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

Lorac Pro 3 Palette Review

I asked for the Lorac Pro 3 this Christmas and was so excited to find it waiting for me under my Christmas tree! I feel like this palette got practically zero attention when it first came out which surprised me given the popularity of the Lorac Pro 1 and 2 and the Mega Pros.

I only have one other Lorac palette (my beloved 'Unzipped' palette, check my review out HERE!), but was seriously drawn to the Pro 3 because of its beautiful range of neutrals, particularly that gorgeous sandy color, 'Terracotta.' As a student Physical Therapist, my makeup looks at work stay nice and neutral, so I was craving another palette with pretty light neutrals while being a little less basic than my Naked palette.

The Lorac Pro palettes come in a super thin and sleek cardboard packaging lined with a matte soft touch finish. I love the feel of this thing and I like how no frills the packaging is (no wasted space of a brush holder!). The mirror on the inside is not full size, but I rarely use mirrors inside palettes anyway (except for the AMAZING Stila Eyes are the Window Palette). 

The top row of this palette is composed of all matte colors while the bottom row is all shimmers. Lorac wins for the most original shade names ever including 'Pink Nude,' 'Dk. Brown,' and 'Jet Black.' Hey, no judgement here. I appreciate simplicity.  Let me just say that I feel really inspired to do my makeup when I open this palette up. I love that there are multiple options for an all over base color with a ton of options for a crease and transition color. I could do a super warm eye look using clay and terracotta or a cooler look using cool taupe. The shimmer colors also present me with a ton of possibilities for my lid, inner corner, and options to smudge on my lash line.

I'm sorry to say that there are some misses within this palette. I don't like the consistency of the white color 'Blanc' all that much as I find it quite chalky. 'Canvas' and 'Pink Nude' also take a while to build up, but I think the payoff is worth it. The other mattes are easy to work with and leave a fantastic payoff behind. I find these colors are easy to blend and use and the color I was most excited about, 'Terracotta,' is the perfect shade of baby poop brown that I've been searching for. It might not sound that appealing to put on your face, but this color is incredibly flattering for many different eye looks.

Above are the shimmers in the bottom row of the palette and they are beautiful. The biggest miss in this palette is the color 'Medallion,' third color in the bottom row (third from the bottom in this picture). It is a chunky, glittery mess and I'm unsure if I'll be able to make it work on the lid. The deeper shades (upper 4 in the top picture) are truly standouts in texture, pigmentation, and blendability.

After using this palette for about 3 weeks, I've noticed that it can be a bit messy and powdery. You'll have to tap your brush off a bit when dipping into the colors as they are quite finely milled and powdery.  I'll also mention to be careful about layering these shadows on top of each other too much. I have an 11 hour work day and by the end, my shadows have creased a bit on the lid (even over eyeshadow primer). Otherwise, this palette has provided me with exactly what I wanted for my day to day makeup looks while working in a Physical Therapy clinic. I'm inspired in the morning to use this eyeshadow look to create as fun a look I can while still remaining in the neutral and professional zone. I would also recommend this palette for travel due to its fantastic array of colors and sleek packaging.

This palette costs $44 for 12 shadows (0.32g of product total) and includes an eyeshadow primer, and you can find it at Ulta, some Kohl's, and online at Amazon HERE!

What is your favorite Lorac palette?

xxSJ

'The Pretty Palette' by Ciate London

I have one of the sweetest boyfriends in the world! I found this little palette under our Christmas tree  and found out that he scoured my blog and makeup vanity to pick out something that I don't already have and that he'd think I would like. After watching more Youtube beauty reviews than he'd like to admit (love ya, sweetiepie! ;) ), he settled on the Ciate London 'Pretty Palette.' I was so excited to dig into this because I've yet to try anything from this brand and mostly know of them from their nail polish line.

The packaging of this is pretty cool. The petite palette has a holographic cover where the eyes are open or shut depending on your angle of viewing.

Inside are 9 colors, 4 shimmers and 5 mattes. The center color is a great, beige, all over base color with the brand's little logo, a petite bow, stamped into the shadow. I love how simplistic the inside of this palette is and how little space is wasted. There is a full size mirror on the inside lid.

The colors are very neutral and when looking at this palette, I can easily think of multiple looks.

