Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette: Swatches and Review

Urban Decay has released yet another palette in their now infamous 'Naked' line of products. This palette, titled 'Naked Heat' boasts flaming oranges, burnt reds, and ashy purples to fall in line with the warm toned trend.

 The packaging mimics its predecessor: the Naked Smoky palette--a nice hard and practical plastic which is easy to clean with a magnetic closure for a satisfying 'snap!' upon closing.
This palette comes housed in a cardboard which slides out to emulate a match box with an image inside revealing an inspiration for the palette's color theory:

 And then we get to the palette itself. The name Naked Heat is stamped on the plastic in a shiny gold. This scratches off easily, but otherwise the pretty plastic is easy to wipe clean and is sturdy for travel. There is really nice plastic detailing housed under the lettering along with warm colors mirroring the shadows housed inside. All in all, a very aesthetically pleasing palette!

 And now for the colors! Like the burning match series of images inside the packaging, the colors get darker in shade as your eye goes from left to right. There are a nice mix of satins, mattes, and shimmers with enough hues for a complete eye look.

 The shadows are all quite smooth with little powdery kick up. The only color I had to work slightly hard to swatch is 'Lumbre,' but after I've used and worked with the color a bit and gotten the first layer of hard compacted pigment out of the way, the color is easier to work with.

 The matte red and purple with deep warm browns were really what drew me into this palette. Orangey tones are complementary to blue eyes so I knew this palette would really compliment me without leaning tooooo red or pink giving me the appearance of illness or a bad case of conjunctivitis.

And here we are all swatched. Something I will say about this palette is it is very easy to go VERY orange with your eye look the second you pop any of the shimmers onto your lid. While this makes a very pretty look (Lumbre spread all over the lid and buffed out and blown out into the crease is the perfect one stop shop eye look) I'd caution someone looking for a nice nude look to steer away from this palette. The darker mattes are very pigmented and buildable and blendable. While not creamy smooth like how some prefer, I think this makes them easier to blend without getting too muddy. Caution with the mattes: overblending can cause them to not be easily distinguishable from one another so take care. The lightest shade Ounce is a brilliantly pigmented wash of satin and I think a real standout in this palette. The lighter mattes (He Devil, Chaser, Sauced, and Low Blow) are warm toned and I think a nice addition to anyone without a hugely substantial warm eyeshadow collection. I've really enjoyed this palette thus far.

If you are okay with experimenting and trying something a little different than your typical neutral brown look, this is one step away from a plain neutral eye while still remaining in the realm of work place appropriate.
Stay to the far left and right for your more neutral eye looks and then dip into the middle area to spice it up (or should I say, HEAT things up?....someone please stop me.).

This palette can be found on Sephora's web site, direct from Urban Decay, and from Ulta!
The palette is sold for $54 for 12 shades at 0.6oz of product total.

Let me know your thoughts on this nice addition to the Naked line!

xxSJ

Naked 3 Review

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in 'Opal'

I recently received Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in the color 'Opal' and have been trying it out with the most skeptical of eyes thinking to myself, can this product really be THAT good? Well, yes, ladies and gentleman. It can be.

Becca's line of highlighters exploded in the past couple of years made famous mostly by Jaclyn Hill on Youtube. These highlighter powders are somehow creamy to the touch and go on your skin effortlessly giving you a luminous and lustrous glow I thought only to be achievable by professional makeup artists on photo shoots. 

The sleek little compact is made of a brown rubberized plastic with a brushed metal top and Becca tastefully stamped into the design. Closed, it looks like a little UFO! Open, it looks like heaven. The compact comes with a large, high quality mirror on one side and is filled with 8g of beautiful product on the other. 

The color Opal is described as a 'golden opal pearl' and I find it has quite a bit of a purpley peach tone to it.  Here is the compact compared to my other powder highlights, Becca's Rose Gold and Mary Lou-manizer by The Balm: 

Top left: Opal, Top Right: Rose Gold, Bottom: Mary Lou-manizer

As you can see, Opal nestles right in between the super light gold champagne color of Mary Lou-manizer and the more vibrant Rose Gold. All three powders are ultra soft and give fantastic color payoff with just a light dusting, but I think Becca's powders take the cake as far as being creamy smooth to the touch. They also last all day on my skin.

L to R: Opal, Mary Lou-manizer, Rise Gold

I recommend this product if you're looking for an amazing highlighter. I think these highlighters are mature skin friendly as long as you have a delicate touch. They will breathe life into dry skin as well as accent dewy skin beautifully.  These highlighters are $38 for 8g of product which is definitely steep, however, keep your eyes on websites such as Hautelook and Overstock.com for when you can find these products heavily discounted!

Check out this product on Sephora's website HERE!

xxSJ

bareMinerals 'The Happy Place' Eyeshadow Quad

I fell in love with bareMinerals eyeshadow formula after trying out the gray toned quad in 'The Truth.' I recently came to own and love another quad of theirs, 'The Happy Place.'

'The Happy Place' eyeshadow quad has 4 shades inside: Peace: a muted apricot, Imagine: a rose gold, Exhale: a smoky taupe, and Euphoria: eggplant.  The shadows are housed in a rubberized plastic container with a full size mirror on the inside of the compact.  A small dual ended sponge tip applicator is also included. The palette is $30 for 0.21oz of product. 

The colors are honestly a dream to play with.  Peace is a lovely transition color to swipe all over the eye area to begin your makeup look or to buff into the crease to make blending easier. Imagine is an INSANELY beautiful Rose Gold/copper color that leans super warm. It warms up my whole face when I put this on! Exhale is a wonderful color to blend into the crease or outer v, as is Euphoria. I was initially worried that this color combination might not go so well together but I had no reason to fret. 

