Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

When I first started getting into makeup, one of my first high end makeup products was the original Urban Decay Naked palette, a palette I still adore to this day. Since then, I have grown my little collection of Naked palettes to complete status well that was until a newbie arrived on the scene. Enter the Naked Smoky palette, the newest addition to the Naked range. Obviously I couldn’t let my collection down and had to purchase this. The palette is complete of dark and smoky shades all fit for the perfect smoky eye whether it be an everyday look or a full on night time smoky eye. Compared to the other Naked palettes, this is up there as one of my favourites and a palette I know I will get a lot of use out of.

First things first, we have to mention the gorgeous packaging. Without a doubt this is by far the best packaging of all the Naked palettes. The exterior packaging has a hard casing and feels pretty sturdy especially in comparison to the packaging of the original palette. The palette also features a magnetic closure making it easy to open and close as well as an improved top lid which makes the palette open further. The packaging design is also super beautiful, a grey and black smoked out pattern matching the smoky theme of the palette. Also, you can expect to find the usual decent sized mirror inside and also a double ended brush which is actually different to the brush included in the earlier palettes. I tend to stick with using my own brushes but it is nice to find a decent enough brush in a palette that doesn’t include spongy applicators!

I’ve heard a lot of people saying that the quality of this palette doesn’t live up to the other Naked palettes although I can’t really say that I agree. I find the quality of these eyeshadows superb as you would expect. The pigmentation is there, they are super blend-able and they are also pretty long wearing too! I never really found any application problems as the eyeshadows are all a dream to work with. In terms of the shades included in this palette, there is a mix of finishes. With 12 shadows in total, the palette is arranged by finish starting with four shimmers, four satins and four mattes. Rather than arranging the shades by colour I actually prefer the layout in this palette by finish. The shimmer shades are probably my favourites as they are all so gorgeous. A beautiful inner corner highlight followed by warmer toned bronze-y shades which then leads into a selection of cooler toned shades. Whilst I always tend to go for my usual warm shades of browns I have been really liking the cooler toned options in this palette. Despite the intimidation of the smoky eye, all these shades are super wearable which I love and they all don’t have to be reserved for a full blown smoky look. Following the cool toned options are some more smokier dark shades that work a treat at smoking things out a little for a more night time appropriate look. Finally the addition of two lighter toned matte shades which are perfect as a base shade or for highlighting the brow bone. Overall this is gorgeous palette and whilst the smoky eye look isn’t for everyone I do find that this palette offers a full collection of wearable shades that can work from day to night. Another big thumbs up to Urban Decay!

Check out my other Naked palette reviews:

Original Naked palette review

Naked 2 review

Naked 3 review 

Are you a fan of the Naked palettes?

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The Going Out Makeup Look

Despite still being in my teen years I have a rather poor social life. I rarely venture out for nights out on the town instead favoring staying in to watch a load of crap weekend TV. Since it’s such a rare occasion I do step out I do like to up my makeup game and put in the effort. All my favourite and top makeup picks come out to play in being those trustworthy products that I know will stick around for a long night. There is no surprise really that it’s all high end products that made the cut as I do like to make good use of my investment pieces that I know work well for me. I did surprisingly head out last weekend although for a very special occasion as I headed to see One Direction in concert so obviously I wanted to look my best. There is a mix of newbies and old favourites that I have put together to form a killer night out look.

Starting with base, this is really were I put a lot of trust in my products to be long lasting and work for my skin. As always I start with primer and of course my holy grail Smashbox Photo Finish Primer excels in helping makeup last longer and still looks fresh throughout the night. I’ve never found as good a foundation as Nars Sheer Glow. It provides a buildable satin finish and blends beautifully into the skin. Another favourite from Nars is their Creamy Radiant Concealer which does the best job at concealing blemishes and redness. Mine is currently running low which does make me panic cause pricey repurchase may be necessary! In terms of concealing eyes, I start with my Bobbi Brown corrector to cancel out any discoloration under the eyes then use my Clarins Instant Concealer over the top.

On to the more exciting products to give my complexion a little bit of life. I am so excited to say that I finally own the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Palette. This palette is what dreams are made of. It is so gorgeous. I firstly use the sculpt shade to warm up my complexion and give my cheekbones a little definition. Then I like to go a little crazy with highlighter by patting it on to the tops of my cheekbones for that intense glow. To perk up the cheeks you can never go wrong with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes in particular the shade Diffused Heat. With highlighting properties these blushes really light up the skin and don’t appear flat.

Onto the eyes. As usual my Benefit Gimme Brow for a little sweep through the brows to make them a little fuller. In terms of eyeshadow, I have been going a little palette crazy recently. I finally picked up the Urban Decay Smoky palette cause obviously I had to, right? With deep intense shades it works perfectly at creating more full on night out looks. The shimmer shades in particular in this palette are truly stunning and the shade Radar is one I am forever reaching for. For the full on dramatic eye look I like to finish by curling my eyelashes with the Shu Uemera eyelash curlers and many coats of the Benefit They’re Real mascara.

To finish off, I like to add something a little bold to the lips. I find going out gives me the perfect opportunity to crack out the bold dark shades. One shade I have been reaching for recently has been Mac D For Danger, a bold berry red shade in a matte finish that sticks around from dinner to drinks to home time.

What products do you reach for on a night out?

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Monthly Roundup: September

A new season has finally begun. It’s ever so strange to think that Autumn is here. I am still trying to recall when Summer actually took place this year. Anyway enough of my seasonal ramblings it’s time to look back at my month of September. This month started as a slow burner and picked up halfway through with my hectic schedule coming back to haunt me. This month marked my return to uni to start my second year which is crazy and I have to say I am feeling so unprepared for the mountain of work that will be coming my way. This will be the first time I am at uni and have a job at the same time so this year will definitely be jam packed to say the least and I do apologize in advance if my blog does suffer as my spare time is pretty limited just now.

Whilst the thoughts of going back to uni was pretty depressing, I did get excited about the shopping that was about to commence. Let’s just say I think I will need to enforce myself on a spending ban for at least the next month. I picked up some pretty good deals on some things I had been lusting over for so long and I now have my hands on a couple of new palettes in my collection (that I will obviously share with you all soon!). Yup that is the UD Naked Smoky palette, I wasn’t going to let my Naked collection miss out on this one, was I!? I also picked up an exciting new purchase for my wardrobe in the terms of a new leather jacket. A leather jacket is a wardrobe staple and I wasn’t happy with my old one so I rightly so invested in a new one from Zara which I am obsessed with. Bring on the Autumn wardrobe! Can I come off that ‘Spending ban’ now…

I also finally discovered Cotton Candy grapes. Oh yes, you heard that right! I had been looking for these interestingly flavoured grapes for the past year and after a little trip to the supermarket my eyes clapped onto these with the feeling of success. They are as good as they sound and I am definitely needing to stock up now! You can obviously tell how exciting my life is that I have to mention the excitement of buying grapes. Yes. So in summary this month pretty much consisted of eating (grapes), shopping, working, going to uni and also recovering from a couple of sick days in between. Now let the excitement of Autumn and berry lips begin…

Catch up on September posts: A Charlotte Tilbury Haul, Nails Inc x Victoria Beckham, My Blogger Enabled Purchases, Clinique Melon Pop and My fave nude lip combo.

Are you looking forward to Autumn?

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