2014 Holiday Beauty Gift Picks – Palettes

With the holidays coming up, and many sales underway and upcoming, it’s time for a holiday gift guide! Not sure what to grab? Overwhelmed by the choices? Or trying to find the perfect gift…? Here are my palette picks for holiday gifting– or for treating yourself, of course.

palettearray1

#1. Urban Decay’s Naked Palettes (1, 2, and 3) – honestly any of these palettes is a solid bet. The first one leans warm, the second leans a little cooler, and the third is rosy. Of the three, Naked 3 is probably the most unique. However, all three are worth owning and would make any neutral shadow lover very happy! The Urban Decay Naked, Naked 2, and Naked 3 palettes are each $54, available at Beauty.com.

#2. Clinique A Black Honey Affair Palette – I haven’t seen a whole lot of buzz about this palette, but I think it’s a great holiday gift option. It contains 8 shadows in neutral and cool complementary shades, all inspired by Clinique’s black honey lipstick. Clinique’s shadows have been reformulated and are smooth like buttah. – $39, Sephora.

#3. Make Up For Ever Artist Palette – MUFE’s gel-powder formula shadows are smooth and pigmented, and this palette is a true stunner. It contains 8 gorgeous shades ranging in neutrals to jewel tones, along with a steely deep grey to create smoky looks as well. This little palette also skips those ridiculous foam applicators and includes a couple of mini brushes instead. You’re welcome. – $42, Sephora & Frends Beauty. (Note, as of the time I’m writing this post the palette is sold out at Sephora, but you can call or email Frends and order it from them. Hooray!)

#4. Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette – The Chocolate Bar palette has 16 beautiful shades (and I love when palettes have the highlight/blending shades bigger than the rest…so practical). As a bonus, the Chocolate Bar palette not only looks like a chocolate bar on the outside, it smells like one on the inside. That’s because the shadows actually contain real cocoa! – $49, Beauty.com.

Maybelline The Nudes Palette Review

IMG_3547

Maybelline’s The Nudes palette is a 12-pan eye shadow palette chock full of beautiful neutrals. It’s thoughtfully configured into duos, trios, and quads, and even has suggestions on the back of the palette for how you might use the shade in an eye look.

IMG_3544

IMG_3545

IMG_3546

The Pros

  • Nice array of colors and finishes.
  • Great value – 12 shades for $10-$15 depending where you buy.
  • Tons of different ways to use each shade.
  • Included suggestions on how to use the colors.
  • Simple, lightweight packaging that is easy to open/close and store.

The Cons

  • There’s some inconsistencies between the shades – not all the shades are really pigmented.
  • Texture-wise, they’re not the worst shadows I’ve ever used, but  I had some difficulty blending, and they were not quite as smooth as I would like.
  • Some of the more shimmery shades have a LOT of fallout. Do your eyes first, then foundation!

 

I tried Maybelline’s The Nudes palette with a few different eye primers, and by itself. I got the best results when I wore it with NARS Smudge-Proof Eyeshadow Base or Urban Decay Primer Potion. I would suggest using a primer that gives a smooth canvas for easier blending rather than a sticky base like a MAC Paint Pot or NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil. Wear time for me usually isn’t an issue since I have dry skin, but without any primer at all I did notice some slight fading at the end of the day. I was still impressed because ‘end of the day’ means I’ve had my shadows on for a good 12 hours.

The price of this palette varies depending on where you get it. I’ve heard as low as $9.99 at places like Ulta and Target but I’ve also heard closer to $14.99 at CVS. I would suggest waiting til one of those 40% off sales or using coupons to get this even cheaper if you’re interested. Ulta currently has it for $9.99 and eligible for their BOGO 1/2 off sale.

Since there are so many great neutral palettes out there (both high and low end), I can’t say this one is a must-have. It’s certainly a nice addition to my collection though since I’m a neutral nut.

 

March Beauty Favorites

beautyfavvies

Those of you following me on Twitter/Instagram know that I am on the brink of moving house. In fact, I am moving this coming Friday! Because of that, almost all of my stuff is packed already. Including my makeup. I’ve been living out of my makeup bag recently.

