Warm Berries Makeup Look: Featuring Colourpop You Had Me At Hello Palette

I Purchased This Affiliate Links

Hey everyone!

Today I'm sharing a look I did using the Colourpop You Had Me At Hello Palette. I used to post a lot more makeup looks on the blog in between the reviews so I'm hoping for more this year. I also used the opportunity to try out a few new products (the foundation, highlighter, concealer, and lip). 

Also, the Stila Shimmer and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow are perfect for halo eyes/adding metallic effect to the center of your lids.

Face Products:

Urban Decay Naked Skin One and Done Hybrid Foundation in Medium Light
Makeup Revolution Conceal and Define Concealer in C6 and C8 mixed on the undereye
RCMA No Color Powder
Makeup Revolution Blush Palette in Blush Goddess (the far left blush shade)
Colourpop Super Shock Highlighter in Lunch Money

Eye Products:

Colourpop You Had Me At Hello Palette
Stila Shimmer and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in Grace
Glossier Boy Brow in Black
L'oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Waterproof

Lip Products:


Colourpop Ultra Blotted Lip in Party Wave

What products have you been enjoying wearing lately?

Disclaimer: I purchased everything in this post myself. There are affiliate links in this post, which provide me with a commission based off your use of the links when making a purchase.

Pure Gold Junkie EOTD

I Purchased This Press Sample Gift

In an effort to encourage myself to develop some much needed time management skills (always a necessity for grad school and clinic next semester), I've been developing a positive reinforcement system for all the readings, assignments, and studying I need to do. For each completed task, I can either play a game or work on the blog and for the most part I've been on top of things so I ended up doing an EOTD today.

September is wonderfully light in comparison to the terribleness of October. So if you see me disappear, you'll know because I'm swamped down in journal article readings and paper writing (if anyone has any advice on writing 30 page papers, I need it!)

Products Used:

Milani Eyeshadow Primer
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Pure Gold
Urban Decay Half Baked
Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow as a transition color
NYX Love in Rio Eyeshadow Set in No Tan Lines Allowed (the dark black shade)
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Junkie
Anastasia Lash Genius 
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash (rediscovering this makes me feel terrible because I love it so much but it's expensive!!)

Using the Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Junkie really affirms the fact that I don't like using eyeshadow on the lower lashline anymore. I think I have just a lot of difficulty finding brushes that are simultaneously thin enough yet soft enough to apply eyeshadow in the shape to be whereas eyeliners are so much easier and look so much nicer with minimal effort. Is anyone else weird about using eyeshadows on the lower lashline or is that just me?

Disclaimer: I received the Anastasia Brow Wiz courtesy of the brand. I received the Lash Genius and NYX Love in Rio Eyeshadow as a gift from Generation Beauty 

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box Eyeshadow Swatches and Review

The Nordstrom Rack near my house had a great stash of cosmetics so when I saw this Deluxe Shadow Box, I knew I had to get it. It feels a little bittersweet to review this since I like the eyeshadow formula but it's been discontinued. I haven't really tried out the new regular eyeshadow formula so I'm hoping that it's as good as the deluxe eyeshadows. You can still get this on Urban Decay's website though for only $19.00 (a great value!)

Urban Decay is also on Hautelook* where the Deluxe Shadow Box is being sold for $16.00. You can also get the individual deluxe eyeshadows for $6.00 each!

If you're not into purchasing from Urban Decay, my friend Judi at Judixo is actually giving away this palette. If you like the looks of this, enter for your chance to win at her blog. (click here!) Her giveaway ends on the 8th!

Where to purchase: Urban Decay, Hautelook

Price:  Nine eyeshadows at 1.2 grams/ .04 oz each or 10.8 grams total for $19.00

Cruelty Free? They are cruelty-free.

Packaging: The nine eyeshadows are in a velvet covered case with a magnetic closure. It also comes with two sponge tip applicators. 

You also get a mini Urban Decay Primer Potion but mine was a little dried out.

