Urban Decay Naked 3 Eye Palette - Where Does It Fit In Your Makeup Collection?

One of the most anticipated releases of the month is the newest addition to the Urban Decay family of Naked Eye Shadow Palettes.  Everyone that reads this blog is aware that the original Naked Palette and the Naked 2 Palette are two of my favorite eye shadow palettes and ones that I tend to reach for over and over again.  I have been using the Naked 2 palette at least three times a week since the middle of fall and I got very excited when I heard that Urban Decay was adding another palette to this collection.  Naked 2 was one of my favorite releases of late 2011 and I feel this Naked 3 will be one of my favorite products of late 2013.  It arrived in the mail yesterday after ordering it late last week from Urban Decay's website and I have started to swatch and play around with the shades in it.

I am saving my reviews and thoughts on the actual Naked 3 palette for tomorrow's post, I wanted to start with a post that quickly reviewed the other two palettes and then looked to see where Naked 3 would fall into the mix.  The original Naked palette is full of warm shades and the second Naked palette is full of cool shades, is this palette closer to one of them or is it completely different creation?

We will start at the beginning...  The Urban Decay website provides the following description of the original Naked Eye Palette and then the following shade descriptions, "It’s the palette that revolutionized neutrals forever. Loaded with 12 bronze-hued shadows in an insane range of textures only Wende and our product development team could dream up—including matte, satin, shimmer and sparkle—Naked proves that neutral is anything but boring. From the palest champagne to the grittiest gunmetal, it’s all here. Whether you’re going for a laid-back, beachy vibe or black-tie drama, you’ll definitely look better Naked.". 

The shades contained in the original Naked palette are: Virgin (cool pale beige shimmer), Sin (champagne shimmer), Naked (nude matte), Sidecar (beige shimmer w/silver micro-glitter), Buck (fawn brown matte), Half Baked (golden bronze shimmer), Smog (deep coppery bronze shimmer), Darkhorse (deep mocha shimmer), Toasted (antique copper penny shimmer), Hustle (plum-brown satin), Creep (onyx shimmer w/gold sparkle) and Gunmetal (dark metallic gray shimmer w/silver micro-glitter).

I dip into the shades on the left side of this palette more than I use the deeper tones on the right side of the palette.  Virgin, Sin, and Naked are the shades I use all over and then I use the rest of the shades right on the lid.  All of the shades are the classic Urban Decay eye shadow formula and only Darkhorse and Buck are on the challenging side to fully blend.  Half Baked applies so smoothly that it feels like I am applying a cream shadow, this is one of the few shades that I can apply perfectly by tapping it on with my finger.

The second palette contains shades that are much more on the cool toned side and features a range of lovely taupe hues.  "You demanded “MORE NAKED!”—and Naked2 delivers. From luminous shades with shimmer and sparkle to the smoothest mattes imaginable, Naked2 is packed with 12 never-boring taupe-hued neutrals (including a gorgeous grayish brown, a glittery copper and our lewdest, blackest black). Expand your Naked range to create even more sultry neutral looks, smoky dramatic looks and everything in between.", states the company's website.

The shades contains in the Naked 2 palette are: Foxy (cream bisque matte), Half Baked (golden bronze shimmer), Bootycall (cork shimmer), Chopper (copper shimmer w/silver micro-glitter), Tease (creamy pale brown matte), Snakebite (dark bronze shimmer), Suspect (pale golden beige shimmer), Pistol (light grayish brown shimmer), Verve (oyster shimmer), YDK (cool bronze shimmer), Busted (deep brown shimmer) and Blackout (blackest black matte).

I find that I also tend to use the shades more on the left of the Naked 2 palette more than I do the shades on the right.  I use Blackout mostly as a liner and use Busted and YDK only in very dramatic smoky eye looks.  Foxy is the only shade that I use all over the eye and I have nearly hit pan on it already.  Chopper is my staple from this palette, it has a beautiful shimmer finish and is another shade that I prefer to tap on with my finger.

I have found that I use the original Naked palette in the fall and then tend to pick up Naked 2 more in the winter months.  Naked 3 is really not like either of the two palettes, I could call this palette "Naked: Summer Edition" and this would be a fitting title for the shades found in it.  It leans more on the warm side so I find it the least like the shades in Naked 2.  I am sure that any makeup collector will be adding this to his or her collection without a second thought and we will look more in depth at the actual palette tomorrow.

photo courtesy of Google
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Fitness Friday - Yoga Bridge Pose

We are back on yoga poses for this week's and next week's Fitness Friday.  Today we are looking at Bridge Pose and then we will be looking more at Shoulder Stand next week.  Bridge is one of the preparatory poses for Shoulder Stand and belongs to the family of Backbend Poses.  Bridge is a very versatile pose, I have done it to get ready for Shoulder Stand and to begin preparations for more inversion poses.  I have also done this pose in a more supported fashion using well placed blocks during a  restorative yoga session.  Nearly anyone can perform this pose in the supported fashion, we will look at the true pose and then I will provide details on how to modify the position as needed. 

Yoga Journal provides steps to safely get into the pose...

- Lie supine on the floor, and if necessary, place a thickly folded blanket under your shoulders to protect your neck. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible.

- Exhale and, pressing your inner feet and arms actively into the floor, push your tailbone upward toward the pubis, firming (but not hardening) the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Clasp the hands below your pelvis and extend through the arms to help you stay on the tops of your shoulders.

- Lift your buttocks until the thighs are about parallel to the floor. Keep your knees directly over the heels, but push them forward, away from the hips, and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees. Lift the pubis toward the navel.

- Lift your chin slightly away from the sternum and, firming the shoulder blades against your back, press the top of the sternum toward the chin. Firm the outer arms, broaden the shoulder blades, and try to lift the space between them at the base of the neck (where it's resting on the blanket) up into the torso.

- Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Release with an exhalation, rolling the spine slowly down onto the floor.

To modify the pose into Supported Bridge, place a block under the sacrum and rest right on it.  This modification makes the pose more restorative and is a wonderful addition to a nighttime routine.  The modification is best used to start the position and by anyone that feels any type of twinge or pain in their lower back when getting into the full pose.  I have been trying to deepen my pose by getting my shoulders closer and closer together each time and then lifting even higher to deepen the back bend. 

Bridge is one of the most versatile yoga poses, it can be relaxing or challenging based on how deep you wish to get into the pose.  I have found that this pose helps to work out the cramps that I can get in my shoulders when writing blog posts and graduate school papers and I have been using this pose more and more as the semester is coming to a close.  Next week, we are going to look at how to start in Bridge position and then begin to experiment with yoga inversions by pushing up into Shoulder Stand.

photo courtesy of Yoga Journal

RiRi Hearts MAC Holiday Collection

We are now onto what I believe is the last holiday collection from MAC, it is another one in the series of highly popular RiRi Hearts MAC collections that started coming out in the very beginning of the summer months.  I have no idea when Rihanna's popularity will begin to wane but at the moment it shows no sign of stopping and these collections have been instant sell outs and cult favorites. I am considering going onto Ebay when I have some spare time (maybe after finals week) and looking to see what products from the summer and fall collections are being resold for.  I am willing to bet that they are only rising in price and popularity...

In the previous seasons, I have liked many of the eye makeup from the RiRi collections but I have never liked the lip or face products in the collections.  None of those shades have ever looked like they would work for my skin tone, something to be expected since myself and Rihanna have two very different skin tones and there is no way that shades for her would flatter me and vice versa.  I don't have high hopes for this collection and I would only really look at some of the eye makeup shades from the latest part of the RiRi series...

"Rihanna's latest creative collaboration with M·A·C is a series of stunning looks for lips, eyes and face in shades of metallic majesty and confident colour. This limited-edition collection is encased in exclusive white-pearl packaging with RiRi's iconic rose gold detailing. Wrapping it all up, the pink metallic sheen of the RiRi ♥ M·A·C Makeup Bag in a quilted design, uniquely Rihanna.", states the MAC website when providing a description of the overall collection.

Here is the holiday version of the RiRi collection!

RiRi Hearts MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow: Pfresh Out - Five complementary shades by Rihanna for infinite day-to-night looks: soft champagne, peach gold with pearl, blackened plum, pearlescent pink and violet mauve. Highly pearlized frost finish. Encased in an exclusive white-pearl packaging with RiRi's iconic rose gold detailing. Limited edition.

RiRi Hearts MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow: 2X Dare - Five complementary shades by Rihanna for infinite day-to-night looks: white silver, deep grey blue, beige-grey, cement with pearl and light crystal mauve. Highly pearlized frost finish. Encased in an exclusive white-pearl packaging with RiRi's iconic rose gold detailing. Limited edition.

RiRi Hearts MAC Superslick Eye Liner - A liquid liner in two limited-edition shades by Rihanna - the shimmering white of Pisces Persuasion and rose gold of Cockiness. Water-based, water-resistant, quick and precise to apply. Dries in 15 seconds to a sleek, long-wearing, wet-look, no-smudge line. The superior no-fuss, no-wobble application lies in the "magic tip" of the easy-to-control dipstick applicator. Exclusive white-pearl RiRi ♥ M∙A∙C packaging.
- Pisces Persuasion - shimmery white
- Cockiness - shimmery rose gold

RiRi Hearts MAC Lipstick - Colour plus texture for the lips that made M∙A∙C famous. Three limited-edition shades created by Rihanna. In Retro Matte - the signature red of RiRi Woo. In Matte - the nude taupe of Bad Girl RiRi and fuchsia of Pleasure Bomb. Exclusive white-pearl RiRi ♥ M∙A∙C packaging.
- Pleasure Bomb - matte fuchsia
- RiRi Woo - matte cool red
- Bad Girl RiRi - matte taupey mauve

RiRi Hearts MAC Bronzing Powder - Rihanna's limited-edition soft, golden brown powder with overspray of gold pearl gives sheer, natural colour and highlights. Ideal for enhancing a skin tone or accenting and enhancing a tan. Formulated for smooth, even application on all skin types. Exclusive white-pearl RiRi ♥ M∙A∙C packaging.
- Love, Rihanna - soft golden brown with overspray of gold pearl

RiRi Hearts MAC Nail Lacquer - Limited-edition matching shade of Rihanna's signature red RiRi Woo in our high-gloss formula. Contains conditioners and UV protection. Exclusive white-pearl RiRi ♥ M∙A∙C packaging.
- RiRi Woo - matte cool red

RiRi Hearts MAC Double-Ended Brush: 217/239SE - On one end: 217 Blending for shading or blending of colour or creamy products. This brush has fine, densely packed fibres arranged in an oval shape. On other end: 239 Eye Shader, smooth, firm fine fibres in a tapered shape and rounded edge to shade or blend eye shadow or emollient-based products. Can be used to build intense colour on the eyelid. Exclusive white-pearl RiRi ♥ M∙A∙C handle.

RiRi Hearts MAC Makeup Bag - Wrap it all up in the pink metallic sheen of a small rectangular, quilted makeup bag by Rihanna. 6.5" x 4.5" x 1.5" with zipper closure. Limited edition.

I think that this might actually be my favorite of the RiRi Hearts MAC collections, in the other collections I haven't liked any of the face and lip products and this collection is the complete opposite.  A big change with this collection is that the lipsticks are my favorite of the collection and the eye makeup shades don't really do much for me.  I love the fuchsia and the red shades that are included with this collection, the red shade is the original shade that came out when the first RiRi collection was released in the early summer and quickly became a sell out classic.  I am betting that the re-release of this shade with the holiday collection will make a lot of ladies very happy and will cause much more traffic coming to the MAC counters, I was never able to get my hands on it the first time around and now I am very excited to see that I have a chance to buy it again without resorting to Ebay!

The Lipsticks are my first choice from this collection and then the next item that I buy will be the red nail polish made to match RiRi's most famous MAC Lipstick shade.  I only like one of the Eye Shadow Palettes, Pfresh Out is the only eye shadow palette that I am interested in from this collection and I don't know that I like it enough to order it.  Some of the warmer shades are nice but they are nothing special and I am sure that I already own every single one of them from previous eye makeup purchases.  I don't like the other palette and I wouldn't use either of the liquid eye liners so the eye makeup products in this collection hold next to no interest for me and I will be skipping over them completely.  I will also be skipping over the bronzer as I am not a huge fan of shimmery bronzers and I don't use them this time of the year.

I am wondering if the RiRi Hearts MAC collection will continue into the spring months and come full circle early next summer or if this is the last collection in the line.  I guess we will see in the coming months if MAC will be continuing with Rihanna or if they will have a new face for their collections.

photo courtesy of MAC

LUSH Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb

I rarely focus on the same brand two days in a row but my latest Lush haul is temporarily changing the way that I like to blog.  I have been digging around in my latest package from this company and thinking about the lovely Twilight Bath Bomb yesterday made me want to take another LUSH bath last night.  Therefore, today we are looking at the Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb and then we are going to move onto a few different brands and products in the next few days.  There are very few LUSH products that I do not love and Tisty Tosty is going to be yet another one of my favorite products from this company.  I wish that we had a store closer to my house as I either have to drive over an hour to visit one of these stores or I have to order all the products online and hope that I like the fragrances that I pick out.

Tisty Tosty is one of the few floral bath bombs that I have found from this company, this is a true floral fragrance and not one that mixes florals with either vanilla or fruit notes.  You will only like this Bath Bomb if you love true floral fragrances and I am sure that this is not a product for everyone.  This will be a favorite of mine but I cannot see this being one of the best selling bath products from LUSH, it does not have much universal appeal but will end of up being one of their products that achieves cult status among its devotees.

"At the heart of the matter, Tisty Tosty is a bathtime love potion that's made to stir passions. Drop it into the tub to luxuriate among the romantic aromas of rose and jasmine absolutes, and watch as whole rosebuds saunter across the softening waters. Invite a friend to share your bath—it'll be love at first sniff with this sensual fizzer!", states the LUSH USA website.  This website also states that this product was created as a limited edition for Valentine's Day several years ago and then ended up being such a crowd-pleaser that the company decided to keep it in the permanent line up.  I do not remember when the product initially released and I can't find this date anywhere in my past posts so this must have been released quite a few years ago.

This Bath Bomb contains a very strong mix of rose and jasmine notes and the fragrance lingered in my bathroom for several hours after my nighttime bath.  The bomb released dried rose petals as soon as the product hit the warm water and began to explode.  One of my favorite pleasures in life is watching any LUSH Bath Bomb explode in the water and seeing all of the assorted treats inside start pouring out.  With my love of floral fragrances and rose petals, this bomb was destined to be a favorite of mine and I will order a few more of these in the next few weeks.

I wish that I had found this Bath Bomb earlier, it was hidden at the bottom of the LUSH Bath Bomb category and I have never seen it displayed well during any of my store visits.  These facts back up my surmises that this will be a cult product but never one with universal appeal.  I have always loved LUSH Bath Bombs and this is yet another one of my favorites and will be repurchased over and over again!

photo courtesy of LUSH

LUSH Twilight Bath Bomb

The most stressful season of the year has arrived in full force and I am trying to find ways to distress...without wine.  I have about ten days until finals are over and I am working on finishing all of my final projects as early as possible so that I can invest even more hours into studying for my dreaded finance final.  Last weekend, I received a small LUSH order and I took the time on Sunday night to try out a newer Bath Bomb.  The Twilight Bath Bomb came out a few seasons ago but I was ordering and trying it for the first time with my last order.  I purchased a few of these and plan to use them all throughout the holiday season for a bit of extra relaxation during this busy season. 

"Recreate the magic of a dreamy, starry night in your tub with our most relaxing bath bomb yet. As Twilight slowly fizzes away in the tub, its dusky pink exterior gives way to streams of purple, and finally to a deep indigo hue with delicate shimmering stars. Relaxing lavender oil and comforting tonka absolute soothe stressed bodies and minds, leaving you feeling warm, fuzzy and ready for a restful slumber.", states the LUSH website. 

Twilight might be the perfect fall and winter bathtime treat, I love using deeper lavender fragrances in the cooler weather and I love the strong mix of lavender and tonka bean that develops from this product.  I laid in this wonderful bath for about thirty minutes and had not a care in the world when I got out and went to bed.  This is the perfect scented treat to help me through finals season.

I am torn between what I love the most about this Bath Bomb, the relaxing fragrance or the color that it turns my bath water.  The Bath Bomb is a medium pink shade when it is first unwrapped and then turns into a pale purple when it first hits the water.  As the product dissolves, it develops into a deeper purple hue with small pieces of gold shimmer in it.  It really reminds of a beautiful sunset and then the full night sky.  I was enchanted with this aspect of the product.

I am very glad that I bought several of these and I will continue to use them all through the next few days of finals season and then to combat the rest of the holiday stress.  I will order a few more of these to use for the rest of the winter months.  Twilight is among my top five for LUSH bath bombs and it might be one of my favorite products from the whole line.

photo courtesy of LUSH

Benefit Gimme Brow! Volumizing Brow Gel

Today is Cyber Monday and one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, we all know that stores do certain offers only on their websites but many stores also have great offers.  I decided to hit the mall very early this morning and do a bit of shopping for my family before I start cramming for finals season.  My last stop today was Sephora and I already started to pick up some items on my Most Wanted List, many of the holiday products are getting hard to find but I am very excited about my newest purchase from Sephora.  I have been interested in the Benefit Gimme Brow! product for a few weeks now but have never used this type of product on my eyebrows.  I bought this product this morning and tried it on as soon as I got home today.

I must confess that I don't spend much time thinking about my eyebrows, I usually get them cleaned up every few weeks but I keep them on the thicker side and don't change the overall shape of them.  I have dark hair and dark brows so I also don't have many concerns about the color of them matching my highlight/lowlight mix.  I used this brow gel once and I all I could think was "Why did I wait so long to try products like this?!", I love this product!

The Sephora website provides the following description of this awesome brow gel formula, "An award-winning, brow-volumizing, fiber gel that mimics the look of real hair for fuller-looking brows.  Gimme Brow’s innovative brush-on gel has tiny microfibers that adhere to skin and hair, creating lush-looking eyebrows where before there were none. The water-resistant, long-lasting, formula builds easily for thick, full arches, thanks to a tapered brush for blending and precision tip for shaping perfect brows.". 

This product is available in the following shades...

- Light/Medium - matches light brown to medium brown eye brows
- Medium/Dark - matches medium brown to dark brown eye brows

I use the Medium/Deep shade and it matches my hair perfectly, it is a shade deeper than my natural eye brows and the shade change make them stand out and look more defined and groomed.

This is a very easy formula to use, I was a bit worried that I would be having to draw my eyebrows on and run the risk of looking very unnatural.  This product has an applicator that reminds me a very small mascara wand, the product both tints and shapes the brows in one step.  I start with the inner corner of each brow and then sweep the product all the way to the outside.  One dip of the product is enough to do both brows in this fashion, I can just sweep this product on and be done with my brows.  This product quickly tames any stray hairs and makes my lashes look perfectly groomed with minimal effort.

I absolutely love the results of this product and I have fallen in love after using the product for only one day.  I decided that I needed to experiment a bit with the wear of this product, I don't want it to melt down my face in the hot weather or when I am at the gym after work.  I jumped in the shower before writing this post and just let the warm water run over my face.  The product didn't move at all and I had to use eye makeup remover to clean it all off my eye brows, I will be able to use this product every single day and I will be making this a staple of my makeup routine.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Most Wanted December 2013

Today is the first day of December and we are in the final stretch of time before my finals for this semester and the end of the holiday season.  I have a few last products from the holiday collections that I want to look for and then I will start thinking about what types of beauty trends we will be seeing for the spring season.  I am the most excited about Urban Decay releasing the Naked 3 Eye Shadow Palette in the very beginning of this month and I will be waiting on pins and needles until I can buy and try it out.

I also make a larger Most Wanted List in the month of December, I get inspired by the Twelve Days of Christmas and I want to pick up a few extra holiday gifts for myself.  This month I have a mixture of makeup and perfume products that I want and then I plan to try some new skincare products in the month of January.  I am feeling all kinds of new color products right now and I want quite a few new eye shadow palettes this month.

My Christmas List!

- Urban Decay Naked 3 Eye Shadow Palette
- Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Eye Shadow Palette
- Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in 24 Karat
- Zoya Zenith Nail Polish in Seraphina
- Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge in Absolute Rouge
- Tory Burch EDP
- Benefit Gimme Brow! Brow Gel in Medium/Deep
- Aerin Evening Rose EDP
- YSL Parisian Night Blush Collector Palette Rue de Babylone
- YSL Parisian Night Rouge Volupte Shine in Pink in Paris
- Dior Golden Winter 5-Couleurs Eye Palette in Golden Flowers
- China Glaze Happy Holiglaze Nail Lacquer in Mingle With Kringle

I am so ready for the first new full Urban Decay Naked Eye Shadow Palette since December of 2011, the small Naked Basics palettes are not near as exciting as this release and I am hoping that I will have my hands on Naked 3 by the beginning of next week!