First, what bag do I use? It’s the super awesome set bag by The Kim Greene Line. The 2nd edition Essential Bag, in pink. It holds a TON of stuff. This bag is my life right now. :) It holds more than the items I’ve been using/am blogging about this month, believe it or not! Sometime I’ll do a “what’s in my makeup bag” post, but these are the creme de la creme. ;)

Complexion

My usual foundation if I am going to wear any is Urban Decay Naked Skin. This stuff is so flawless. I love it. It actually comes light enough for my pale ass self (I wear shade .5!), and it feels weightless once it’s on. My bottle is almost empty, and I’ve already made sure I have a second one to start using as soon as I unpack it. It’s a little on the pricey side, but one bottle will last quite a while since a little goes a long way! ($39, Sephora)

Along with the UD foundation I have been wearing Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Skin concealer in shade Y0. It’s perfect for spots as it blends naturally and wears like iron. Win! ($20, Sephora)

Cheeks

This month’s cheek looks can pretty much always be attributed to The Makeup Show LA and NARS. Both of my favorites are NARS products and I got both of them at The Makeup Show. I’ve been using the new Contour Blush in Paloma ($42, NARS), the lightest shade for contour & highlight. For a color, I am in love with the new blush shade “Love” ($30, NARS). It’s like a non-shimmery Deep Throat. Let’s be honest though, I’ve never met a NARS blush I didn’t like. As per usual, the gals at the NARS booth at TMSLA were very supportive of my crazy NARS addiction very helpful in helping me make my purchases.

Eyes

Since I still get up at the crack of dawn (just a few more days of that! yay!), my eye makeup has been pretty simple. I like the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette because it’s completely idiot-proof, no-brainer eye makeup. I go over the lid with Naked 2, the crease and/or outer V with Faint, and highlight with Walk of Shame. Boom. Done. Sometimes if I wanna get fancy I will do the crease with Faint and the outer V with a mix of Faint and Creep (mostly Faint, little tiny bit of Creep). I can line my eyes with Creep or Faint, so then all I have to do is add mascara and I have a complete eye look with one little palette. Seriously, it might be basics, but they’re AWESOME basics. ($28, Sephora)

I’ve also been sort of addicted to the Make Up For Ever Aqua Color  in 20E. It’s a pinky taupey basic BROWNISH shade with shine/shimmer finish. It’s one of those shades you can just pop over the lid, blend out, and be DONE with it if you want to. And I have, many times. Or other times I’ve incorporated it into a Naked Basics look to add a little ‘oomf’ to the mattes in that palette. ($20, Sephora)

You all know from my review that I am madly in love with the Kevyn Aucoin lash curler. I’ve been using it every day. Want more info? Read my review. ;) ($21, Nordstrom)

Also getting lots of love and previously reviewed? Maybelline The Rocket mascara. LOVE LOVE. Still love. I haven’t loved a mascara this much since I tried that ungodly-expensive Hourglass Film Noir. And Maybelline is MUCH friendlier on the wallet! Check out my review. ($6.99 at Drugstore.com)

Also at The Makeup Show LA, I picked up another Senna Sketch-a-Brow. Brows you can literally throw on in 5 seconds? Yes please. This time I’m actually wearing the shade “Blonde”, which is not too light. It’s just more ashy than the Brunette shade. I’m always really impressed with how these pencils wear, too. They wear like iron! A very important quality in an eyebrow pencil, I say.

Lips

I have been living in 3 shades of Revlon ColorBurst Balm Stain virtually non-stop all month. They’re really hydrating, and the color does leave a light stain. Moreso for the brighter colors, but even for the lighter more neutral colors too. The three I’ve had in rotation are Sweetheart, Honey, and Precious. Sweetheart is a bright bright pink. This one is the most staining of the three. Honey is a rosy pink. Precious is a pinkish beige nude. ($7-$9 depending on the drugstore you go to, $8.99 at Drugstore.com)

So those are my favorites… what are yours?

Best of Brand – Urban Decay

bestofurbandecaytitle

Since Urban Decay’s Friends & Family sale ends at midnight tonight, I’m offering up my top picks from the brand! If you haven’t decided about hauling, perhaps something here will catch your eye. ;) Just as a reminder, the code is FFHOLIDAY13 for 20% off everything at Urban Decay!

[Read more…]

Sephora Bobbi To Go Palette

bobbi6

I’m taking a break from the Monday Mashup this week because I got SO excited when I saw this new Beauty Insider perk from Sephora! I typically do not cash in my points, but this new “Bobbi To Go” 500-point perk grabbed my attention so much that I made an order for cotton rounds ($4) in order to cash in my points and get this perk. Don’t judge me. I actually did need the cotton rounds, and with the Flash shipping it was worth it. ;)

The kit includes a mini palette, a sample of mascara, and a sample of eye cream. I haven’t tried the eye cream or mascara yet, but I had to dig into the palette the very next morning after it arrived!