My Thoughts on the Formula/Wear Time:

I found the eyeshadows to be quite nice, the ones that were the most pigmented and smooth were Peace and Zero. They've got this beautiful metallic sheen to some of the colors too. Compared to the old original eyeshadow formula, they felt a little softer. I don't own any of the deluxe eyeshadows in the singles so I can't compare how similar or different the eyeshadows are in the palette. I was happy to see that Zero wasn't a weak black, it was bold and smooth. Random wasn't as strong as the rest of the colors but it's a little typical of purples; Graffiti also could have been a little more pigmented. I loved that they balanced the brighter tones with colors like Honey, Shag, Scratch, and Underground. 

For $19.00, I don't think you can go wrong by getting the palette. You get 10.8 grams or .48 oz of eyeshadows at a value of about $98.00. At $19.00 now, you're getting an 80% discount basically over the value of the palette.

Swatches

All swatches done dry over Urban Decay Primer Potion. Pictures taken in natural daylight. 

Fishnet: "Iridescent purple"

Honey: "Glistening gold"

Ransom: "Vibrant purple"



Graffiti: "Bright green"

Zero: "Smoking black"

Peace: "Shimmering turquoise"

Shag: "Tan shimmer"

Scratch: "Champagne pink shimmer"

Underground: "Medium fawn"

Final thoughts

This is well worth the $19.00 price tag. I think the eyeshadows are a little softer than their regular formula but I'm not sure how it comapres to their new formula. Some of the colors were unfortunately discontinued when Urban Decay switched over to their new formula. Graffiti and Random weren't as great compared to the rest but were still quite good!

Did you ever try out the Urban Decay Deluxe eyeshadows? If you have, do you know how they compare to the new eyeshadow formula?

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself and I'm not being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and honest. The link marked with an asterisk is an affiliate link that gives me a credit to Hautelook based on your use of the link. The widget at the top of the post is a paid insert from Blogher, it has no relation to the content of this post.

Late Night Duochrome Makeup

I feel like I've been neglecting the blog a bit when it comes to photos of my makeup. Before the New Years Makeup I posted on Monday, it had been three months since I posted an EOTD and two months since a FOTD. School was kicking my butt last semester but this semester should hopefully be more conducive to makeup wearing.

Well, it's a Friday and instead of doing something super exciting, I stayed home sleeping off the Korean BBQ I had for lunch. (Can you say a pound of meat and four pounds of potato salad? I mean it,  Korean potato salad kicks American potato salad's butt. Oh and the pickled cucumbers, I was partially out of it from the amount of meat and I was still shoveling the cucumbers in).

To combat my night in, I had some fun with my makeup and did a one color look using Versicolor eyeshadow from Venomous Cosmetics. It's one of those MAC Club/Too Faced Label Whore types of colors but this one has a redder, more maroon base that I've been enjoying over the more brown-y duochromes.

I also wanted an excuse to show off my hair because I've never been able to have it styled up this high before. My hair adds like four inches to my height it's amazing. Forgive the weirdly stern look I've got on my face, I spent ages trying to capture the fluffiness that is my hair and I think it was represented in my expression. 

and here are some close-up eye pictures

Products Used:

Face:
bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation in Light
Stila Custom Color Blush in Coral
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter

Eyes:
Darling Girl Primped and Primed Eyelid Primer
Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Eyeliner just on the lid and waterline
Venomous Cosmetics Versicolor Eyeshadow on the lid, crease, and blended on the lower lashline
Urban Decay Junkie 24/7 Eyeliner on the lower lashline
Wet n Wild Brulee Eyeshadow as a browbone highlight
NYX Eyebrow Cake in Taupe/Ash

Lips:
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude
Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Flirt

I hope you enjoyed the makeup!

Urban Decay, China, and their Stance on Animal Testing

*Update as of 6/8/12: They have now proceeded to remove the press release I have referenced below in favor of this regarding their company and China. This of course mentions NOTHING about how their products may be tested on animals in the country.

If you want to look up their animal testing policy, this is what you'll see. Note how they stress that THEY as a company do not test on animals and how they say they won't let others do so unless required by law meaning China can do it but we're being vague.

On their website, the PETA and Leaping Bunny Symbol have been removed to reflect their change in stance. I truly don't believe that because Urban Decay isn't doing the testing, they're absolved of the guilt. It really doesn't matter who is doing what, just that Urban Decay is putting their products up for the possibility of being tested and that completely goes against their former stance of "We don't do animal testing...how could anyone?

I don't use all cruelty free products and I know it, but I'm especially disappointed and annoyed at Urban Decay for their greedy change of stance and the fact that they're trying to do a PR spin on consumers as if we're ignorant and don't really see what's going on. I won't stop using the Urban Decay I've got, but I'm certainly considering not purchasing anymore

Though I don't agree with all the organizations that LUSH collaborates with, I can give them props for their position on expanding on China. Do read My Beauty Bunny's post with the excerpt of LUSH's position.*

Though I know that this will just be adding to the multitude of blog posts on the topic (Do check out Phyrra's thoughts!), I still wanted to add in my two cents on the matter.

Urban Decay just posted a release on their change of stance on animal testing in regards to China and I've included it below for your convenience.

"Urban Decay is going to sell our products in China. Because of China’s policies on animal testing, we know that this will not be a popular decision with some of our loyal customers. But the decision is a thoughtful one.

For 16 years, we have been committed to two key causes: women’s rights, and the fight against animal testing. Our dedication to those causes will not waver.

For those of you unfamiliar with China’s policies, the sticking point is this: the Chinese government reserves the right to conduct animal testing with cosmetic products before the products are approved for use by Chinese citizens. The government has not told us if they have exercised this right with our products. So, our brand does not test on animals, but the Chinese government might conduct a one-time test using our products. Do we like China’s policies? No…and that is really the point. Going into China was a huge decision for Urban Decay. But, we believe that change cannot and will not happen by outside pressure alone in a closed market. Change can only happen from within. When we enter the Chinese market, we will do our part to help make those changes.

When we were considering expanding into China, a group of marketing consultants told us to remove the section of our company history that describes our crusade against animal testing. “It doesn’t mean anything to the Chinese beauty customer,” they said. Of course, we refused. Our “no animal testing” policy is part of who we are, and has been since day one. The news that animal issues don’t even register with the average Chinese consumer was one of the biggest factors in our decision to go there. During Urban Decay’s infancy, we worked hard to inform consumers about animal rights in the United States and Europe. The battleground for animal rights is now in China, and we want to be there to encourage dialogue and provoke change.

We also hope to shed some light on women’s rights issues in China. As a company that caters to a female customer, this is extremely important to us. For one thing, going into China is a way for us to advance women into important professional positions. We will help grow the cosmetics industry, which primarily employs and creates career paths for women. Although workers’ employment rights are a relatively new concept there, progress has been made partially because of pressure from businesses, consumers, and advocacy groups from other countries. Based on this, our belief is that both an outside force and inside pressure for change can result in helping transform both the importance of women and animal testing policies in China. And more importantly, we hope to influence the perspective of the citizens on both of these issues.

If we don’t go to China, other companies without our beliefs will, and the culture will never change. We want to encourage a culture of consumers who care enough to buy cruelty-free products, and who view professional women as role models who influence their lives on a daily basis.

Yes, we are a for-profit company. And yes, we would eventually like to make money in China. But we don’t stand to turn a profit in China for quite a while, partially because the market isn’t quite ready to sustain an untraditional brand like ours. If it were only about the money, we would wait a few years. But our foray into this market is also about participating in an amazing time of change in China. We don’t like animal testing (and neither do the 13 dogs in our office), but we are trying to change the world… even if it is one eye shadow at a time! Sitting on the sidelines isn’t our style. We understand that you might not like our decision, but we hope you can respect it.

For any advocates or Urban Decay fans interested, Urban Decay founding partner Wende Zomnir will host a live chat on urbandecay.com to answer questions about our entry into China"

Now I wouldn't consider myself the bastion of good morals on the issue of animal testing because I do use cosmetics from some brands whose mother company conducts animal testing but still though, I find myself really disappointed in their change of stance because I always thought Urban Decay would stick to their guns on the topic and never do animal testing (even if it's being done by proxy in China). I could easily be seen as too cynical on the topic but there's just a part of me that can't exactly believe all that they're saying. I really would like to have faith that Urban Decay are doing it to improve women and animal rights in the country, but I think there are other ways and means to do it.

I feel like they (and other companies) could have exerted pressure on China and other companies within China because they already produce the cosmetics there.I think that since they already manufacture there, isn't it completely possible to negotiate for better salaries and welfare for the employees working in their factories (similar to the way LUSH tries to) and to maintain constant upkeep on that? It sounds way too much of white knight move to say "if we don't go to China, other companies will and the culture will never change" because Urban Decay is already in China, producing and manufacturing their cosmetics! It reeks of colonialism and essentially insulting the Chinese "because they need education" certainly won't accomplish their goals. If numerous human and civil rights groups, NGOs, political pressure etc hasn't brought about drastic change over YEARS of work, how is it that Urban Decay will?

I think I'm just too skeptical of the move. I really would like to know what they are currently doing with improving women's rights in the factories in China that they use. I'm copying and pasting the comment I wrote on Temptalia's post on the press release but I do wonder why not form a coalition with other cosmetics companies to negotiate a pull out of their manufacturing unless the mandate was changed? I do feel like there could have been other alternatives to this. Their release just speaks of PR smoothing over and I don't know if I believe what they're saying.

Added: I had a nice chat with Alyson of Gloss Menagerie and we talked about the question of what their end goal has to be. I mean if they aren't going to make a profit for some time, they aren't necessarily a company that would appeal to the Chinese market, AND they're alienating MANY of their customers, they better have one damn good reason and there's a part of me that doesn't believe it's just to improve women's rights and animal rights in general. Are they intending on trying to end animal testing in China? If so, their statement does reek of colonialism and trying to "educate" the uneducated in China on the issue and I feel skeptical that this attitude will go over well with the Chinese.

What are your thoughts on the change?

Urban Decay Electric 24/7 Eye Pencil Set Swatches and Review

I have a penchant for Urban Decay products but not necessarily paying full price for them. I got this set at Nordstrom Rack on sale for only $18.97 plus tax! If you don't have a Nordstrom Rack nearby, it's available on Urban Decay for $19.00.

The colors available in the set are Perversion, Ransom, Woodstock, Radium, and Junkie. I mainly got this set for Perversion and Junkie because I wanted a deep dark black liner and I had heard that Junkie was a dupe for MAC Undercurrent.

One pass was done to show opacity then a scribble to show off the color. The swatches were done under an Ottlite.

Perversion: This is a super dark carbon black with the slightest bit of sheen to it. It is creamier than the other liners. This was opaque in one pass.

Ransom: DISAPPOINTMENT CENTRAL. It's not very pigmented on its own and doesn't apply well as an upper lashline liner. I got a more pigmented line when I used it on the lower lashline liner or as an eyeshadow base. It definitely needs layering.

Woodstock: This was only a little more pigmented than Ransom. You can use it on the upper and lower lashline as long as you layer it and it works great as an eyeshadow base.

Radium: This was extremely pigmented, nearly opaque in one stroke (though it looks sheerer in my swatch). It works well as an upper, lower, and eyeshadow base.

Junkie: This is the star of the set and I'm so excited that it was included. Not quite opaque in one stroke but extremely gorgeous. If you want a cheaper close dupe, do check out my post on the Revlon Emerald Liner.

