Naked vs. Naked 2 by Urban Decay

Urban Decay is a big (popular) brand in the eyeshadow community, and the Naked and Naked 2 palettes are probably the most popular/most purchased eyeshadow palettes (opinion, not sure if this is rooted in some sort of fact or statistic out there). These palettes are available here at Urban Decay.  Both palettes retail at $50, which I know is a lot of money, but considering that you get 12 eyeshadows, all of which blend together beautifully and can be used for day or night looks, its not too bad of a deal.  Single pots of Urban Decay's eyeshadow retail for $18-$20 dollars, its not a bad bargain. I'd recommend watching out for sales.  Urban Decay, at least 2x a year if not more, always has a Friends and Family or Holiday sale, where you can receive upwards to 20% off your entire purchase.  Sephora will sometimes have a sale too and they are also retailers of Urban Decay products. Ulta also may have a 20% off coupon for Urban Decay as well.  I would def try and monitor sales and then purchase a palette at that time.  I'm not sure if you need both, perhaps swatching the palette in store and looking at the colors might help decide which you prefer.

OH! And both palettes come with brushes! Nice brushes! Brushes that retail from Urban Decay for $26.  So the palettes really is a good deal.  They also, in the packaging, come with either a free UD primer potion (Naked) or a sample size of the naked lip gloss (Naked ---a super gorgeous neutral pinky color that I love!)

In addition to the two Naked palettes, Urban Decay released a Naked Basics palette, which features six, all matte shadows.  I haven't purchased it because I have both Naked palettes and it retails for $27, but I don't feel like any of the shades are so spectacular or so different from the Naked shadows that I need to have it. I love both palettes, and often times find myself reaching for both, as they both have some of my favorite shades.  If I had to pick only one that I could have ever ever ever, it would be near impossible, but I'd probably say Naked (the original palette), although...admittedly lately I reach for Naked 2 more often.

Here are some pics:

Naked:
Colors Left to Right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal. 

Naked 2:

Colors Left to Right: Foxy, Half Baked (also in Naked), Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, and Blackout.

I will try and update this post later with some eye "looks" I've created with these palettes. 

Nars 2013 Summer Collection Released

Nars 2013 Summer Collection has been released, and Nordstrom currently has an "exclusive" online offer, where if you purchase $125 worth of products, you get deluxe samples of the Or***m Illuminator and and New Lover Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in a signature velvet sack.  That price tag, for the free samples, is a bit steep in my opinion.  I don't think I've ever spent that much at one time on Nars, but then again I only own a couple blushes.  There are some products that I'm interested in though (blushes and multiple sticks), so I'm going to keep this in the back of my mind.  In case anyone wants to get an old gal a mother's day present, lol!! :)  From the pics online, the items that look most interesting (to me) are the velvet matte lip pencil in tender night ($25) and the lipstick in tolede ($26).  Maybe even the multiple stick (puerto vallerta), but I'd have to see it in person to swatch.  Those multiple sticks are an investment at $39.  Looks like you can order these items now (from Nordstom), but they won't ship until 5-16.

UPDATED: Makeup Of The Day (MOTD)

Makeup of the day today.  Pretty neutral, had meetings and definitely wanted to keep it office appropriate. (Although I don't wear makeup everyday, most days lip gloss is enough :) ).

Lips: The Balm's Mai Billsbepaid Cheeks: Nars Or***m

 

Eyes: Covergirl mascara, Naked 2 Palette, Rimmel Eyebrown Pencil in Dark Brown

Face: MAC studio fix concealer, Lancome foundation and powder

 

Those pics kind of suck so I updated with this one, so you guys can get a better look:

I love love love free samples!! ❤❤

Seriously love!! I like ordering products I could pick up in the store online (via Sephora) because they always have free samples and some good ones. Lots of times I will also need a product but wait sometimes for 'free gift w/purchase' time.   It's a great way to get samples of products you wouldn't normally buy in the store. And lots of times samples are hit or miss, so you'll wind up liking some and tossing others. 

The samples I have below are:

Tarte's Amazonian Clay double detox face back, bareMinerals purely moisturizing cream, Dior's lash Maximizer, Stila's convertible color in Peony, and TimeBalm's Apricot Skin Renewal Cream.

HITS:

•  Tarte's clay mask was great! It was not drying and didn't get so hard that I thought my face would crack.  I noticed afterwards my skin wasn't 'dried out' like some masks tend to do, and my pores looked smaller.  Overall, my skin looked refreshed, I'd def buy this again.
• Dior's lash maximer: BOMB! This was great for me, it really did lengthen and separate my lashes, which made application of my mascara much easier! Not sure the price, but I would repurchase for sure.

MISS:

• TimeBalm's Apricot Skin Renewal Cream--for me, this cream was very, very heavy and thick.  It applied like "goop" compared to most moisturizers, and it wasn't for me.  I also didn't notice any significant moisturizing feeling...it only seemed to clog my pores.  Not for me. 
• bareMinerals moisturizing cream: for me, this cream felt like any other cream, which doesn't make me want to purchase it.  I feel like it got the job done, but I didn't notice any difference from a drug store cream (some of which are actually better in my opinion) and still had dry patches peeking through.  This just wasn't working for my skin.

Lastly, as for Stila's convertible color in Peony, I'm on the fence.  I think the color is soft, pretty, and buildable.  It can def work for day to night makeup, and it has the perk of being a cheek or lip cream.  Not sure if I would repurchase this only because I'm not a super fan of cream cheek color.  I prefer powder because for me, a novice, it is easier to work with and if you make a mistake during application, its easier to fix without ruining your makeup.  But again, the color is super pretty.

In a conference call...

...and it's almost 7. I get off at 5. Ugh i need to be self-employed. And all I want to do is bang my head against the wall. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh. 

Russian Red vs. Ruby Woo vs. Riri Woo

So i've tried all three lipsticks back to back and here are my thoughts.  Russian Red is still my absolute favorite.  I know it does not flatter all skin types as well as Riri Woo or Ruby Woo, but it looks great on me and is truly a deep, blood red.  Although Russian Red is also a matte lipstick, is still has a slight sheen when it dries.  I like Riri Woo better than Ruby Woo because it is slightly darker and applies with more ease than Ruby Woo, which tends to pull across the lip (because it is a drying matte lipstick). Also, Riri Woo applies more evenly than Ruby Woo, so after one swipe you have opague pigmentation. Riri Woo also seems less drying than Ruby Woo, but has the same staying power!  However, if you already have Ruby Woo, you may just pass on Riri Woo because they are very very close.  Not exactly the same, but very similar.

If you plan on wearing any of these reds, a lip scrub is in order! I used my Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub prior to trying on these lippies and followed up with a little Vaseline to moisturize. 

Color swatches (Don't judge me if my lips are colored outside the line.  I used the camera on my iPhone as a mirror lol):

Left to Right: Russian Red, Ruby Woo, RiRi Woo

Finally, here's a pic of me last week wearing Russian Red (didn't feel the need to reswatch, my lips are not having it tonight). 

My RiRi Woo Arrived Today

Today in the mail I received my signature MAC black box which contained my limited edition RiRi Woo lipstick.  For those of you who don't know what RiRi Woo is, see this previous post.  There are some pics below, and as soon as I get home and put baby girl to bed, I will post some lip swatches and compare it to Russian Red, my all time favorite MAC red lippie (which I prefer over Ruby Woo, personally).