Urban Decay Naked 3 Review

I purchased the Urban Decay Naked 3 the day after it released at my Sephora.  So I've owned it for about a month now.  So this is a tried and true review.  I've given it a chance, I've used it a lot, I've seen what the colors can or can not do.  And I'm sure you're sick to death of Naked 3 reviews but I figured I should write this.

Let's start off by saying I was sooo excited for this palette.  I looked at swatches and reviews from the people who get sent palettes to try and review before they're for sale.  I saw it and immediately thought what an awesome bridal palette this would be.  And it is.

This palette retails for $52.  $52 sounds like a lot but when you think about the fact that you're getting 12 full-sized Urban Decay shadows, which retail for $18/apiece, you're actually saving $164 by buying them in a palette.

The colors:

Strange: 

What Urban Decay (I'm going to call them UD) says: "pale neutral-pink matte satin"

What I think:  their description is pretty good, but there's just the slightest hint of pink in there, it's really a good neutral color.

Dust:

What UD says: "pale metallic pink shimmer with iridescent micro-glitter"

What I think:  This shadow is no bueno.  The color itself is really pretty.  However, it's kinda chalky and you really don't get any kind of color payoff from it.  It really is like pink fairy dust, as you're left with a light pink glitter.

Burnout:

What UD says: "light pinky-peach satin"

What I think:  I'd call it more of a shimmer, but it's pretty.

Limit:

What UD says: "light dusty rose matte"

What I think:  Gorgeous color.  I love this one.  It's a purple-based pink matte shadow.  It's beautiful.

Buzz:

What UD says: "metallic rose shimmer with silver micro-glitter"

What I think:  This is not a glitter like their other glitters.  You can barely see it.  So it's more just a shimmery shadow.  I love the color.

Trick:

What UD says: "light metallic pinky-copper shimmer with tonal micro-glitter"

What I think:  It's a coppery-rose gold with glitter.  Not my favorite color in the bunch but I'm also not huge on golds.  I don't love UD's Half Baked shadow either, which is in both of the other Naked palettes.

Nooner:

What UD says: "medium pinky-brown matte:

What I think:  This color is probably my favorite color in the palette.  This and "Limit" are.  These mattes are really smooth and blend really, really well.  This one is great for adding depth to the crease.

Liar:

What UD says: "medium metallic mauve shimmer"

What I think:  It's a pretty shimmery color for a smokey eye.

Factory:

What UD says:  "pinky-brown satin"

What I think:  I love that this isn't super shimmery, just slightly.  Another great color for a smokey eye.

Mugshot:

What UD says: "metallic taupe shimmer with slight pink shift"

What I think:  I guess if you look really hard, you can see the pink in there but it's basically a taupe color.  Quite shimmery.

Darkside:

What UD says: "deep taupe-mauve satin"

What I think:  It's a shimmery dark grey purpley pink color haha.  Does that make sense?  This photographed less purple than it looks in person.

Blackheart:

What UD says:  "smokey black matte with rosy red microsparkle"

What I think:  To me, it doesn't look black.  It looks like a deep, deep reddish brown with rose sparkles.  This color is WAY more pigmented than I had expected.  LOVE this color!  This color looks more black in the picture than it does in person.

Swatches of the colors over the sample of their original Primer Potion:

I own all three Naked palettes.  I was really excited about this one because it was different from the others, it was more specific.  I do like it.  I think the colors are all pretty and nicely pigmented (with the exception of "Dust").  However, here's my problem:  I have used this palette many, many times and I have used different colors in different places, over different bases and I've really mixed up where and how I use the colors... all of the looks I have done look the same.  I don't know how that's possible or why that is but it's true.  No matter what I do, everything looks the same.  I also wish there was a shimmery highlight color because "Dust" just doesn't work.

I still think this palette is an AMAZING bridal palette!!  It looks great on everyone I've seen it on, from dark skin to light skin, blue eyes to brown eyes, especially green eyes.  So it really is beautiful and neutral.  Just don't expect to get a huge range of looks from this palette because I've tried and it hasn't happened haha.  

