Urban Decay Electric Palette Sneak Peek and Swatches

I managed to get my hands on the new up-coming Urban Decay Electric palette and I wanted to take swatches for everyone to see. My palette isn't complete and didn't come with a brush but I do know it's going to be a dual-ended brush with purple bristles - one end will be for the inner corner/lining and the other will be for packing color onto the lids. I don't know the release date of this palette but I have read on forums that it's slotted for spring/summer 2014 - I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Urban Decay has for many years been one of my favorite makeup brands and the quality of these shadows is up to par with their regular, fantastic formulation. There's a wide range of colors including silver, blues, greens (even a chartreuse!), orange, pinks and purples. For those of you who are makeup lovers, at first glance this palette may be overwhelming in terms of how saturated the colors are, but I think you could wear these on a daily basis, especially when used sparingly to warm up the crease or along your waterline.

Urban Decay Electric Palette - indoor lighting

The colors vary and are in a range of textures/finishes, there are definitely some which tilt more towards matte texture (Savage) and others which are packed with sparkles (Revolt) but for the most part, there is tiny microglitter when you look at the pans. All of the colors are very soft and buttery and easy to load up onto your brush.

Urban Decay Electric Palette - natural lighting

I'm not sure if these colors are new to their line-up or if they are re-releasing some of the vintage or redux colors, so I really can't comment on that - some of them do look very familiar from their previous Book of Shadows.

Here are the swatches (no primer used):

Urban Decay Electric Palette - Top Row Swatches - natural lighting

Revolt is a silver jam packed full of glitter chunks, I love this color in the inner corner of the eye. Gonzo is a bright baby blue which appears to have microglitter in the pan but when swatched it really doesn't appear as much. Slowburn is a medium orange with microglitter. Savage is a mostly-matte Barbie pink. Fringe is a pearl finish teal that swatches between blue and forest green.

Urban Decay Electric Palette - Bottom Row Swatches - natural lighting

Chaos is a cerulean blue with microglitter. Jilted is a shimmery duo-chrome fushcia which reflects ever so slightly purple. Urban is a classic Urban Decay purple which reminds me of Underland from their LE Alice in Wonderland palette. Freak is a beautiful vibrant mint green and Thrash is a Chartreuse (in between a green and a cooler yellow).

All in all, I'm so excited about this palette because I feel like it's a nice return to the company's roots of out-of-the-box color and individuality. While I love the Naked palettes and own all of them (even the Basics collection), so many companies have started following that trend and Urban Decay is making a smart move bringing color back!

UPDATE: Caution, the colors Slowburn, Savage, Jilted and Urban are not indicated for use on the sensitive eye areas. I think the packaging of this palette says that because they probably use a red dye that is not FDA approved for cosmetics. I have personally used these on my eyes and it was fine, but I don't have sensitive skin or eyes, so please be cautious if you do!

Glossybox January 2014 Unboxing

It's that time again! Glossybox unboxing time! I love getting these boxes and it's no secret that it's probably my favorite box, I'm never let down by what is sent or the value that I receive of the products. Ever since I saw the previews for the beautyblender on the website, I knew I had to have it!

If you haven't tried this subscription service yet, give it a try, even if it's just for a month. It's $21 a month and you can sign up here.

The first thing in the box is a deluxed-sized moisturizer by Vichy, Aqualia Thermal Rich Cream . This is for dry skin and claims to lock in moisture for 48 hours. The full sized product is $31.00 for 1.7 fl OZ and we were sent a generous 0.5 fl OZ - the value of this sample is $9.12








As for the belle of the ball, this is The Original Beautyblenderand Blendercleanser. The beautyblender is full sized, this normally retails for $19.95 and you also get a bonus of the cleanser.

So we've already easily made back the money we spent on this box, but they decided to also throw in a $20 Bella Pierre Mineral Blush in a very wearable color, MB001 Desert Rose. I know that mineral blushes are difficult for some to work with unless you use a light hand to avoid spilling it all over your vanity, but you can easily press this into a pan and use it as a normal blush.  This color is truly universal with a slight tinge of coral, but it definitely shows up as a more bronzed blush.

