Naked 3 Palette Review & Swatches

Hello, everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  My husband and I got to spend Christmas morning and afternoon with my family and then we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with David's family.  We don't usually see David's family for Christmas, so it was really nice to do so this year.  For Christmas, David got me the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, so I thought I would do a quick review and swatches for you.

Review:

 

I already really like this palette.  This may actually be my favorite palette of the three.  The colors are very pigmented and rose tinted.  The case is plastic like the Naked 2 palette, but with a rigid, sort of satin detail to the front and back.  I prefer the plastic casing over the magnetic fabric case that the Naked 1 palette has.  The plastic is easier to keep clean and I don't have to worry about it opening up if I take it with me somewhere.  You can see in the first picture with all three of the palettes that the first one is a little faded and dirty up by the top.  I've read a lot of other blogs that say that this palette is perfect for people with light eyes like green, blue, or hazel, and I agree.  That's not to say that people with darker eyes can't wear these colors, they definitely can, but these colors especially make lighter eyes pop.  Of the 12 colors, two are matte, one is satin, and the other nine are shimmers/glitters.  The color "Trick" is my hands-down absolute favorite color from the Naked 3 palette.  It's so beautiful!  The color "Dust" is probably my lease favorite because it's not as pigmented as I'd like it to be and it's a bit chunky in texture.  It's still a beautiful color, but the texture of it makes it my least favorite.

Comparing the three:

Naked 3 close ups:

Naked 3 swatches:

*All swatches are shown without primer.*

Which is your favorite or least favorite color from the Naked 3 palette?

I hope you have a great New Year!  Thanks for stopping by!

7 Mascara Samples Review

A little while ago I made a purchase from Ulta.com and received a bunch of sample size "higher end" mascaras for free.  I decided to try them out for a while and then do a review.  *Warning* I have 7 different mascaras so there is going to be quite a few pictures in this blog post.

I'm going to start off with a couple of pictures of my eye without any mascara as a reference:

"BADgal Lash" by Benefit Cosmetics:

I've been using this mascara for the past two years, so obviously I like it quite a lot.  I tend to prefer bristle brushes over plastic applicators.  This one has a giant bristle brush that really coats and separates my lashes very well.  It's still one of my favorite mascaras.  You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

"Full Exposure" by Smashbox:

This one reminds me of the BADgal Lash mascara.  They both have a big bristle brush and they both coat and separate my lashes very nicely.  My first impression of this mascara was that it was equal quality to the BADgal Lash.  I like this one a lot as well.  
You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

"Flawless Definition" by bareMinerals:

My first impression of this one was, "Eh, it's not bad."  It has a teeny tiny plastic applicator that I thought would do absolutely nothing but clump up my lashes.  After using this a few more times I've actually come to really like this one.  Honestly, it may even be my new favorite.  It separates and coats my lashes far better than I anticipated it would.  Because the applicator is so small it can really get into your lashes and coat even those tiny, stubborn lashes.  You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

"They're Real" by Benefit Cosmetics:

I know a lot of people rave about this mascara, but I really don't see what all the hype is about.  Whenever I use it, it clumps up my lashes something awful.  I have to use a lash comb to try to comb out all of the clumps, and it's really a hassle.  But, like I said, a lot of people really like this one, so maybe it's just my disinterest in plastic applicators that makes me not love this mascara.  It does have a unique applicator, but I end up poking myself in the eye with it.  :(  You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

"Big Blink" by Pur Minerals:

My first impression of this one was that it reminded me of the They're Real mascara.  It has a unique plastic applicator and has Argon Oil in the formula, but it isn't enough to make me like it.  It clumped up my lashes a bit and was flakey by the end of the day.  You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

"Multiplex 3D Lashes" by Lorac:

This one has a curved plastic applicator which was nice for adding some curl to my lashes, but that's really the only good thing that I have to say about this one.  It's supposed to be waterproof but it isn't really.  Definitely not something I would fork over so much money for.  You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

"Lash Injection" by Too Faced:

Oh, where to begin with this one?  Of all of the mascaras that I've ever tried, this is probably the worst.  On Ulta's website this one has the worst reviews, of these 7, also.  It's a bristle brush (which I usually prefer), but it didn't separate my lashes and it was difficult to apply.  I had to go over my lashes 4 or 5 times until it felt like it was finally coating my lashes, and by then my lashes were clumpy.  The formula for this one is just bad.  After a few uses the formula started to get sticky.  It's very difficult to remove even with makeup remover.  I use a makeup remover wipe to remove as much makeup as possible at the end of the day and follow it by washing my face, and I still had trouble getting all of it off.  It is not worth the price at all.  I didn't even end up keeping the sample of this.  It's absolutely awful.  You can get more details/reviews and buy it from Ulta.com here.

If you are looking for a new mascara then I hope this helps.  I'm definitely glad that I didn't pay for some of these (especially the Too Faced one).

Thanks for stopping by!