So here's a bridal look I did when I got the palette:

And the color placement:

Did you get a Naked 3 yet?  What do you think?  If not, do you plan to get one?

Makeup Geek pigments! Swatches and review!

Recently I received a message from a Makeup Geek employee asking me if I wanted to try out their new pigments.  This was a no-brainer.  I stinkin love pigments.  They make me very, very happy.  So of course I jumped at the opportunity to try them out!  And since they are brand new, I figured it would be a good time to show them to you and tell you what I think about them!

So onto pictures!

Here's the packaging:

It's the normal, cute Makeup Geek packaging, just in blue.

And here are the pigments!

These do not come with a sifter.  So be prepared for that because you can make quite a mess!  And just a note, some pictures were taken with flash, some without, some with both.  I wanted you to see as clearly as possible what they look like in person.  All swatches were done with no base.  The left swatch is dry, the right swatch is applied wet, just using water.

"Afterglow"

Makeup Geek site's bottom line: "Soft shimmery champagne"

What I think:  I think the MUG's bottom line description is a fair one.  Definitely one of my favorites.  It's got a gorgeous shimmery glow to it!

"Birthday Wish"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "Shimmery light gold peach"

What I think:  Definitely another favorite!  I couldn't wait to use this one!  I'd call it more of an orangey-peach than a gold peach though.

"Enchanted"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "Light plum shimmer"

What I think:  To me, this color comes off a bit more neutral than it appears on the MUG site.  Still a beautiful color, though.  I was impressed with how well this one applied dry.

"Insomnia"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "A dark chocolate brown duochrome with blue/teal reflects"

What I think: Pretty color.  I expected a lot from this seeing as how I have another very similar color from Glamour Doll Eyes called "Dino Spotz."  This is a beautiful teal color when applied wet, very disappointing dry.

"Liquid Gold"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "True Metallic Gold"

What I think:  It's not a pure gold, it's got a little olive in there.  Definitely one of the best performers dry.  A very interesting, unique color.  Just beautiful.

"New Year's Eve"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "Light Gold Reflective Glitter"

What I think:  Super pretty.  Definitely more of a glitter than a pigment, but not a glitter that you need a glitter glue for.  Would be perfect for a sticky base like Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper.  It's a great way to dress up everyday makeup.  The worst one when applied wet, it got very streaky and milky.

"Paparazzi"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "Glittery Smokey Grey"

What I think:  MUG's bottom line is a very fair description.  It's a charcoal grey with glitter.  It's super pretty!  I can't wait to try it over a black base!

"Prince Charming"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "Metallic Cool Silver"

What I think:  A true silver.  Gorgeous, gorgeous color.  I did notice, though, the more I rubbed the color onto my skin, the more apparent the black base of the color became, you can see it in the dry swatch.  Not a big deal, just something to be aware of.  If you don't want that to come out, be sure not to rub too much.

This color is a good example of why I show some with flash and some without, so you get a good idea of what it actually looks like! 

"Sweet Dreams"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "Light flesh toned beige pink with slight shimmer"

What I think:  This is the least shimmery pigment of the bunch.  This is perfect for everyday wear, as it's a beautiful, soft color.  You can wear this anywhere and not look overdone.  When applied wet, it really brings out the gold in the color.

"Utopia"

Makeup Geek's bottom line: "A mixture of deep brown and antique gold shimmer duochrome glitter"

What I think:  This color is to die for!!!  Love love love.  In the jar, it's very chunky looking, the more you pat it on, the more it breaks down into a more fine glitter.  You need a sticky base for this, or to apply it wet. You will get fallout but it is so worth it.  

Makeup Geek pigments retail for $6.99 for 1.4g of product.  In comparison, MAC pigments retail for $21 for 4.5g of product, Sugarpill loose shadows are $12 for 4.5g of product, and since I mentioned them, Glamour Doll Eyes shadows retail for $6 for 2-2.5g of product.  This chart is from the Makeup Geek site to show you how they compare:

However, I don't think this is a totally fair comparison as the bottom of the MUG pigments say they contain 1.4g of product and they did this math saying they contain 2g of product.  You can check out their swatches and descriptions here.

