over the face or as a primer as well but I just use it as a highlighter. This product has such an amazing dewy and glowy look to it and due to the base shades chosen it makes for one of the most untraceable, naturally dewy highlighters I have ever across. I can't detect any shimmer or glitter particles in this formula but incredibly, its super glowy. I have no idea how this product can achieve such a look without shimmer but I am so impressed with this product.

Wearing Charlotte Tillbury Flawless Filter in shade 2 over foundation. Left: with no powder on top and right: after applying powder.

For reference, I tend to prefer highlighter formulas that are glowy with not glittery. Although I know I don't have a lot of texture on my cheeks I am still insecure about it and don't like drawing loads of attention to it. My favourite powder highlighter formula is Becca pressed powder highlighters as I find these to look natural but can be built up without looking too crazy. This product however has just this amazing natural sheen that looks so incredibly flattering on the skin. It's now made it to the top of my list, sharing the number one spot with Becca's Opal.

The packaging of this product feels super luxurious but please keep in mind that the bottle is made out of glass so don't drop it! The good part about it being made of glass is that it's far easier to recycle, so I like that it is not made out of plastic.

Overall I am super impressed with this product and would recommend it to anyone who likes the look of dewy skin. Thanks for reading!