I Got Naked2!!!

I am a huge fan of Urban Decay cosmetics and a proud owner of the original Naked palette, so when I heard about the new Naked2 palette I was beyond excited! I watched xsparkage and Temptalia's reviews of the palette prior to the launch and knew immediately that I MUST have this palette!

Currently the Naked2 palette is only available online, through Urban Decay's website. According to sources, it will not be available for purchase in stores until mid to late January. I personally couldn't wait that long, so when I received the email from UD that it was available I jumped... but not until the third release. I wanted to wait and read blogs or watch YouTube videos on the product, even though I had every intention of purchasing.

The shades in the Naked2 palette are described as taupe and greige neutrals, containing 5 exclusive shades.  I would say the shade descriptions are pretty accurate. Where the original Naked palette is warmer, with bronze and golden shades, the Naked2 is much cooler and contains mostly taupe colors or variations of taupe. With the Naked2 palette you get a mini Lip Junkie in the shade, you guessed it, Naked! Which I have to say is a nice change from the Original Primer Potion you get with the original Naked.

The only thing I was truly disappointed in was the repeat shadow in Half-Baked. This color to me doesn't follow suite with the rest of the shades in Naked2 and is part of Naked. If they were going to repeat a shade, I wish it would have been Naked. This palette contains 3 matte shades, Foxy, Tease and Black Out (part of the 15th anniversary palette). I am happy that two highlight shades are included in this palette, one that is matte and one that is frosted.

L-R: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, and Snakebite

L-R: Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted and Blackout

A lot of people are raving about how great the new packaging is... well I personally didn't find anything wrong with the original packaging, I actually liked it. This new packaging is frustrating, it is metal and when you close it you have to make sure the slots line up to close properly. I do like the larger mirror, even though it will be rarely used. The size of the Naked2 is comparable to the original, as well as the amount of product.

Top: Naked2
Bottom: Naked

One thing I was really excited about was the new double ended brush that comes with Naked2, unfortunately my palette was missing the brush. But fret not, I contacted customer service and they apologized and sent me out a new brush! The Naked palette, when originally released, came with a double ended liner in Whiskey and Zero and then due to production issues, they now come with the Good Karma Eye Shadow Brush. I was a little sad, I wish I could have gotten my hands on one that had the eye liner, but the brush is nice and is used quite frequently.

The Naked2 palette is priced at $50, which to me is an awesome price! The original Naked palette was $48, so only a $2 price increase. For $50 you get 12 full size eye shadows, that are comparable to a MAC eye shadow, a double ended brush and a mini Lip Junkie. Not bad I must say! At  MAC a quad, pre-packaged, runs you $38 or if you build your own with 4 shadows $53 or with 15 shadows $188.50, you could but 3.5 Naked palettes for building one palette with 15 shadows. The quality of UD is like butter and are long lasting, at least on me, and wearable for day to day or nighttime.

For those of you wondering if it is worth it to buy Naked2 if you have Naked, I would say no... but the one that suits you, cool or warm. But if you are like me and love neutrals, Urban Decay and are a collector, then YES buy it! You won't be disappointed!

If you got Naked2, or Naked, let me know what are your favorite color combinations or looks! Thanks for reading, until next time!

XO Shannon

theBalm Nude 'Tude

I recently watched a video by Temptalia on theBalm Cosmetics Nude 'Tude palette. I am such a sucker for nude shadow palettes and when I saw this one I immediately thought I HAVE to have it! So, luckily it was the week of Black Friday and they were offering 40% off your purchase. It is priced at $36, but with my 40% off it only ended up being $21.60 and I chose the free shipping. With the free shipping, I ordered Friday, around noon, and it mailed out on Tuesday and I received it on Thursday. To me that is not bad, for free shipping.

Now on to my review... The packaging is similar to Urban Decay's Naked palette and Sigma's palettes, but a lot thinner! In the palette you get 12 eye shadows, 4 matte and 8 shimmer or metallic finish. TheBalm is a makeup company I was not at all familiar with until coming across Temptalia on YouTube. She reviewed their Muppet palette, which was highly limited edition and I didn't want to fight for, and I really loved the quality of the shadow and the color payoff.