The shadows are all buttery soft with very minimal powdery kick up (which is great considering how close the shadows live to one another in the packaging). I was pleasantly surprised by the gold color (bottom left in the palette, 2nd color from the top in the swatches). It looks like its more of a yellow-green gold in the container so I was happy to find its a wearable, neutral gold. The purples are beautifully pigmented and the burnt sienna color is awesomely pigmented and easy to blend on the lid. The one complaint I have is that there are two very similar colors in the palette. You can see in the swatches that one of the champagne colors is more peachy while the other is more neutral, but I wish they were exaggerated in finish because they are incredibly similar on the lid. It's not the worst color to have a near duplicate of, however! 

 The above eye look was achieved using every color from this palette with the charcoal black color smudged into my lash line as eyeliner.

Overall, I'm so pleased with this palette and think that it's great as an everyday, no thought needed makeup look. I also think this palette would be great for travel. You might have to pair it with additional transition colors or deeper hues if you crave variety, but I think this little palette would totally suffice.

This palette is $35.00 for 0.52oz of product and is available from Sephora HERE!

xxSJ

NARS Audacious Lipstick 'Apoline'

Everybody: gird your loins for the most perfect neutral lipstick in all of creation.

 NARS recently came out with some new additions to their incredible Audacious lipstick line. The color 'Apoline' was calling to me as the most perfect neutral lip color. I couldn't justify the steep $34 price tag for myself, so I bought this pretty lippie for my sister first (does anyone else do this???). She looks incredible in it, so I did the only other thing I could think of to get my hands on this gorgeous product--I asked Santa.
Lo and behold, I was graced by this little guy on Christmas morning. The NARS Audacious line is stunning--housed in a black, soft touch finish case with a magnetic closure, this lipstick with the NARS logo engraved on the side will certainly make you feel luxurious every time you use it.

 This satin finish lipstick is ultra pigmented while being super lightweight on the lips giving you long wear coverage and a super comfortable feel. Apoline is a warm dusty pink that is super flattering on my skin and works well with almost any makeup look.

This lipstick wears for about 4 hours through eating and drinking and softens up my cracked, winterized lips leaving a touchable, bouncy finish behind. This is definitely my favorite lipstick and I'd recommend it to anyone looking to add some luxury to their makeup kit!

Check out my other Audacious lipstick reviews!
Grace and Natalie
Juliette
Claudia and Brigitte

Check out the NARS Audacious lipstick line at Sephora by clicking HERE!

xxSJ

NOTD: Essie 'Viva Antigua!'

Today's NOTD is from Essie's new Summer 2016 collection. The collection is full of bright colors inspired by Rebecca Minkoff's travels to Antigua. Viva Antigua I find to be a pretty unique standout in the collection which is why I selected this one from the bunch. It is a turquoise with A LOT of green in it with gold and turquoise flecks running through out. This stuff is gorgeous in all lighting and is the most perfect formula-2 easy coats to full opacity!

Check this color out if you're looking for a fun addition to your Summer nail wardrobe!
Check out the collection here!

xxSJ

Sample Round-Up! YSL, Tarte, Sephora, Clinique, and Dr Brandt!

This week's Sample Round Up was a super fun one! Here's what I got to try out for free:

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat
Full size price: $42 / 0.1oz
Sample value: $21 / .05oz
I got a ton of use out of this card filled with three different shades of YSL's cult classic Touche Eclat. I actually really enjoyed this stuff quite a bit! I don't think I'll ever be splurging on it strictly because of the huge price tag, but I definitely think this made me look more awake after applying it to my undereyes!

Clinique Even Better Foundation in 05 Neutral
Full size price: $27 / 1oz
Sample value: $10.80 / 0.4oz
I'm lucky I have a pretty decently neutral skin tone so this foundation sample wasn't a complete waste on me. I do think it was a bit too dark for my taste but I did actually enjoy this foundation quite a bit. I felt it gave sheer to medium coverage and I love that it has SPF 15 in it. This foundation wore well for a full day of work on me and I might be interested in color matching to my true shade and purchasing this foundation in the future. I think Clinique prices their foundations well and are a bit less expensive than other high end brands.

Left: my Left undereye concealed with YSL Touche Eclat in No1, Center: both undereyes concealed with YSL Touche Eclat No1, Right: Clinique Even Better Foundation applied to entire face

Sephora Instant Moisturizer
Full size price: $23 / 1.69oz
Sample value: $2.30 / 0.169oz
I really like this moisturizer! It is a bit thicker than my usual Aveeno moisturizer and I think it does an amazing job at smoothing out my face. My skin loves this stuff and I didn't notice any irritation while using it. I would definitely sample this product further.

