Today is special because my dear friend and sorority sister Cassie has written a guest post for you all! Cassie and I both admitted to reading each others’ entire blogs… so obviously I can attest that hers is beautifully-written and full of food and beauty love. Go check it out! I’ll let Cassie take it from here.
Hi everyone!
This is Cassie of latteaholic. I love the fact that Courtney’s blog is always full of cute and fantastic new products. So today, I’m excited to share my recent cosmetic favorites with Courtney and you!
Recently, I’ve been dabbling a little bit more into makeup, spurred random trips to Sephora. After testing a few products and loving them, I have fallen in complete and utter love with a few that I’m about to share.
Urban Decay’s Naked Palette
I’ve been interested in this palette for a while now. Retailed at the slightly-expensive but reasonable price of $50, it’s been promised as the greatest neutral palette in the makeup world. The palette comes with 12 colors, a brush and a travel-sized version of Urban Decay’s famous eye primer potion.
I was personally attracted to this palette for several reasons. One, from what I’ve previously purchased from Urban Decay, I know that this brand delivers. Second, I’m not big into colorful makeup; I prefer a slightly-accented natural look, which this palette promises. Third of all, I love metallic colors, in my clothing and my makeup, so the metallic neutrals included in this palette looked very promising.
After a week of use, I am fantastically in love with this product. The colors come out gorgeously. They blend together to create seamless looks. The metallic shades do not overpower your eyes. Its smooth texture is long-lasting, even without the primer potion. The included brush is soft yet resilient and perfectly angled. I also love the fact that every color is very wearable and that the shades blend to create new colors easily. At the end of the day, this is probably one of my best cosmetics purchases ever. I know that the price looks a bit hefty, but trust me, the product is worth it and it lasts forever.
The only slight critique I have revolves the design of the palette. I wish it was smaller! I would love to be able to carry this with me in all of my bags, but its large size simply does not allow me to. But still, fantastic product for you neutral-metallic lovers out there!
Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil
Ladies, let’s face it: finding that perfect eyeliner is hard. It must be the perfect consistency, have nonsmudgey-ness (I totally just made up that word) and be long-lasting. At least for me, it’s been hard (my closes success has been Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Stay-in-Place Gel Eyeliner in Stay Coffee). I’ve loved Urban Decay’s Liquid eyeliners (see review on my blog), so when I chanced upon Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil during a Sephora excursion, I decided to try their pencils.
As with all Urban Decay’s eye products, there is a great variety of colors at your disposal. I actually had a really hard time choosing which colors to try, but in the end I choose Lucky and Underground.
Lucky is this really gorgeous bronze color that I use as both eyeliner and eye shadow (remember how I’m obsessed really attached to metallics?) Actually, I’ve been looking for this color for a while now, without realizing I was looking for it. It’s like one of those things that you realize it once you see it, you know? I also got Underground, a soft dark brown that comes with little speckles of sliver glitter… okay, maybe I just never got over the Oh-shiny-things-me-like stage of childhood.
After a few uses, I can tell you that this line of eye pencils is great! As promised, the eye pencil glides on effortlessly. The texture is firm and consistent. It doesn’t smudge after you give it a minute to dry. And it’s long-lasting! The colors are last all day. In my opinion, if you’re in the market for a pencil that you’ll use for a while, this is a great buy!
*Note: If you haven’t noticed already, I love Urban Decay. It’s honestly one of the best brands out there, in terms of colors, quality and trendiness.
Nars’s Orgasm Blush
Irene, one of my best friends, recommended this blush to me. My usual go-to blush is Smashbox’s Blush Rush in Flush and it was love at first sight. It’s a really pretty soft pink shimmer. But recently, I’ve been in the market for a more orange-toned blush that’s a middle between a blush and a bronzer. So pretty much, I was looking for a peachy flush for a blush. I was over at Irene’s a while ago and found it in Nars blush in Orgasm (haha, it’s a name that brings a blush to your cheeks!).
Orgasm is a “peachy pink with shimmer… [that is] designed to be worn alone or for more depth. Nars provides a healthy glow to flatter any skintone.” It’s a very pretty peach blush. I love the fact that it delivers a very natural peach glow and truly, it’s great on any skintone. It’s a bit pricey ($28), but I feel justified in buying since blushes last forever and adds a unique dimension to your look. It’s a worthy investment, in my perspective.
**Note: Nars also offers Super Orgasm and it’s more intense color with gold glitter. I didn’t get it because it was too much glitter and color for me, but for those of who want a high impact blush, it’s a good choice!
A few other products that have worked well:
Burt’s Bee’s Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom
Pop Beauty’s Lid Bronzer
Essie in Lilac
OPI in Crown Me Already!
I hope that this post helps you in your beauty endeavors! Thanks to Courtney again for running a fun blog!
Visit me at latteaholic if you would like more makeup and/or food reviews!
Enjoy!
~Cassie