Beauty Product Reviews

Pretty! Don't use as often as original Naked though...

As anyone with experience with Urban Decay shadows knows, they apply beautifully. The glitter shadows are going to be a bit more gritty with some fallout, as is almost unavoidable with any shadows of this texture, but is annoying nonetheless. My favorite shades in the palette are Foxy (the matte buttery creme color that for some reason appears more yellow on the UD website than it is in reality) which I use as a mild highlight on my inner corners/brow bone or to blend stronger colors together smoothly, Chopper (super glittery rose gold), and Tease (matte muted plum with a brown-y undertone) because I find the color so interesting! I tend to use it in my crease for everyday looks and for more dramatic ones, I'll apply it on the lid. I also really like the color Snakebite (a darker metallic aged bronze) in the crease lately because it blends beautifully into any other colors in this palette or the original Naked. I also love the gloss it comes with (Lip Junkie in Naked) because the tone seems pretty universally flattering and seems to have a pretty plumping effect on my lips. I don't love that my hair gets stuck in the gloss sometimes, but it stays put better than less sticky counterparts and looks so pretty making it a nice addition to the palette. I also really like the brush, I use the fluffier end to blend and the smaller end to pat color on or line my lower lash line if I'm in a rush. It's dense and soft, and does its job (however I'm not an expert on brushes so if you have any beloved MAC brushes etc. I wouldn't expect this to replace any of your favorites!) Now, onto the things that kind of bummed me out: I thought the metal packaging would be a cool improvement and add heft to the palette, but the snap enclosure can be really difficult to open and close, and actually caused Blackout in my palette to become cracked and fall out of the pan (which, of course, made a mess of all the other shadows in the palette, the brush, and got ground into my carpet... definitely not fun to clean up). Because of the experience with the packaging, I don't travel with this palette which is kind of lame because they have some pretty shades that go with everything! I also didn't dig that of course they had to put Half Baked in there AGAIN! Like, I know it's a best seller and all, but I feel like it's in almost every UD palette and I hardly use it because it's such a frosty gold. Still a pretty shade, but the space would have been better used by a new, exciting color in my opinion. I have both Naked palettes, and I use this one less often because of the packaging alone but if it weren't for that it'd be equal to my Naked. If you're torn between the two, let your skin tone dictate which one you buy. Cooler ladies should grab the Naked2, warmer toned people should pick up the original Naked. I have a neutral skin tone so I find the colors in both palettes equally flattering on me. If you're neutral too, I'd say choose whichever one you see yourself reaching for more often.

Holy grail

This is definitely my holy grail mascara because it does everything a mascara is supposed to. It darkens, lengthens, separates, and volumizes my lashes without clumping or giving me spider lashes. It literally coats every single one of my lashes, even the tiny ones that you may not have noticed exist at first if you have some lighter/finer lashes like I do. I've been asked on more than one occasion if I was wearing false eyelashes after applying this mascara, and since I wear thicker winged eyeliner on a daily basis, having my lashes stand out used to be a challenge. I've repurchased this mascara several times and I've noticed two quirky things about it that might not make it right for absolutely everyone: I like the product best once I'm about 1/2 way through the tube because at this point it doesn't overload your brush with product which means you don't have to scrape off excess before using, and due to the size of the brush to get the lashes in my inner corners I have to turn the brush vertically to avoid getting any mascara on the skin by my tear duct/on my nose. Otherwise use is a breeze as long as you know when to stop applying.

Meh.

I don't really dig this primer. I have extremely dry skin with some red and flaky patches and sensitivity and the 2 good things I can say about this primer are a) it smells good and b) the packaging was clever and functional (I have the full sized product that cranks up and the product is distributed through little holes at the top). I've used it layered over moisturizer and it doesn't lock in moisture at all or help to smooth down my face, just sits on top of the rough patches and flakes with my foundation/concealer as far as I can tell. I also unfortunately didn't notice a brightening effect that the packaging promised, which would have bumped this up a star because other than the scattered rough spots, my skin is pretty clear and I don't need something to make my foundation last like people with oily skin might. Overall, I might have bought this primer for the wrong reasons (to help aid in making a smooth base for my foundation/concealer) but unless I misunderstood the women at Ulta and the product description, this just doesn't do its job for me. I can't say whether or not it's effective in making product stay put, because I don't have a problem with that anyway, so this primer may be worth trying for people with normal/oily/combination skin. However, I will definitely be returning this and putting my $29 (!) toward something more effective.