Tarte LipSurgence in 'Exposed'
Full size price: $17 / 0.27oz
Sample value: $3.15 / 0.05oz
I do not like lip gloss very much anymore and this gloss is no exception. This gloss is ultra sticky and never loses that stickiness with wear. I had to take this off almost immediately because when I went outside on a bit of a blustery face, my hair was getting stuck to my lips and then pulling this product every which direction across my face! The color is a nice neutral dusty pink, but the formula isn't worth it to me.

Dr Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer
Full size price: $45 / 1oz
Sample value: $11.25 / 0.25oz
I really liked this primer and felt it did a great job at smoothing out my pores and fine lines (whatever fine lines a 24 year old has, that is). I also LOVE that the sample is so huge! I surely will get about a month's worth out of this tube of product as I only use enough to go on and around my nose and between my eyebrows which are my real problem areas as far as large pores and old acne scars I want to smooth out. This primer is a nude color and has some slip to it, but nothing like Benefit's Porefessional or the Smashbox Photo primer. I will definitely continue using this sample!

Total value of this week's samples: $48.50

Wowzers! That's a lot of moolah worth of makeup this week and 4 out of the 5 products I enjoyed using quite a bit.  Check out what samples you might have lying around your makeup stash! You might just find something you like!

xxSJ

MAC Eyeshadows: Brule, Malt, Haux....and new MAC Rewards Program!

It's been a minute since I've placed an order with MAC or even browsed their website. I was drawn to their web page after receiving an email from the brand telling me to claim my 'Anniversary gift.' Say whaaaaaaat????  Turns out I joined MAC's new reward program a year ago and its totally legit. At the most basic, bottom tier level, you get a free eyeshadow once a year (your choice of colors in store and online you get a choice from their top selling shadows, a $16 value). While browsing the website, I discovered that MAC offers free shipping to the US with ANY order, no minimum, AND all eyeshadow refill pans are now only $6. I'm guessing this was either done to be more competitive with brands like Makeupgeek ($7 pans) or because MAC is doing a reformulation and is pushing out old stock. We shall see if the new price tag sticks! 

For my free eyeshadow, I chose the satin cult favorite, Brule. It came in a little 'Adore You Reward You' cardboard sleeve. Well done, MAC! I also got pans of the colors, 'Malt' and 'Haux' to pop into my z-palette. I highly recommend pans as they are less cumbersome when you can open a palette full of 12-20 colors and do your whole eye look from there rather than be digging through and opening multiple containers for one look. I do love getting more special colors that I know I'll want to travel with in pot form so I can take my z-palette with my basics as well as my pots of special colors. 

Top to bottom: Brule, Malt, Haux

Brule is a satin shade and is a creamy, bisque color. It is a tanner, yellower, cream shade that I love for packing all over my lid as my base. 'Malt' is a color I got hoping to dupe my current favorite shade in the UD Naked Smokey palette, Combust (more on that below!). Malt is a neutral pink shade that shifts a bit purple orange. 'Haux' is a medium purple brown. 

Above is 'Haux' swatched next to Lorac's Unconditional from the Unzipped Palette and UD Nooner from the Naked 3 palette. It is definitely a more unique color and I've been loving putting this color in my outer V to deepen a neutral eye look. 

Here is 'Malt' next to UD Combust from the Naked Smokey palette, UD Limit from the Naked 3 palette, and Stila Understanding from the Eyes are the Window palette in Mind. Malt is a bit warmer than Combust and a bit less gray, but I think the colors are pretty close. As you can see, Malt is far less pinker than UD's Limit which I think makes it a more versatile transition color.

Here is an eye look I've been doing with just these 3 colors from MAC! I lay Brule down all over my lid and hit my browbone hard for that highlighted effect. Then I buff Malt into my crease and add Haux in the outer V for some extra depth. I tightline my lashes with some brown eyeliner and add some mascara and voila! That's it for a simple, professional look that took all of about 2 minutes. I've also loved adding rose golds, taupes, and pinks to the lid for some extra pizzazz, but just these 3 colors are definitely enough for a complete eye look.