Unfortunately, there's just something about my eyes that doesn't like the formula. I have oily lids and my eyes are hooded which is a double whammy against these liners and pencil liners in general. Perversion is really creamy so it's much more prone to transferring than the rest of the shimmery/sparkly liners.

I can't wear the eyeliner by itself because it'll transfer onto my eyelid within an hour (especially with the weather getting hotter). I get the best wear wearing it with eyeshadow primer (I've been using Too Faced Shadow Insurance lately) and eyeshadow. Wearing it with only primer means I get about 4 1/2 hours of wear before I start seeing transfer on my eyelid and that's not nearly long enough for me. I don't set the liner with eyeshadow and instead wear a matte eyelid tone on my lids underneath the liner to help stave off transfer.

Though I LOVE Junkie, I can't say I'll use the rest of the eyeliners much. I do like using Perversion on my lower waterline but I would like for it to last longer (it wears too easily away in the outer lower waterline). I don't think these eyeliners are bad (since they work so well for everyone else), they're just not good for me though I suppose I should have expected as much since I prefer liquid eyeliners instead. and most pencil liners arent friendly with my oily lids If they could come out with a mini set of their liquid eyeliners, man alive would I jump on that!

I have finicky eyelids (hell, they didn't even like the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams and EVERYONE loves that!) so I won't go so far to say that these sucked because I know quite a lot of people like them. If you have the chance, do try them out and scope out your local Nordstrom Rack for the set!

(I'm certainly favoring the excessive use of parenthesis in this review)

Saturday Night Dinner Makeup FOTN

I did up this makeup yesterday because I wanted to see if I could do winged liner with my Urban Decay Junkie 24/7 Liner. It turns out nope, I'm rather poor at doing winged liner with a pencil liner and need the aid of q-tips. Junkie is especially gorgeous though and while I did find a drugstore dupe (blogged about it here!), I still love the look of it.

I wore this out to a semi-awkward dinner with my parents' friends where I was one of two kids there (the other being an 8 year old) and I was craving In n Out while eating fish.

I know it's not officially summer yet but dang it's getting so hot where I live. My room is west facing so it's moderately nice in the daytime but it starts to warms up as the day goes on and sometimes it stays hot. Still though, I could never live anywhere cold so I'll have to suck it up and find the nearest mall to bathe myself in the AC.

Face
Urban Decay Pore Perfecting Makeup Base
Make Up For Ever HD Foundation in 153
thebalm Downboy Blush
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (to contour)

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Urban Decay Junkie 24/7 Junkie Liner

Inglot Eyebrow Powder in 569

Lips
Revlon Colorburst Soft Nude Lipstick

Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Flirt

Drugstore Dupe Alert: Revlon Emerald vs Urban Decay Junkie 24/7 Liner

When I saw this post by Blushing Noir with her swatch of Revlon's Grow Luscious Emerald liner, I thought it might be a viable dupe for Urban Decay Junkie 24/7 Liner. I've been obsessed with Junkie ever since I saw it featured on Mu-Tokki but it isn't available from Urban Decay other than in their Holiday 2011 Electric 24/7 Travel Size Set of 5. While Emerald isn't a perfect dupe, for Junkie, I do think it's close enough though to stave off cravings for the more expensive Urban Decay liner.

A comparison of the two pencils, Junkie on the left and Emerald on the right. Both are in a plastic barrel as opposed to a wooden barrel.

The left scribbly swatch is Revlon Emerald, right scribbly swatch is Urban Decay Junkie. The left single swipe is Emerald and the right single swipe is Junkie.


A closeup of the scribbly swatches. Though it looks like the Emerald is sheerer than Junkie, it actually turns out that Emerald is more pigmented in one swipe when applied on the eyes. Emerald and Junkie have a very similar colored base but the reason that Junkie looks bluer is because Emerald has a higher concentration of the sparkle that makes it appear the slightest bit more green. Though the difference looks quite drastic here, it isn't as prominent when worn on the eyes.

