11 December 2014

november favorites

star violet november favorites: naked2 basics, ysl lipsticks, bobbi brown corrector, laura mercier foundation primer, clinique spf 50 sunscreen

It's a little bit late for my November favorites, but at least it's not late December? I didn't do one last month because I didn't have many favorites I particularly liked throughout the month. For the ones that I did enjoy using, I started using them near the end of the month so there wasn't a lot of time for me to form an opinion on them other than "I like this!"

So without further ado, here are my favorites from November and a little bit of October!

star violet november favorites - naked2 basics and bobbi brown corrector in light bisque

Urban Decay Naked2 Basics is a palette I've been reaching for almost every time I do my eye makeup. I thought I really didn't need the original Naked Basics palette because I saw it as shelling out the extra money for the convenience of often-used shadows in a single palette, and of course I thought the same for Naked2 Basics. While it's kind of true, I also don't have anything quite like the shades in this one and I like that I'm getting a lot of use out of it. You can read the full review here.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque, I love you. If you don't know already, I have terrrrible dark circles that just won't go away Of course getting a few days of good sleep helps, but even so it's still a tad noticeable. One of the associates at Sephora helped me pick out this concealer when I told her about my dark circles problem, and she said these are supposed to go underneath your concealer/foundation to cancel out the discoloration. It works like a charm, and my under-eye area looks even more rested compared to using only concealer.

ysl rouge volupte lipsticks

ysl rouge volupe lipstick swatches in beige ultimate and peach passion

Formula-wise, YSL Rouge Volupte Sensual Radiant Lipsticks are the best I've tried so far. I only have (had) two of them: Beige Ultimate and Peach Passion. I wouldn't say it's balmy, though it's definitely nourishing like a balm. It's super wearable even on bad lip days, how the heck did YSL manage to create something like that? I did end up returning Peach Passion, though. There wasn't anything different about the formula, but unfortunately I didn't find the color as flattering on me as they did on others. However, I do recommend the entire line if you're looking for a great lipstick.

laura mercier foundation primer, clinique spf 50 sunscreen

And lastly, the very basics: a primer and a sunscreen. One of Laura Mercier's primers made it in my September favorites and it worked wonderfully, but it had a slight white cast to it with flash photography and that was a no-no when it came to taking pictures with my Instax camera if the flash fired. So I went for her (probably) original primer, which is just called... Foundation Primer. It's a water-based primer and it works a lot better than a silicone-based one. I found that silicone-based primers made my foundation and concealers patchy, while this one makes them look like a second skin!

The sunscreen I've been loving is Clinique Broad Spectrum SPF50 Sunscreen. Prior to this I've used Algenist Ultra Lightweight UV Defense Fluid SPF50 (a drying alcohol as the third ingredient - no thanks!) and Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF50+ Sunscreen (pilled up horribly - think of it like rubbing dried glue off your hands). Clinique's sunscreen goes on very nicely, doesn't have any drying ingredients, doesn't create pillings, and is fragrance-free which is always great when it comes to skincare. Plus, it's inexpensive relative to the other two sunscreens mentioned before. I haven't taken any pictures with flash when I wore this, but hopefully the white cast (if any) won't be too noticeable.

What were some of your favorites this month? Leave me a link if you've written one, I'd love to see what you've been loving :)

08 December 2014

review | naked2 basics palette

urban decay naked2 basics review

I'm very late on the Urban Decay Basics palettes. When the first Naked Basics came out, everyone was all over that. Meanwhile, I convinced myself that I didn't need it - I felt like it was so hyped because it was convenient having all these super neutral shades in one palette. I don't remember what made me purchase the Naked2 Basics... Perhaps it was the VIB sale?


naked2 basics review

naked2 basics review

A closer look at the shadows. It's a very nicely sized palette - compact enough to make it easy for travel or chucking into the makeup bag, but has a decently sized mirror for touch ups. Do the lines around the pans drive anyone else nuts? It looks like it's made of cardboard or cardstock (which I did believe it was, before I actually checked it out in-store), though it's actually plastic. Of course it doesn't have anything to do with the overall quality of the palette, it's just a peeve of mine.

naked2 basics swatch

Obligatory swatches. Surprisingly they aren't as powdery as I expected them to be. Yes, they still are a tad powdery - though most of these are matte shades, so I feel like it's to be expected.

A rundown of the shadows with UD's descriptions and my comments, if any:
  • skimp (pale nude satin) » The only semi-matte shade in the palette. I like this for highlighting my inner corner, though it's not my favorite.
  • stark (nude-pink matte)
  • frisk (warm gray matte) » I loooove this one as a transition shade!
  • cover (muted red-brown matte)
  • primal (muted brown matte) » One of my favorites for darkening any other shadows.
  • undone (deep, smoky brown matte) » The chalkiest of the bunch. I get a little bit of fallout if I'm not careful. I still like this one a lot, it's nice for smoking out the bottom lashline or using it as a soft eyeliner.
Overall, I like this palette a lot and I'm glad I decided to get it. I find myself using something from this almost every time I do my eye makeup. It's very true to name - it's got all your basics covered, from highlights to transition shades to shades you can use to darken or smoke out just about any color.

Do you own the Naked2 Basics palette? What are your thoughts?

05 December 2014

wishlist #2

star violet wishlist

I planned on doing a review on the Urban Decay Naked2 Basics palette for today's post but this happened and the sun has gone down so I'll have to do another swatching sometime when good lighting is around. In the meantime, I rounded up a few of my wishlist items to share...

1. asos speech bubble beach bag | I hate to admit that I'm super out of the loop of using reusable bags for groceries. This one is super cute and I can imagine myself looking all cute and stuff, strutting out of the supermarket with this over my shoulder.

2. lush northern lights bath bomb | As huge as Lush is in the beauty blogging community, I've only tried one of their bath bombs and I loved it! It's so relaxing, even though I'm pretty much doing nothing while being lost in my own thoughts for a good 40 minutes. Northern Lights is an especially pretty one, judging from the images on Google.

3. anastasia contour kit | I see a lot of people on YouTube using this, and I really want to try it out for myself! It's not a bad price, $40 for three highlight and three contour shades. And I just realized it's LIMITED EDITION so I better get on that, fast.

4. marvy le pen marker pens - lavender purple & dark grey | I know, I know - $1.15 pens on my wishlist is a really silly thing. I currently have a lavender purple one (snagged from my sister cause she left it here before she went back to school, thanks yo) and I like it a lot. I don't know which other stores sell this pen and it's $25 for free shipping, so.... that's a lot of pens I have to buy for free shipping.

What are some of the things on your wishlist?

03 December 2014

i'm back!


I had an amazing time with James in California. He booked us a hotel in San Francisco for a few days and we got to explore Japan Town and the California Academy of Sciences, but honestly I'm really happy just being able to be with him. I'm back in New York now and I'm still settling in - I actually woke up late yesterday morning for work because of jet lag, so I will leave you with a few pictures from Instagram as a quick update.

It's always sad to leave, but I suppose the silver lining is we'll see each other again soon. He's coming here at the end of December, so that's something to look forward to!