Overall I think they're really great.  I mean, it's not hard to sell me on pigments or loose shadows anyway as I just love them, I think they're so versatile!  I actually like that they only have 1.4g of product in the jars because it will take me many lifetimes to use up the three MAC pigments I own haha.  I will honestly have them the rest of my life and that seems almost wasteful to me.

I did a couple of looks using these pigments (I've done more than what I've photographed, I just don't always remember!).  So here they are:

For this I used "Birthday Wish" applied wet on lid.  I blended it up slightly with some dry "Birthday Wish."  I used a little bit of MUG's "Cocoa Bear" shadow in the crease and I used "Afterglow" pigment as my highlight color as well as on my cheekbones.

For this I used "Utopia" over Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper primer (because it's such a good, sticky base).  I blended that up using MUG shadows in "Pretentious" and "Hipster" with "Bling" as my highlight color.  I wish this picture showed how sparkly and amazing Utopia actually is.

If I had to pick my very favorites that I say you must own they would be Utopia, Birthday Wish, Afterglow, Paparazzi, and New Year's Eve.  The only one that I felt kind of let down by was Insomnia and that's just because it didn't apply as nicely dry as I was expecting it to.

I hope this is helpful to someone out there!  Are you planning on getting any Makeup Geek pigments?  If so, which ones?

Makeup Geek Gel Liners

Makeup Geek recently sent me four of their new(ish) gel eyeliners.  I have been playing around with them since I got them.  The liners cost $7.99 for 1.8g of product.  To compare, MAC fluidlines cost $15 for 3g of product, so they're really quite similar in price per gram.  So here are the colors I got:

Immortal:  

What the MUG site says the bottom line about this color is, "A true intense black color with a matte finish."

I think this is a great basic black gel liner.  I've never had any issues with a black gel liner (I've also used L'oreal HIP, MAC, and Bobbi Brown) and I wouldn't necessarily recommend this over the others or the others over this.  It lasted well for me, but I did set it with a shadow as I always do.

 Electric:

"True royal blue with a matte finish."

This color, when used as a liner, does not come across as bright.  Also this needs you to give it drying time.  I used it to line around my eyes and it transferred like nobody's business.  I learned that setting it with shadow before opening your eyes is a very good idea.  This worked well for me on the waterline.

 Fame:

"A dark aquatic teal with a navy undertone and smooth shimmery finish."

My favorite.  I love this color.  It applied super smoothly and it's just the most gorgeous color.  I had no issues with staying power on my waterline.  If you have hazel or gold eyes, you NEED this color.

 Rave:

"A dark metallic golden brown shade with a smooth shimmery finish."

This is like a silvery-brown color.  It's really pretty, I used it as a base, I haven't used it as a liner yet.  But it applied nice and smoothly and it's a really pretty, interesting color.

 Swatches:

And here are two looks I did using these.

A look with "Electric" as the star of the show.

What I used:

MUG "Electric" Gel liner all around my eyes and on waterline

MUG "Neptune" shadow to set the liner (they need a shadow color that better coordinates with Electric)

MUG "Bling" shadow on lid and as highlight

MUG "Stealth" in outer v area

MUG "Purely Naked" to blend up from Stealth

My second look.  Using "Fame" and "Rave"

I used "Rave" as a base on my lid

MUG "Prom Night" on top of Rave

MUG "Latte" in outer v area

MUG "Beaches 'n Cream" above Latte

MUG "Shimma Shimma" as highlight

"Fame" gel liner on waterline, topped with "Ocean Breeze" and blended down into "Mermaid"

I definitely like these liners.  I think they make great eyeshadow bases as well, they don't stay creamy like the NYX jumbo eye pencils do, but I didn't have any issues getting shadow to stick on top of them.  Have you guys tried these gel liners yet?  What do you think of them?

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  Thanks so much for taking time out to check this out!!!