Review: NUDE PALETTES

As you may have known or realized not all nude palettes are created equal.
They all can't be UD Naked, but some can try.
I took all my nude palettes, 4 at the time, and lined them up against each other. Can they measure up to the Naked palette in variety, pigmentation and quality?
Let's see!

Contestants:
Urban Decay Naked palette $52
Forever 21 Smoky Palette $7
Coastal Scents Revealed Palette $25
Maybelline The Nudes $10

If you know me by now, you know that I did not pay full price for any of this LOL! I'd like to thank sales, coupons, and employee discounts for making this all possible!

Urban Decay Naked
What can I say? It's a classic, in the short time it's spent on this planet. I don't know what it is, but I want to wear all the colors at one time. You can't go wrong with this palette at all and I think that is why it is often imitated but never duplicated...unless you count Naked 2 and 3.
In true UD fashion they are pigmentated, long lasting colors. There are a mixture of matte, shimmer and glitter textures. Basically a little is all u need. I don't need to say anymore because you probably already own this one. And if your thinking about buying this palette, but choke on the $52 price tag, for the 12 colors included in this palette it works out to be about $4.33 cents an eyeshadow.
Let's look at some other brands gunning for that Naked throne.

Maybelline The Nudes
Everyone and their mama was after this palette. Hell! I worked in the store when this palette came out and still had to wait as I watched our meager supply sell out in a day!
It's a nice beginner palette. The colors are arranged in a quad system, so the 4 colors adjacent to each other would ideally be used together to different looks. For anyone more experienced with makeup you know we are not just going tostick to those 4 colors.
Basically it's 3 quads, 4 colors in each quad making it 12 colors in total.
For the price it's an awesome deal! for 12 colors, it comes out to be about 83 cents per eye shadow.
It's a nice palette. I appreciate mass brands getting in on the palette idea, especially with the nudes. The pigmentation is average. Good for a drugstore brand.
How do the colors match up to the Naked palette?  Not even close! the quality is at opposite sides of the makeup spectrum. I would say it's nice for someone just starting with makeup.

Forever 21 Smokey Palette
Let's just say I HAD to buy something, so I chose this.  It's not horrible, but Forever 21 sells party dress and heels, not makeup. The palette looked reasonable and at $7, why not!?
Also another nice palette for beginners. Some shadows are a little hard. The pigmentation is ok, better than I expected, but not even up to maybelline standards. The packaging it attempts to be Naked. But my dear, naked you are not. Our least expensive palette coming in at 70 cents an eyeshadow, it's worth it for your teenager to practice with.

Coastal Scents Revealed Palette
OK you got me coastal scents. You look good, almost too good to be true. You're running around passing yourself off as 2 naked palettes at $25, how dare u?!! I like Coastal Scents. The quality of their products is amazing,  it's almost witchcraft. Upon first look there is a close comparison in the variety of colors. There is a dupe for every Naked 1 (and 2) shadow in the revealed palette.
The quality was the best out of all the naked imposters, by far!!! If you're just not feeling UD, try the Revealed palette. 1/2 the money, twice as much product.

WEEKLY REVIEW: Eyeshadow

     Out of all the reviews I think this one might be the one a lot of people have been waiting for. To test these eyeshadows, I tried them once, and sometimes twice with a different primer. I used NYX white eye base as the first primer and just to give the makeup a fair chance, I retested the shadows using Urban Decay's primer.
     All shadow will crease, eventually, it's just a matter of how long and what primer will cut down the creasing time and how noticeable the creasing is. I have had some eyeshadows survive overnight, even after a deep sleep...but that's a story for another day :) 
I've had some shadows crease so badly, that they damn near disappeared! I've had others that had such small creases, that it's hardly noticeable.

So where do we start?

Covergirl $3-$6 (drugstores) These shadows don't work AT ALL if you use them dry!!! The brighter colors, like the green and blues work wet, but the pink/purples barely show up wet or dry. The only color that worked dry was the silver. I wouldn't waste time or money on these. I am actually struggling on what to do with mine...I'll probably give them to my niece to play with.


