Naked 2 Urban Decay Palette review!

So, I finally broke down and purchased this palette: Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette. This is the second palette of this type, and as many people have written, the first one had more gold/neutrals, and these colors are cooler/neutrals. I have to say, the packaging is very nice. It's sturdy, has nice big mirror, and I didn't photograph it, but it comes with a pretty nice brush. It's double ended. One end is a flat eye shadow brush that pats the shadow into place and the other end is for blending.

Now, the colors! For the most part, this palette doesn't disappoint. I'll go in order from left to right. Unfortunately, the first color is the worst color in the palette. It's called Foxy. Foxy is a bright yellow that I'm sure is intended to be a base color...but it is like invisible dust. It really bugs me because the rest of the colors are SO great and this one just does NOT go on hardly at all, it's shocking. Half Baked is the next color, it's a nice shimmery, gold color that is very pigmented, typical quality shadow by Urban Decay, so very good. The next color over, Bootycall, is a goldy, pale, pink color. It's slightly shimmery and it's great for the inner corner of the eye, for highlighting the brow bone, etc. 

Chopper is the next color over, and it's a color I have in another palette, and I really like it. It's a nice shimmery, copper, brown that applies beautifully. The next color, Tease, is maybe my favorite color...no, second favorite. It's the only other matte color in the palette and it's just perfect as a base for your crease or if you want to do a more subtle crease. I like to put this in my crease, blend it and then go over it with a more dramatic color, but blending this first gives your dramatic color smokey edges. Good stuff. Snakebite and Suspect are very similar colors, one is slightly goldy and the other is more silvery brown. They're both lovely. 

Pistol, the next color over, is a gorgeous, deep, shimmery gray color and next to it is Verve which is a great, pigmented silver that can be used for your lid, the corners of your eye, etc. YDK is a gorgeous shimmery brown that I LOVE to use with Busted, the next color over. Busted is my favorite color because it is a cooler brown, but it also has some red and purple in it. It also applies gorgeous. Blackout is a matte black that is great. Every palette should have a matte black and a matte brown and this one does and they're both great.

This is a WONDERFUL palette, especially if you're into shimmery, neutral color. My ONLY complaint is that there are only 3 matte shades. For neutral eyes, matte colors are better, especially if we're calling this the "Naked" palette, BUT it's okay because the colors are great and so is the packaging. 

E.L.F cosmetics! MUST READ for bargain cosmetic hunters!

Hello, my gorgeous, makeup applying fans! So, I've been dreadfully busy with Bombshell Baby, but a week or so back I had placed an order from E.L.F cosmetics and completely forgot about it because I got slow shipping, and it was so incredibly cheap that I wasn't like, "WHERE DID $200 GO out of my account?!" I was so pleasantly surprised today when the package came and there was just an ENORMOUS amount of makeup inside it. Just to put this into perspective...I got 30 things for under $50. Now, let me explain. E.L.F cosmetics is an online only makeup store and they normally have things for $3-$4, and then they even have a line of things for $1. Last week they were having a 50% off sale...so...that's how I got so many things for SO LITTLE.

I had been really skeptical about purchasing from them because none of the "makeup gurus" I watch on youtube have done big E.L.F hauls, but many others have and normally they'd find a few things they liked but it wasn't always spectacular, but when I saw that they were having this insane sale, I just had to go for it. It's a lot of stuff, and I haven't tried it all yet, so I'll start with a few items that caught my eye and review more in the coming days.

I have to say, I like all the lip glosses, besides a fuchsia one called "Funky Fuchsia," which just smells like awful, dentist, bubble gum stuff, but all the other lip glosses are really great. I got a one from the "Pout Perfecter" line called "Miami, which is sort of like a NARS orgasm gloss dupe. I got a "Glitter Gloss" in "Dazzling Diamond," which I like, but maybe not as a lip gloss. I HATE chunky glitter in lip glosses. I think it's weird, but...I might try and use it to set eye shadow...hmmmmm. And then this fuchsia stuff...blegh. The color is fine, but the smell is just so gross. See, this is what I mean, sometimes E.L.F stuff reveals itself to just be not well made, but sometimes you luck out. I also got one of their "mineral glosses" in "Au Naturale," which is actually pretty similar to the "Miami" color I got, but they were $1.50 at the sale price, so I can't complain.

Onto a few more lip products. I purchased one of their "mineral lipsticks," but I'd have to do more research to find out if any of this stuff is actually made with minerals. It's a great color though, called "Natural Nymph," which reminds me of a MAC lipstick called "Myth," which I like a lot. It's creamy and pigmented. I also got two of the Matte lip color sticks, which I really like. The nude color I got called "Nearly Nude," is really nice and simple, does what it's supposed to. The red color "Rich Red," I'd be more interested to see how that lasted throughout an evening...will update, but it's very nice. I also got one of the $1 (50 cent during the sale) lipsticks, but again, it smells awful, will not be using that one.

The last product I will talk about is this concealer pencil I got. I was fiddling around with it for a bit, and I decided I like it. I don't know if I'd use it every day, but maybe I might if I was in a rush or wanted to try something different. A few companies have these "concealer pencils," like Urban Decay, Art Deco, etc. At first I was apprehensive, but they all seem to have found a way to make the pencil creamy enough that it blends well. I will say that this E.L.F pencil is the least easily blended, but here's why it's cool. The cap for the pencil is ALSO a sharpener! (LOVE!) Also, the other end has a blending brush, which actually seems like pretty good quality. It's a little too small, but I'm into it. I was NOT completely disappointed in this product.

