Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

After owning the Urban Decay Naked palette and lusting for the Naked 2 for some time, I decided to take the plunge and buy the Naked 2 palette. While the original Naked palette featured plenty of warm-toned neutral shades, the Naked 2 is much more on the cooler side, featuring some really pretty taupe, silver and purple shades. I haven't had this that long but already I can tell I am going to get so much wear out of these shades. The mix of light and dark, shimmer and matte make it such a versatile palette, add to that the sturdy, sleek packaging makes it perfect for travel. I definitely prefer the packaging of this palette over the original palette. It looks far sleeker, doesn't get as dirty and I feel like its more sturdy. You also get a nice big mirror and a double-ended eyeshadow brush, again both handy additions for travel. 

I'm drawn to the shade selection of the Naked 2 more than the original. They are good quality shadows and if you are careful, fallout is minimal. Vivanna does makeup provides a good run through of the individual shades if you want to find out more (post here). My personal favourites include YDK, Suspect and Chopper, though all of them will see their fair share of wear. Swatches of all the shades are provided below. 

The Naked 2 palette costs around €42, which considered you get 12 full-sized eyeshadow and a brush is pretty good value. I bought mine from House of Fraser (link here) and it is available at any Urban Decay counter. If you are just getting into makeup or a complete fanatic, I think this palette appeals to everyone and definitely recommend it. 

If you like to see any looks with this palette or a similar review of the original Naked palette, let me know in the comments below. Have you tried the Naked 2 palette? I would love to know your thoughts below.

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Eye Liner Alternatives

My everyday makeup tends to be done in a hurry, which means gel or liquid eyeliner is simply  too time consuming. However, I don't have the thickest pair of lashes and I find I need to had some sort of definition to my lashline, which is where this post comes in.  

I thought I would do a quick post about my favourite eyeshadows for adding some definition to the lashline. What I love about using a dark eyeshadow rather than conventional eye liner is that is super quick and fussfree. As the colour isn't as opaque as eye liner, you don't have to worry about being neat. If you make a mistake, you can easily blend the shadow out. 

Moving on to the actual eyeshadows I particularly like to use, I'll start with a simple matte black. My one is Carbon from MAC and I bought mine in the pot form to make it easy for travel. Obviously you don't need a black eyeshadow from MAC, any will do and I think it's such a capsule eyeshadow shade. Next is Brun, also from MAC, which is described as a muted blackish-brown. It's a little bit more subtle than Carbon, which makes it a nice choice if I'm not wearing a lot of eye makeup but still want to define my lashline. Finally, we have the NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Cordura. I like to use the dark brown shade on the right-hand side of the palette for liner. It looks lighter in the pan than it applies and I find it is somewhere between Brun and Carbon. It has a little bit of shimmer in it as well which I think adds a nice effect. 

MAC 266 Brush

I thought I would also mention my brush of choice for applying the eyeshadow as liner, the MAC 266. I also use this for gel eye liner when I have more time on my hands and have heard good things about using this for brows. The 266 is a small angled brush with natural bristles and I find it does a really good job, making eyeshadow placement quick and easy. 

Carbon and Brun are available to purchase here, Cordura here and the 266 brush here.

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MAC Painterly Paintpot

I have already posted about my favourite eye primer (here) and today I thought I would talk about the MAC Paintpot in Painterly. I typically pair a cream eyeshadow with an eye primer before appling eyeshadow to enhance staying power and make the colours more vibrant. I wear an eye base most days I wear makeup, whether to under eyeshadows or on it's own, to even out the eyelid. I bought Painterly Paintpot mainly because of the huge hype behind it in the beauty community. 

Swatched heavily and not blended 

Painterly is a nude, pinky-beige colour with no shimmer in it. While it looks far darker than my skin tone in the photo, once blended out the colour isn't that noticeable on my skin. Because it does match my skin colour, it means I can pair any colour eyeshadow with it and I can wear it on its own without any worries. In terms of staying power, paired with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, it will last most of the day and prevent my eyeshadow from creasing. On especially long days, I do have some issues with creasing, though I have particular trouble with creasing. 