These shadows are easy to blend, easy to apply, and the combo provided to you is full-proof to create an entire eye look with. I can't find a fault in this product! 

Check out this quad if you're looking for a full eye look in one easy to reach for compact. You won't be disappointed in the quality, price, ease of use, or the look you end up creating with these gorgeous colors! 

Check out this palette HERE!

Take a look at my post on 'The Truth' eyeshadow quad here!

xxSJ

Ardency Inn Modster Manuka Honey Enriched Pigment in 'Rose Gold'

The endless pursuit of the perfect rose gold shadow ends here, folks.  Rose gold has been hugely trendy for the past couple years and I've hopped right onto that train from my jewelry to makeup.  I think rose gold is a hard color to get perfect...it can lean too yellow/orange or too pink really easily and miss the happy medium we all lust after.  I saw swatches of Ardency Inn's modster shadow in 'Rose Gold' and knew they had captured the color perfectly.

First of all, I love the shadow's packaging.  The shadow comes in a thin plastic container that is much flatter and sleeker than a MAC shadow. 'H' is printed on the top in a graphic pattern, I am assuming standing for the honey that is infused into the shadow blend.  The brand boasts that they are the first to use honey from the nectar of the Manuka tree in color shadows adding to their creaminess.  The lid opens and closes with a magnetic closure.

As you can see, the color is quite rosey in the pan.  The pan holds 0.06oz of product and will set you back $20. 

I love Rose Gold on me personally because it makes my blue eyes pop. If we chat about color theory for a sec, colors opposite to blue on the color wheel are your yellows and oranges--so for my blue-eyed babes out there, golds, coppers, ambers, and rose golds are what are really going to make your blue eyes pop! 

Above is me wearing this shadow pressed all over the lid and under my lower lash line with some soft warm brown buffed into my crease. My eyes look so blue and almost green!

I found that using your finger and pressing the shadow onto your lid gives much greater color payoff than using a brush. I don't mind this since I intend to use this as a lid color, but just a heads up to any girls out there that don't like kickin' it old school and using your fingers Kindergarten style.... but hey, kindergarteners can be cool as hell so I don't see an issue with it.

Check this color out if you're interested in that perfect rose gold shadow and don't mind dropping some hard earned cash for some quality product.  If you're interested, purchase it if you see it in stock! This particular shade sells out fast!

Check it out at Sephora here: Ardency Inn 'Rose Gold' eyeshadow at Sephora

xxSJ

NOTD: Butter London 'Goss'

Today's nail of the day is Butter London's 'Goss' nail polish. It is a rose gold color that leans a little coppery in tone and I must say this is my favorite metallic polish I have ever worn. I tend to stay away from metallics since I tend to get ridges in my nails and metallic polishes can emphasize the ridges. It's not a cute look at all, but this polish managed to camouflage the ridges more than normal metallics do. 

This polish was also great because it was perfectly opaque in only 1 coat. It dried super fast and somehow the color hid application mistakes quite well so I think this would be a great out the door polish to apply on the run!

Butter London polishes are a luxury polish brand coming in at $15 a bottle. Try this color out if you're looking for a wearable and not distracting metallic rosey hue to sport on your nails this season!

xxSJ

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Powder 'Rose Gold'

Recently I took advantage of my Sephora shopping pass to get a product I've been eyeing for a while but couldn't justify getting on a whim! It is the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Powder in 'Rose Gold.' These pressed powders are known to be the most beautiful highlighters in the makeup world and I just had to get my hands on one to see what all the fuss is about!

The powder comes in a classic compact with brown rubbery casing and a silver top. The compact feels weighty in my hands and snaps closed with certainty. I love that this compact looks like a little UFO! Opening up the compact reveals the gorgeous powder within:

I chose the color 'Rose Gold' to go with my pinky pale complexion. Peachy pinks generally look best on my skin so that is why I chose Rose Gold over the cult favorite 'Opal' which is more of a light gold with opal undertones.  The powder is intensely soft like butter and richly pigmented. There is also a large mirror on the inside of the compact for touch ups on the go. 

The color swatches true to what you see in the pan and as I said, this stuff is pigmented! For a highlighter, I love this so you don't have to build layer upon layer of a product that should really be a finishing touch.  I've been applying this with a small tapered brush to the tops of my cheekbones and down my nose for an extra dewy effect--essential during these dry winter months to bring some life back into my skin!

This pressed powder is $38.00 for 0.28oz of product. I purchased this when I had a $20 off $50 shopping pass at Sephora and I probably wouldn't have splurged with out that extra help. I will say this product is definitely luxurious and I understand the hefty price tag. I will really enjoy this in Las Vegas and on my upcoming cruise for a little extra oomph for my makeup looks!

xxSJ

NOTD: Orly 'Rage'

Orly's 'Rage' nail polish is metallic done right! I love this rose gold polish because unlike other metallics I have used, this polish manages to give the gorgeous metallic, foil-like finish with out highlighting brush strokes, ridges on the nails, and other imperfections. This polish is simply perfection and is my vote for best Rose Gold polish! 

Pretty!
Orly nail polish is pretty cool because it is the same price as OPI, China Glaze, or Essie but you get a lot more product in the bottle! This stuff is easy to apply and lasts chip-free for days. I have found Orly at Bed Bath and Beyond and Ulta for about $8 a bottle.

xxSJ