I applied both on my eyes so you could see just how subtle the differences are when worn. Emerald is on the upper lashline, Junkie is on the lower lashline.

I think the two are so similar, but I do like the slightly bluer Junkie. Junkie does have its downsides because it is sheerer in one pass (but can be built up to similar opacity) and can't be purchased on its own quite yet (only in the Holiday 2011 Kit on Urban Decay) so its availability is quite restricted.

Emerald on the other hand is pigmented in one swipe, readily available at any drugstore, $8.99 for .04 grams and often goes on sale (I got it for 40% off this week at Rite Aid). As an added benefit, Emerald is a Grow Luscious liner with a formula that is supposed to "help support healthy lashes" though I don't necessarily give much credence to that. If you don't have a Rite Aid nearby, you can get it on Amazon for about $5!

I usually don't like to wear pencil liners because they transfer a little more easily on my oily Asian eyes when I wear them on my upper lashline (which are slightly hooded). The Revlon liner makes no mention of wear time which was troubling at first because I thought it meant that it would have virtually no wear time. It turns out though that it fared quite similarly to the Urban Decay 24/7 liner on me (your mileage will definitely vary, it always seems like the products that last amazing on everyone is less impressive on me because of my eye shape)

With or without primer (I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance), both lasted about 4 1/2 hours before I started seeing the slightest hint of transfer on my eyelid (and I do mean the slightest hint, I was looking hard). Wear time is much better if I wear eyeshadow underneath the liner (over 8 hours).

I hope you guys found this post useful! Thank you so much to everyone wishing me luck on my finals :D I managed four A's and one B this semester (the 2nd B I've ever gotten in college) and I may or may not have rewarded myself with a Fyrinnae order that I'll be posting about tomorrow :X (I had a gift card from Klout so really, I didn't pay anything out of pocket!)

Hustle and Sin FOTD

I've been trying to shop my stash more in order to stave off the urge to buy more eyeshadows (though I'll admit, I did make a small Fyrinnae order with a gift card I got from Klout so really that didn't cost me anything). I rediscovered my Naked Palette and went to town with it.


I didn't like any of the close up pictures with my eyes open so here are a bunch with my eyes closed. I really like how I did the liner this time around because it started from the middle of the lid instead of going all the way to the inner corner.







Face
Make Up For Ever HD Foundation 153
Too Faced Sun Bunny Bronzer

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Urban Decay Sin on the inner half of the eye
Urban Decay Toasted on the outer half of the eye
Urban Decay Toasted and Hustle in the crease
Urban Decay Naked and Virgin on the browbone
Physicians Formula Eye Booster Liner in Deep Brown
Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Liner on the waterline
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express WP Mascara in Glam Brown

Lips
MAC Hot 'n' Saucy Tendertone

Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box Swatches and Review

I've been working towards perfecting my swatching style and I'm at a point where I'm really happy with how they've been turning out so everything I own is basically going through a swatch treatment. In an earlier post, I talked about how I've been redoing a lot of my old swatches and so if you check out the "Indie Swatches" and Mainstream Cosmetics" links under my Directory, you can see all of them (and the ones that have been redone will have an update notice next to it)

Anyway, I decided to swatch my Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box that I got from my sister a few years ago. It's actually still on the Urban Decay site but not available on Sephora's site anymore and retails for $36.

YDK, Flipside, Grifter, Uzi, and Twice Baked

YDK: This is a metallic taupe bronze. Probably my favorite color in the entire palette because it applies so well.

Flipside: This is a teal with a strong blue sheen. I really liked the look of this in the pan but the blue sheen came out too much for me. It's soft but I found myself needing to pack it on a bit.

Grifter: This is a pale pink lilac with tons of silver glitter. I had to really pack it on to get a good swatch and the glitter is just everywhere.

Uzi: This is a white with large glitter. I don't think I need to say anything, my swatch says it all.

Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Flash, Oil Slick, Kiddie Pool, and Half-Baked

Midnight Cowboy Rides Again: A golden pinky beige with tons of glitter. I love the base color but I don't really like the glitter fallout

Flash: A bright iridescent purple. I loved the look of it in the pan but I sometimes have trouble getting it to show up fully on my lids.

Oil Slick: A black with silver glitter. It's a pretty basic color!

Kiddie Pool: A light blue with tons of glitter. In the swatch, the glitter doesn't show up that well but the base color is so gorgeous to wear.

Half Baked: A metallic, slightly orangey, bronze. A staple and a favorite of mine with good texture and pigmentation.

For the most part, I only really liked YDK, Twice Baked, Half Baked, and Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (despite the glitter). The rest was either meh in pigmentation or just a basic color that I already had. I do like Urban Decay eyeshadows but I very much dislike how they keep putting chunky glitter in them!

What has been your favorite Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palette?

Disclaimer: I received this as a gift from my sister. All opinions are my own.

Urban Decay Naked Palette Swatches and Review

To put it simply, this palette is awesome and it makes me feel like I'm cheating Urban Decay out of their money. 17 full sized eyeshadows, a mini primer potion AND a shadow brush would retail for $236 but we get it for $48. All of the eyeshadows have amazing pigmentation and texture.


The inside of the palette


and a closeup of the brush included. I actually thought it did quite well applying the eyeshadows on. I think it might work well as a brush for concealer too.


I like the primer potion but I sort of wish there was a way to attach or keep the primer potion with the eyeshadow palette. I know it probably wouldn't be feasible with the Naked 1.0 palette but I know the Naked 2.0 palette is in a tin and I'd like to think it wouldn't be too difficult to leave a space for the lip junkie that comes with the Naked 2.0 palette.

Onto the swatches! These were done over Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Matte Primer and in daylight.

From left to right, Virgin, Sin, Naked, and Sidecar


Virgin: This is a cream colored beige. It is frosty so I don't know if many people would like to wear it as a browbone color but it's nice as an inner corner color. I personally think the "white in the inner corner" look is overdone and this is a nicer, less stark alternative to the look.

Sin: It's an extremely metallic light pink. This is one of my favorite shadows by them to wear and it's not overly warm like the rest of the palette.

Naked: This is a light brown matte nude. I had to layer it a bit heavily because it matched my skin color so well that you couldn't see it. This is my new favorite color to use on the browbone.

Sidecar: This is like a medium pink toned brown with gold glitter. It's got a bit of a gritty feel to it because of the gold glitter, but it isn't fallout city the way Midnight Cowboy and the other glittery shades are.

From left to right, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, and Darkhorse


Buck: This is a darker, slightly red toned matte brown. This was a little smoother in texture than Naked and I think it'd work well as a transition shade between a bolder color and the browbone highlight.

Half Baked: This is a high metallic slightly orangey bronze. Applied excellently and is one of my favorite colors.

Smog: This is a deeper brown bronze with a golden sheen. Another one of my favorite colors to wear since the gold pairs so well with my skintone.

Darkhorse: This is almost a dirty dark brown with a gold sheen to it that I wasn't able to properly capture on camera. This makes me think of a rock and roll smoky eye.

From left to right, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, and Gunmetal

Toasted: This is a medium pink brown that would go well with Sin. I like that there's another pink shade included in the palette and I liked this shade.

Hustle: This is a brown that looks a little bit purple to me? Not sure if I like it but it's got a good texture to it.

Creep: This is a not so black, black. I haven't been wearing black eyeshadow much, not in the crease or on its own but I thought this was just okay. I've had better black eyeshadows.

Gunmetal: This is a gunmetal grey with silver glitter, as simple as that.

I can't see myself using Creep or Gunmetal as much as I'll use the other shades, but that's personal preference. I absolutely love the texture of everything, love the quality, and the variety of shades. I don't think I'll be picking up Naked 2.0 because I think this palette looks so similar and it doesn't seem worth it to get both in the end.

