Curiously Carmen

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

I love my Urban Decay products.  I was introduced to the UD Primer Potion in Grade 9, and have been loving their products ever since, from their 24 hour liquid liner, to the Naked Skin foundation (review here), and finally, their Naked palettes.

So far, UD has launched 3 Naked palettes which have all seen insane reception from the beauty community. Whenever they announce a release, Youtube blows up with beauty gurus reviewing the product. For good reasons too, this is one of my beloved eye palettes! I have Naked 2 and Naked 3, but like the Naked 2 more because of the shades!

photo 3 (3)Simple packaging of the product. The physical palette is pretty sturdy, you can throw this into your bag without damaging the product. I brought the Naked 3 for my trip to Disneyland back in January, and it lasted fine all throughout moving around from my luggage to the hotel room and what not. I’ve noticed that some cheaper eyeshadow will fall out if moved around or dropped, but not the “case” for this.
photo 4 (3)Ahhhh…the beautiful shades. You can tell which shades I love using more than others. When it comes to eye shadow, I only wear champagne or golden tones. I used to wear purple a lot, but bright colours haven’t really been in style anymore and I love how champagne colours make my eyes look brighter and whiter.
Application: The brush that the palette comes with is really good as well. It is called the Good Karma shadow brush and is double ended, with both a shadow and crease brush. The shadow brush is used for general application, while the crease brush is used to add dimension (to your outer or inner corners of your eye, for example).
Long lasting?: I always use my UD Primer Potion with my eye shadow. If I don’t, my eye shadow will crease within an hour and it will fade away. With the primer, my eyeshadow will last at least 6 hours with no touch up, which is good considering I have oily skin. I’ve worn this to work, and even if I sweat or run around cause it’s a busy shift, my eye shadow looks untouched or unsmudged with the primer. For the sake of the review, I did not wear the primer tonight. I noticed that after four hours, the eye shadow was pretty much gone. I would highly recommend using a primer, or have the kit with you to touch up.

Value: Naked 2 at Sephora is $62 Canadian. Naked and Naked 3 are the same price as well. It just depends on which shades you like. Considering the quality and colour of the palette, I would say that it’s a good investment as the palette is very versatile and durable!

Pros:

  • Beautiful range of shades!!! (ranging from neutral to dramatic looks)
  • Can experiment with many different colours to create a look that you love
  • Comes with a their Good Karma shadow and crease brush & mirror
  • Easy to carry on-the-go
  • Comes with 4 samples of their different primers
  • No fall out!! (major pet peeve of mine, urgh)

Cons:

  • It is $62, so it is definitely an investment
  • Lasts longer with primer potion (I suggest the UD Primer Potion, as you can sweat a lot but it’ll still hold up)
  • Would not recommend if you do not like sparkly eye shadows or shades (Naked and Naked 3 have different shades than the 2)

Up next: Maybe the Urban Decay Primer Potion or Naked 3? Which one would you like? Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

 

April Beauty Favourites

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This is my first time doing one of these monthly favourites! I’ve seen them on YouTube a lot, plus some fashion/beauty/lifestyle blogs that I follow. Since I don’t have photoshop on my computer, nor am I good at it, I had to come up with a way to create a collage by other means.

After pondering the internet and trying out various photo apps, I have finally created my first one! I know it’s not perfect, so please bear with me here. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a beauty related post, yet alone a mini haul, so I’m quite excited to try this out! These are in no particular order!

1. Dove Go Fresh deodorant, pomegranate and lemon verbana scent. I am in love with the smell of this deodorant. I like how it has a strong scent, making you smell lovely the whole day. When I want to freshen up after I shower, I apply this deodorant and feel refreshed.

2. The Body Shop – Mango body whip. I love all the body lotion products from The Body Shop (not body butter). The mango one has a lovely, subtle mango scent. It moisturizes very well. I love how it’s very light weight so you don’t feel sticky or heavy after applying this lotion.

3. ELF eyebrow kit. I bought this online back in November, and have been using this everyday for the past few months, so of course it is going on my favourites list! I love the colour/shade of the eyebrow kit, which matches my hair and skintone perfectly. The colour is very soft and not harsh, which I like because I don’t want strong, harsh eyebrows (that’s just my own preference). It’s also long lasting, and the small angle brush that comes with the kit makes it very easy to apply this to your eyebrows- pretty foulproof! Occasionally, I will double this up as a eyeliner for my lower lashes since I don’t like pencil eyeliner.

4. LUSH Grease lightning spot treatment. I received a sample of this, and I am already hooked after 2 days of usage. It is made up of all natural ingredients which fight acne scars, kills dirty bacteria on your skin, and prevents/kills pimples. I had two ugly pimples pop up last week, and after applying this spot treatment, I have noticed that they have diminished dramatically. I love how all the ingredients in this are natural as well.

5. Chanel – Chance Eau Tendre. This perfume has a soft, flowery and romantic scent to it which I love. Whenever I spray it on myself, I instantly feel very calm since the scent is very light and relaxing. I also feel a lot prettier when wearing this, so it definitely gives me a boost of confidence when I feel like I look like crap. I’ve gotten many compliments whenever I wear this perfume, which is a plus!

6. Maybelline mineral powder foundation. I bought this back in high school years back, but didn’t really have a good experience with it and ended up throwing it out. My friend recently gave me hers since it wasn’t the right shade for her, and I decided to give it another try. After wearing this as my setting powder, I noticed that my skin looked a lot brighter, smoother, and more translucent with a hint of shimmer. I realized that the problem was the crappy brush that came with it. I used my own brush and the finish looked a lot better.

Well there you have it, some of my current beauty favourites! What are some of yours?

-Carmen