Back of the package

The inside

In the palette you get a frosty white, gold, peach and champagne. You also get a matte brown, black, burgundy and brown/black. Then you get some shimmery browns.

The shadows all have a "S" name and there are 2 versions of the palette, "Naughty" and "Nice". Both versions include the same shadows and exterior packaging. The only difference is that the "Naughty", the version I purchased, has naked ladies with the shadows covering there intimate places. The Nice version has the same exterior picture on the inside, with the shadows and the names.

So far I am liking this band and their eye products. I have not tried anything other than their face products, but I think I may try out some of their blushes. I am also looking forward to their new palette, "TheBalm and the Beautiful", which is the same as their Muppet palette, with new shadow names and pictures for the packaging, By the title, you can tell it is soap opera themed.

I am loving theBalm, have you used them? What would you recommend? Until next time XOXO

XO Shannon

New Products from Sigma!

Beginning Monday, November 21, 2011 Sigma will be launching five, yes FIVE, new products! The new products will include new travel sets, new larger sets and a set containing a fan brush that I am pretty excited about! Take a look below and check Sigma's website every Monday from November 21st until December 19th for new products!

The first of the five will launch Monday, November 21, 2011 and it is the Cities Collection. The description from Sigma is: 

"The Cities is Sigma Beauty’s special edition travel kit collection! The kits feature seven travel-sized brushes from our best selling Essential and Premium Kits (E05 Eyeliner, E35 Tapered Blending, E45 Small Tapered Blending, E60 Large Shader, F05 Small Contour, F15 Duo Fibre, and F30 Large Powder). The brushes are held in a travel-size container that turns into two brush holders to keep your brushes organized, even on the go. Each kit was designed to represent the beauty and excitement of the city it is named after. There are four kits in this exciting collection: London (brown), Tokyo (pink), Paris (red) and New York (black)."

Cities Collection
$59 for Paris, Tokyo and New York, $89 for London

The second will launch on Monday, November 28, 2011 and it is the Make Me Up Collection - Travel Edition. The description from Sigma is:

"The Sigma Beauty Make Me Up Travel Kits were designed for fun, yet practical makeup application on the go. Similar to the design of the full sized Make Me Up Collection, these travel sized kits contain seven colorful brushes held in a functional and stylish container (E30 Pencil, E40 Tapered Blending, E55 Eye Shading, E65 Small Angle, F30 Large Powder, F40 Large angled Contour, and F60 Foundation). The kits will be available in Black, Aqua, Coral and Purple."

Make Me Up Collection - Travel Edition
$59 

The third will launch on Monday, December 5, 2011 and its is the Bunny Collection. The description from Sigma is:

"The Bunny Collection is Sigma Beauty’s vegan friendly line of brushes. The collection will feature a full-size and travel-size kit. The full size kit will contain the twelve brushes sold in our Essential Kit, all made with the Sigmax HD fibers. The travel-size kit contains seven best selling brushes from the Essential kit. Both kits will be held in a Sigma Beauty container that turns into two brush holders."

Bunny Collection
Complete Kit $109, Travel Kit $59

The fourth will launch on Monday, December 12, 2011 and it is the Extravaganza Face Kit. The Description from Sigma is:

"The Sigma Beauty Extravaganza Face Kit is a lavish assortment of one of a kind, hand-crafted brushes with 18 karat gold-plated ferrules. The face kit features four gorgeous, 18K gold-plated brushes and a deluxe carrying case, perfect for traveling and storage."

Extravaganza Face Kit 

The fifth one will launch on Monday, December 19, 2011 and it is the Extravaganza Complete Kit. The description from Sigma is:

"The Sigma Beauty Extravaganza Complete Kit features 29 of our best-selling essential, premium and individual brushes. The brushes in this collection are hand-crafted with 18 karat gold-plated ferrules, specially designed to deliver a luxurious makeup application."

Extravaganza Complete Kit 

So what are you most excited about or picking up? I'm thinking about the travel sets... they would make fabulous gifts!

XO Shannon