If you own this palette, how do you feel about it? Are you going to get Naked 2.0?

Winged Out Sin EOTD

Here's a look I did with the Naked palette that I got from my sister. I didn't intend on having thick liner at the end but I messed up my liner and so improvised the shape a bit. After swatching and using the Naked palette, I've got to say I understand the hype.

This palette seems to be the favorite of many youtubers and bloggers, even more so than the Naked 2.0 palette. This extremely fits my neutrals funk. I could say that I was all set for neutrals for life, but I know I'd just be deluding myself.


I didn't take any closed eyes pictures so I'll make do with this half open half closed eye. On the bright side, the liner looks good at this angle.


Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original
Urban Decay Virgin in the inner corner
Urban Decay Sin on the center of the lid
Urban Decay Toasted in the outer corner and slightly in the crease
Urban Decay Naked in the browbone
Physicians Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner in Deep Brown
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express WP Mascara in Glam Brown
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara (Am I the only person not liking this mascara? I imagined that it was going to give my bottom lashes a lush, even, and full look but I think it makes my lashes clump together, making them look spindly!)

Do you own Naked 1.0? How about Naked 2.0 or both? Any thoughts on the palette?

Urban Decay Loose Eyeshadow Swatches and Review

I didn't realize that I didn't do swatches of the Urban Decay Loose Eyeshadows I had until I won a couple more. The loose eyeshadows are discontinued but if you swap or find them on Ebay, you should definitely pick them up as long as they're not full priced.

From left to right: Asphyxia, Graffiti, Gunmetal, Shag, Shattered, Smog

Swatched over ELF Mineral Eye Primer

Asphyxia is a fuchsia with a purple pearl. It reminds me of MAC Pink Pearl Pigment. It had the worse texture, sort of flaky and reminescent of MAC Rose pigment which makes it difficult to apply.

Graffiti is a bright grassy green.

Gunmetal is a gunmetal grey with a lot of silver sparkle.

Shag is a pink toned tan. Definitely liked this as a wash over my lids. A little more pink toned in real life.

Shattered is a frosty aqua, a little more green toned in real life.

Smog is a darker bronze brown with a golden sheen.

For $17, I think Urban Decay was just setting itself up for failure. You only get one gram of product packaged very inconveniently. I'm very glad to have gotten them on sale and in Utopista's giveaway because I can't imagine having paid $102 retail.

As a nice bonus, here's a picture of the aftermath of depotting.

Gunmetal of a Smoking Gun EOTD

I've really been into doing winged liner so here's a EoTD using Darling Girl's Smoking Gun and Urban Decay Gunmetal. On a quick note, I'm happy happy because I got my oath ceremony letter in the mail today meaning I'll soon be an official US Citizen :)

I really like Smoking Gun because it's sort of a silvery taupe but it's got a red flash to it which makes it stand out from other taupes.

Eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Darling Girl Cosmetics Smoking Gun all over the lid
Urban Decay Gunmetal Loose Eyeshadow on the outer half of the lid, over Smoking Gun
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara

Physicians Formula Eye Booster Liner in Ultra Black
Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner in Mink Brown for the brows

Oh Fiddlesticks! EOTD

My Aromaleigh order was in the hands of USPS and taking its sweet time to get to my house so I wanted to use the Aromaleigh I had before I got my full size jars. I decided to use Fiddlesticks, a super pretty pinky cocoa brown with blue glitter.

Open eye picture. I tried to do the winged eye liner a little bit differently than I have before.

And a closed eye picture.

Eyes:
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Urban Decay Loose Eyeshadow in Shag on the inner 1/3rd
Aromaleigh Fiddlesticks on the middle 1/3rd
Urban Decay Loose Eyeshadow in Smog on the outer 1/3rd
Physicians Formula Eye Booster Liner in Ultra Black
Wet n Wild ColorIcon Eyeliner in Mink Brown

Lips:

Evil Shades Hardcore Lips in Deception