Urban Decay Naked2 Palette

Hey everyone!

You will probably have heard the massive hype around the sequel to the cult favourite, Naked Palette. This went on sale on the 2nd December in the US, and as usual, we have to wait for it here in the UK... until February!

The palette comes with 12 neutral 'taupe and greige' shades, a mini lip gloss and a double ended brush. The case looks a lot more metallic and heavy duty than the first palette (which I still don't have!! :O )!! There are 5 brand new shades in this palette, three re-promotions and four permanent colours.

The shades included, from left to right, are:

• Naked: this is the namesake shadow which is a shimmery pink shadow.
• Half Baked: this shadow was in the original palette and is a shimmery golden bronze shadow.
• Booty Call: this is a brand new shade and it's described as a shimmery cork colour.
• Chopper: this is another permanent shadow which is a shimmery copper with silver glitter in it.
• Tease: this is a brand new shadow which is a matte pale brown.
• Snake Bite: another new shade which is a dark, shimmery bronze with metallic undertones.
• Suspect: the second re-promote in the palette. It's a shimmery golden beige shadow.
• Pistol: a brand new shade which is a shimmery grey/brown.
• Verve: the third re-promotion in the palette, it's a pearly pink, shimmery shadow.
• YDK: another permanent colour; this is a cool toned, metallic bronze.
• Busted: the last new shade. This is a shimmery deep brown.
• Blackout: a re-promotion. It's a matte black shadow.

The brush is the Good Karma double-ended shader and crease brush which is only available in the palette; it's also cruelty free! The mini lip gloss is a Lip Junkie gloss in Naked, which is quite a nice colour.

Overall, I do think this is quite a nice palette as I love my neutral eye shadows! If I had the original palette, I might think it's slight over kill as the two palettes do look quite similar... but I am an Urban Decay junkie who has been deprived of the first Naked Palette which means I am likely to get both!

Thanks for reading, don't forget to follow the blog, or tweet me at www.twitter.com/celestecohen! What do you think of the Naked2 palette?

-Celeste xo

Gareth Pugh for MAC

Hey girls!

Gareth Pugh is a London based designer who is famous for his highly unwearable couture that until 2007, were only seen on catwalks and unavailable to purchase. He has teamed up with MAC to design some fabulous couture packaging for some products that are absolutely perfect for this time of year!

The packaging is very square and a lot of it is made from metal, so it's quite weighty! It features an uber stylish cross the products with limited edition packaging which is perfect if you're a collector... but perhaps a tad OTT if you're just a casual make up wearer!

Top: Deceit Pigment
Bottom: Guise Pigment

These are the two limited edition pigments from the collection. Deceit is a deep purple which is fabulous for a winter smokey eye and Guise is a very cool toned, silvery white pigment that would look stunning as a highlight with a totally matte look. Both of these pigments are £24.50 each.



Left: Ardent Cream Shadow
Right: Obscura Cream Shadow

 These two cream shadows are a cream to powder formulation and are supposed to leave a 'liquid metal' finish on the skin. Ardent is a deep purple, very similar to the pigment and obscura is a very shimmery greyish silver. These limited edition cream shadows, which come in mirrored compacts (handy!!) are also £24.50 each.

Flight Lash

These false lashes are £18, which I'm not too sure about as they're sooo out there, when would anyone ever get a chance to wear them!? They'd be fine for an avid MAC collector, but I doubt many people will buy these lashes.

Studio Fix Boldblack Lash Mascara

This mascara is £13.50, which is the normal price for the MAC mascaras. It has a plastic brush, so I guess it would be good for lengthening and separating. This mascara is supposed to be super black and really long lasting, so it sounds good to me!



Left: Graphblack Technikohl Liner
Right: Greyprint Technikohl Liner

 These mechanical liners aren't particularly unique colours, as you can get a black or grey mechanical liner anywhere. They're £16.50 each, which is quite expensive, so I think these liners will only appeal the the MAC or Gareth Pugh super fans!



Left: Fervent (Satin)
Right: Restrict (Cremesheen)

Fervent is a very vampy, deep purple shade that looks like it would only be for the bravest of us! I would love to wear this kind of colour, but as I am so pale, it just makes me look so dead! Restrict is a pale pink, nude which would look fabulous on some people, but not myself, so I'll be giving these lipsticks a miss too. The lipsticks cost £20.50 each.

Left: Outrage Lipglass
Right: Vacant Lipglass

Outrage is a shimmery plum purple lipglass and Vacant is a pale, less shimmery, lilac colour. I'm not a massive fan of MAC lipglasses because they're just sooo sticky! These lipglasses cost £19 each which is a lot more than normal lipglasses.. but I do prefer the packaging.

Strada Powder Blush

Strada is actually a permanent PRO blush, but it comes in a compact with a mirror and the edgy design on it which is carved into every powder product of the collection. It's a nice, pale pink which would look really pretty as a highlight... but it costs £26!!

Elude Beauty Powder

Again, another pale pink which is quite similar to the Strada blush. It comes in a compact with a mirror as well... but is almost double the price at a massive £44! Yes, you did read it right, this product is £44. Enough said.

Left: Hyper Nail Lacquer
Middle: Inert Nail Lacquer
Right: Ascension Nail Lacquer.

Hyper is a deep blue, pearlised nail polish that's a bit metallic and is very on trend for winter this year. Inert is a greyish nude that also has a pearlised finish and Ascension is a grey polish with blue and violet reflects in it. All of these polishes are very appropriate for the season and come in seriously stylish bottles - these are £19 each.

Square Handled Buffer Brush

This is a Kabuki styled brush on a modern square base which I'm sure would be very useful to a lot of people, but I don't think the square handle would be very comfortable to hold and MAC make buffer brushes that are cheaper than this anyway. It's £41.50.

Gareth Pugh for MAC Make Up Bag

I don't know whether this bag is leather or not, but it's quite sleek and I like the glossy finish... but I don't think I'd pay £60, just for an empty make up bag!

Overall, I love the packaging and there are a few nice products in this collection, but it's just not good value! Everything is too expensive, so I won't be making an order this time but I'd love to see if you get anything form the collection! It's on sale now in the UK and the US, so I'm assuming it's on sale in other countries as well.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and don't forget to follow!

Thanks for reading,
Celeste xo

Nicki Minaj For OPI

Hey girls!

Nicki Minaj is bringing out a collection for OPI in spring 2012. Although, I'm not a massive fan of her music, but there are a few nice colours in the line and I am quite looking forward to seeing these colours in real life!


From left to right: Do It On 'Em, Fly, Save Me, Metallic 4 Life, Pink Friday and Super Base Shatter

I don't really like 'Do It On 'Em; I hate anything that's lime green... even limes aren't really that colour! I think 'Fly' is the perfect summery colour because it's so bright and cheerful. I perhaps wouldn't wear it on my fingers, but I definitely wear blues like this on my toes. 'Save Me' is my kind of heaven! I love glittery top coats and this one is full of multi-coloured tinsel! I love this and I wish I had it now, as it's so good for Christmas - who doesn't want to wear this to a party? 'Metallic 4 Life' is just a shimmery silver which isn't totally unique, but it's quite pretty and I'd probably wear it but I won't go out of my way to get this. 'Pink Friday' is nothing special either - although it's a cute bubble gum pink, almost every nail polish brand has made a colour like this, so I'll give this a miss too. 'Super Base Shatter' is another one I like as purple is my favourite colour - especially deep, plum tones! I don't think it's right for a spring collection though - this is more appropriate for an Autumn/Winter collection so I might buy it, but I won't wear it in the hotter months.

Overall, this is a pretty good collection - by all means, get them all, if you're a Nicki Minaj fanatic! But if you're like me, and just like to own nice nail polishes, I'd definitely skip out on a few of these colours.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to follow the blog and tweet me at @CelesteCohen - let me know your thoughts on the collection in the comments below?

- Celeste xo