So, to end this long post, a few facts. E.L.F is CHEAP and they do a LOT of sales. If you are tentative, as I was, you can sign up and get emails about different sales, or wait for the really enormous sale to come along. They have improved their packaging recently and have copied brands like NARS and Bare Minerals, and it definitely makes the products more appealing. Give it a shot. I don't know if I'll buy more of this stuff, but I'm glad I did. I will write about my other 20 purchases in the coming days. Eye shadows, cream liners, shimmer palettes, pigments, and falsies, OH MY!

Various NARS products: review

Hello, my gorgeous, makeup applying fans. I don't know why, but I have a SERIOUS weakness for NARS. I don't know what it is. To be honest, it is nowhere close to my favorite brand, I am often disappointed by their eye shadows and it's overpriced...but I can't stop stocking up on NARS! I don't know if it's the sleep packaging?! Or maybe it's the names they choose...there's a blushes called "Deep Throat," "Orgasm," "Striptease," etc...do these names just make me feel so dirty in the best possible way? I don't know, but I have so much NARS in my makeup case.

I wrote a post a while back about how I'm often disappointed with their eye shadows. I find them chalky or impossible to work with. Their glitter eye shadows make no sense...they're like hard...and look like frozen ice cone...anyway...I DO like their lip and face products though. One of my favorites is a highlighter they sell called "Albatross." It's a pale white/yellow that I just find really flattering. It glows in the pan and on your face. I also got the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation which I haven't tried yet, but will review once I do.

I also got a BUNCH of different lip products. I am very into a nude lip and went a little nuts buying some nude lip products. I got 2 lipsticks. One is called "Promiscuous," which is just a sheer, shimmery, beige color. I would have preferred for it to be more pigmented, it's TOO sheer. Too bad because it looked promising in the store. "Honolulu Honey" is a similar color, but a matte finish and I actually really like this one. It has enough pigment, it's subtle and looks even better with the "Spring Break" gloss I got over it. I LOVE this gloss. It is PERFECT. I don't love gloss with big glitter particles in it. I prefer a slight shimmer and this is perfect because it's beige with a gold shimmer in it. LOVE! Highly recommend this product. This is part of their new "Larger Than Life" gloss line. It's just gorgeous. I also got the "Albatross" gloss, which I LOOOOVE as well! It's the same pale white/yellow color as the highlighter. I just love it, it might not be for everyone though.

I also got two of these "Velvet Matte Lip Pencils," one in "Belle de Jour," a nude and "Cruella," which is red. I don't know if I'm all about these jumbo lip pencils. I reviewed a NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil that I really liked (for a 4th of the price) that was very pigmented and blended well. Even though I love the color, the shimmery nude one just wasn't enough for me. The red one is fine too...I don't know, I wasn't thrilled with these at all, was mostly just curious. 

NYX Haul: Makeup Review

Hello, gorgeous fans! So, I got VERY excited today because a cosmetics store that just opened by my house carries NYX! For those of you who don't know, NYX is a relatively new brand that is the token brand of RuPaul's Drag Race. It is a low priced brand that has some fabulous stuff. I recently reviewed the Jumbo Pencils, and today I got some other stuff.

I'll start with the eye shadow palettes I got. I purchased one Triple Eye Shadow set with Nude, Taupe and Dark Brown (TS03). The nude color is really wonderful, and is found in many of their more neutral palettes, which is nice because it's a color I personally like to use a lot. It is mostly matte, but has a slight shimmer. The Taupe has a slight shimmer to it, which I like. It looks really beautiful when blended with the Dark Brown in the set, which is matte. Good Triple Eye Shadow set ($7, good deal!). The only thing I don't like is the cheapo applicator that comes with it. It ruins the presentation, which is nice.


I bought two more neutral eye shadow palettes, because I was running out of all my neutral colors, oddly enough. NYX has this "Caribbean Collection" right now, which is 5 eye shadows for $9. GOOD deal, especially because they're good shadows. The first one is "I Dream of St. Kitt"(ESP5C03), which is a more silvery neutral palette. It has that nude color in it that I like so much, a more orange-brown color, a brown with silver glitter in it, a matte white and a silvery dark brown. The nude color, is again, great. The organgy brown color isn't my thing, but is totally usable. I love, love, love this brown with the tiny silver shimmers in it. It's so pretty. The matte white is a good matte white, and the silvery, matte brown is wonderful too. Again, don't like the cheap applicator that comes with it, great palette though.

The last palette I bought (also $9) is the I Dream of St. Marteen (ESP5C02). This one has more godly colors in it. I know it might seem silly that I got both of those SORT of similar palettes, but I like the subtle difference in undertones. Anyway, this has a warm, dark brown, a gorgeous goldy taupe color, and light, shimmery brown, that nude, which I love and am happy to have more of, and then a really great, bronzy color. Again, this palette is great, I think all the colors are very usable and can easily blended together etc.

Last, but not lease, I bought a jumbo lip pencil, in almond. I've been intrigued by the idea of a creamy, jumbo lip pencil and have seen other brands do them, but was hesitant to spend $20 on one. These are $4.50 and they work really well with a catch. Do NOT apply them using them like a pencil. I did that and it applied terribly and I was like, "Huh?!?!" So I took it off and reapplied with a lip brush and it looked lovely. This color actually goes on SO neutral and not orange at all, which is exactly what I wanted, especially for summer. Anyway, NYX is great, and half, if not a third of the price of other brands, so check it out!!