Urban Decay Naked 3

Naked 3 Palette ($52) - Sephora

I'm a bit late to the bandwagon. Not in the sense of owning it, but waiting for forever until I finally posted my review of the new Urban Decay Naked 3 palette! A gorgeous 12-shadow palette, I think UD keeps getting better and better, unlike many of those Hollywood sequel movies that should not have happened (Hangover 3? Eh. Step Up 2, 3, 4? No, thanks.).

In rose-gold packaging, this palette features many shades that seem to be a part of the rose-gold "craze" that so many people love, myself included. Four of the shades are matte -- Strange, Limit, Nooner, Darkside -- while the rest boast beautiful, largely subtle shimmer.

Strange: matte, neutral pale pink

Dust: very shimmery neutral pink with some fine glitter

Burnout: satin-finish rose-gold 

Limit: matte mauve with a neutral undertone

Buzz: very shimmery rose gold with some glitter

Trick: gold/copper-based shimmer

Nooner: matte pink/brown deeper mauve

Liar: mauve/brown shimmer

Factory: brown-based satin

Mugshot: warm taupe shimmer

Darkside: dark taupe/brown satin

Blackheart: warm black with pink shimmer

I am just a huge Urban Decay fan in general so I guess I could come off a little biased when I talk about how much I love this palette. The pigmentation of every shadow is fantastic and you're easily able to create a beautiful neutral day look or amp up something darker for the evening. While I don't think that the rosy eyeshadow shades will look great on every skin tone, I think that there is enough variety that allows this to be an accessible palette for most. The price remains the same as the other two palettes and I'd consider investing in one of the others before this one if you are new to the "Naked" franchise. However, if you have the money and already own the first or second palette, I'd definitely recommend adding this to your collection when you get a chance. 

Amazonian Clay 'Natural Beauty' Blush

If you've read my blog for a while, than you know how much I love Tarte, particularly their blushes. Their blush in 'Dollface' has long been one of my all-time favorites and featured in many of my posts. For Christmas, I received another one of their blushes, this time in 'Natural Beauty'. A stunning deep pink/red color, I can't even truly describe how beautiful the color is. Definitely darker than my other blush of theirs, I was a little intimidated at first thinking of how it would look on my paler-than-pale skin tone. However, when I apply this blush, I do so to the backs of my cheeks and work my way forward. Most of the time, you simply apply your blush on the apples of your cheeks, but for a more flushed look you can work your way from the back and with some bronzer, creating a gorgeous glow. With this application technique, the blush looks natural and just like the real flush I'd get from the cold this time of year.

Packaging-wise, Tarte hits it out of the park as it's simply amazing. All of their products have such sturdy, amazing packaging that will always prompt me to bring on vacations as I never have to worry about it. The blush also has a small mirror, which is nice and I love that the outside shows something similar to what the inside is. Retailing at $26 (Sephora), I already can't wait to add yet another to my collection.