Urban Decay’s Naked 3 Palette Review (+ Look Inspirations)

Dun dun dunnnn…!

My boyfriend got me this palette as a half-Valentines/half-random present! I’m so happy to have it. It’s so gorgeous. I could have posted about this sooner, but I wanted to make sure I had something to say aside from just raving about how beautiful it is!

I also wanted to film and edit a video review, so if you’d like to watch that first, click here for the HD version on YouTube, or watch below:

Otherwise, let’s get onto this review…!

First, let’s look at the packaging, shall we?

I didn’t like it at first, but I think it’s grown on me. Partly because I’ve been able to feel it and use it now, and the metal box just feels really sturdy and nice. Also, that little packet thing, in case you don’t know too much about this palette, is just four little samples of each of the four Primer Potions that Urban Decay has, which you get when you buy the Naked 3 palette. I think it’s a little disappointing getting these little samples instead of the mini like with Naked 1, or the little lip gloss like Naked 2, but hey, at least you get to try out a few random products from them, instead of just one, right?

And here’s the inside:

*Angels sing*

But seriously, isn’t it gorgeous?! Ugh. To be honest, I wasn’t convinced until I swatched it in store, so if you haven’t swatched and you aren’t convinced, go swatch it. Seriously.

Anways, I think it has a really nice mix of rosey and bronzy shimmer shades. One each of matte highlight, lid, and crease shades. And a couple darker shadows that would work great as either crease or lid shades, or as liners, depending on the look you want. Also, the black at the end has a gorgeous red/purple shimmer in it, which I’m absolutely in love with.

Primer Samples:

As I mentioned before, these are just the primer samples that come with the palette. Each one is fairly large, and good for multiple applications, but they don’t seal, so you probably wouldn’t want to keep them around too long once you open them! I’m currently working with the Anti-Aging primer for no particular reason.

Swatches:

Above are all the colours in the palette, swatched  on my arm on their own without any primer or anything.

Above: the first 6 colours, from left to right = Strange (almost matte; satin?), Dust (extreme shimmer), Burnout (shimmer), Limit (matte), Buzz (shimmer, almost metallic), and Trick (shimmer, almost metallic).

Below: the last 6 colours from left to right = Nooner (matte), Liar (shimmer), Factory (shimmer), Mugshot (shimmer), Darkside (shimmer), and Blackheart (matte with microglitter). Also, I apologize for the weird swatches of Darkside and Blackheart, but I have a bit of a thing about touching the veins on the inside of my wrist, and that’s where those are swatched. They are definitely not showing as pigmented as they should be.

Without primer:

Even though I didn’t have much makeup on or with me, I couldn’t help but try out the shadows as soon as I got them. This look is just with the shadows, no primer. I used Buzz on my lids, Strange as a highlight on my brow bone, Nooner in the crease, and Blackheart to darken up the outer V, and as liner under my lower lash line, which you obviously can’t see in this picture. The colours don’t look fantastic, but they still behave really nicely even without a primer to make them pop and stay put. They are great for blending, both the mattes and the shimmers.

With the Anti-Aging Primer Potion:

This look here is my first time playing with the palette over a primer, and I am absolutely in love with this look. Here I’m wearing Strange on my brow bone and inner corner, Trick on my lids, and Factory in my crease, outer corner, and thinly under my lower lash line.

Two more looks I’ve done with this palette:

My Thoughts:

Before even trying them on my eyes, my favourite colours in the palette were probably Buzz, Trick, and Blackheart, and those haven’t changed, though I’ve also learned that I really love Strange for highlighting, and that Dust is a gorgeous (if fallout-y) colour on the lid or to highlight. And everything from Nooner to Darkside is great in the crease.

These shadows are definitely up to the standards that just about everyone seems to expect from Urban Decay, myself included. The first Naked palette and the Naked Basics  have both really sold me that UD is pretty much the best brand when it comes to eyeshadows, and this is absolutely no different. I know that I will get a lot of use out of this palette. I don’t think it’s quite as neutral, perhaps, as the first two Naked palettes, and much less neutral than Naked Basics, but the pinky/rosy colours are absolutely gorgeous and just so feminine and pretty. Looking at these colours, they definitely make me think about spring-esque makeup looks, whereas the other two Naked palettes feel darker and make me think more about Fall and Winter, though of course lighter looks can be done with them too.

At any rate, I think if you have the money and are looking at getting this palette, then I definitely recommend it. I don’t have anything to complain about, and I’m sure you’ll love it!

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Let me know what you think of the Naked 3 palette in the comments! I’d love to hear about what your favourite Naked palette is, or even if you want to tell me who you think is better at eyeshadows than UD!

Thanks for reading!0

Influenster Mystery Brand Revealed!–Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser

So the mystery brand has been revealed, and it turns out those products they sent us were from Garnier Fructis’s Damage Eraser line. And, as promised, this week they sent out the full-sized products to reveal who was behind the—frankly fantastic—products they sent out in the unlabeled bottles. (If you didn’t seem my Mystery Brand VoxBox post, click here to check out my first thought on this line.)

If you remember from my last post, those first three bottles were all that they sent out for trial, and the tub at the end is a “strength reconstructive butter,” or basically a deep-conditioning treatment which it suggests you use once a week. I can’t wait to get a chance to try it out, but I fully expect that it will be just as good as the rest of the line, which I am still really pleased with! My hair had been absolutely loving this set of products for the last week!

Unfortunately, Influenster didn’t include prices on the included information card:

However, I’m fairly certain that this product, like other Garnier Fructis products can be found at pretty much any drugstore/grocery store, and I image it will be in the 4-6 dollars per bottle, and maybe a but more for the split-end serum and conditioning mask.

Also, this is only slightly related, but honestly,am I the only one who finds it odd, wrong, and even slightly disturbing that—not only does L’Oreal own Garnier Fructis in addition to their L’Oreal Paris hair care line—but they also own a massive portion of the whole beauty market? 25 brans is a huge number, and it spans a shocking number of low- to high-end brands, including, according to my research Maybelline and Urban Decay. So weird. So wrong.

But anyways, aside from that slightly disturbing fact,l I do really like this product line, and though I wasn’t too surprised to find that the brand was Garnier, I am happy that I get to continue using these products for free!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Thanks for reading! If you have anything to say or ask about this line, Influenster, or L’Oreal, make sure to let me know in the comments!

My First GRWM Video

My first “Get Ready With Me” video went up on Youtube yesterday! Just to make sure you don’t miss out, I thought I’d throw up a quick post to let you all know. You can click here to watch on YouTube, or watch below:

Thanks for watching, and make sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss out on my future videos! =)

My First Youtube Video–What’s In My Bag?

As long as we ignore the ugly, poorly executed water marbling tutorial that I posted a very long time ago, today I posted my first ever Youtube video.

I’m sure I mentioned before that I wanted to get into Youtubeing, and I’ve finally got the time + the courage + the organizational skills to get started. My first video, as mentioned in the title, is a What’s in my Bag? video, since I think they’re fun to watch and kinda interesting most of the time. I hope you enjoy mine!

Also, don’t worry—even though I’m sure no one was particularly worried—but I have every intention of keeping up with my blog as well, with blog posts to accompany many of my videos, sometimes with extra information such as swatches or higher quality images.

Anyways, here’s my first video (though it’s probably best to go to YouTube for highest quality):

I hope you enjoyed it and that you will like and subscribe. And if you’re feeling super generous, maybe share it on social media somewhere? Haha!

Make sure to leave me your comments; I’m open to advise and constructive criticism, if you have any, as well as if you have any video suggestions. Thanks so much for reading (and watching)!

Influenster’s L’Oreal Canada Mystery VoxBox

Hello again! In case you don’t follow me on Instagram and Twitter (and you should: links in the “Follow Me” tab above), I was recently chosen by Influenster to be included in their Mystery VoxBox program. This is an interesting box because we were sent a set of hair products from one of L’Oreal’s many brands in minimally labelled sample bottles to try out for a week. The idea is that we are meant to use the products and try to figure out what brand this new set of products is from. In the next week, they’ll send out the full-size products to unveil what we’ve been using. A little cheesy, but still definitely fun.

Here’s a quick look at the contents of my mystery box:

According to the included card, this new formula is supposed to “reconstruct hair’s strength by 90% from root to tip . . . repair hair & prevent further damage” which it claims to do thanks to “damage-fighting Phyto-Keratin Complex and Cupaucu Butter” which all sounds very impressive.

I’m actually pretty impressed with this set of products, also. . . Not only does it smell fantastic, but after my first washing, it left my hair feeling super soft, shiny, and bouncy! And the fact that they sent me this stuff for free is in no way colouring my appreciation for this product’s quality—where’s the fun if I’m not being honest—I legitimately think it’s fantastic!

I wish the above picture could show you just how nice my hair was after using this product, but you’ll mostly just have to believe me. I’m really looking forward to getting my full-size bottles!

As for what who I think this product might be by, I don’t really have much to go on. However, I do have one guess: I think it might be L’Oreal themselves because of the smell, which is fairly similar to the classic L’Oreal shampoo.

Anyways, I guess we’ll see in the next week sometime, so I’ll be sure to update you when I find out!

Let me know in the comments if you also got one of the Mystery VoxBoxes, and if you did, who you think these products might be from. Thanks for reading!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

January 2014 Favourites!

This past month has probably felt like one of the shortest for me in a long time, which I guess is a good thing. Also, I’m pretty impressed that I’m getting to this post a couple days earlier than usual.

**Something clearly went wrong here. I had this scheduled to go up the 4th… Sorry about the delay.**

Anyways, as January is now over, its time to look back at my favourite products from the past 31 days. So what have I been using lots this past month? Let’s see, shall we…

1. Naked Basics palette:

As the name suggests, this is just a great basic palette, and I have been using it tons this month, almost every time that I had time to put on more than my everyday necessities. I love having these shadows so I can do a pretty, contoured eye without doing something crazy sparkly every time I use shadow. Also, the three darker shades in this palette are great for pairing with shimmer shadows to contour, and the light ones are all great highlights.

2. Batiste Tropical dry shampoo:

You may remember that I got this little guy in with my Christmas presents, and I’ve been loving it this past month. This is the third dry shampoo that I’ve used, and it is also definitely the best. It smells nice, but not too sweet, it doesn’t leave a dull powdery look in my hair, and it doesn’t feel heavy or thick on my scalp. I really love this to refresh second day hair, and I’ll probably need/want to repurchase it when I finally run out.

3. UD Revolutions Lipstick in Catfight:

I know I just mentioned this in my wishlist post, and no, I haven’t purchased it yet, but I am in love with this colour! I have a tiny little sample size that I got as a 100-point perk, as you can see in the picture above. I love how pigmented and thick the formula is. It seems to always go on perfect, with a crisp, clean line, and it doesn’t feather or smear on me.

4. Mac Soft & Gentle:

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve been using it almost religiously lately, and absolutely loving it. At the moment I love to use it without a blush, and either with or without bronzer, since I feel it looks a lot less summer/spring-esque. This highlight is just so beautiful, and if you are hesitant, I’d suggest going into MAC and asking them to try it on you for you, and if the makeup artists at your store are anything like mine, they’ll be more than happy to help you out!

5. L’Occitane Lavande Hand Cream:

I had been wanting this for ages, and I don’t know why I didn’t pick it up, because it’s only $12 for this size. I love this hand cream, especially for carrying around in my bag because it’s small, it smells fantastic and calming (like lavender, obviously), and it isn’t greasy at all. Also, my hands are always really dry around this point of winter, so it’s great to have a hand lotion I can carry with me and not worry about getting it all over everything.

Non-Beauty Favourites:

1. Lady Grey Tea:

If you saw my Tea Collection post on my second blog, then you already know that this is one of my favourite teas of all time, but I’ve also been really loving it in particular over the last month or so. I love that it’s fruity and unique without being sweet or overpowering. It’s also great any way I want to drink it, whether that’s black, sweetened, or with sugar and milk.

2. My Q&A a day book:

This little book is a really cool concept; basically each day it asks you a question, and it gives you a short space to answer 5 separate times, because the idea is that you do each question each year for 5 years. I think it’ll be cool to see the ways that some questions change or evolve while others stay the same. Plus, since I like physically writing, it’s a fun, short little exercise to get me to write each day without being too daunting or annoying.

3. PC candy cane hot chocolate:

Another of the things that I got for Christmas! This peppermint-y hot chocolate mix is great on its own, or else mixed into coffee to make a peppermint mocha. I guess it’s a bit of a candy cane obsession holding on from the Christmas season, but I’ve really been enjoying this the past little while.

4. My AE Midi rings:

You’ll see these again when I do my American Eagle haul in a few days, but I have definitely been loving my midi rings, especially the copper/rose gold one pictured above ((between writing this post and taking the pictures, I managed to lose the pretty copper ring, so instead, here’s a picture of the other two)). This might be cheating, since I only got these about half-way through the month, but I’m very happy with them, so I figure it counts.

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And that’s everything for this month! Let me know your favourites in the comments (or link me to your blog post), and if you’re interested, check out my Tea Collection post on my second blog!

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic day!