Let me preface my thoughts & swatches with reminding you this is a Bobbi Brown palette. Bobbi Brown is not known for having bright, vivacious colors. I typically do my makeup pretty naturally, and I like Bobbi Brown. If you are more into Sugarpill, Urban Decay, etc. you probably wouldn’t be interested, but I really like my Bobbi! I have several of her other palettes.

bobbi1

Here she is. It’s definitely a mini – roughly the size of a credit card.

bobbi2

The palette contains 1 blush, 4 shadows, and 1 mini brush. The brush is kind of floppy and would be useful for blending but not placing shadow or forming shapes, in my opinion.

bobbi4

The blush color included is called Pale Pink. It’s from the regular core line and can be purchased in a full size for $25. Unlike the name would imply, it’s pretty bright!

bobbi3

The 4 shadows. They’re pretty tiny, but great neutral colors. Clockwise from the top right they are Heather Mauve Shimmerwash, SaddleMahogany, and Bone. All of them are available in the core line for $21 each, however Saddle is not yet available on Sephora’s website.

bobbi5

Here are the colors swatched. The Pale Pink blush is quite pigmented. Bone does have pigmentation but it pretty much matches my skin so you can barely see it right below Pale Pink. Heather Mauve shimmerwash is a shimmery taupe. Mahogany is a dark ashy brown. Saddle is a dark matte brown that also leans toward ashy rather than warm.

I’ll admit the mattes do not swatch well at all. They are kind of annoying in that way. However when working with them on the eye I kind of appreciate that you have to build the color up rather than it showing up full-throttle at first swipe. It gives you more control. Because of that though if you have a deeper skintone you probably would find these annoying. They’d take a lot of building and layering to show up with enough contrast. For pale-skinned me, however, it’s a plus.

Overall, I like this perk and I’m glad I got it. This is definitely a palette for someone who is already a Bobbi girl and knows what she is getting formula-wise. I look forward to trying the eye cream and mascara, and will certainly post reviews of those too.

Sephora-Exclusive NARS Cheek Palettes

narssoulshineNARS Soulshine Cheek Palette
Do yourself a favor and click this to enlarge…

narsrealmofthesensesNARS Realm of the Senses Cheek Palette
(this one can be clicked to enlarge too)

I don’t really have anything to say about these other than HOLY CRAP LOOK AT HOW PRETTY THEY ARE. I can’t bring myself to touch them yet. I just like looking at them and staring in awe. BEAUTIFUL. I will post again once I can bring myself to mar the surface of these beauties…I have heard though that the shimmer logos are overspray, though, for those who are wondering.

If you want pretties of your own, they’re available on Sephora and retail for $41.00 each. If you’re going to purchase, don’t forget to use Ebates for 8% cash back!

 

My ULTAmate Wish List

ulta-logo

ULTA is sending out those magical 20% off cards again! They’re good for 20% off almost anything in the store, including most of the prestige brands, with a few exceptions. The one going around right now exclude Lancome, Dermalogica, and Urban Decay, but if you’re going to take your coupon on a little haul, check out my recommendations!

[Read more…]

The Balm Hautelook Haul

TheBalm was on Hautelook again fairly recently, and this time I knew there was one thing I definitely had to have – the Meet Matt(e) palette! A while back they were on Hautelook and I snagged the Nude ‘tude palette and totally missed Meet Matt(e), which sucks because I wanted both, haha. Oh well!! Good things come to those who wait, because this time I was READY and I got my palette! I also grabbed a nail polish, having seen it on Vampy Varnish. Her blog costs me money. We’re both fair skinned and have similar taste in colors, heehee. So…without further babbling, the haulage! [Read more…]

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Swatches

I recently got my new custom Urban Decay palette with six shadows (actually seven if you count the Walk of Shame shadow that each palette comes with). I don’t have pictures of the palette system yet but I did take pictures of the shadows swatched on my hand. And who doesn’t love swatches right? [Read more…]

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Swatches

“click to embiggen!”

While I was in Ulta today I decided to swatch the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. I’ve heard so many raves about the palette, so I figure some of you must be still mulling over purchasing it. I didn’t buy it today because it’s $50 and I’ve been shopping a lot lately (little hauls mostly but still, it adds up!), and actually I’m still not sold on it for me. 


The shades are lovely! I really like them. There are lots of pretty neutrals (and some taupey goodness, yum) including highlights that are fabulous (the one on the top of the 2nd picture is Verve, and it’s gorgeous – UD please release this as a single!). But for me and my particular stash, it’s not… a must-have? If that makes sense. It’s a “nice to have”. It’s not a palette I’ll rush out and buy any time soon, but one I might consider if there’s a F&F sale going on. My reasoning is that I have so many neutrals, as there are tons of neutral palettes out there (with the success of the first Naked palette, it seems EVERYONE else had to jump on the neutral palette bandwagon).
If you don’t have a ton of neutrals in your stash already like I do, by all means go get it. The shades are beautiful and soft, almost creamy texture– with the exception of Blackout, the matte black. It’s kind of dry feeling. Not chalky, but dry and harder than the other shadows. I’m not sure why that happened, because UD can do a great black matte (Perversion anyone?). I keep hearing how this one is more cool-toned friendly, and I suppose there are a couple more cool shades in this one than Naked 1 if you’re wavering on which one to buy. For now, I’ll stick with my Naked 1 and be happy.