Urban Decay Naked Palette: Where Have You Been All My Life??

The buzz about Urban Decay’s Naked Eyeshadow Palette ($48) has been nearly deafening since it launched last year. I never jumped in on the craze because the palette was unavailable for so long (sold out as soon as it was restocked), and then I rationalized that I didn’t need to drop nearly $50 on neutral shadows, when my kit is already brimming with them. Then I won one of these palettes from Leah at Sifting Thoughts (check out her lovely blog! It’s a daily read for me.) I have to say, this is the best giveaway I’ve ever won! This amazing palette contains 12 eyeshadow shades, UD’s Eye Primer Potion, and Good Karma Eyeshadow Brush.

First up, the shades:

• Virgin, frosted pale pinky-nude
• Sin, shimmering champagne
• Naked, a matte light brown
• Sidecar, a glittery taupe
• Buck, a matte nut brown
• Half Baked, a shimmery antique golden brown
• Smog, shimmering deep copper
• Darkhorse, a deep, rich, glitter-flecked brown/olive

• Toasted, shimmery, copper-tinged taupe
• Hustle, a gorgeously shimmering plummy purple (this photo does not do it justice!)
• Creep, glitter-flecked charcoal black
• Gunmetal, a blue-grey dotted with silver glitter.

Click through to find out why I am so head-over-heels for this palette.

My Picks: MAC To The Beach

MAC’s To The Beach collection hit counters yesterday, and you better believe I was there to get my share of the goods. I headed over after work (around 5 p.m.), and Nordstrom was almost sold out of the whole collection…just 7 hours after it became available!

Here are the products I chose for my new summer face: a wash of color on the eyes, bronzy skin, and a full, lush mouth. (I’m an NW20.)

Eye Kohl in Float On By ($14.50)
This was what made me fall so hard for this collection. I have yet to find a color like this anywhere else. The shimmery sea-inspired blue-green looks like a mermaid’s tail. It’s so perfect for summer. I used it along my lashline and waterline, and it gave my eyes a burst of color without sacrificing the definition I like (that I usually get from black liner). It’s a lovely alternative to black.

Eyeshadow in Shimmermoss ($14.50)
This sea-blue-green is the perfect complement to Float On By. When I wore this last night, a family member who sees me all the time commented that I was wearing more color than I usually do. My eye “uniform” is typically unchanging: black liner topped with a dark purple shadow (applied lightly). I go for darker eye colors because I like my eyes to be defined. This was a beautiful change of pace for me: I still got definition, but with a noticeable, pretty wash of color. I applied MAC Phloof! eyeshadow, a shimmery ivory base, underneath Shimmermoss for added sparkle. So pretty.

Lipstick in Lazy Day ($14)
I got this free with the Back 2 MAC program (bring back the packaging of 6 used MAC products, which they will recycle, and you get a free lipstick). It was an afterthought, but I’m so glad I chose this because it pairs beautifully with Splashing lipglass and Life’s a Breeze lipliner. It’s a creamy blue-toned pale pink that defines lips without being overkill. With the sophisticated, summery conch shell screened on the tube, you’ll feel utterly glamourous pulling this out of your purse for touch-ups.

Tinted Lipglass in Splashing ($14)
A beautiful pink. It’s creamy with the faintest hint of shimmer. It makes lips look extra glossy, and looks gorgeous layered over Lazy Day. It also is so unbelievably pretty when worn alone. Love this. Am stocking up on it, if it’s not sold out everywhere! And of course, the seahorse on the cap is so cute.

Lip Pencil in Life’s a Breeze ($13)
A cool-toned pink that somehow manages to be bright without making you look like you have clown mouth. I really don’t like lipliner, but on the rare occasions I wear it, I like how it makes me small mouth look fuller. I decided to get this because it looked like it was made for Splashing & Lazy Day (which it was). It beautifully defines my lips without being tacky or overloading them with color. For a brighter pop, I filled in lips with this before applying lipstick & gloss.

Bronzing Powder in Refined Golden ($22)
Refined Golden is part of MAC’s permanent collection. I needed a new bronzer and was planning on purchasing this anyway, so I figured I’d get it while it was housed in a cute compact bearing coral. This really brightens my pale skin; it’s got a hint of shimmer, but will not make you look like a stripper. It’s subtle and imparts a really nice glow. This is already an everyday essential for me. People will be envious when you whip this compact out for touch-ups or to check your makeup in the mirror.

What do you think? Have you picked up any pieces from the collection?

MAC Softsparkle Eyeliner in Nightsky

It’s the fall of 1997. I’m a sophomore in high school. I’m listening to Smashing Pumpkins, and rocking seriously awesome Hard Candy Glitter Eye, a black liner flecked with chunky silver glitter. I nabbed it on a trip to New York City, at the just-opened cosmetics store called Sephora (the first U.S. location).

Glitter Eye was the single coolest piece of makeup I had ever seen: edgy yet pretty, inky yet glimmery. I piled it on — and I mean piled — in rings around my eyes, marveling at how it sparkled. I lived on that stuff right up until high school graduation. In every single photograph from those years, I’m wearing that eyeliner (unfortunately, even to my senior prom). I eventually weaned myself off of it, and in the next few years, Hard Candy disappeared from Sephora & went out of business.

Fast forward to 2009: I’m shopping MAC’s Magic, Mirth and Mischief collection and I’m stopped dead in my tracks. I see a replica of Hard Candy’s iconic glitter eyeliner: Softsparkle Eye Pencil in Nightsky ($14), a black eyeliner flecked with microfine silver glitter.

Happy Birthday to Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly Pulitzer, the Queen of Pink and Green, turns 78 today. Her iconic whimsical take on Palm Beach style began in the 1960s and grew into a symbol of status and playfulness. Her prints remain instantly-recognizable today, and her brand continues to expand after 40-some years in the fashion world.

Here is a lovely example of her designs’ enduring power, as illustrated by the Kennedys:
In honor of her special day, it’s time to crack open my copy of Essentially Lilly Holidays tonight.

After the jump, a superspecial collaboration between Lilly and one of my favorite cosmetics brands. I’m bursting with excitement!

Recession Beauty: BeneFit To Go set at Sephora

During a recession, it’s nice to know that you can still get great beauty products at low prices. At a time when most of us are scaling back budgets, it can be tough to find ways to maintain your beauty routine. Since most of us do have fiscal limitations, it’s extra awesome when you discover a high-quality product for an insanely low price.

Enter the new BeneFit To Go set ($8). For less than you’d pay for a drugstore mascara or lipstick, you can have 2 (yes, 2!) bestselling products from a high-end brand.

Bye Bye, Prescriptives…and a brief memoriam for False Eyelashes mascara

Last night a Prescriptives sales associate informed me that January will be the last month of your department store Px counter; the company is going out of business. (Their website confirms this sad news.) I wasn’t totally surprised, given the current state of the economy, but it’s still a sad day in the American beauty world. Stock up now on any favorites before they are relegated to the Eternal Beauty Cemetery.

Let’s observe a moment of silence for Prescriptives False Eyelashes Mascara ($19.50), which enjoyed a phase in 2005 as my all-time favorite mascara. I still use it every once in awhile to switch things up. It gives gives the illusion of long lashes with a bit of volume and a rich black color. It’s definitely in my Mascara Hall of Fame. I think I’ll stock up before January, since the associate assured me that the tubes do not go bad if they remain unopened.

Make Bathtime Luxurious with Claus Porto Soaps

By now, if you haven’t heard of Claus Porto soaps, you’ve probably seen their iconic, swoon-worthy graphic packaging. The company’s signature trademark is the vibrant, colorful prints and patterns that adorn their packaging and wrapping.

Yes, they’re expensive ($18 per bar), but the intricate care taken during the manufacturing process is what makes them so luxe. Each bar is formed from the highest quality shea butter (your skin will drink it up) mixed into a vegetable soap base. Scents from the south of France are then added to the mixture, which is then milled seven times in the traditional European style. (Normally, triple-milled soaps are considered very good quality.) The end result is a dense, moisture-laden bar of soap that your skin will thank you for.

I’m not a fan of bar soap, but this is the product Claus Porto is best known for. The shea butter formula is specially created to deliver extra moisture to your hands, and anywhere else on your body you lather up with this chunky bar.

Peep more pretty patterns after the jump!

Look Candlelit All the Time With Smashbox Artificial Light

I started noticing recently that in photographs, my skin looked rather dull now that my summer tan has mostly faded. I wanted the dewy skin look, and I wanted it with minimal effort. I’d never tried to give myself an allover glow (just on cheeks), but I needed a boost of radiance in a big way.

I had read a lot of reviews about Smashbox Artificial Light ($24), a luminizing lotion that reflects light and imparts a gorgeous glow to the entire face. I’d only ever used highlighter on my cheekbones and occasionally on my browbones, so I wasn’t sure how to use it. I pumped a bit of product out on the back of my hand, and right next to that, I squeezed out a dollop of Smashbox Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturizer. The ratio should be about 1 part Artificial Light to 2 parts tinted moisturizer. (You can blend the luminizer into any foundation using these approximate measurements.) I dotted this mixture on my cheeks, the bridge of my nose, and across my forehead. I blended with a foundation brush and was left with the most beautiful, ethereal glow.

Living Proof’s New No Frizz Shampoo & Conditioner

Living Proof fans, get ready to celebrate! The company has recently debuted a new line of shampoo and conditioner ($24 each). They are both sure to be great added steps to your frizzless prep.

Perfect for all hair types, No Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner both contain the same super polymers in the brand’s styling products that combat frizz expertly. As with all the styling products, the shampoo and conditioner are the first new products in 30 years that contain a different type of frizz-fighter instead of silicone. It won’t weigh hair down, and tames any trace of frizz by blocking humidity from the hair shaft. Both products enhance the benefits of No Frizz styling products for both straight and wavy hairstyles. They promise to leave hair supersoft, smooth and entirely frizzless. They’re sulfate-free, too, which means less unnatural chemicals on your head.

Bobbi Brown Online-Only Offer: Runway Kit

Get ready for really good news.

A few years ago, Bobbi Brown released in her summer collection the Sandwash Eye Palette, a small compact with 10 shades of shimmer eyeshadow nestled side by side in a brick. The shades ranged from sandy taupe to sea blue, but were all sheer. The colors were so versatile: they could be used all over the lid for a sheer, summery wash of illuminating color, or as highlighter under the browbone or on cheeks. It was an absolutely gorgeous little compact. I snapped it up right away and still have it (it lasts a long time). Then, sadly, it disappeared from Bobbi’s repertoire, as it was a limited-edition product.

Such good news came in my inbox this morning: the palette is back (!!!!), renamed the Shimmer Brick Eye Palette. It’s exactly the same as the Sandwash palette.

But now the bad news: it’s only available in the Runway Kit ($75). The kit, packaged in a metallic silver cosmetic bag, also includes a full-size Pink Crystal Glitter Lip Balm to add some shimmer and shine to your lips, and full-sized eyeshadow and lip brushes (with travel-sized handles). It carries a pretty hefty price tag for one product, but if you’re at all interested in the palette, I’d suggest grabbing it. I can assure you that Bobbi’s brushes are the best on the market, and the lip balm is awesome and sparkly. Odds are, you will not be disappointed.

This is online only (free shipping Labor Day weekend), so get yours now while the getting’s good.