I've never tried anything from balance Me so I'm happy they also included the Super Toning Body Wash. The full size retails for $14/3.4 fl OZ and the sample is half of that size at 1.7 fl OZ giving it a value of $7. WOW this is a pricey body wash for such a small quantity but that probably has something to do with its natural and organic ingredients. Thankfully it is very scented with floral and pomegranate tones so you will only have to use it sparingly (it reminds me of a product from LUSH). The company is from the UK so I'm not sure where you can get your hands on it in the US but you can definitely order from their website.

And finally, an item that I was not thrilled about but only because I received it in my November Birchbox - Toni&Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray. However, I did try it out and found that it really did leave my hair feeling beachy and it tamed my waves - but I do not recommend putting it on in sub-zero temperatures since some strands of my hair froze solid!! The value of this deluxe sized sample is $5.51

Overall, the value of this bag was $61.58, about 3x what you pay for it! It had a well-rounded gamut of face cream, body wash, hair spray, mineral blush, and a beauty blender! I'm very happy with my box, it's a great way to start the new year and I know Glossybox will continue to step up their game.

Product Review: Real Techniques Makeup Brushes

The brand Real Techniques is a project by popular UK YouTube vloggers/beauty gurus and makeup artists Sam and Nic Chapman. I've been a long time subscriber and fan of their channel. I have also owned two of their brushes (the Expert Face Brush and the 2-in-1 Kabuki Brush) for a few months and have found myself reaching for them on a daily basis.



Now don't imagine that these are my first brushes, I can assure you they're not even close. I have approximately 75 brushes in my collection (well, before I bought the Real Techniques sets) and they range from drugstore brands like EcoTools, ELF, Kirkland, Sonia Kashuk, and then move up to more expensive brands like Sephora, Lancome, Stila, Urban Decay, Nicka K, and MAC.

The Real Techniques sets retail for $17.99 in my local Ulta and drugstores. You can get them for cheaper online and I'll have the links below.

The first set I got is the real Techniques Travel Essentials Set which includes 3 brushes: an essential foundation brush, a domed shadow brush, and a multi task brush. From this set, I realized that:

eyeshadow brushes are purple 
face brushes are gold
multi-use brushes are pink

This color coding is extremely intelligent and useful when you're looking for a particular brush to put your makeup on in a vast collection! I really like this added organizational bonus. The bristles feel very soft to the touch - I would use the multi tasking pink brush for blush or bronzer for contouring, it's not quite as big as I would like for an all-over face powder, however so I'll stick to using my MAC 150 for that.

Top: Expert Face Brush, Bottom: Buffing Brush

I'm sure you can use the essential foundation brush for applying your liquid foundation, however, I actually prefer the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush for that application due to its buffing capability, it has shorter bristles and is very dense compared to the buffing brush from their Core Collection.









The real Techniques Core Collection Set consists of 4 face brushes: a contour brush, a pointed foundation brush, a detailer brush, and the buffing brush. The contour brush can be used for cream products and bronzers, the pointed foundation brush is great for putting foundation around your nose and under your eyes, and the detailer brush is amazing for applying concealer to specific areas. The buffing brush is as straight-forward as it sounds and lets you buff out your foundation, your powder, or your blush/contour - these brushes are always a workhorse in my collection. The pointed foundation brush is much smaller than essential foundation brush from the previous set. So you're really not getting any duplicates by buying all the sets.




The final set I have recently gotten is the real Techniques Starter Set. This set contains: a deluxe crease brush, base shadow brush, accent brush, fine liner brush, and brow brush. The names of these brushes are quite self-explanatory, you pack on your base eyeshadow color with the base shadow brush, pop the crease color on with the deluxe crease brush and use the accent brush for your inner corner highlight. You can use the liner brush to put your liquid or gel eyeliner and fill in your brows with the brow brush.

I really believe that if you get all of these brush sets, you would have a fabulous and inexpensive start to a really nice collection. The only addition I would make to the set would be to get the ELF large and small duo-fiber stipple brushes to supplement.




I also have to give an honorable mention and 5 stars to the 2-in-1 Kabuki Brush by Real Techniques because it is absolutely fabulous.  You might be wondering, why is it 2-in-1? Well, it is an angled kabuki brush (great for brush and bronzer) that opens up and turns into a fan brush, perfect for contouring! It snaps back into place very easily because it has a strong magnet. I'm a huge fan, it's perfect for traveling, and I use it *all the time*.

2-in-1 Kabuki Brush

If you're looking for affordable, synthetic, professional quality brushes that don't shed, are color-coded and come in perfect travel sized, convertible stand pouches, then these are for you! The bristles are super soft and flexible and they are so easy to clean!

Red Winter Cheetah

I saw this dress on Modcloth.com recently and this look was inspired by a friend of mine. She's fun and girly and likes wearing dresses like me. She's eclectic and electric, classy and fierce all at the same time. I know this ensemble would make anyone feel like they're the belle of the mall. This is a look complete with accessories and makeup inspiration. A bold, golden cat-eye is the perfect addition with a dark brown winged eyeliner.

Red Winter Cheetah by lethalglam featuring white tights

Red dress
modcloth.com

Knitted dove coat
modcloth.com

Hue white tight
lordandtaylor.com

Vivienne Westwood suede boots
vestiairecollective.com

LeJu gothic jewelry
boticca.com

Oasis red hat
$13 - oasis-stores.com

Stila eyeshadow
beautybar.com

Izabel London:Izabel London Brown leopard scarf cardigan
dorothyperkins.com

Ipsy Glam Bag Unboxing - January 2014

Hi guys,

Check out this Ipsy unboxing for January 2014 - it wasn't my favorite glam bag ever but I still think it was well worth the $10 price tag. Also sorry for my voice sounding awful, I've been sick for a while now >.<.

Sign up to IPSY: http://www.ipsy.com/r/1lfc

What I got in this month's IPSY:
Apothederm bright skin serum
Coastal Scents small foundation brush (BR-C-S22)
Mica Beauty tinted lip balm in Fiesta
Absolute! make-up cleansing tissues (10)
Yaby natural finish liquid foundation in Buff

The History of Makeup

Check out this History of Makeup infographic I found! I find it extremely interesting which strange objects most makeup stems from and the trends/movements that caused makeup to evolve. 

Julep Maven Starter Box Unboxing - January 2014

Seattle-based company, Julep, caught my eye about half a year ago but I have a plethora of nail polishes and saw no need to get more. However, while reading another beauty blog, I discovered they have a promo code "FREEBOX" which lets you get 1 free intro box and see what their Julep Maven Subscription Service is like. I literally received my box the very next day after I subscribed. Granted, the only catch here is that you have to pay around $4 for taxes and some shipping cost and they get your credit card on file (I have already sent customer service an email asking them to remove my card so that I am not billed for the following month).

If you want to sign up, click here: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/371425/

They have 5 different profiles that you can fit into (after filling out a short questionnaire): Modern Beauty, Boho Glam, Bombshell, Classic With a Twist, It Girl. I got "Bombshell" and I actually liked the box associated with my profile best (however, if you don't like your box, you can always choose any other box) - so you always know exactly what you're getting. There's also huge discounts for those who are purchasing other items (some can be as much as 40-50% off).

I received the following: 

Julep - Mighty Nail & Cuticle Serum Pen

Julep - Nail Polish - Zelda (pink champagne metallic)

Julep - Nail Polish - Kendra (an army green frost)

Julep - Blank Canvas - Mattifying Face Primer (sample packet)

This is what the polishes look like on:

Julep Zelda Nail Polish 

Julep Kendra Nail Polish

I really like their polishes, they're smooth and true to color, you can easily achieve the color that you see in the bottle usually on the first coat. I really enjoyed the cuticle pen as well because it didn't leave my cuticles feeling too oily like the "Solar Oil" I normally use but did leave my cuticles feeling softer and more moisturized.

Here's where you can buy the full sized products: