Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

The New Urban Decay Naked Reloaded Palette

February 11th, 2019 by Karen 14 Comments

Dude, can you believe UD’s O.G. Naked Palette is almost 10 years old?

Wait — should that be in the past tense? Because UD phased out the O.G. Naked (RIP). They replaced it with Naked Reloaded, which’ll be out in less than week!

Overview

What is it? Naked Reloaded replaces the now-defunct Naked Palette. It has 12 powder eyeshadows, and four of the pans — satiny beige Bribe, shimmery golden Barely Baked, matte orange-brown Boundaries and matte peachy beige Blur — contain more product than the others. Those are the shades UD thinks you’ll use the most.
How much is it? ~~I haven’t confirmed this yet, but I’m guessing it’ll be $54, which is how much UD charges for the other Naked Palettes in the permanent collection.~~ It’s $44.
Who’s it for? According to UD, errrrrbody, because the colors and textures are supposed to work for every age, gender and skin tone.
When can you get it? February 18th on the UD website and at Urban Decay stores, March 4th on the Sephora and Ulta websites, and March 7th at Sephora and Ulta stores.
How is it different than the original Naked? Reloaded has more mid-toned warm browns and fewer cooler, darker shades like grays and taupes. It also doesn’t have a dual-ended liner or a brush, and then there are the four larger pans.
Is it like any of the other Naked palettes? Yup, I think so. Naked Reloaded is like a warmer, powered-up Naked on the Run (without the cheek and lip products), with lots of mid-toned colors to make it versatile. The color temps are warm like Naked Heat, but nowhere near as red.
What about the eyeshadow formula? It’s what I’ve come to expect from UD eyeshadows. They’re soft and silky with fluffy powder particles that like to fly when I touch one of the pans with a brush. Based on a prelim arm swatch, most of them feel smooth, except for Angel Fire, which has huskier glitter than the other shimmers, so it’s on the chunky side.
What about that orange? MAN, I’m so over UD’s obsession with orange in their eye palettes… I like orange eyeshadow well enough, but it keeps popping up everywhere, and I’d just assume see something else in place of it.

urban decay naked reloaded swatches tan skin — I’m an NC42 in MAC.

urban decay naked reloaded swatches — Please note the Taylor Swift-ian references…

urban decay naked reloaded — In paw for scale…

Oh, and pardon me for going all X-Files for a moment, but IT’S CONSPIRACY THEORY TIME! Here’s why I think Reputation and End Game, two of the colors, sound like Taylor Swift song references to me: Because I think someone at UD is secretly weighing in on the Taylor Swift vs. Kim/Kanye feud that hit a couple years ago… Or maybe I’m writing too much into it, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 563

February 11th, 2019 by Karen 25 Comments

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?

1. Frosty pink gloss or a frosty white brow bone? (And you gotta pick one! You can’t choose “neither.”)

Take me back to 1999, why don’t you? I’m gonna have to go with the frosty pink gloss.

2. Pancakes or waffles?

Pancakes. Ideally banana, with lots of REAL maple syrup (not that fake watery stuff).

3. Walk me through how you remove your makeup (products and process)

Assuming it’s at the end of the day, at which point I’m exhausted, I strive to keep the process short and sweet.

Right now it’s just the following three steps:

I massage a couple pumps of Fresh Seaberry Cleansing Oil directly on my face and work it in with my fingers (yup, even on my eyes and my lashes) until my foundation and eye makeup breaks up. Then I rise that off with warm water.
Next, if I wore long-wearing eyeliner that day and there’s still some on my water or lash lines, I take a Q-tip or Shiseido Facial Cotton soaked in Clinique Take the Day Off Eye Makeup Remover to remove whatever’s left over.
Then, I apply a non-drying liquid or cream cleanser (basically, anything that doesn’t foam, because bubbly cleansers dry out my skin) on my face and neck while they’re still wet and work it in with my fingers before gently removing it with a warm washcloth.

4.How do you feel about carrying a cell phone around? Is yours with you 24/7?

Mine’s with me 24/7, and sometimes I love it, and sometimes I wish I could throw the fracking thing into the ocean.

Mind you, it’s useful, obvs. I can always be reached in an emergency and make calls from wherever if the car stalls or if Tabs needs a midnight gravy run. Plus, all of the to-do lists and notes I write to keep my life in some semblance of order are on there, and that’s super helpful, buuuut tuning out is definitely tougher than it was back in the pre-phone days.

5. Your go-to lippie of the moment?

I’ve been wearing a BECCA lipstick called Yours Truly A LOT lately. It’s a smooth and creamy opaque nude.

That bittersweet feeling

It’s always bittersweet to come back from Oahu. On one hand I’m beyond happy to be sleeping in my bed again, and on the other hand I’m like, “Take me back ASAP to the land of sleeping in, shave-ice and warm water, ahhh!” Today’s my first day back from Hawaii, and first thing on the list is to give Tabs lots of TLC. He’s super clingy right now and very chatty.

I wish you could hear him meowing; it’s like a symphony of kitty hellos that’s been going on since I woke up.

I hope you’re having a nice Monday so far. I’ve missed talking to you! Tell me what you’ve been up to.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to you soon.

1. Frosty pink gloss or a frosty white brow bone? (And you gotta pick one! You can’t choose “neither.”)
2. Pancakes or waffles?
3. Walk me through how you remove your makeup.
4. How do you feel about carrying a cell phone around? Is yours with you 24/7?
5. Your go-to lippie of the moment?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 540

February 10th, 2019 by Karen 4 Comments

Oh, my gosh! I can’t believe Valentine’s Day is this week. Tabs is such a ladies’ cat, so I’m not getting my hopes up, but I hope he gives me a Valentine…or a day off, LOL. As you know, a cat assistant’s job is never done.

He knows he has me wrapped around his little tabby finger, too. He just flashes his tum or turns on his dreamy eyes, and I lose my ability to resist his charms. I’m like a star-struck fan who’ll agree to work any amount off overtime.

Sigh… My quest to find America’s Next Top Cat Model on this trip was a bust. No luck this time. I guess it’s just not easy to find kitty modeling talent that meets Tabs’ rigorous standards. He wants me to continue the talent search tomorrow in Novato.

I hope you had a great weekend. We’re at the airport in Honolulu getting ready to head back to California. Tabs texted to say he’d send his driver to pick us up in Oakland when our flight arrives tonight, so that was nice of him. Thank you, sir! See you soon! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, February 9th, 2019

February 9th, 2019 by Karen 2 Comments

Aloha caturday! Last day of our trip out here, and today is all about saying goodbyes and soaking up the last rays of tropical sunshine.

I say this every time we leave the islands, but I sure am going to miss Hawaii…especially now that it’s winter on the mainland and, from what I hear, chilly back home in Norcal.

But I miss my tabby and our little condo…and my bed. I hope Tabs lets me ease my way back into work next week, because you know how he can be sometimes. He can be quite the taskmaster.

Now I gotta run. I’m meeting a friend near the Kahala Mall that I haven’t seen in a couple years. Aloha. See you soon.

If you’ve got a husband or a brother or a dude in your life who could use a little help with their brows, maybe pass along this step-by-step guide? And then perhaps offer to tweeze for them?
In Tennessee, hairstylists are being trained to look for signs of domestic violence.
All about the rise in perfume culture on the Internet.
The colorful history of nail polish.
Speaking of nail polish, apparently, the most important thing for a manicure has nothing to do with the actual process of painting your nails.
It’s not just sunscreen: makeup and hairspray may also be harming coral, too.
Eyebrows and playing Batman successfully on screen: the collective Interwebz ponders if there is or isn’t a connection between the two.
Does your kitty need a food puzzle?
When it comes to makeup trivia, you gotta stay ready, so here are six celebs you never knew had their own perfumes.
If you plan on doing some leisurely browsing at the wine store, don’t bring this dog with you.

Because CATS!

A Sunday song on a Saturday morning, why not?

Here, kitty kitty

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bay Area Beauty Love: Benefit They’re Real! Red On! Matte Lip Color

February 8th, 2019 by Karen 13 Comments

Yay for the Bay! In this series, for the month of February 2019, I’ll be featuring products from and around my stomping grounds, the San Francisco Bay Area.

This new matte cream lipstick from Benefit (a brand headquartered in the SF Bay Area) is the real deal. I would say “Get red-y for it” if I were a fan of puns (ha ha!), but instead, I’ll just do my best to describe it. It’s a red-olent, red-onkulously easy-to-wear matte red lipstick called They’re Real! Red On! Matte Lip Color, and it’s $20 and comes with its own little lip brush, which sits in that divot that goes across the pan.

Super fun and perhaps borderline gimmicky? Check and check. But it’s actually really good, and reds are hard, man. Especially opaque matte reds lipsticks like this. Most fall into the trap of being so bold and pigmented that they leave you no room for error, and the moment your lip edge goes wonky, there’s no turning back. I know that, at least for me, this is a turnoff, and it keeps me from wearing red very often.

Because — hello! — LAZINESS.

benefit theyre real red on swatch — R U red-y for it?

But Red On makes matte red lips easy, and not simply because of the little lip brush it comes with. You can actually apply this matte cream with a lip brush OR your fingers, and either way, it looks on point.

Believe it or not, I just applied it with a finger in this picture here. I just kinda smooshed it around, and it turned out perfectly.

The formula feels almost like a cream-to-powder formula, and the powder-i-ness (?) enables you to fudge the edges a little if you need to. So, even if your lip lines aren’t super precise, they won’t look that way (the whole world doesn’t have to know it, amirite?).

Red On also feels light and nice on my lips, and it doesn’t dry out my kisser or creep beyond the edges.

What a delightful surprise, really. 🙂 I think it’s a hidden gem in the Benefit permanent line.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!!!!