Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette - It's finally here!

Ok, I will just come out and say it. I was SO excited when Urban Decay announced the Naked Smoky palette...perhaps even unhealthily so! But I certainly don't think I was alone given that #NakedSmoky was trending on Twitter and nearly every blog and vlog I stumbled across in the last couple of weeks was talking about it. Although this palette was released on the 8th July in America, us poor Brits were left waiting till the 30th July to get our hands on it!! Even now, the palette is only currently available at their flagship London stores and online until full release on the 6th of August so it has built up a considerable amount of suspense. 

So needless to say, when Urban Decay sent an early release email on the 29th July, I, along with hundreds, perhaps even thousands of other people went straight to the Urban Decay website to try and bag one of these beauties. After half an hour of repeated refreshing and rather fraught conversations with my fiancé (I'm sorry!!!), I became one of the lucky ones who could expect a rather beautiful delivery in a few days time...and my goodness was it worth it!!

My poor work colleagues must have thought for a moment I was starting to hyperventilate with the ridiculous amount of excitable squeals going on when my parcel arrived. I am an absolute sucker for good packaging and if there is one thing Urban Decay do well, it's exquisite design of the entire package of their product. At £38 it certainly isn't the most budget friendly buy but the sheer craftsmanship and attention to detail that has gone into Naked Smoky is apparent in every aspect and definitely makes the price feel justifiable. The outer box was pretty enough but when I saw the palette itself, I was in love. At this point I was practically shoving it at anyone who would give me 2 minutes of attention and proclaiming it to be the love of my life. Alas, noone in the vicinity was quite as excited as I was but bless them they did such a good job of humouring me while I yabbered on and on about it!

The palette itself is a taupe, translucent masterpiece with a smoke pattern running across it. As is always the case with Urban Decay, the palette feels well made and has a certain sleekness about it. It has a magnetic closure which again just oozes a certain touch of sophistication. There's also a guide included to help you create a number of different looks which I thought was a brilliant addition. All in all, if a palette could be sexy, this one would be seriously hot stuff.

Within the palette itself, you'll find an array of the most perfect eyeshadows that will help to create quite a variety of looks. There's a great selection of grey, bronze and even purple shades which will all lend themselves well to an intense smoky eye. From highlighters, to transition colours to crease colours, it's all there in one handy set. As an added benefit, there is also a great double ended brush. With one end being a pencil brush and the other a blending brush, if you were travelling this palette would probably be all that you'd need.

Apart from just three shades (Radar, Armor and Black Market), all of the colours are brand new and absolutely stunning. There are 4 shimmers (High, Dirtysweet, Radar and Armor), 4 satins (Slanted, Dagger, Black Market and Smolder) and 4 buttery mattes (Password, Whiskey, Combust and Thirteen) which gives a lovely variation for a number of looks.

The shimmers from left to right - High, Dirtysweet, Radar, Armor

The satins from left to right - Slanted, Dagger, Black Market, Smolder

The mattes from left to right - Password, Whiskey, Combust, Thirteen

Every shade has really impressive pigmentation and is incredibly easy to work with. They blend well with barely any fall out (apart from the glitter in Armor) and I truly cannot wait to experiment with them! The only eyeshadow I was just slightly disappointed with was Smolder as I was hoping for just a slightly stronger purple pigment but it is still beautiful nonetheless.

As someone who much preferred palettes from Urban Decay like Vice and Electric over the Naked Palettes (which I am aware is practically blasphemy for some!), I am really glad that this latest palette mixes things up a little. Considering Urban Decay's tagline is "Beauty with an edge", I couldn't think of a more appropriate palette for this brand. The smokey eye is without a doubt one of the edgiest makeup styles, full of mystery and sex appeal, so what could be better? Take it from me, this palette is worth every penny and your makeup collection isn't complete without it!

Over the next couple of weeks I will certainly be trying out some new looks with the help of the Naked Smoky palette and will have a tutorial up soon using these babies!

Have you got your hands on Urban Decay's latest offering yet? What do you think of it? Do you think it's worth the hype or are you a little underwhelmed? Let me know in the comments!

My Makeup Essentials

This may come as a surprise to you, but I LOVE new makeup. New lipsticks that make me feel I have suddenly become a sophisticated lady rather than an awkward frump. Fun eyeshadows that transform me into a sultry seductress (…Ha!). Finding a new blusher that suddenly makes you look like one of those healthy, outdoorsy, hiking types. Yes, I love it and especially when it is something a little different from the norm, variety is the spice of life and all that.

However, I always find myself coming back to a few staple products. Call them my makeup security blanket if you will and I don’t think I’m alone in this. I’m sure you all have a few items that, though occasionally you may stray from them, you eventually find yourselves turning to because they’ve always got your back. So I thought I’d tell you all about mine!

But first, I should confess something to you all. Although I really enjoy all things makeup and can often be found creating full evening looks on a quiet Saturday morning at home just for the hell of it, my dirty little secret is that in the war of makeup Vs sleep, a little shut eye will always win. So during the week, I am really not someone who will be fully made up at all times and changing their look on a daily basis. Instead, I have a nice little set routine that works perfectly for me and come rain or shine, I stick by it. So these are most definitely my every day essentials.

