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The Top 13 Beauty Discoveries in 2013

December 31, 2013
The top 13 beauty discoveries of 2013 from The Beauty Look Book (reviews from the past year are linked for each item listed):
  1. Caudalie Divine Oil – my absolute favorite beauty discovery this year
  2. By Terry Baume de Rose – pure luxury for the lips, worth every penny
  3. Drybar The Chaser Shine Pomade – my holy grail hair product to add shine, remove frizz, long lasting and smells amazing, my husband also loves this for his hair
  4. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder – the perfect answer to glowing skin and my second favorite discovery this year
  5. Urban Decay Naked3 Palette – lovely rose-gold neutrals
  6. Chanel Taboo Le Vernis – a dramatic purple with red and silver shimmers, The Beauty Look Book’s second most popular post from 2013
  7. Dior Diablotine Le Vernis – the most striking intense coral red shimmer
  8. Tom Ford Illuminating Cheek Colors – unfortunately these were released in very limited quantities, but close alternatives you can get right now are MAC Magnetic Nude Skinfinishes in Magnetic Appeal and Fairly Precious
  9. Edward Bess Black Sea Mousse Foundations – I’ve mixed Light and Medium to get a good match, I’ve found that this is indeed the perfect full coverage foundation that gives a flawless airbrushed look that still manages to look natural, I truly hope Edward releases this to all his counters and in more shades (it was a QVC exclusive that sold out almost instantly)
  10. Chanel Les Beiges Powders – my favorite is 20 for all over, 30 and 40 work wonders for natural contouring and adding a soft glow of color to the face
  11. Diptyque 10-Piece Set – special release this holiday and the perfect way to try multiple scents at a more affordable price than buying the full sizes of each candle
  12. YSL Rouge Volupte Shines – my favorite lipsticks of the year for and The Beauty Look Book’s most popular post from 2013
  13. Chanel Illusion D’Ombre in Initiation – holiday 2013 release and the perfect bronze shimmer
I am thankful from the bottom of my heart for each and every one of my readers. You inspire me every week with your thoughtful and insightful comments/e-mails/tweets. I can’t express enough how appreciative I am for those of you who take the time to share your expertise and add your input to my weekly features. Your experiences, tips and tricks help others like myself figure out what works or how to make things work better. Thank you for following my blog and for your support.

What were your top beauty discoveries this year?

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Eye Makeup Urban Decay

Urban Decay Naked3 Palette

December 11, 2013

Urban Decay’s latest addition to the Naked family is the Naked3 Palette ($52 for 12 shades, 1.3g each). The theme of Naked3 is rose-gold. It’s a warmer palette compared to Naked and Naked2, but still neutral. I’m a huge fan of the other versions. Urban Decay makes amazing shadows with impressive pigment and wear. Naked3 comes with a double-sided brush and a sample packet of their primers. The brush is very well made however I prefer softer hair brushes for powder shadows (versus synthetic material) mainly because it’s what I’m used to.

The colors in the palette vary from matte to shimmer to sparkle and tiny micro-glitters. I’m on the conservative side when it comes to glitters and find each and every shade in this palette wearable and suitable for everyday. The pigment on all the shades is really incredible. The only color I had issues with is the Blackheart which applied a bit chalky alone but works well when applied over a creamy liner with a tiny detail brush. There was no fallout with any of the glittery colors. Most of the shades in this palette appear to be new colors:
  • Strange is a soft matte ivory pink
  • Dust is a glittery light pink
  • Burnout is a warmer pink shimmer
  • Limit is a matte mauve-pink
  • Buzz is a pink mauve shimmer
  • Trick is a coppery pink glitter
  • Nooner is a matte mauve
  • Liar is a warm taupe
  • Factory is a darker brownish taupe shimmer
  • Mugshot is a neutral taupe shimmer
  • Darkside is a satiny purple brown
  • Blackheart is a dark black with red shimmer
Close ups plus swatches:

After my Instagram picture a few weeks ago many emailed me asking for comparisons to Naked and Naked2. I do think Naked3 is different enough to justify owning if you have either of the other two. Naked3 is the warmest and pinkest of the three options but has the most universally flattering colors. Here are the palettes photographed and swatched:

Swatches:

I really love the Naked3 palette. The color options are simply stunning and combinations endless. It’s priced well for the size and quality. The packaging is well designed and sturdy. I think it’s a definite must-have and will make an amazing holiday gift for beauty lovers.

Naked3 was a quick sellout online at a many locations but keep checking back – they are restocking frequently. You can find it online at Macy’s, Sephora, and Urban Decay.
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Urban Decay

Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm

March 2, 2013
My latest skin/foundation/primer discovery is Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm ($34 for 35 ml/1.18 fl oz). I had been saving my Sephora Beauty Insider Points for months but as soon as I saw the Naked Skin minis available in-store, I redeemed some points for two mini 3.7 ml samples to try. I liked it so much after using a few days that I immediately ordered a full size tube from Urbandecay.com when they had their Friends and Family Sale.

After reading numerous reviews on this product, I decided to try this as a primer, over moisturizer but under foundation. I found that the Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm has a peachy beige color but applies to an almost transparent finish. Since it comes in only one shade I was concerned about the way it would look on my skin. I have light-medium olive skin and right now use NARS Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska and Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere in B30 along with Dolce & Gabbana’s Warm 100 in the Powder and Cream. I think I’m at the right skintone where the Urban Decay Naked Balm is perfect for my skin. I’ve been using it two ways:

1) Apply moisturizer, then layer Urban Decay’s Naked Beauty Balm, then dust powder foundation on top (I like Dolce & Gabbana’s and Chanel’s): the beauty balm helps to even out and prime the skin to help the powder adhere better but apply evenly, sometimes layering powder foundation over foundation can be too heavy, but applying powder foundation over moisturizer only doesn’t give enough coverage, the UD beauty balm helps give a good in-between
2) Apply moisturizer, layer Urban Decay’s Naked Beauty Balm, then feather in liquid foundation on areas that need coverage: the beauty balm helped the overall application of foundation and also helped it last longer on my skin throughout the day

I have normal but sensitive skin, I don’t typically use primers or beauty balms. When it comes to foundation, I like to keep the layering as minimal as possible: moisturizer, foundation then powder. Adding anything else usually ends up feeling too heavy for me although I have used and loved Guerlain Meteorites Perles Light Diffusing Perfecting Primer, Chanel Le Blanc de Chanel and Chanel Base Lumiere. The results of the Urban Decay Beauty Balm surprised me. I haven’t used it a full eight weeks to test out everything such as improvement of lines, lift, smoothness. After using it for a little over two weeks now, I can say that the overall look of my skin with foundation added has improved tremendously. There is a soft slightly minty fresh scent to the balm, it seems odd, but it’s really subtle and rather refreshing. The scent disappears on me after a few minutes of wear.

Right now, NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska is a good match for me, you can see side-by-side the Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm is warmer/peachier, it does blend out to an almost transparent finish.

 
Here are the ingredients from the sample package:


For me, I was lucky to try a sample (thanks to Sephora VIB points) long enough to see how it worked. This allowed me to decide whether or not to buy. I give it a huge thumbs up. However, given the fact that it comes in only one shade, I don’t think it will work for everyone. Also note that I like it as a primer which I don’t think is the intended purpose of this, so your mileage may vary. Hundreds of people have written reviews on Sephora.com and Urbandecay.com – I found them helpful.

Did you try Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm? What did you think? Did it work for your skin tone or skin type? Do you have any favorite primers or beauty balms?

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Uncategorized

Loving Right Now

April 11, 2011

Right now I’m loving …

Jo Malone Tea Fragrances – layering these together creates the most lovely uplifting scents. I find them simple, pure and refreshing! (each scent reviewed here)

Chanel Ombres Perleés de Chanel, perfect for a lovely glow and easy to apply with fingers (reviewed and swatched here)

NARS Kalahari Duo & Fez Single Eyeshadow – I’ve been using my depotted Kalahari and it was about time for a replacement so I bought a new one. It’s one of my holy-grail neutrals. Fez is a beautiful bronzey copper (swatched here).

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Ébène is a pure black and stays put all day and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Shadow Pencil Blending Brush is the perfect brush for blending smokey colors (not so great for blending lighter shades all over the lid, but for darker shades and detail areas or smudging it’s great)

Giorgio Armani Blush #2 – the original Armani products were the best in my opinion. Classic nude soft neutrals never go out of style. #2 is a soft luminous peachy pink.

Bobbi Brown Aruba Illuminating Bronzing Powder is a golden shimmer bronze (see it here too)

Chanel Joyeuse from the Le Blanc Asia Exclusive Collection is a beautiful bright pink (see it reviewed here as well)

More bright lips: Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer 02 Can-Can (here too), Dior Model Addict Lipstick (also here) and Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shine in Adventure (I used up the entire sample from the little card I received and went out to buy the full sized version)

What are you loving right now?
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Uncategorized

Loving Right Now

July 28, 2010


A lot of repeats this month from recent features. Right now I’m loving …

NARS Eyeshadow Duos – here are a few of my favorites that haven’t been depotted yet (which I don’t recommend, but did for the compacts that got too sticky, now stored in my Trish McEvoy planner pages)

Top: India Song, Cordura, Brumes
Middle: Rajasthan, Alhambra, Brousse
Bottom: Silk Road, Tzarine, Bohemian Gold

NARS Nourishing Eye Cream (previously reviewed here)


Urban Decay Naked Palette (previously featured here)

Chanel Teint Innocence Foundation and Natural Finish Loose Powder – No matter how many other foundations I try, I keep coming back to the Teint Innocence. Just recently tried their loose setting powder and love it as well. I use Shell in the foundation and Naturel in the powder.


Chanel Rouge Coco in Chintz & Rose Dentelle – A little bit more delicate than most of my other Chanel lipsticks. These came a bit dinged on the sides but everything else was in tact. They are really close in color, Chintz is more peach, while Rose Dentelle is more pink.


Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliners – Rich pigment and longlasting plus no sharpening required! Wish they would re-release that old shade Tweed (a lovely golden taupe).

Black Shimmer & Ebene swatched here
Cassis swatched here
Marine swatched here and here

Edward Bess All Over Seduction Cream Highlighters – Perfectly glowy (previously reviewed and swatched here)

Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers – Great pigment and shine. I had to get almost all of the colors. I’ll get to lip swatches eventually.

Burberry Lipglosses are great . . . but I’m loving everything I purchased (click on the Burberry tag)


Quilted accessories, purses, makeup planners – dreaming of a quilted flap bag


Out of all the Trish planners I have, the quilted ones are my favorite.


Last but not least, my kitty, small but mighty fierce. This is the only photo I could get of him that makes him look non-evil. (I love my puppies too but they won’t sit still for a picture – way too excited about my brother in-law visiting this week after having been gone to the east coast for several months)


What are you loving this month?

28 Comments
Urban Decay

Urban Decay Naked Palette

July 6, 2010

I was one of those who jumped on the Naked bandwagon the day this palette was released on UrbanDecay.com. It contains 12 eyeshadows + 1 double ended eyeliner, retails for $44 and measures about 8 inches wide by 2.5 inches tall. I’ve been eagerly waiting for this ever since I saw it on Twitter and Facebook and it exceeds my expectations.

Here it is for size reference:

This is my first palette from Urban Decay. I’ve been intrigued by the Book of Shadows series, but unfortunately I won’t buy a palette unless I feel it’s at least 50% wearable for me. I was so excited to discover that all the colors in this palette are wearable. I already have a few of the shades in single format (Toasted, Sin and Naked), but couldn’t resist. There’s a good mixture of existing + new shades. Also, I hate to say this, but I haven’t been a fan of the Book of Shadows packaging. I like palettes to be sleek and simple. I found the BOS a bit bulky and just not my style. Plus I don’t dig glitter.

The Naked Palette comes in a soft velvety brown case with a small mirror. I love that it comes with a mini eye primer (I’m excited to try this).

L to R: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked,
Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Close ups:


Swatches in the same order as palette, on bare skin:


I am one of those girls who doesn’t like to buy palettes with over 5 shades because there is usually at least 1 shade I don’t like. I still cave occasionally. This one I feel is wearable for a wide variety of skintones. As a neutral lover, I find this very wearable.

Without flash:


I’ve been a huge fan of Urban Decay Eyeshadows since I was in high school (in the 90’s), but this is my first Urban Decay palette. I’ve loved the Urban Decay line back when it was the edgier counterpart to Hard Candy (pre-walmart days). I can’t say that I love all their shades (especially the glitter ones) but they are one brand I feel has revamp packaging and expanded their distribution to a wider variety of retail channels yet has remained consistent in quality and focus. I have to say, as a brand, Urban Decay is continuously true to their brand values. This is something I appreciate as a customer who panics when I hear the word “revamp” (since revamping isn’t always good). Even though I’m not the biggest fan of their packaging, I think for the most part, it still works. I find their matte and shimmer eyeshadows rank among the top in terms of quality. Now if they would only release a non-glitter version of Maui Wowie and Mushroom as a single/individual shadow and bring back their lip gunk I would be forever happy 🙂

Here is the old eyeshadow packaging for YDK compared to the new,
one might consider this from 1999 “vintage”:


I hope Urban Decay will release more palettes in this same style/format/theme. I find the name “Naked” a bit misleading, but it works for me. Perhaps it is naked for Urban Decay, considering they have some really bright shades. I hope they release more versions of this like they did the BOS (1, 2, AIW and soon 3?). A smokey palette (with Mushroom please!) would be divine. One can dream, but I will be very busy with this one until then.

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Uncategorized

Current Loves For June . . .

June 26, 2010

Paul & Joe Creamy Facial Foam
NARS Beverly Hills Multiple Tint
NARS Sertao Blush
NARS Cordura Eyeshadow Duo
Urban Decay YDK Eyeshadow
Bobbi Brown Bronzer Brush
Bobbi Brown Shore Cream Eyeshadow
Chanel Nail Polishes
MAC Blonde’s Gold Pigment
MAC Fleur Power
J.Crew Skinny Belts

* Sorry for the misspelling on the NARS blush, it’s Sertao, not Serato


  • Paul & Joe Creamy Facial Foam – I tried this from a sample and finally purchased the full size. It’s thick and creamy and cleanses the skin really well. Leaves the skin feeling clean and refreshed.
  • NARS Beverly Hills Multiple Tint – See more swatches and the review here, a nice swipe & go type of product, easy to use and blend, gives a pop of color, can’t rave enough about these
  • NARS Sertao Blush – A pretty shimmery light golden tan
  • NARS Cordura Eyeshadow Duo – Great for a smokey bronzed eye look
  • Urban Decay YDK Eyeshadow – This is from the old packaging, a nice nude-taupey-bronze sparkle
  • Bobbi Brown Bronzer Brush – This is from the Black Plum set, but is available in the regular brush handle, the most luxurious soft bronzer brush you’ll ever find. Definitely worth the price even though it is pricier.
  • Bobbi Brown Shore Cream Eyeshadow – My perfect lids-but-better base, review here
  • Chanel Nail Polishes – Especially love Riviera (check out dupes here) and Orange Blossom (see the manicure here)
  • MAC Fleur Power – The perfect healthy warm pink blush
  • MAC Blonde’s Gold Pigment – The prettiest wash of soft gold-champagne
  • J.Crew Skinny Belts – Simple, classic and makes a nice accent to the waist, now I just need to go back and find a black one


What are you loving right now? I always love reading your favorites.

*Update* I wasn’t happy with the swatches for this post – I think they were a bit misleading because the lighting was off so I removed them so I don’t confuse my readers. Sorry for any confusion!

17 Comments