REVIEW || ARE THE URBAN DECAY NAKED PALETTES WORTH YOUR MONEY?

The Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palettes have been a big hit since the first one came out in 2010, but now with so many amazing and more affordable palettes out there, are they really worth their price tag? I can finally say that I own the first 3 naked palettes and have put them to the test. After lusting over them (especially the first one due to the packaging) for years now, my wishes came true and the makeup fairy gifted me with these three beauties - in this case, my mum turned out to be the fairy.

The packaging:

Like I've mentioned above, I love the packaging of the first palette. It's very unique and you can actually open it all the way around so it's great for travelling. The only thing that annoys me about this one is the size of the mirror  - it's pathetic. I'm the type of girl who uses her palette mirror on-the-go, but using this one I can only touch up my lipstick if I hold it close enough to my mouth! 

On the other hand, the Naked 2 & 3 palettes come in a metal packaging which I really dislike. It reminds me of a very cheap palette that you could buy in like corner shops or something, but they do come with a large mirror and the metal case protects the palette from breaking while you're travelling.

Naked:
I feel like the shades in this palette are great for people of all skin tones and ages. It has a variety of subtle matte shades as well as pigmented shimmers. My favourite shades from this palette are 'Buck' and 'Toasted', which you can use to create a full eye-makeup look using just these two shades. Even though this palette was the first one to come out, it's one of my favourites and was actually my latest addition.

Naked 2:
The Naked 2 palette is a cool-toned shadow lovers' dream. The shade 'Tease' was literally created for me... it's a beautiful transition shade for all skin tones and looks lovely on its own too. I enjoy using this palette but I don't reach for it as much as I'd like to, so I would definitely suggest that you try the colours out in store before deciding on which one to buy.

Naked 3:
Now, I feel like this palette is very girly and versatile. It's great for every-day use, and the shades compliment each other very well. It has a lot of pinks in it, so if you're not a big fan of pink shadows then stay clear from this one as you might not like it. I think the shades 'Blackheart' and 'Trick' are my favourite as they're very pigmented.

If you're interested in more affordable dupes for these then I suggest the W7 palettes or the 'eBay' alternative 1 and 2.

^swatches from the Naked palette.

^swatches from the Naked 2 palette.

^swatches from the Naked 3 palette.


Overall, I found it hard to decide which palette I liked and used the most out the three, but I chose the first original Naked palette. I chose this one because I thought it suited me the most as there are 10 nude shades and 2 silver shades which make smokey eyes a lot easier to create. However, the price tag of £39.50 is way too high for what these palettes have to offer, but I will probably buy the Heat palette as I've heard lots of great reviews of it.

Do you own any of the Urban Decay Naked palettes? If so, what do you think of them?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

REVIEW || COLOURPOP EYESHADOWS

Who hasn't been lusting over Colourpop products yet? Not a lot I bet. As soon as I've heard of the brand sometime a year ago I've been wanting to try out their products, and when I finally got my hands on some I was very very happy.

I have written a full review of the Lippie Stix here. So, if you have already seen this post then you'd know that I absolutely love Colourpop lip products but let's talk about their eyeshadows!

I bought a set of 4 for only $18 instead of $20 which is how much they would cost me if I had bought them individually. I love warm tones and all four of these are right up my alley so I was very excited to try them out.

I have the shades (l-r) Jinxie, Elixir, Seeker and Paradox. I must say that Paradox is my favourite as it's a very deep burgundy shade and shows up great on my skin tone - I also tried it on a friend who has a deeper skin tone and it looked great on her!

To say that these are only $5 and the pigment is fantastic and shows up well on deeper skin tones as well as light, these are totally worth the price and YOU NEED IT in your collection!!

I love the packaging of these, the cute little pots look very expensive and are handy to whip out a couple of shades to create a full eye makeup look. I think that these would look great in Alex drawers (so fetch) but I know that many people prefer to have their eyeshadows in palettes rather than singles, but thankfully you can get Colourpop eyeshadow pans to put in a palette! Hooray! The only downside of these coming in pots is that it would be very difficult to depot these and unfortunately these shades aren't available in the single pans yet :(

I will expand my Colourpop eyeshadow collection soon enough, and you'll hear about it all over my social media platforms! - I've been trying really hard to take better pictures and create better content so head over to my Instagram for pretty pics and Twitter for latest post news!

Have you tried any Colourpop products? Have you got a favourite brand for eyeshadows?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

TOP 4 EYESHADOW PALETTES YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE

I have spent years searching for the right eyeshadow palette to suit my skin tone and that's affordable, but after finally finding the 'one(s)' I can confidently say that you shouldn't search for a palette with colours that will suit the colour of your skin, but ones that you actually like. Don't listen to people who say you don't suit bright purple eyeshadow - if you like it then go ahead and buy it!

I thought I'd share my wisdom when it comes to eyeshadow palettes and share with you my 4 staples that you just might have to buy hehe.

MAC eyeshadows are amazing, there's no doubt about that. There are many cheaper alternatives that are just as good however, I will never give up my MAC shadows as they were my first luxurious purchases. The refill pans retail at £10 each however, some of the ones I bought were actual eyeshadow pots which I then depotted to put into my pro palette (£8 + £2 for the insert). The pigmentation of these is insane, but you are paying a lot of money so you get what you pay for. The colours I have are: (top-bottom) Era, Amber Lights, Beauty Marked, Creme de Violet, Deep Truth, Naked Lunch, Tempting, Trax, Pink Venus, Steamy, Brule, Honesty, Mythology, Haux, and Electric Eel. I would say that creating your own eyeshadow palettes with the shades that you love and will get use out of is a must-do!

I recently got my hands on this limited edition Pulp Fiction palette by Urban Decay and I am in love... I'm a huge fan of Uma Thurman and to see that UD brought out a palette of one of my favourite movies I had to buy it. It is true guys, UD eyeshadows are amazing! Everyone has been going crazy over the Naked range (read my reviews here, and here) but I have to say that the Pulp Fiction palette is my favourite as the colours are very wearable and obviously because of the packaging haha! Tyranny is my favourite shade from the palette as I can even use it to contour my nose!

If you're looking for something more affordable but still amazing quality then I have to direct you to any of the Makeup Revolution palettes. I have been using their products for probably 4-5 years now and I absolutely love them, especially the palettes. MUR has been slaying the eyeshadow game for a while now, and I must say that this palette is my all-time favourite and I use it nearly every day. It's a fantastic dupe for the Kat Von D Shade and Light palette which retails at £37 whereas, the MUR one is only £8. I use this when I'm running out of time when doing my makeup as it always looks good, no matter how little it takes me to blend out the shades!

Last but not least, we have the Jeffree Star Beauty Killer palette. I've been lusting over this palette ever since it came out and then I was lucky enough to snatch it at half price in his sale at the beginning of March. I must say that this has lived up to my expectations completely and I'm in love. The shades are amazing and so up my alley, I really want his new Androgyny palette now!! (If anyone wants to donate one to me please do haha). The formula is very different from the three mentioned above as the shadows feel very buttery and are a dream to blend! I know that the shades aren't for everyone, but they will look amazing on literally anyone! My favourite shades from the palette are Confession, Princess and Violence - they look amazing together!

What's your Holy Grail eyeshadow palette? Would you recommend the ones I mentioned above?

Lots of love,

Maya xo