So, as you might have heard on social media Urban Decay is releasing another Naked palette this Summer! What a great way to start June with this exciting news. As far as I've read this palette will be available July 8th for purchase. I would assume probably on Urban Decay's website first followed by other retailers.

Smoky will be a fab addition to their ever expanding Naked Collection. When I look at this I think of Fall, Winter, and seductive nights in a jazz club. It's kind of looking like the original Naked palette in lingerie. Smoke is in the air people.

swatched without primer

Fall has come ladies and gents. This brand new palette from Smashbox has you covered all season with it's rich cherry hues and neutrals. Each shade is buttery smooth and the pigments are perfect. I love a good reddish eyeshadow and this palette just needed a place in my collection. I can see myself using this daily. With it's mix of matte and shimmer you have all the textures you will ever need plus three nice highlighting shades and two deep smokes. Retailing at $39 it's affordable and gorgeous.

swatched with no primer

This gem is the perfect transitional palette from Summer to Fall. You have some copper with rose gold tones and then you have a black to smoke it up plus a gorgeous glimmering silver blue. The combination is eccentric and stunning. These are not colors I would think to put together in one palette but they all work so beautifully together. If you have blue eyes, you need this in your life! Every shadow is super pigmented and this makes me so happy since Mac's limited edition collections have been iffy in the palette department recently. Well this one lives up to the Mac name! The only thing I can say works against this is you will need a separate highlight shade because this palette does not have one included. Other than that, great job Mac!

I checked my mailbox this morning and with a huge smile on my face I ran inside with my long awaited Ulta box.

Last week I had ordered two of Stila's new Eyes Are The Window eyeshadow palettes in Mind and Soul. As soon as I saw the post on Stila's Instagram I could not wait to get my hands on these. They are so gorgeous and most definitely glamorous encased in gold and rose gold shiny magnetic packaging. You will definitely need to show these off. I can see these having a full time home on my vanity top just so I can stare at them, but that's just me.

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." -Albert Einstein

Here is my makeup of the day... a moody blue grey smoke. It's a great look to go with all the nautical clothing this time of year. A nice spin on the smokey eye without any black shadow while still having depth. The colors remind me of a jazz club. I wanted to test out more colors from the Too Faced Matte Palette and this is what I came up with.

Products Used: 

Eyes:
Too Faced Matte Eyeshadow Collection - velveteen bunny, pebble, and london fog (such a gorgeous navy!)
Buxom Insider Eyeliner - sapphire
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara
Benefit Gimme Brow - medium/deep
Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - vanilla

Face:
Eucerin Redness Relief Daily Perfecting Lotion SPF 15
L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation - W1
Too Faced Milk Chocolate Bronzer
Laura Geller Bronze N Brighten - Fair
Maybelline Hi Light Blush - Natural (limited edition shade)
Mac CC Pressed Powder - Illuminate 

Spring is starting to peak through here in New Jersey and I'm starting to wake up from the winter. Today I decided to add some violet color to my daytime look and got some serious fringe from Tarte's Light Camera Lashes mascara (a new fave - the brush is awesome).

Photo By: Temptalia

Getting naked has never had so many options until Urban Decay released their highly popular Naked palette back in 2010. It's now four years later and we still love being naked!

Urban Decay followed the release of the Naked palette with Naked 2, a foundation, powder, BB cream, luminizer, blush palette, Naked Basics (amazing!), eyeliners to go with each palette, and now the Naked 3 palette with all of it's rosy "cheek" glory. ;)

For those of you who haven't heard of these or you have but haven't had the chance to look into them, this is for you!

Each palette has its share of shimmers but also a few mattes (great for blending) and have at least one pale highlighting shade and a deep shade for lining and/or adding depth.
Naked - The original. This palette is more bronzed than the others but it does include a highly pigmented steel shade. I find it to be more warm toned overall. A lovely collection of shades to go from day at the office to night on the town and from smokey to sweet.

Naked2 - The cooler cutie. This lady has the same effects as the original but in a cooler section of town. She can go smokey or subtle but with shades more on the pewter side than bronze. But don't get me wrong she does still have some warmer shades like Half Baked (which is also included in Naked).

Naked3 - Rosy and seductive, Naked3 has a gorgeous range of pink neutrals. This is absolutely stunning on blue eyed beauties! The colors range from a matte ivory to a shimmering blackened plum.

Naked Basics - One of the best basic palettes I've ever come across. Retailing at $27.00 this is a real steal. I go no where without my basics palette. A collection of mattes ranging from a buttery ivory to a deeply pigmented blackish brown this palette is the epitome of classic.

Naked*

Naked2*

Naked3*

Naked Basics*

Naked*

Naked2*

Naked3*

They are expensive, retailing at about $50 a piece so if you are questioning whether or not you "need" all of these I would definitely go to Sephora or Ulta and do some swatching. See what fits your skintone best and which palette you think would be the most useful or different from what you already own. I find I use each of these just as much as the other. They are great for travel because you have a variety of shades and looks at your fingertips (or brush tips). They even all come with a brush as well (except for the basics).

Now is the time of year where all the top beauty brands start releasing great gift sets. It's such an exciting time because you can grab so many great deals on your favorites and even some new goodies too!

Smashbox has recently released the Full Exposure palette for fall/winter 2013 and it is gorgeous! It is a great palette for the beginner as well as the expert. The palette retails at $49.00. You get 14 eyeshadows - 7 matte and 7 shimmer. The set also includes a deluxe sample of their Full Exposure Mascara as well as a dual ended eyeshadow brush.




Having both matte and shimmery shades, it is all you need for various natural to glam looks this season and beyond. It is so versatile! I love the combination of tones (both cool and warm) and having the matte textures included is great for blending those shimmery shades into a beautiful night sky gradient. These shadows are so highly pigmented!

Loving a smokey eye and neutrals, this is an exciting addition to my collection. It can give a brown or black smoke to your eyes and you can easily take that from day to night in just a few swipes of your brush. The darker colors would also make great eyeliners. All you need to do is
wet your eyeliner brush and you are good to go!

Sunlight - no primer

Dim Sunlight Indoor - no primer

I would definitely say this is competition for Urban Decay's Naked and Naked2 palettes. Smashbox always has such great quality as well as Urban Decay but I just feel that this palette is much more classic with the even split of textures.

 You can find it here at Sephora!