The Base

These are the little beauties that turn my mottled, pale self (wow I sound hot right?!) into something safe for work!

Smashbox Primer | RRP £25.00

The perfect primer to minimize pores, blur imperfections and increase the longevity of your foundation. It’s a really light, silky formula that blends like a dream and can even be worn on it’s own. It also contains a number of ingredients to keep your skin in tiptop condition such as vitamins A and E, Grape seed extract and green tea. It’s got a huge cult following, so much so that they have now brought out a whole range to target specific issues. If you don’t want to splash out on the full size, it has a handy travel size counterpart for £12. The full size product usually lasts a good 6 months for me so I’d say the travel size would be more than enough if you were only planning to use it sparingly.

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! | RRP £26.50

Come on, who doesn’t love a bit of Benefit? From their cheeky product names to their incredibly approachable staff, I love everything about this brand. If you haven’t had the Benefit experience yet, honestly get yourself down to one of their counters pronto as you are in for a treat! This is their bestselling foundation, an oil-free liquid that allows you to build a light to medium coverage while still maintaining a natural look. It comes in a range of 9 shades which may be a little on the small side but I’m always really impressed with how bright and even this makes my skin look, even if I am having a bit of a grey day.

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer | RRP £17.50

Another Benefit product, this is the bad boy of all concealers. They even describe it as “industrial-strength” which does make me envision builders with trowels of the stuff but it is surprisingly easy to apply. It’s definitely a multi-use concealer and can be used on anything from dark circles to a nasty lurker of a spot. It is a light and creamy formula which is best tapped on to the skin to apply and is really long lasting so you can rely on it to stay in place throughout the day. Everything oyu need ina  concealer really!

Bellapierre Cheek and Lip Stain in Coral | RRP £12.00

A quick day look is never complete without a two in one product in there somewhere and this is mine. I actually first discovered it when it was included in a Glossybox last year and since then it has become a daily staple. It’s a creamy stain that blends so easily and allows you to build up the colour as much (or as little) as you need. Because of this, it’s also really handy to create an evening look at short notice as you can build up a nice coral lip. This particular shade would suit a variety of skin tones and it gives such a lovely touch of colour. Bye bye sleepy pale face, hello healthy glow.

The Eyes 

These are my favourite products to perfectly frame my eyes for the day without looking too harsh

Urban Decay Primer Potion | RRP £16.00 

If you have read some of my other posts, you will probably have already picked up on my love for this product. Without fail, this primer makes my eyeshadow stay put for hours on end. In fact, this stuff is so good that I have even woken up the next morning with perfect eye makeup (yes I know it's a beauty sin, but hey it happens). It comes in a number of different shades but I personally like to use the original as it’s the perfect base for any look. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Mac Shroom Eyeshadow | RRP £13.00

A lovely little eyeshadow that lightens up the lids and highlights the inner corners of your eyes to make you look more awake (exactly what I need at 6am!). It’s a fairly neutral beige with a slight shimmer and a frost finish. Another that is multi-use as it is handy as a highlighter on other areas of your face too. Personally I’d only use it for an evening look as it has a touch too much shimmer for me but that completely depends on personal preference.

Me Me Me Eyeliner in Clay | RRP £4.00

I used to always be someone who’d automatically pick up black eyeliner until I came across this beauty. I find it to be much easier to smudge a little of this on the lower and upper lashes without it looking too heavy for daytime than I do with a black liner and this particular brand is so easy to apply. It’s a really soft kohl that glides on without any tugging and can blend out so well that you can use it as an eyeshadow if you want to change to a night time look. It’s also the perfect colour for me to touch up any little bare patches in my eyebrows (hangs head in over-plucked shame).

Benefit Roller Lash | £19.50 

This is a fairly new mascara that was big news when it launched. I was a dedicated They’re Real fan until this came into my life as it is much more suitable for a softer look. It defines the tiniest of lashes and lifts them up so they really look like they have been curled. It also never flakes or smudges so you can rely on it for the whole day. So long eyelash curlers, I won’t be missing you.

Model Co More Brows | £13.00

Everyone loves a good brow these days and this is my key product to keep them in shape. I’ve recently been going through the traumatic experience of growing out my brows and honestly could not have coped if it wasn’t for this product. It is an ingenious gel formula that contains small fibres which cling to your eyebrow, making them appear much fuller and even. Since it sets relatively quickly, it can also be used to style your brows and to push the hair into the ideal placement which is a godsend when you have straggly, outliers all over the place that don’t have a clue what they are doing.  

That’s everything! Annoyingly, there are 9 products and part of me really wishes there was a round 10 but I’m not going to throw something in willy nilly! These are definitely my essentials for a daily look but if I am feeling relatively awake, I do add in an occasional extra product or two to mix things up. Especially if my skin is deciding to be uncooperative, I might choose to incorporate a powder (my current choice is Nars Translucent powder, that stuff is dreamy) or a makeup setting spray like Urban Decay De-Slick. When the seasons change is also a time when I might swap things over, especially the cheek and lip stain as that’s an easy way to adapt to the changing weather, hello berry lip and cheeks.

What are your makeup essentials that you can’t live without? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments!