Strip off your inhibitions with Urban Decay's Naked 3

Urban Decay's Naked 3

Naked gave us 12 Bronze Neutral eyeshadows, albeit enclosed in a velour-ish compact -- my OCD tendencies go into overdrive at the sight of dust sprinkled atop the case, thereby making it [the case] appear less than appetising and a pain to keep dust-free. 

Then came Naked 2, which features 12 Taupe Neutral eyeshadows tucked away in a metallic compact. I don't own Naked 2, so I can't attest to its taupe-abilities.

Finally, in late November Urban Decay released Naked 3, 12 new rose hued eyeshadows to drool over. Everything looks better through rose coloured glasses, am I right?

Naked 3 swatches from left to right: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside and Blackheart

I know the interwebs are overflowing with reviews of Naked 3, so I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet.

My thoughts in general:

• I love the spectrum of colours and formulas -- mattes, satins and glitters, oh my!
• Strange, while subdued, makes for the perfect base.
• Some of the textured shades have a tendency to ball up. Just be sure to tap off excess shadow before applying in order to prevent fallout.
• This particular collection is comparable to several different Burberry palettes. Making UD's Naked 3 a better bang for your buck.
• Your options are endless.
• The dual ended brush is a miss. Chuck it in the bin.

Wearing Naked 3 on my eyes

To answer the question of the week. Yes, I did get my haircut and coloured. Let's just say my ends were looking pretty ratty and tired.

Emma and Brent of Xiang salon transformed my locks last Saturday. Thanks for all the compliments you sent via Instagram:)

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Urban Decay's Naked 3:

• $52.00 USD. If you do the math, that's less than $4.50 per shade.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 9 out of 10 bags — I had to take off a point, because a couple of the colours have a powdery finish.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Karen of MBB makes the Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss look sooo good!

Chanel Spring Collection for 2014

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Diapason and Glossimer in Sonate

On my last day in Hong Kong I happened upon a Chanel beauty boutique and thankfully they cleared the shelves of their rather yawn worthy Winter 2013/14 collection to make way for Spring 2014. 

Photo credit: Scott (my stealthy husband)

I practiced some restraint and selected two items from Chanel's 14 piece collection -- Illusion d'Ombre in Diapason was scooped up first and then with toddler-like grabby hands I grasped ahold of Chanel's Glossimer in Sonate 178.

Diapason

Swatch of Diapason

Comparison swatches from left to right: Chanel's Illusoire, Chanel's Diapason, Estee Lauder's Electric Orchard, Armani's Eyes to Kill in shade no. 3 and Le Metier de Beaute's Tapestry (from their Silk Road quad)

Diapason is a brown based plum with glints of silvery/gold shimmer. I immediately gravitated toward this hue because purple plays up my eyes really well -- think peanut butter and jelly, it just works. Diapason's complexity lends itself to the myriad of ways it can be worn; alone, smoked out, or paired with woody browns. To reiterate, your options are endless.

I won't bang on about how lovely Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre formula is, but if you'd like to know more, search for my reviews on Mirifique, Illusoire, Destination and Apparition. Yes, I'm making you work hard for it, honey.

Sonate

Swatch of Sonate

Swatches of Sonate alone (left) and layered over Shanghai Suzy's Miss Claire (Fire Engine Red)

Sonate is a translucent watermelon red and is certainly nothing to write home about when worn on its own. Yet, with that in mind, my desire for buying Sonate was due to its aforementioned translucency and knowing full well it would look fantabulous over any of my red lippies.

Cue Shanghai Suzy's Miss Claire!

Wear time is pretty average for Sonate, definitely plan on frequent touch ups throughout the day.

Wearing a smattering of Chanel - Sonate on my lips and Diapason on my eyes (paired with a few UD Naked 2 shades)

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre Diapason and Glossimer in Sonate 178:

• Diapason: $36.00 USD / $48.00 AUS
• Sonate: $29.50 USD / $45.00 AUS

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 8 out of 10 bags — pleased with my cherry picking skills.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• La Diva reminds me of MAC's Candy Yum Yum. Must. Swatch. Now.

Swatchophile: NARS Limited Edition Final Cut Collection

NARS Final Cut swatches from left to right: Love, Final Cut and Sex Fantasy

Earlier today I snuck over to Mecca to take a closer look at NARS' Final Cut capsule collection.

For some reason I'm a huge sucker for NARS blushes. Comes with the territory, I suppose.

Which colours intrigue you? My personal favourite is Final Cut, a soft peach/coral.

Mecca also has the following in stock:

• Illuminator in Adelaide (comes in a squeeze tube)
• Satin Lip Pencils in Descanso, Stourhead, Torres del Paine and Villa Lante. These shades are almost an exact match to the blushes. 

There's a fourth blush called New Attitude, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Nordstrom also has the Final Cut collection available for purchase.

Happy hunting :)

Edit..

So, I went back to Mecca Cosmetica and swatched the Lip Pencils and the Illuminator. I've officially fallen for Descanso and Villa Lante.

Harumph.

Swatches from top to bottom: NARS Illuminator in Adelaide and Satin Lip Pencils in Torres del Paine, Descanso, Villa Lante & Stourhead

Close up of NARS Satin Lip Pencils in Torres del Paine, Descanso, Villa Lante & Stourhead

A glimpse at the lips: MAC's Huggable Lipcolour in Out for Passion and Feeling Amorous?

Hugs and kisses!

Twelve colours round out MAC's limited edition Huggable Lipcolour collection, which promises to deliver high shine (and colour) for up to six hours.

Erm, six hours? Not so much. 

Try three. Tops.

Huggable Lipcolour shades in Out for Passion (left) and Feeling Amorous (right)

Inspired by Asian trends, MAC injected loads of emollients in order to achieve patent leather-like shine --however, the gel-ish texture has proven to be MAC's achilles heel. While the colours are pretty, albeit not unique, they fail to last. It's summertime on your lips and the neighbourhood kids are playing on the Slip n' Slide. Whee?

My full lips might look a tad fuller and feel pillow-y soft when pursed and puckered, with that said I'd definitely trade this feeling (just a little bit) for long-lasting colour.

Out for Passion - "soft warm cream rose"

Feeling Amorous? - "midtonal fuchsia cream"

Swatches of Feeling Amorous? (left) and Out for Passion (right)

Wearing Out for Passion

Wearing Feeling Amorous?

Final Thoughts..

Skip these. There are far better and cheaper options out there. And if you're looking for lots of shine, pick up a cheap clear gloss from Maybelline and layer it over your most-loved shade of lipstick.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for MAC's MAC's Huggable Lipcolour in Out for Passion and Feeling Amorous?:

• $20.00 USD / $40.00 AUS

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 2 out of 10 bags — buyer beware.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Have you heard the news? Kelly and Sharon Osbourne have their own MAC collection coming out this June!