Covergirl Flamed Out Eyeshadows $5 - Now these work! I haven't had to try them wet to 'force' them to work, because they work so well dry. With any primer or alone the colors show up. In the entire collection there are about 12 colors which is a mix of brights and neutrals. I think they should extend this line and totally do away with the regular line. The white was more of a "fairy dust" than an actually white. I still love it as an under brow highlight color though.
There is creasing, (using NYX primer) but it's such small thin creasing, it could be ignored.


Urban Decay $52 (Sephora, ulta, urbandecay.com) - These palettes are 50 bucks a pop for a reason. There are pigment and lasts all day with or without primer and no creasing. When you break it down $52 for 12 eyeshadows
 (not including double ended brush and primer/lipgloss added to the package) it's about $5 a shadow, which is as much as you would pay for a single eyeshadow in a drugstore. Plus, you need so little of the product it will last a long time. My ONLY complaint would be about the inconsistency of the blacks as you cross reference them from palette to palette.


Wet n' Wild $4-$6 (drugstores)- The matte colors crease HORRIBLY and they aren't pigmented. The regular shimmer/ glitter colors are better, but their pigmentation varies. The deeper colors seem to be better and of course silver the is good. Even with primer the colors fade throughout the day.





Victoria Secret $30 (Victoria Secret)- Victoria Secret makes makeup? Who knew?! I went in the store with a $10 off of $30 coupon to buy underwear, but ended up dropping the 'draws' to buy makeup instead. I picked up this palette, because of the colors and it even came with a card showing a couple of  'how to' looks. You could have some real fun with this palette. The pigmentation is great and the shadows last all day. Overall, the Victoria Secret eyeshadows are a quality product and area a good contender to other popular brands
 ( I wouldn't say MAC or UD, but Stila, Smashbox, POP would be a good comparison.)



Physicians Formula $12-$14 (drugstores)-All the colors are light. Light in texture and variety of colors. There are a lot of golds, silvers, metallic in general. PF is meant to be light and buildable. The palettes are great learning or beginner colors. They are not very strong colors, but universally flattering for all color eyes. I would only recommend this palette for adolescents and older adults.

Shades by Gal $46 (shadesbygal.com)-This palette, the colors selections, pigmentation, quality, and combination of the universally flattering satin and matte colors, IMMEDIATELY reminded me of Makeup Designory. Makeup Designory is classic and rivals any brand in quality, Shades By Gal colors can compete with them as well!
The eyeshadows blend very well and are easily buildable. Just a little goes a long way! Naturally, the colors last all day. *this palette is no longer available on the website, but there is a spring palette available as well as individual colors*

ELF $1-$15 (eyeslipsface.com)- ELF is hit or miss, some of the colors are true to their original color, Some are a totally different color once they're on. I recommend primer. The "bright" colors aren't as pigmented as they seem. The browns, metallics and pinks are good. The purples are often hard to tell from the blues, and both are a different color once actually applied. Of course these shadows crease, but with a combination of concealer and primer it can be avoided.
    



 I know this isn't ALL the eyeshadow brands, but I'm slowly and surely getting there. I just wanted to give a mix of price points with this first review. There will be MANY more of these, so let's call this version 1. Plus this review would be entirely too long with 20 brands on 1 page.
Here are brands to come: (please comment with any brands I may miss)
-GOSH                   -Sephora
-Revlon                  -Beauty Gems
-Maybelline           -Cargo
-L'Oreal                 -NYC
-POP                      -Lauren Luke
-NYX                     -Inglot
-Stila                      -Coastal Scents
-H&M                    -BH
-Forever 21            -Hard Candy
-Clinique                -Lisi
-Estee Lauder         -Prestige
-Ofra                       -Micheal Marcus
-Sigma                    -Impulse
-Mac                       -MUFE
-MUD                     -Sugarpill
-No. 7

Beauty News!!!

      I'm not going to beat around the bush, I've been stressed out! it's crazy to me how school is. I killed myself last week and then this week they give me easy assignments, that take nothing to do. Forget the excuses! This is not about that! it's about beauty! So over the next 2 days I'm going to try to give you everything that I've been missing. Let's start with sales.