MAC Paintpots retail for €19 and are available from MAC counters. If you live in Ireland, you can also buy Paintpots online from House of Fraser (link here) 

Have you tried any Paintpots?

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Too Faced Shadow Insurance

 

I love wearing eyeshadow but not matter what brand I use, all shadows tend to crease like crazy on my eyelids. A decent eye primer is, therefore, a necessity. Shadow Insurance by Too Faced is my favourite so far.

You only need a tiny bit of product, meaning one tube lasts forever. I've had been for several months, consistently using it and still have a lot of product left. I find the amount shown above is plenty for both eyelids. Once blended out on the lid, the Shadow Insurance has virtually no colour. I tend to pair it with another base, typically as Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow or a MAC Paintpot. Paired with another base, my eyeshadow lasts all day and is still crease-free hours later when I remove my makeup. Eye primers also have the added benefit of making eyeshadows much more vibrant on the lid.

Too Faced can be a little bit tricky to find in Ireland, however, I have found it in larger Boots stores. I purchased mine online though I can't remember from where. It was either from Asos (link here) or from Beautybay (link here). It costs around €22 euro for the tube shown, however, I really do think it is good value for money as you get so much product. Once mine runs out (which I can't see happening anytime soon), I will definitely be repurchasing it straight away.

What is your favourite eye primer?

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MAC Cork Eyeshadow

After talking about my favourite champagne, all over the lid shade last week (post here), today I thought I would talk about my most used crease colour, MAC's Cork eyeshadow.



























Cork is described on the MAC website as being a muted golden brown. I would personally describe it as a medium warm matte brown shade. As I said I tend to primarily use cork in the crease. I typically use shimmery shades all over the lid and think a matte colour in the crease creates a nice contrast. Cork was one of the first MAC shadows I bought (along with Woodwinked, Shroom and All That Glitters) and as remained one of my most-used crease colours. While I have a cool-toned complexion, I have blue eyes so I like wearing warm-tones on my eyes.

MAC eyeshadows are available in individual pots (€15) or in pan form (€11.50). I personally buy most of mine in pan form and keep them in MAC palettes, which are available for purchase separately. MAC eyeshadows are available in Ireland from Brown Thomas or BT2, or from House of Fraser online (link here).

Do you have any favourite MAC eyeshadows?

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Nars Alhambra Eyeshadow Duo

My everyday eye normally consists of a champagne coloured eyeshadow across the lid, a light matte brown in the crease and some eye liner on the lash line if I have the time. While it may be fairly simple, I think it is quite subtle and perfect for when you're in a hurry and still want to look put together. I own plenty of shimmery champagne shades, but today I am sharing my favourite, the Nars Alhambra eyeshadow duo (available here).

The Alhambra duo comes in the typical Nars packaging. The eyeshadow duos have identical packaging to the Nars blushes, which can be a little confusing so it is best to store them separately. In terms of the pros and cons of the packaging, it is the same as all of the Nars packaging. Ascetically pleasing, not overly bulky, decent sized mirror. The major issue is always that the rubberised finish has a tendency to attract any dirt that may be lurking in your makeup bag. Given that, I am still rather found of the Nars packaging.

The Alhambra eyeshadow duo comes with a pinky champagne shade (left) and a golden shade (right). As I am quite pale, a lot of champagne shades had a tendency to appear quite orange on my skin, All That Glitters by MAC is one such shade. However, the pinker shade in this duo produces a lovely champagne shade on my skin. It is a colour I find myself reaching for most mornings when applying my makeup. The golden shade is also stunning, swatching as a true gold. While the gold does not get worn as much as the pinker colour, it is still a beautiful colour that I enjoy wearing.

In terms of the eyeshadow itself, I find the texture to be beautiful. I am a massive fan of Nars eyeshadows in general, with this duo being no exception. The shadows are wonderfully smooth and buttery, blending with ease on the lid.

Nars eyeshadow duos are not the cheapest eyeshadows on the market, retailing for around the €30 mark. However, I think this eyeshadow duo is definitely worth it. It is easily my most worn eyeshadows and the quality is supreme. I think if you are a fan of neutral and champagne shades, it is definitely worth a look.

Have you tried any Nars eyeshadows before? Do you have any other neutral eyeshadow recommendations?

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