REVIEW | Urban Decay - Naked 1 Palette

SWATCH(L to R): Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal.


I finally bit the bullet and got the Naked Palette from Urban Decay. It is one of many that a lot of people have been obsessed over and who wouldn't considering they are very flattering and wearable shades.  I cannot believe I have my hands on this and that I can play around with all the beautiful colors that can create a ton of makeup looks.

Urban Decay has introduced a range of "Naked" products that essentially work with many different skin tones and that have skin like color and texture.  I find that the Naked palette have really shot through the beauty industry as a staple in not only consumers, but also pro makeup artist.  I use mine a lot because its very versatile and can create a very natural eye to a smokey eye very quickly.  I use mine in my makeup kit as well because I find that I can create a look that everyone of my clients can love and its not intimidating when my clients see what I'm using on them.

The pigmentation of these eyeshadows are very smooth and buttery that can be easily blended on the eye.  There are only two matte eyeshadows and the rest are either glittery and/or have a sheen to them.  The matte shades are very pigmented and apply smooth, they are definitely great for crease work.  The other colors are very pigmented and soft, they glide on very well with fingers and deposit color very well with a brush.  There is a nice balance of warm and cool tones in the palette that would suit a lot of different eye color.

I have had this palette for a while now and I can tell you that it is worth the price (new price $54) and is great for those who are beginning with eyeshadow and want a palette that can offer you a variety of shades/choices that meet you preference.  It is a winner in my book and it makes me excited to try other products from the Urban Decay line.

-BENNevolent

Review | Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream

We all know the rage in Asia has got to be the BB creams (Beauty Balm/Blemish Balm) and its has been touted all over by Asian celebs. It was just about a year and half ago when I've been hearing so much about these BB Creams and how it provides so much benefits such as; primer, corrector, foundation, moisture, healing, anti-aging, skin lightening, and sun protection. Now that's a lot of claims for one product, but each BB creams out there are not similar to one another and some of them don't claim everything that I had just listed.
The one BB cream I was interested in was Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream it was one of many available BB creams at the time that had a good range in shade color choices because Asian BB creams usually had limited color selection and were relatively light in color. Some BB Creams even claim that even though they are light in color, they actually blend and adapt to your color once set in or over time while wearing it. I for someone who has median to tan skin tone is quite a problem because I wanted to try these out so badly, but I wanted something that matches my skin color better.
I've seen reviews on blogs and on YouTube about these products that were quite mixed, but it seemed like it was optimistic enough for me to try it out.
Luckily, this product is available online and Missha has their own website that is for US residents. They had a sale going on and I believe it was 40% off selected beauty products and their Perfect Cover BB Cream was listed to be included in their sale. I was contemplating which had to get, ether; No. 27 - Honey Beige or No. 31 - Golden Beige. I picked up both of them and was surprised that by getting both of them I was eligible of a free gift and got a full sized BB Cream in No. 23 - Natural Beige.


Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream - $20.99 - $29.99

I like that the 50ml comes with a pump which is great to control how much you want dispensed and its sanitary.

Now here are the swatches from each BB cream and you can see how different in color and tone they are.
From left to right:
No. 23 - Natural Beige | Lighter of the other two with grey under tones which is typical of Asian BB creams because a lot of them had grey tones within them and like I said earlier that they should adapt to your skin after a few minutes of applying it on.

No. 27 - Honey Beige | Yellower in tone than the other two and this is the one that matches perfectly for me.

No. 31 - Golden Beige | A mix between red and yellow in tone and its the darkest shade Missha provides its great for tan skins, but not dark enough for those darker skins.

I really like this BB cream a lot because it matched my skin really well when I applied it on my face and when I had on my powder, bronzer, blush it looked flawless and not cakey.  It did not make me overly oily even though I have oily skin, I find that it made me look natural in finish and wear throughout the day.  The coverage is one of the best and I would consider this more like a medium coverage foundation.  The claims of anti-aging or lightening of the skin is up in the air because I can't see any drastic changes in the look and feel of my skin, but I believe the factor of it having claims of that is because of the high SPF in it, which is SPF42 PA+++.  Sun protection is important for preventing skin aging and with high SPF it will not cause you to get darker in complexion when in the sun meaning you retain your color.  It does have oils in it, but good oils such as; rose seed oil, jojoba seed oil, macadamia seed oil.  Other interesting ingredients would be; collagen, caviar extract, algae extract, rosemary leaf extract, matricaria flower extract.  Looks like good ingredients, but does it really do great things for the skin?  Maybe, condition/moisturize the skin?  who knows, but the fact that it works well and its a great replacement for an everyday tinted moisturizer or foundation good in my books.  :)

-BENNevolent

Review | MAC Viva Glam GaGa 2

Look what we have here, a MAC Viva Glam lipstick/lipglass, but not any Viva Glam product, its a Lady GaGa endorsed product that she had helped create for the Viva Glam Campaign.  First, let me explain what the Viva Glam Campaign is all about and as short as I can.  Viva Glam Campaign was started to help fund raise money to help spread the word about HIV/AIDs because many people around the world are affected by it and MAC wanted to help not only women and children, but men also in the fight to protect ourselves from those diseases.  So, all profit/proceeds made by purchasing a Viva Glam product goes to the fund.  I love that MAC does this and have been doing this for many many years.

MAC|Viva Glam GaGa 2 $14.50

Viva Glam GaGa 2 is the follow up to Viva Glam GaGa which was more of a bubblegum pink and I believe very reminiscent of 'The Fame' era of her career.  Now with the new one we see that Lady GaGa and MAC came out with a nudish-beige shade.  The lipstick is an Amplified finish, which means its very creamy and great color payoff.  I found the color to be less jarring than its predecessor and might I add again considering I'm such a Lady GaGa fan that it very well represents her in the "Born This Way' era.  

I don't own the first Viva Glam GaGa, but I have seen it in person and swatched it.  I found it very fun and girly shade that can compliment any skin tone, but can also adapt to those who want to alter the color a little to make it more wearable for them and I understand if you don't want to be wearing a lip product that is not for everyday wear.  In contrast with the second coming, I find it even more wearable, but with my darker skin people out there it could come off too pasty or too light of a color.  You can definitely mix them just like the first one make it wearable.  

I tried comparing Viva Glam GaGa 2 with MAC Myth, but they were completely different one was lighter than the other and GaGa 2 was more deeper in the beige.  Just to let everyone know that with the lipstick the color is a flat shade, meaning for glitter particles.  In the lipglass form it does contain miniscule glitter particles that you cannot feel nor notice, but it I find it gives the color of the lipglass more dimension than the lipstick.  Paired together works wonderfully and they are not different in color between them.

Sadly, this product is limited edition and won't be available for a long.  So if you are a fan of the color, GET IT ! If you are a fan of Lady GaGa, GET IT ! or you just love what MAC is doing with the MAC HIV/AIDs fund then... GET IT !

-BENNevolent

Soft Servin'

   Tonight I enjoyed a lovely dinner with my family.  Its nice to spend time with them and catch up on current events.  I believe sitting down around a table for dinner gives families the opportunity to spend more time together.  We sometimes take a lot of our moments with our love ones for granted and I want to spend more time together with my own as much as possible.  Well, hope you enjoy this photo of my soft serve ice cream.  A nice after dinner treat.  Take care !

-BENNevolent