Rite Aid
BOGO 50% -Covergirl, Almay, Maybelline, Ecotools, L'Oreal, Eucerin, c. Booth, Simple, Noxema, St. Ives, Garnier Skincare, CVS cosmetic accessories, Revlon, Neutrogena
BOGO FREE Physicians Formula  eye products and concealer
Maybelline mascara $5.99
Wet n' Wild makeup marked $.99  will be $.69

Walgreens
BOGO 50% Covergirl, Revlon, Maybelline

CVS
BOGO 50% Covergirl, Neutrogena, Rimmel, Acnefree, Cerave

Ulta
Free gift with Urban Decay purchase
Free gift with Peter Thomas Roth purchase
Free Gift with Mario Badescu purchase
Buy 2 get 1 FREE Almay andL'oreal
BOGO 50% Revlon, Palladio, Maybelline
15% off Hair and Skincare
ALSO I just got my quarterly rewards certificate and you probably did too! I have to admit their 'rewards' aren't all they're cracked up to be and unless you're a level 6

Beauty News!!!

HI AGAIN!
   Here we are, Halloween week and I have some great looks to show you along with some 'how to' directions. BUT today, let's talk sales and give you some more info our the next makeup challenge, starting on Friday.

CVS
BOGO 50% - Revlon, Covergirl, Roc, Ardell, Andrea, and Katy Perry
Maybelline 30%
Covergirl Mascara 2/$15
Olay products 2/$8

Walgreens
BOGO 50% - St. Ives, Almay, Vaseline, Simple, Revlon, Wet n' Wild, Maybelline Smokey line & lipgloss
L'Oreal Skincare 20%
Cetaphil $8.99- and they have a new line of Oil Reducing products

Rite Aid
BOGO 50% - Covergirl, Olay, Revlon Colorstay, Almay face products, Neutrogena, Maybelline lip products, Rimmel
Maybelline Mascara & Smokey line $5.99

Ulta
Urban Decay, Book of Shadows Palette for $32, This set includes 16 eyeshadows, full sized 24hour liquid liner, travel sized primer and curling mascara. ($64 value)
along with the other sales from earlier in the month.

Sephora
As usual, check their sale page.

    Now for our next challenge, I (or we) will be picking 1 palette at random and use that for the entire month. I have yet to name this challenge, until I pick the palette. I will announce which palette I have chosen on Thursday.
     The process of choosing a palette was super scientific. I wrote the names of all my palettes on post-its, folded them up and put them in a container. I'll pick one at random and use that for 30 days, whether it's 4 colors or 100! Honestly, I'm hoping for a smaller palette, less than 100, but more that 4, so I can get a variety of looks, push my creativity and see how much I can stretch a small amount of colors.
    So I hope to see you've been back here, checking out my Halloween looks and checking in on 'challenge day eve'.

This week

I got a shipping notice that my computer will be here friday! I can't wait! And honestly,  right after I set it up, I'll be posting. 
I started my makeup fast and quickly realized how hard it was, especially since Sephora has a sale on urban decay palettes. I do own two already, so I had th we power to skip those. Plus I'm so much more excited about repurposing makeup products and products from my "dislike" bin.
Sorry lovelies but it's late and I have a busy day! See u friday!!

Weekly Review: Oil Controllers

     Before I start I'd like to invite you guys to check out my Instagram: aprilmaykup.
I just started posting pics this afternoon, but there should be new ones everyday!
Check me out! Follow me!
     Now your review. There are so many oil controlling/ mattifying/ oil eliminating products out there, in so many different forms. I tried cleansers, masks, medicine,  moisturizer, wipes and setting spray.  I rated them based on ease of use, price and if they actual eliminate or calm the oil production on my face.
     First let me say that with all these products my nose was the first thing to get shiny. Nothing I tried really calmed the oil production there.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Long Lasting Shine Control $8 (drugstores, target. walmart)- This is a cleanser and a mask. I used to use it as a mask once a week and sometimes as a cleanser. With this product it's necessary to use for a while to get the desired shine control. When I was using it once a week, I noticed that the first morning was great control, but by then end of the week I was back to my oily self. When I used it as a mask I leave it on for 10 minutes then rinse. As I cleanser I just massage it in for about 1 minute, then rinse. Does it work? If I had to use just 1 oil control cleanser , I'd pick this. As a daily cleanser it gives you a matte base to start with, but not dry. It also contains microbeads, which provides exfoliation. For me, exfoliation helps with controlling oil.  This use to be my only form of defense against oil. I would stick with it and add it back into my routine as needed.

Lumene Matt Touch Deep Cleansing Peat Mask $12 (drugstores)- First of all this stuff smells. It looks like baby poop...SORRY just being honest. It's supposed to absorb oil and tighten pores. I like it as just a mask (once I get over the small and look of it) I didn't notice any difference with the oil on my face, but maybe it's one of those products you have to used overtime. As a mask it's great! My skin feels soft, clean and not dry. I would like to test it for a few more weeks to be absolutely sure it's not an oil controlling dud! Honestly, for the price I would rather stick with my old favorite, the Neutrogena. If I did not get this product for more than 50% off I would have never bought it. It am willing to give it more of a chance because Lumene makes some VERY AWESOME products!



Olay Fresh Effect Shine Minimizer $6 (drugstores)- I did not like this product. It is shine minimizing, which I took as a 'oil controller.' It controlled the oil from coming out on the surface, but when I got home I have so many pimples. They were small, but they had literally popped up throughout the day, trapping that gross oil underneath my skin. It was disgusting. I was still oily too! When I washed my face that night, I was doing damage control on my skin.








Simple Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes $6 (drugstores, target, walmart)- I used these in the morning instead of washing my face as normal...and I must say WOW! I don't really know a lot about Simple. I've only used 1 cleanser 1 time. I love these though. I wasn't oily, well only in my nose area, which wasn't affected by any product I tried. These are a great quick fix! No water is needed, so you can use these anywhere/anytime. I'd buy these wipes again and again! I looked slightly dewy, but not shiny.




Bentaberry G-1 Face Cream $22 (birchbox.com)- This cream is thick and soft. It's moisturizing. It smells medicinal, but it doesn't work as a matiffying product. It immediately leaves the skin with a matte finish, but that's where it ends. In a couple hours my skin was it's normal oily self.









Urban Decay De-slick Setting Spray$14-$29 (Sephora.com)- I definitely had to read the directions a couple times to get this right. You have to spray this before and after you put your makeup on. It worked great! that's probably why it's so expensive. I wore my makeup for almost 12 hour that day and I wasn't oily until the last couple hours, when the party was over and I was on my way home. I am struggling with the price to value ratio of this product.  I do like this though...I'm only holding from saying  'love' for the price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milk of Magnesia $2.50 (family dollar, drugstores)- When I used this, I didn't think it would work. I had a TINY bit of secret faith, because I know the product dries chalky and matte. I had no idea how to apply it so I used a cotton round, which didn't work well, so I used my fingers. I let it dry, which took a couple minutes. Then I applied my makeup. I was surprised I didn't have a white face, chalky, cracked face. My skin was still soft and pliable, but matte. I was VERY surprised that this worked! I would use it again and again. I would have been using it everyday if I didn't have other products to test. This lasts about 8 hours and again on my nose, nothing worked.

 

This was an interesting challenge. I also found it informative because I need oil controlling, especially in the summer time. The round up of everything is I would use and oil controlling cleanser like the Neutrogena or the simple wipes, then a 'treatment' like the milk of magnesia...and if I had an endless supply of cash, the Urban Decay spray. Yes the Urban Decay spray is an AWESOME product, but you do need up to 8 sprays for each make up application. If you're using it everyday, the cost does add up fast. I would use the milk of magnesia everyday. You need such a tiny bit that the bottle will last a long time! Also incorporate an oil cleanser, if you're trying to really combat oil.

     It's a process to combat oily skin and over time, with the use of cleansers and treatments you would reduce the amount of oil your face produces.