Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette Review & Swatches!



The packaging has a soft finish, similar to NARS' palettes
If you like the Naked palettes, you will love this one even more! If you haven't seen all of the Naked Basics ads on the internet yet, it's Urban Decay's newest 6-shadow, mostly-matte eyeshadow palette that I'm obsessed with! You're in the right place if you want a review (watch my video below!) or some swatches & close-ups of this gorgeous palette!


VIDEO REVIEW! Please please watch for all the information on this palette you could ever want!

Close-up of the 3 left-most shadows: Venus, Foxy, and WOS (Walk of Shame)

3 right-most shadows: Naked 2, Faint, Crave

Middle shadows: Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint

Side view, Naked Basics Palette

Size comparison: the palette is shorter than a pencil and is pretty small. Don't get fooled by other pictures!

Back of the palette. Mine came with some cracked-shadow damage. 

Box the palette comes in 

Back of the Naked Basics box

Side of the box next to the palette

Finger swatches of some of the most pigmented shades: Faint, Crave, and Walk of Shame

Naked Basics palette

Swatches in the order they appear in the palette: Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame (barely visible on my skin tone, but still a useful color), Naked 2, Faint, Crave

Swatches of Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, and Faint

Swatches of Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint, Crave

Arm swatches next to the palette. You'll notice that Faint looks a lot darker on than in the pan!
Urban Decay's Naked Basics Palette
Thanks for reading! Let me know how you're likin the look of this palette! 
xox Elle

FTC: This palette was paid for with my own money and this is not a sponsored or otherwise compensated review/post.
Overall view of UD's new Naked Basics palette


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Influenster Voxbox: Palmolive Fresh Infusions Review!


Hi beauties! 
Influenster contacted me a few weeks ago with another Voxbox I had qualified for- this time it was something completely non-beauty related, but that's okay with me! This voxbox included a brand new product from Palmolive- their entire Fresh Infusions dish soap collection! That's right- I got not one bottle, but all three: Ginger White Tea, Lemon Thyme, and Lime Basil! Influenster also sent 5 $1.50 off coupons for these puppies, some of which I've been giving out to friends, and I might send some in the prize boxes for my giveaway winners. The idea behind sending all three was that I would keep two, and give one away to a friend (which I did- both my mom and I didn't care for the scent of the Lime Basil dish soap, but as I look at other reviews and videos done by gurus who also got this box, that one seems to be the popular favorite! Weird! She was very excited to get such a cute bottle, but I haven't heard back about how she's liked it so far.)

If you want to see what these gorgeous dish soaps look like, then watch my First Impressions/ Unboxing video I just uploaded to my second channel! 






Anyways, onto the review!

These smell amazing, as I could tell from right out of the box. I'm not a huge citrus-scent person at ALL, but I really do like the Lemon Thyme one. It smells fresh and clean, and these dish soaps could get you out of a winter funk in seconds. What a great way to experience aromatherapy AND get your dishes clean!

 I do have to say that the Ginger White Tea, in the pink bottle (well, naturally!) is my favorite of them all. The bottle on our kitchen sink is already 2/3 of the way gone because my mom and I have been hitting it up so often! The bottles contain 16 ounces and will last through a lot of loads.

Besides the smell, which is my favorite part, they also come in adorable bottles. They're kind of crystallized-looking, with an easy to pop off top, and they have gorgeous floral and herbal designs on the front. 


They do more than smell good and look pretty on your shelf though- even though my family typically buys Dawn because we haven't always been super-impressed with the quality of Palmolive dish soaps (although we love how often they go on sale at the local CVS), my mom and I were very happy with the cleaning power these had. They definitely packed a punch and made our usually-cloudy crystal glasses exceptionally shiny. They got off hard-to-remove food marginally well- it takes a lot of scrubbing and rinsing, but they will get the job done. They clean well and if you put them under running water to fill up a dish tub to soak dishes in, they foam and bubble up quickly and nicely. 

Overall, we were very impressed with these, and the under $3 price point is amazing as well. The coupons they gave us are equal to half off, so I'm sure we will be repurchasing these (well, the yellow and pink bottles at least) as soon as we run out. 

The only real downside is that they are only available at Walmart for the time being (as far as I know). I usually like to get my dish soap at the drugstore or another supermarket, since our Walmart is a drive away, but you can also order online. Just to show you the price and the options available, I'll put a link to them on the Walmart website- this is NOT an affiliate link, just an easy access for my readers. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Palmolive-Concentrated-Ginger-White-Tea-Dish-Liquid-16-fl-oz/21637497

Thank you Influenster for letting me and my family test these out, and thank you all for reading! 

xox Elle


Monday, January 28, 2013

New at the Drugstore Review: Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte Lipsticks by Rimmel

        Hey there! So for my subscribers on Youtube who would rather read my review and see the pictures and swatches of the lipstick rather than watch my review video, here is a brief overview of the categories I graded the lipstick on and some photographic swatches so you can see what the shade looks like on! I HATE hate HATE when gurus review a lip product and talk all about it but DON'T try it on...what sense does that make? Color on your hand won't convince me to buy something! So here we go!

Me wearing the lipstick in about a thousand and one different kinds of lighting. 

Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Rimmel London in Shade 103 

Color selection: 6/10 - good if you like reds! 

Packaging: 10/10- cute as can be!

Taste & Smell: 7/10- good but strong, you get sick of it


Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in Shade 103

Pigmentation: 8/10 - doesn't look in the tube like it does on your lips!

Staying power: 9/10: stayed on throughout drinks, but I haven't fully tested its staying power out yet

Price: $5.49 at Walgreens! A+! 10/10

Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in Shade 103

Ease to find: 6/10- found at all Walgreens, but at none of my local CVS'!

Does it hold up to its claims? 9/10- great matte finish, but sometimes you have to blot to get it.

Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in Shade 103

Texture/feel (Easy to apply?): 8/10- drags when applying, MAC is smoother

Overall I give it... 8/10- biggest cons were flavor and color selection

*******************************************************
Total: 81/100, which would be a B- in school. However, I'm rounding it up to a B because I really do like this product, the color choice and this particular shade just aren't for me. I really want to go out and try another shade! 107, the dark red-brown Kate wears in the advertising, looks gorgeous but is always sold out! GRRR!

Have you tried these lipsticks? What other shades should I pick up?


Thanks for reading and be sure to watch my video for the full review!
xox Elle



Elle is a Youtube beauty guru under the name elleoenigma, and an avid Tweeter under the handle @photoholicgurli. She can also be reached by email at Everything.Elle@yahoo.com. This is not a paid, sponsored, or otherwise compensated review, and no products were sent to her for free.