Urban Decay Naked Smoky Swatches and Demo

It almost seems there will be no end to the Naked series!
The latest item to join the family is Naked Smoky, which for the first time sees the 12 colors grouped by theme, so you can easily create looks using the 3 "quads" in the palette, or by picking balanced trios just by choosing 1 warm, 1 cool, and 1 matte from the palette.

Warm Neutrals:

Cool Neutrals:

Matte Neutrals:

There are plenty of soft colors but definitely more deep shades in here, considering it's a "Smoky" palette. The mattes are slightly more chalky, which is quite common for mattes. They're pretty smooth and blendable though, so you don't need to worry that they'll go on patchy and uneven.

But as usual for Urban Decay, it's really the metallics that stand out. They are smooth, pigmented, and just gorgeous as heck. I'm more of a warm neutral girl, but the grey/plum shades in this palette are just too nice. The warm shimmer shades are beautiful as well of course. (I'm a huge fan of Dirtysweet.) The good news is I didn't experience quite as much fallout with this palette as some of the earlier Naked palettes. In fact, I didn't even need to clean the skin under my eyes after doing the eye look below.

This palette has only 1 glitter shade, Armor, which is good because they have a tendency to fall off the lid and all over the cheeks after a few hours. Still, this wasn't as bad as I remember some shades being in Naked 1.

One of the fun things to do with this palette - since the cool and warm tones are quite balanced - is to do part warm, part cool looks, like the one I did above.

I do feel several of the shades, and the balance of light and dark in this palette are somewhat similar to the Naked original palette, so technically speaking, you don't need both unless you're a collector and fan of all Naked palettes. This has more deep/smoky shades than Naked 2, so you can consider it if you want deeper options. And of course, it is very different from the rosy-hued Naked 3, so it's actually quite a good complement to that palette if you want a good range of different neutrals.

The Naked Smoky palette launches 20 Aug in all Sephora Singapore stores at SG$83.

[Requested] Basic Nude Lip Smoky Eye Makeup Look: Diorshow Aventure and MAC Blankety

Classic nude lips and smoky eyes in a few easy steps!

One of the easiest and most flattering looks to pull off a nude lip. Here is an easy step-by-step, and some tips to making it more wearable, and quick options for a day-appropriate version!

Try:

Rich browns, charcoal and grey, or even deep jewel tone on the lids
A pink or peach blush that isn't too neutral or deep in color; a soft wash of radiant color balances out the overall look. (Don't keep trying to match your blush to your lip color when you're wearing nude.)
To avoid the "concealer lip", which can be quite unflattering for many people, try a nude lip pencil that matches your lip color closely as a base

For this look, I'm using a charcoal grey cream shadow.

Grey with a Lavender Twist: Duochrome Sparkle Eyeshadow Tutorial

Because Maybelline's Color Tattoo shadows were SUCH a great product to use as glitter base, I couldn't resist doing a second version in a slightly winged out kitten-eye shape. This time, I used a grey base (Audacious Asphalt) and a crystalline white glitter with a violet sheen on top.

I had a lot of trouble capturing the true color of the glitter (Virgo by Lime Crime) in flash. It kept showing up white in the camera, although it's a violet in real life.

You will need:

• Black pencil
• Grey cream shadow or base
• Pale white glitter with lavender sparkle (you can actually use any pale glitter; it doesn't need to be a white with violet duochrome, but if you can get hold of some, it adds a twist to the look)

Step 1: First, I did a simple black liner swatch along the upper lid. Do it in a rough triangle so it's thick at the outer corners.

Step 2: Here's the fun step. You apply the grey shadow using a synthetic concealer brush, and you want to line it up exactly above the black liner you did earlier (overlapping a tiny bit is fine) and then drag it out past the outer corners of the eye. 

This actually scrapes the black and pulls it out into a nice sharp wing.

The grey should go up to the hollow of the socket line, so continue to apply if that stroke with the brush did not cover everything.

Step 3: The simple part is the glitter. Just quickly use the same brush to press a thin layer of pale white/violet glitter over the grey cream shadow.

Step 4: Finish with black mascara. Because the glitter doesn't really go down to the base of the lash line, you can easily wear half-strip lashes with this look for some extra drama.

It's quite a neutral look but there's just that bit of extra sparkle in a different color when your eyes catch the light.

To show you how the duochrome looks, I have an image taken in shaded interior lighting (daylight) as well. Grey, but not grey!

Grey 2 Ways: Day and Night Looks

Day Look: A wearable and flattering way to wear grey without loading down your eyes is to add a touch of gold in the inner corner, and to add black to the lash line.

Night Look: Grey cannot go wrong paired with black. To keep things interesting, I went for a very defined shape instead of the typical smoked-out look.

Read on for the step-by-step!

Smoke and MIrrors - Sparkly Smoky Eye Tutorial

A single, flat grey shade on the lids can make the skin look dull and sometimes a little sallow, so the trick to wearing it is to wear a few shades of grey for some contrast. 

Step 1: Apply a smoky metallic grey all over the lids from lash line to socket line. 

Step 2: Use a deeper grey to extend and wing out the outer corners in a V shape. Then run this dark grey along the outer half of the lower lash line as well.

Step 3: With a pale pearly lilac, fill in the innermost corner of the eye for some brightness there.

Step 4: Moisten a brush with some mixing medium or eyeshadow sealer and then dab translucent white glitter over it. 

Then apply mascara and there you have it!

Quick and Dirty: Smoky Turquoise and Black Eye

When I say quick and dirty, I really mean quick and dirty. You will need a 

• white/beige/pale-yellow liner (matte), 
• false lashes or mascara, 
• a deep charcoal grey matte shadow, and 
• a satiny deep-turquoise blue.

Step 1: Apply the dark moss-grey matte shade in an upright triangle at the outer corner of the eyes. (Basically, do your outer V and then fill it in.)

Step 2: Apply a rich jewel-blue to the rest of the lid, within the socket area. Be sure to pack on the color rather than sweeping and swirling your brush, for maximum intensity.

 Step 3: Finally, run the moss-grey shadow generously along the lower lash line, apply false lashes (optional), black mascara to top and bottom lashes, and then gently line the waterline with a pale matte pencil to finish.

Products used happened to mostly be from Make Up Store:
Make Up Store Microshadow in Boarding (deep aqua-blue satin)
Make Up Store Microshadow in Moss (dark matte grey with an olive lean)
Make Up Store Eye Pencil in Vanilla Matt
L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black

Smoked Silver-Violet with Peach-tinted Cheeks and Lips

This is a look that composed of a tri-color eye, combining soft purple, grey, and navy, and the color combination is not only flattering for most skin tones, but also wicked on brown eyes.
In contrast, the cheeks and lips are a warm coral-peach in tone.
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Step 1: Apply the soft purple to the inner 2/3 of the lids.

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Step 2: Apply a soft grey to the outer half of the lids, blending into the purple.

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Step 3: With a dark navy, darken the outer corners and up along the socket line slightly. Then trace along the lower lash lines as well.
Finish with navy blue liner along the water lines.

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Step 4: Curl lashes, apply fake lashes, and then mascara on the lower lashes. I used longer lashes than usual today, just to emphasize the smokiness of the look without too much heavy color.

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And the finished eye:

For the rest of the face, I used:

• NYX Cinnamon blush (bright matte coral)
• Heavy Rotation Nude Lipstick #03 (try MAC Myth or any other pale orange-based nude)
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef in just the center of the lips. Press lips together to spread and even out the color a little.