Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette Review 
(International Series)

I received the Naked Basics Urban Decay palette earlier this year from my beautiful blogger friend Tasneem. You can visit her blog CityGirlVibe here. She sent it in a birthday gift box along with some other amazing goodies. I never thought that I would be able to get my hands on this palette as it was sold out at the Sephora in Doha Qatar and on online beauty stores as well. So, I was very grateful to receive this awesome gift. If any of you ladies watch YouTube videos, you know that this palette has been raved about over and over again by beauty bloggers. I have been using this palette for months now and can see why it is such a must have and classic product.

The palette comes in a sturdy metal casing with six eyeshadows. All the eyeshadows are matte with the exception of one which has a satin finish with a slight shimmer. Palettes with matte eyeshadows are often very hard to find, which makes this palette so unique and a sought after product. The palette fits quite snug in my hand and is smaller in size than most smartphones. My cellphone is definitely much bigger in length and a little in width. The small packaging makes it easy to travel with, and can fit into any makeup bag. Even though the palette is small it does not affect the quantity and size of the eyeshadows. I have been using this palette everyday for 8 months and I am no where near hitting pan on any of the eyeshadows. Urban Decay, thank you very much for being so generous with the eyeshadow quantity!

Eyeshadow Shades:

VENUS:
The lightest shade in the palette has a white satin colour with a slight shimmer. This is great to highlight the brow bone, the inner corners of the eyes and the bridge of the nose. The texture is super soft and silky.

FOXY:
This is one of my favourite shades in the palette. It looks great as a natural eyeshadow on my eye lids because I have a honey skin tone and this is a yellow toned neutral shade. The texture is very matte and soft. It looks very natural on the eyes and the staying power is great.

W.O.S (WALK OF SHAME):
This eyeshadow has a similar texture to Foxy except it has a pink neutral finish. This would look great on fairer skin toned eye lids. I use this mainly under my brow bone but I do use it as a main base lid colour if I want a cooled toned look.

NAKED2:
This is another one of my favourite matte shades from the palette. It is a taupe eyeshadow with purple, brown and grey undertones. I love to warm up my crease with this colour and it is great as a transitional colour as well. It looks lovely on my honey skin tone. I use this shade in my crease everyday as well. I sometimes dust it on my lower lash line if I don't want to do hard black liner but I still want to warm up my eye a little. When I do a smokey eye I like to place this eyeshadow on my lid. It is dark enough for a smokey eye but not too harsh.

 FAINT:
This is a medium dark brown shade. I like to use it in my crease and lower lash line to create depth. It strikes a perfect balance of a dark brown where it doesn't look too harsh on the eyes. It is easily blendable so that you don't end up looking muddy or like someone punched you in the face.

CRAVE:
The darkest matte shade in the palette is a black eyeshadow with grey and brown undertones. The shadow is a little more powdery than others so I am usually more careful when I work with it because it can have fallout. I line my upper and lower lash lines with this shade if I want a dramatic winged eye.

Looks Created:

Below are a two looks that I love to do. The palette is very versatile in that you can create a soft day time look and a dramatic smokey eye for the night time. All the eyeshadows used in these looks are with the Naked Basics palette only. I did use the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk as my eyeshadow primer and base.



Day Time Look: 
  Foxy on my eyelids, Naked 2 in my crease and W.O.S with Venus on my brow bone. I tapped Venus on the inner corners of my eyes. I lined my eyes and created a wing using the Crave eyeshadow only. I paired it with a light rosy blush and my favourite pink lipstick Fuchsia Flash by Maybelline.

Night Time Look: 
Naked 2 on my eyelids, Faint in my crease with a little bit of Crave for a deeper cut crease. I used W.O.S and Venus on my brow bone. I placed Venus on the inner corners of my eyes as well. I lined my eyes with Crave and created a dramatic winged liner. I placed a deeper red blush on my cheeks and a sultry red lipstick by Nars called Shanghai Express. I topped it up with Stila Lip Glaze in Cranberry for a more glossy look.



Final Thoughts:

All the eyeshadows glide on the eyes like a dream. They are so smooth and blend easily. The pigmentation of the eyeshadows are fantastic. You can wear them with or without an eye primer. I personally feel this palette is a must have in a makeup addict's makeup bag. There is so much you can do with the eyeshadows, the quality is excellent, the packaging is great for travel and it will take you a very long time to hit pan on the eyeshadows. The neutral shades will suite any skin tone. The palette is user friendly as well. You could be starting out with makeup or be a makeup pro and you won't go wrong with it. This is one of my Holy Grail products for shizzle! ;-)))

P.S You can purchase the palette on rubybox.co.za if you live in South Africa;-)

Ladies, my hair is an absolute mess right now. I really need to get to the hairdresser and have my hair trimmed and treated with a deep moisturising and protein treatment. I hardly ever go to the hairdresser so I feel it is time to give my hair some TLC. I like to get my hair treated and styled before December so that it looks beautiful for Christmas and the Summer holidays here in the southern hemisphere. My hair is naturally curly and tends to frizz sometimes. I have copious amounts of hair products in the cupboard to deal with my unruly hair. So before I hit the hairdresser I want to share my holy grail hair products with you. These keep my hair looking decent and tame throughout the year, come rain or shine or gale force winds.




 John Frieda Frizz Ease Straight Ahead Shampoo
You can read my full review on this shampoo here. I just love the creamy texture of the shampoo. It cleanses my hair without making it hard or dry. My hair feels soft and smells amazing after using it. (Sold at Clicks)

Hannon Moisture Miracle Hair Treatment
This is an intense moisture treatment for very dry hair. I love to lather my ends in this product, as it is dry and needs deep conditioning. If you have very fine thin hair then this would probably be too heavy for you as it could weigh the hair down and cause oily roots. I have thick hair and it needs serious taming, so I rely on this product to perform miracles on my wild hair. I love this treatment it makes my hair super soft and feeling moisturised. (Sold in salons only)

BC Bonacure Hairtherapy Oil Miracle Gold Shimmer Treatment
The consistency of this mask is much lighter than the Hannon treatment and it contains argon oil. When I want silky smooth tresses without the heavy deep conditioning feeling, I use this one. It still moisturises my hair but is very light in texture so it does not weigh the hair down. This can be used on ladies with thin fine hair. (Sold in salons only)

Loreal Professionnel Liss Unlimited Leave In Conditioner
 When I want to rock it natural I slap this conditioner on my hair. It makes my curls soft and removes frizziness. This too is light in consistency and doesn't leave unwanted product residue on the hair. Sometimes leave in conditioners can cause hair to look dull and sit very heavy on the roots. This one conditions the hair and keeps it looking vibrant and shiny. (Sold in salons only)

Organic Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum
When you are using any heat on your hair it is very important to use a heat protecting product before you start styling. I use a pea sized amount of this serum on my hair and place a little more on the ends. This serum is amazing and the bottle lasts a really long time. Olive oil is known throughout the centuries for it's moisturising and smoothing properties on the hair.  (Sold at Clicks)

BC Bonacure Hairtherapy Oil Miracle Light Finishing Treatment
You can apply this product before or after blow drying. It consists of argon oil that leaves the hair frizz free and shiny without weighing the hair down. It makes my ends so soft and smooth. I really recommend this oil if you struggle with frizz. (Sold in salons only)


 And When All Else Fails...

Why not throw in a selie?

So you get those days when your hair is just looking absolutely disastrous and there ain't no time for anything. I rock a patterned head band and slap on some big earrings and bold lipstick. Voila! Bohemian Gypsy Chic look in seconds. Nobody is going to know ;-)


Thanks for reading Divas! Xxxx