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!

I have been MIA because my little sister just got married on Saturday! It was such an exciting weekend and an emotional one at that (waterproof mascara anyone?). I was honored with the job to be her Matron of Honor. It was also a Halloween theme so we could dress up. I added accessories such as a boa, flapper headband, and rhinestone mask for the reception. It was so fun!

One of the fun things about a wedding is the makeup of course! I did my own for the occasion. Below, I gathered a list of the products and attached a few photos of the look. It is what I would call a natural evening look.

You may not know but for a wedding or any special occasion where photos will be taken, the more makeup usually the better. What may look like too much to you in the mirror could be perfect under the camera lenses and lights. A helpful hint is that SPF is not necessarily a good thing with photography as the SPF reflects the flash the same it would the sun and can wash you out on camera. Shimmer and glitter is not always a good thing either. They can also reflect light back at the camera and accentuate imperfections. I still like a soft shimmer to give my skin some glow since it is dry.







The products I used for the wedding:

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation - 3.5

Nyx HD Concealer - Porcelain - used for concealing and highlighting

Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk - used as an eyeshadow primer

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner - Intense Black - waterproof liner and super black! 

Mac Eye Kohl - Fascinating - used as an inner rim liner to brighten and "open" the eyes

Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Eyeshadow - Vintage Black Gold  - used over the other shadows to add some shimmer and dimension 

Mac Blush - Harmony & Taupe Shape - I used both of these for contouring. 

Benefit Bronzer - Hoola  - contouring

Nars Eyeshadow - Lhasa - also used for contour on the cheek bones (it has a great shadow color)

Lorac Neutralizer - after primer to reduce redness on my fair skin 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Limited Edition palette - highlighting

Mac Natural Radiance Primer

Cover FX Illuminating Setting Powder - Light - finishing powder with illuminating qualities for a glow

Mac Monster's Bride Palette 

Anastasia Brow Liner - Dark Brown

Illamasqua Intense Lip Gloss - Facade (a grey pink) - this is one of my favorite glosses it has an almost brown tone to it and is very opaque