Top 5 Favorite: Fall Eye Shadow Palettes & Urban Decay Smoked Analogue

For the most part, I wear neutral shadows but there is something about fall that intrigues me to bring out the jewel tones. Along with those deep, dark and rich shades, I also love using taupe during fall and winter months.

 I have several favorites but these are the top five most reached for palettes for this time of the year. 

Urban Decay Pistol, YDK & Pistol

Urban Decay Naked 2: This is a cult favorite of the beauty community and I love using it during fall and winter because of the cool toned shadows. I associate Naked palette with summer and Naked 2 with fall/winter. Some of my favorite shades from this palette are: Pistol, YDK and Busted.

Lorac Pro Palette: This is an absolute favorite of mine throughout the year. Not only it is great because of half matte shadows but I feel that the two halves of the palette depict two different seasons. The left half has a summery feel to it while the right half is appropriate for the fall. 

Some of my favorite shades for the fall from this palette are: Pewter, Garnet and Deep Purple. 

Sleek Storm: This is one of the popular palettes from sleek makeup. Even though I do not own the Urban Decay Smoked palette, but to me, this sleek palette looks very similar to it. It may not have the exact arrangement but the basic idea is interchangeable due to the homogeneous color tones. Nonetheless, I would not call it a dupe but definitely a cheaper alternative for those on budget. 

The shadows are very soft and pigmented but there is a lot of fallout which is somewhat inevitable and visible because of the deepness of the colors. 

Smashbox Click You're It: This is an old holiday palette that came in a red box but I depot-ted it into a regular palette because the original box was quite bulky. Although, this was a limited edition palette but I am still including it in this post because I have seen it on a lot of websites recently. 

This palette has a nice combination of jewel tones and neutral shades. I really like it because the colors are dark but not too deep, thus reducing the chances of messing up for novices like me. 

Maybelline Eye Studio in Cozy Cashmere: It took me over a year to find this palette in Canada but it was totally worth it. Most of the eye studio palettes are all shimmery but this one has two completely matte shadows and one semi matte with shimmer. The rusty orange and the deep orangish brown reminds me of the fall leaves and sets into the whole mood of the season. 

What are your favorite fall shadows? Do you have any recommendations?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

MUA Overview & Possible Urban Decay and MAC Dupes

MUA i.e. Make Up Academy is a very affordable UK based brand. But unless you live in UK, MUA products can only be bought from their online store. Few months ago, I bought 8 items and the shipping cost was £7.50 (fixed rate) to Canada. But recently, I have noticed that they often provide free shipping worldwide with some minimum purchase. 

I came to know about this brand because of numerous comparison posts of the UD Naked palette with their Undressed eye shadow palette. 

MUA Undressed: At the time I bought it, I had the UD Naked palette so I can say that they are definitely very similar but not the same because there has to be some difference in the quality since the naked palette is $60 and this one is just $6.45. 

 But still, with the exception of a few (e.g. gold shade in the picture), most of the shadows are soft and bendable. So, I feel it is a good option for the students, beginners and bargain hunters. 

Left: Shade 1; Right: Shade 3

MUA Blusher: These retail for $1.61 but I honestly do not like these because they are quite chalky. Also, they hardly stay on for an hour or two on my dry skin. So, I would not recommend these. 

Shade 1: Bright candy pink with noticeable golden shimmer.

Shade 3: Peachy melon shade with golden shimmer but looks more brownish in the pan. 

MUA Trio in Innocence

 MUA Eyeshadow Trio in Innocence: This is a beautiful trio of baked eye shadows that can be used wet or dry and retails for $4.03. I really like the color combination as there is a light creamy shade, an olive green and a duo chrome reddish brown with hints of bluish green tones making it somewhat similar to MAC Club. All three shades have some shimmer which simply adds up to their beauty. So, if you want to try one trio out of all then I would definitely recommend this one. 

MUA Trio in Pink Sorbet

MUA Eyeshadow Trio in Pink Sorbet: I do not like this trio because firstly the mid-toned pink is very chalky and frosty looking. Secondly, the light pink shade (which appears white in the picture) disappears into nothing on blending. So, at least for me, this trio isn't good enough to be used on its own because otherwise the end result is a frosty mess.  

Left: MUA Single Pearl Shadow in Shade 12; Middle: Darkesst shade from MUA Trio Innocence; Right: Bottom right corner shade from WnW Comfort Zone

MUA Single Pearl Shadow in Shade 12:  This shadow is absolutely amazing. It is super pigmented, smooth as butter and costs only $1.61. On top of that, it is probably a dupe or a more saturated version of MAC Club eye shadow. So, I highly recommend it to everyone. The only issue I have with MUA is they have numbers instead of names for their products.

MUA Lipstick in Shade 11

MUA Lipstick in Shade 11: This shade looks different under different lights. It is described as a brown on the website but it sometimes appears nude with reddish undertones and sometimes more of a peachy coral. But nonetheless, it is a great everyday color. The formula is very smooth and moisturizing so can be used on days when you forget to apply the balm or are in a hurry. Also, it retails for just $1.61. 

The bottom of the tube screws open to reveal extra product. And it was only after getting this lipstick that I realized NYX tubes also open in a similar way. 

MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette

MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Brunette: This is a true dark chocolate brown shade which is very smooth and creamy. However, the downfall of extra creaminess is that it instantly starts smearing and does not even last for an hour. The picture above was taken immediately after swatching it and you can see how the product has already smudged. 

However, I do like the brush end of the pencil. Usually brow pencils come with a spooly or a plastic brush, but this one has a proper bristle brush. This product also retails for $1.61 but I would not recommend it. 

There are definitely some hits and misses with this brand just like with all others. But overall, I really like some of the products like the undressed palette, lipstick, single eye shadow and the innocence trio. 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Have you tried this brand? What are some of your favorites?

New Product Alert: Super Inexpensive Nail Polishes

I went to the Walmart today and was browsing through the aisles casually and came across a hidden display of nail polishes.  At first I thought these are the nail art type with pointed brushes because of the bottle design and the overall display,  but since there were a lot of glitter options so I checked one out and found them to be regular polishes. The brand is called Fingrs Heart 2 Art, and they carry standard polishes with cream, shimmer and glitter formulas along with  a lot of other nail art accessories and kits. Even though they do not have a lot of unique colors but I found the collection to be pretty decent with a lot of neutrals and mid-toned shades and some bright colors. After pure ice, I feel that this nail polish has the most attractive price point of $1.98 and that is what made me pick up so many shades at once.

New Nail Polish Brand at Walmart: Fingrs Heart 2 Art

I usually do not buy multiples at once, especially from a new brand but this time I did because the formula seemed pretty nice and the shades were also very wearable. 

From Taupe to Bottom - 2 coats 

This polish passed the test when I swatched the lightest shade as lighter shades are usually streaky. However, this one went on very nicely without streaks in just two coats. 

Left: Julep (8ml); Right: Fingrs Heart 2 Art (8.8ml)

The bottle is very similar to the Julep, except the shape of the cap. Julep has a rectangular cap while this one has round cap. However, the main difference is that Julep polishes retail for $14 (8ml) while Fingrs is just $1.98 (8.8ml). I find this brand to be pretty generic, just like any other nail polish brand. The brush is just like Julep or any other typical nail polish brush. The only thing with cheaper polishes is the strong scent. I felt the scent was really strong and chemically when I had a whiff at the store, however, now that I tried smelling the other polishes for comparison, it seems fine to me. 

I can't really comment about the lasting power because I just bought it, but I am planning to do NOTD's with these shades so will let you know about their wear time in those posts. However, it is definitely not one of the quick drying nail polishes and it does take a while to dry off without a top coat. 

The colors that I picked up are as follows (in the order shown in the picture):

From Taupe to Bottom: This is a gorgeous sandy beige shade with a hint of taupe. To me, it looks very similar to Essie Sand Tropez, may be a bit lighter. 

Mauve It or Lose It: This is a mid-toned mauvy neutral shade. It is basically the above mentioned shade with mauve tint to it, but a very beautiful work appropriate neutral color. 

You Pinky Swear?: This is a nicely pigmented standard baby pink, which goes on without any streaks. 

Peri-Wink, Wink: As the same suggests, this is a periwinkle shade with a tinge of purple and goes on very nicely. 

Catch Some Grays: This is a grey shade with a slight taupey tint to it. In the store I thought it is similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe but it is not. It looks taupey grey on its own but more like a standard cement grey in front of the color tattoo which pulls more purple near it. 

V.I.Purple: This is a shimmery duo chrome bluish purple shade. When you look directly at the bottle it looks like a deep blue, but when the light hits at an angle, the beautiful purple shows up. 

Red You Loud And Clear: This is a true velvety red shade which reminds me of holiday season and Christmas. The shimmer in this polish is so finely milled that it just takes this color up a notch. 

Even though I bought these polishes today but I already love them because it doesn't take too long to test the quality of nail polishes. Especially because the wear time is not an issue for me as I change my polish every other day. Also, I give this brand props for giving a thought to the names like the OPI does. So overall, I love the packaging, the shades, the formula, the pigmentation, the names and off course the price. 

Have you seen these polishes at Walmart stores near you? Have you tried them? Or do you plan to try them in future?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

NOTD: Bluey Hues

I absolutely love blue nail polish for summer. It is like blue jeans that goes with everything. For today's manicure I have picked up two different shades of blue. I like these kind of manicures because they add a little extra to one colored nail looks but are very simple.

Left Hand

Right Hand

I just changed the sequence of colors on both hands to make it more fun and casual. I used both drugstore nail polishes. First one is Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, which is a cult favorite of the beauty community and is talked about a lot. It retails around $2.99 depending upon the store.

The second color is called Bikini by Pure Ice. Walmart Canada has recently started carrying this new brand of nail polish and it is retails for $1.99. I like the consistency, it is quite opaque but I used 3 coats for this manicure. I want to try more colors, but I didn't find any unique one as I already own most of the shades that they carry. 

As usual, I used the Revlon colorstay base and top coat. It gives a decent shine and makes my nail polish last a while, which actually is not a priority for me as I change my nail polish every other day. 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

NOTD: Pink and Blue

I am a nail polish junkie and love changing it every other day. I really like doing bright color combinations in summer and was initially thinking about doing white and blue but then I ended up doing it with bright creamy pink. The pigmentation and color payoff for both of these nail polishes is amazing. Both are under $5, actually I think the essence one is $1.99. I used Revlon gel base and top coat (my favorite). 

Left Hand

Right Hand

I noticed that the blue on nails is showing up way deeper than it actually is. It is more true to color in the bottle, where it leans more towards teal. I highly recommend checking out essence polishes as they are super cheap and great quality. However, the color collection is very limited and that is the only downside. 

If you try this combination or any others, please leave a link to the pictures below as I would love to see them. Thank you for checking out this post, hope you have a great day!