Tutorial: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

As promised, I made a look using the Naked Basics Palette and its versatility. Let's get crack-a-lackin'!

I started by moisturizing my face and lips. My moisturizer of choice is the Olaz/Olay Essentials Beauty Fluid Sensitive. It's completely safe for sensitive skin and contains no perfume. To prepare my lips I used my usual Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream. After having let my moisturizer sink in I mixed a pump of MAC Prep+Prime Skin Base with a pump of Essence My Base Illuminating Make-Up Base. This provides both longevity and a nice glow to my skin.

I then applied a 50/50 mix of Max Factor Facefinity All-Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation in the colours Light Ivory 40 and Nude 47 with a damp Beauty Blender sponge. To conceal under my eyes I used Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in the colour Light 2 and layered ontop of that I used the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in 01 Ivory. For the (more than a) few blemishes on my face I used MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW15, I also used this under my brows. I used my Beauty Blender for the concealing as well.

For my eyebrows I used a Catrice Eyebrow Stylist but the colour has rubbed off. It's a dark, warm brown. To set the pencil I used Faint from the Urban Decay Naked Palette to define the ends of my brow and Naked 2 in the front bit of my brows. I set it with Hema Eye Brow Gel in Brown

To start off the eyeshadow I primed my lid with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, as always. I then took a large, fluffy paddleshaped brush and applied Foxy to my browbone and crease. I then used the same brush to apply Walk of Shame all over the moving eyelid.

Next I applied Naked 2 all over my crease with a fluffy, tapered blending brush and underneath my eye with a pencil brush.

I then applied Faint to the crease with a pencil brush for some more definition and in the outer corner of my eye, both to the lower and upper lid.

Then I took a fairly large angled liner brush and applied Crave to 3/4's of my upper lash line. No wing, no fancy tricks. With my hooded lids I often prefer not to put a wing on my liner as it tends to just get lost and/or crooked anyway. I then applied the shade Venus to my inner corner and also lightly on the very arch of my brow.

Curl them lashes and apply a generous coat of your mascara of choice. I used a Tweezerman Lash Curler and Catrice Lashes to Kill Waterproof Volume Mascara.

Moving on to the cheeks! To fake having cheekbones I applied a medium taupe (eyeshadow) powder by Inglot with a domed blush brush to the "hollows" of my cheeks. Excuse the "" but let's be honest, my cheeks are everything but hollow! To warm up my face a bit I topped it off with The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in the shade 02. I also applied a little of the bronzer along my jawline and at my hairline at the temples.

For a healthy glow to my cheeks I used a Hema Limited Edition Blusher. They are no longer sold and it only says 06 on the back of the packaging. It's a true coral with a gold shimmer. On my cheekbones I applied the Catrice Prime and fine Highlighting Powder. Both of these products contain a very subtle shimmer that pretty much only shows in strong (flash) light or direct daylight, but they do provide a very healthy looking glow that I like.

On my lips I applied Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in the shade 03. It's a brown-y pink nude, that wears very well but can easily look a little  brown, so I always blend it in a little with my finger. With this look you can pretty much throw on any colour lip, as long as it doesn't clash too much with your blush. (Which you can always just adapt anyway.)

As I wanted to make it a point in this tutorial to show what this palette is good for, I decided to do a very subtle "day-time" look first. For example one you would wear to work or school. But what if you decide to go out for dinner/drinks/concert/anything your long day? Well! Follow me, if you please.

To jazz the look up a little you will need only a few extra things. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Waterproof Eye Pencil in the colour Demolition, an eyeshadow paddle brush, a fluffy, tapered blending brush, a stiff dome brush and the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. These are all things that would be easy to bring along to either school or work in a small make-up bag.

First I applied Naked 2 to my entire eyelid and into the crease using the paddle brush. I then picked up a generous amount of Faint with my stiff dome brush and applied this to 2/3's of my eyelid and blended it into the crease. I then lined my upper and lower waterline with the Demolition Eye Pencil and also blended it along 2/3's of my lower lash line, making sure it was nice and dark. 

To make sure everything on the lid was blended properly I took my tapered  blending brush and some Walk of Shame and blended along the crease. With my paddle brush I then applied Crave along the lash line and made sure to blend it upwards with every stroke. At the outher corner I applied it thicker and blended it further up for a smokey look.

And this is the finished result. A soft, smokey look, which is still able to carry a bright or dark lip. You can of course, if you feel comfortable doing so, make it a lot darker. I personally prefer a softer look usually as I just find it more flattering on my. And things tend to look very dark on my pale skin.


What do you think of this day/evening look? Did you find the tutorial useful? Any other thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!

Next post will most likely be my review of the UD Eye Pencil.

Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XXX

Review and Swatches: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette.

If you follow beauty news, you're bound to have heard of this product. Personally I am becoming a bigger and bigger Urban Decay fan, something my wallet isn't too happy about!

Let's get started!

The palette was created as a companion to the Naked Palettes as neither of them have many matte shadows in them, and Urban Decay fanatics across the world had let the company know they were not too happy about that. I love the fact that UD listened to their followers and produced this baby!

About the product Urban Decay says:


"Begin ANY look with these six essential shadows. This palette of must-own shades (with four exclusives!) features both mattes and satins for lids, liner and crease." - taken directly from the packaging.

Alright, on to the actual review!

The packaging is exactly half the size of the other Naked Palettes, smaller than your average smart phone! It's a sort of metallic-y, suede-rubbery like texture which feels very soft to the touch, sort of a funny feeling really. The lettering is matte and embossed on the packaging. All in all a very classy and pretty packaging, I like it! Very much like the product itself, timeless and gooorgeous.

L-R: Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame (W.O.S), Naked 2, Faint, Crave.

The inside of the packaging has a beige-y mother-of-peal sheen and as we are used to from UD each shadow has its name written underneath. (Click the picture for a fullsize version!)

L-R: Venus, Foxy. Walk of Shame.

Venus is a shimmery creamy-white. It's more than just as a satin, as the packaging would have us believe. It's very pigmented and great as an inner-corner highlight. Also doable for brow-highlight, but only on very pale skin tones. (Exclusive to this palette.)

Foxy is a matte, yellow beige. It's very buttery smooth and has amazing colour payoff. It's very pigmented and makes for a great allover lid base or colour.(This colour is available as a single from UD and also is in the Naked 2 Palette.)

Walk of Shame (W.O.S) is a pink-toned beige, with once again great payoff. To me it's a little darker than my skintone and therefore not quite a highlight colour, might be on medium skin though! It's completely matte and very smooth, as we expect from UD. (Is only available for the UD Build-your-own palettes.)

L-R: Naked 2, Faint, Crave.

Naked 2 is a matte, medium taupe (brown-grey) colour, which is a great crease colour on my skin-tone. It's very smooth and blends wonderfully on the lid. The neutral tone in this means it looks amazing on all skin-tones, be they warm or cool. (Exclusive to this palette.)

Faint is a medium to dark, slightly warm-toned, brown. It's again completely matte and blends like a dream thanks to the Urban Decay softness. It's great as a crease colour or maybe for extra definition in the outer corner of the eye.(Exlusive to this palette)

Crave is a dark black. You'd think "Black is black!" but when it comes to eyeshadows, it's not. This is very pigmented, but there's something in it that's not quite a proper, deep black. It sort of has a brown tinge to it, like there's a smudge of dark, espresso brown mixed in to it. This blends amazingly and can therefore be used for anything you'd use a black shadow for. Personally I use it as a soft eyeliner with an angled brush and maybe for a touch more definition in the outer corner. (Exclusive to this palette)



Pros:

• All the shadows have great pigmentation.
• Urban Decay has made their matte shadows much easier to blend, which makes them much more pleasant to use. They truly half the time I need to spend blending them!
• If you're a lover of matte neutrals, this is surely a one-stop-shop.
• The packaging is great for travelling and easy to keep clean.
• Cruelty free, the whole brand is.

Cons:

• Price-point could be an issue for some. I personally did take some persuading to lay down the €25.95 it cost, but I sure am happy I did.
• Availability. Only sold at Sephora (in Holland at least) and in online, overseas, stores.
• Not really worth it if you can't live without shimmery shadows.

Conclusion: I'm in love. I've really been on a matte, brown, smokey-eye kick lately and this palette is PERFECT for it. (I blame the always awesome Gemma Teller Morrow from Sons of Anarchy.) This is perfect for travel, as you can create a soft day-time look and jazz it up in the evening with the darker colours. For my friends out-there who love mattes and maybe a 50's inspired pin-up type of look, this is the place to go. Throw on a red lip and it's ON! 

Share your thoughts on this palette, let me know what you think about it, if you have it, anything!

Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XXX

Beauty Haul!

I did a wee bit of shopping the other day when my husband and I took a trip to Utrecht and I thought I'd share it with the kind people who read my blog. Most of the stuff was bought at Sephora except the rose water which I bought at Erica, which is sort of a natural health/beauty store. Anyway, let's kick off!

Erica Rose Water 500ml (€4.95). This contains no alcohol, no perfume and no parabens, so perfect for my sensitive skin. I use this as a toner, after having cleansed my face. It's for dry and sensitive skin, and this time of year my skin is both. Most regular toners make my skin feel very dry and some even make it burn a little so this is why I opt for something this natural.

Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover 125ml (€7.00, second one was half off). This also contains no alcohol, perfume or parabens. I always wear waterproof mascara so I need a good remover to make sure I get it all off. These are usually this kind, two liquids, that you then shake to mix. Other brands I have tried of this tend to leave a sort of oily layer on my skin, this one doesn't, which gives me all the more reason to like it. It removes all my eye makeup very quickly, without having to rub the very sensitive and thin skin around the eye area.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance 11g (€19.80). My one and only holy grail product, I refuse to do my eye-shadow without it and my old one was almost gone. This is the best eye-shadow primer out there, if you ask me and I've been using it for three years. One tube is 11g and lasts me about 16-18 months. In the second photo you see a small dot of product next to the bottle and this is what I need to do both my eyes and eyebrows. You only need a tiny amount every time which is why it lasts for so long. 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Waterproof Eye Pencil (€19.10). This renowned eye pencil I just had to get. They are known for their softness, longevity, intense pigment and insane colour range. I bought the colour Demolition, which is a deep, chocolate brown. These set very quickly on the skin, which gives them the well-known longevity and only leaves you a few seconds to blend/smudge them should you want to. It also means they are perfect for wearing on the waterline. Review and tutorial will follow soon!

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (€25.95). This beautiful little palette is something Urban Decay produced after having received many complaints about the Naked 1 and 2 palettes. They have very little matte shadows in them and this baby contains 5 matte shadows and a single iridescent highlighter. 4 of the shadows are completely exclusive, which means they have never been seen in an Urban Decay product before. Review and tutorial will follow along with the Glide-On Pencil!

Have you done any beauty/makeup shopping recently? What did you get? Let me know!

Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XXX