Check out MAC to get a great deal on cult eyeshadow faves! Again, pans are only $6 each right now with free shipping, no minimum!

xxSJ

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

Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 'Victoire'

I received another Dior 5-couleur palette for Christmas this year and I'm so in love! Santa knows that I am on hot pursuit of pretty purple eyeshadows and that my other Dior palette in the color 'Grege' (check out that review here) is one of my go-to eye looks.  I received this luxury palette in the color 'Victoire:'

Stunning. Seriously, stunning. Dior has changed the packaging slightly since I bought my last palette. The casing is slightly thinner and lighter.  It honestly feels a bit cheaper, which is a bit of a let down, but I do like that the palette is a bit sleeker now for traveling or stashing in your purse.  The full size mirror on the inside is plenty sizable for using on the go and the brushes included are a sponge tip applicator and then small duo ended 'brush' of not so good quality. 

'Victoire' is a purple-hued palette that leans cool toned and is really wearable.  I find Dior shadows to be soft to the touch while not kicking up too much powder. I think the pigmentation is perfect for my preferences being that it is easy to layer these products as well as blend them out. 

Here are the swatches on top of UD primer potion. From left to right is top left, top right, center, bottom left, bottom right.  The way the palette is supposed to work is that the top 3 colors work as a trio and the bottom 3 colors work as a trio.  I prefer to just do whatever I want but it is helpful for there to be some method to the madness if you need some direction.  

The top left color is a gorgeous purple taupe that I find quite unique. It is a versatile shade that could be used on the lid or in the crease. The top right shade is an opalescent white shimmer. I like this shade as I think the glitters are quite striking and it works wonderfully as an inner corner highlight. The center shade is a really nice satin grayish plum color that reminds me of a deeper version of colour pop's Bill.  The bottom left is a satin pink color that I was disappointed in when I swatched it, but on the lid I found the color to lean more pink (whereas the swatch appeared very stark white).  The bottom right shade is a stunning matte eggplant shade that I found surprisingly easy to blend and work with despite its high pigmentation.

The eye look I created used all of the colors in this palette. No other shadows were used! I applied the middle shade in my crease as my transition shade and I packed the light pink color all over my lid concentrating on the inner third. The upper left shade was packed on the outer third of my lid and blended a bit into my outer crease for depth.  The bottom right color was blended into my outer v to darken the look up a bit.  I used the white color on my brow bone and inner corner.  I also used the middle color and deep eggplant color under my lower lash line.

I really love this palette as I think the purples inside are easy to work with and very wearable.

These palettes are $62 for 0.21 oz of product.

xxSJ

NARS Audacious Lipsticks: Claudia and Brigitte

My sister completely spoiled me by giving me 2 of the NARS Audacious lipsticks as a present for receiving my white coat a couple weekends ago! These are the newest lip installments from NARS and they are amazing. 

The lippies come housed in a perfectly rectangular metal package with NARS subtly mattified on the bottom.  The container is magnetic so the cap stays securely attached and multiple lipsticks will also stay nice and lined up. I LOVE how neat and clean this packaging looks. Ultra modern and beautifully chic. 

The bullet is housed inside with NARS delicately stamped into the lipstick. This contains 0.14oz of product, which is a bit more than the standard bullet (MAC lipsticks have 0.1oz of product). 

The Audacious line includes all matte shades packed with vibrant pigmentation. The matte formula is surprisingly silky smooth making for easy application that keeps your lips looking soft and supple rather than dry and chapped.

Claudia is a cool pink that is super vibrant. Brigitte is a nude rose that leans slightly coral and is filled with warmth.

I love this pair of lipsticks that my sister picked out for me. These colors alone completely round out my Spring needs for lip color with a cool and a warm pink option.  These lipsticks wear for hours on end with out needing to reapply through eating and drinking and they don't feather around the edges. I noticed that Claudia does not reapply very well since the color tends to build up in an unflattering way. Its best to blot it off first with a tissue to even out the product and then reapply.

I chose to sport Claudia on my lips during my white coat ceremony to add a punch of color to my otherwise neutral outfit! It was perfect and I received a ton of compliments.

I have my eye on the color 'Anna' as my next big purchase, but at $32 a pop, I think I'll wait for a special occasion. These lipsticks have a hefty price tag but you receive some hefty results. Dramatic and bold color while being comfortable and fuss free? Count me in!

Check these colors out at Sephora here: Sephora Audacious lipsticks
Check out my post on NARS Juliette here!
xxSJ