Brush Cleaning Day…..

It was that time again. When I needed to stop being lazy and really deep clean my brushes. I am such a procrastinator but, now that I do my makeup on camera, I need to be a little more dilligent about keeping them pristine since they are now subject to public scrutiny. I am not really going to tell you how I do it or post a video on it. It’s futile, I have no new info to offer. I am rather going to link to a video that is pretty much the method that I use.  I mean, cleaning your brushes is not rocket science, but it is nice to know how to best remove product from your brushes.

 Why clean your brushes? I am so glad you asked! You need to clean your brushes because, like any other beauty tool, they can develop bacteria which can lead to breakouts and all sorts of gnarly things. Secondly, think about your hair. When your hair is dirty and you can tell you have product build-up on your tresses, it just doesn’t perform like it would if it was clean. Most brushes are made of natural animal hair and the same rule applies. Plus it can taint the outcome of your makeup, especially in the case of shadow brushes, if you have colors left over from previous applications.

 Now the video that I am posting is for deep cleaning your blushes (like I did today) and you only have to do that about once a week. For everyday cleaning just a little bit of brush cleaner (I use MAC’s) on a paper towel does the trick beautifully.

Here is the link, It’s a video by Marlena from MakeupGeek (LOVE her!):

And here are a few photos of my brushes drying, you can see why I dread doing this, I have quite a few…….

Urban Decay “Naked” Palette Review

I did it! I finally got my hands on the ever elusive Urban Decay “Naked” Palette. The Palette that flies off the shelves and vanishes from websites literally hours upon release.

 I first became interested in this palette after watching a few YouTube videos exalting the merits of this product. I thought to myself I HAVE to have it but one trip to Sephora.com and a few calls to my local Sephoras made that prospect a bleak one. They had none in stock and no idea when they would return. I signed up on the website for an email alert when the product was available, made a wish and a prayer and hoped for the best. So imagine my joy when I checked my email one morning and saw “Sephora Customer Service: UD Palette in stock” in one of the subject lines. But a sister was BROKE!

 I BEGGED my husband to give me his credit card number so I could buy it before it disappears into myth once again but he wouldn’t budge. Secretly, he was planning on buying it himself for my impending birthday later that week (did I mention I love that man?). However his plans were dashed as, within hours, the palette vanished into oblivion. I sunk in defeat as it slipped through my fingers. But I still had one hope to cling to. A quick call to Sephora Fashion Valley revealed that the palette might be in the shipment they would be receiving that Thursday morning and, if it was, they would be more than willing to hold one for me to pick up. Oh happy day!

I waited with bated breath for Thursday to arrive and called the store nearest to me (Sephora Otay Ranch) before it even opened. They had it! It was there! And they would hold one for me provided I could be in to pick it up that day. Nothing and I mean NOTHING was going to keep me from picking that palette up. Not even the fact that I got a tubal sterilization procedure that day and was doped up on a vicodin/valium/ibuprofen cocktail. I actually felt pretty stable so it was no problem for me to go there and I had a friend driving for me so I was safe.

So what was the hullabaloo about? Was the palette worth all that angst? Am I glad I captured it? ON WITH THE REVIEW:

First, let’s start with a photo:

So there it is. The packaging on the palette itself is a chocolate brown felt with gold foil lettering and inside there is a decent sized mirror. The box it came in was plastic and inside is a cardboard insert showcasing the different shadows and how they look outside the palette:

It also comes with a travel sized Urban Decay Prep and Prime Potion located to the right of the Palette in the box. Personally, I could have taken or left this item. I purchased a full size Primer Potion some years ago and just wasn’t that impressed with it. I am a DIE HARD Too Faced Shadow Insurance fan. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the stuff. But since it came in the palette I figured “What the heck? Everything deserves a second chance right?”. Well, I am happy to report that I am slowly changing my opinion on the Primer Potion. I am not as enamored with it as I am with the Shadow insurance bit it is definitely a close runner up. I am going to do a side by side comparison of the two primers soon.

So now lets open the palette and look inside. It has a magnetic closure and the mirror is located on the top flap. It contains 12 shades, color names written underneath each shade which I will outline for you from left to right. It also has a Good Karma Shadow brush which I will discuss later.

Virgin– pearlescent off-white, velvet finish

 

 

Sin- frosty light beige with a slight pink undertone, reminiscent of a champagne color

 

 

Naked– matte light brown, slightly ashen, like an ash blonde color

 

 

Sidecar– very shimmery, pale gold color with minute gold flecks

 

 

Buck- matte medium brown, with a beige undertone, not a red-brown

 

 

Half Baked– very true gold, more like a frost than a shimmer

 

 

Smog– very real bronze, metallic in finish

 

 

Dark Horse– One of my favorite colors. Looks like what you would get if you mixed dark brown, olive and grey and added a touch of gold sparkle. A very unique shade

 

 

Toasted– a frosty rose gold

 

 

Hustle– Also a personal favorite, this is a chocolate brown color with a rich, almost burgundy, undertone and a velvet finish. *In my Rick Ross voice* “EVERYDAY I’M HUSTLIN’! EVERYDAY I’M HUSTLIN’!”

 

 

Creep– off black with multicolored sparkles, another gorgeous color. I love a good, sparkly, black color.

 

 

Gunmetal– dark slate grey with a frost finish and silver sparkles.

 

Whew, that’s all of them! My hands are covered in shadow, LOL! This is definitely a must-buy and it works on so many levels for so many different skin-tones. There is literally something for everyone in this palette. From your nominal makeup wearers to the more flamboyant of us, like myself.

Now as for the brush. I have a little bit of attitude about it. The first edition of the Naked Palettes had a double-ended 24/7 liner in the shades “Zero” (black) and “Whiskey” (dark brown). Now if you know anything about the 24/7 liners they are supposed to be very good (most users swear by them) and very expensive, almost $20 a pencil. That’s crazy talk to a person who is accustomed to spending no more than $2 to $5 on a liner and that’s on a generous day. I really wanted the double ended pencil to see if they were all they were cracked up to be so you can imagine my disappointment in finding that they were absent from this edition’s release of the palette and, in place of them, was the Good Karma Brush. I mean the brush is ok but nothing noteworthy in my opinion. It is a VERY stiff medium shadow brush and I find that it works well in applying my M.A.C. reflects glitters because the bristles are so stiff that the glitter just sits right on top of them, they don’t nestle into the brush. So I am getting usage out of the brush but would have preferred the liner seeing as how if I were to go purchase both liner pencils separately, it would put me back about forty bucks. I can imagine my conversation with my husband:

 “Honey, I spent $40 today.”

“WHAT?!?!?!?!?! WHAT THE HECK DID YOU GET?”

“Two pencils…….”

O_o……..*blank stare*

So, what is my overall opinion of the palette as a whole? Is it worth the $48 price tag? My answer is an enthusiastic and an emphatic “YES!”. This has become a favorite of mine and I am constantly grabbing it when I do my makeup now. I even keep it in the original plastic box to maintain it’s look (obsessed much?).  I love it. If you can manage to catch one. by the light of the full moon, you should. It is currently sold out on the website, as I am sure it is everywhere else, but don’t let that deterr you. With a little luck and persistence anything you want can be yours, I believe that wholeheartedly. Whether it be this palette or a personal endeavor.

 At any rate I have rambled long enough. I hope this was as entertaining for you to read as it was for me to write. Until next time…….stay gorgeous and fabulous!