Here are a few products they sent us home with. I have to say, I'm beyond excited to play around with the Full Spectrum eyeshadow palette! Also those Moondust eyeshadow singles are sooo pigmented and freak-out worthy that it makes my little beauty loving heart thump with joy. Let me know if you guys want to see a full review on anything. It'll feel fantastic to dip my toes back into some colorful waters again after maybe too long of a stay in neutral-ville. :)

Thank you so much Wende and Urban Decay! I said this there but I'll repeat it again. I feel so honored to take part in this beautiful preview retreat and even bring baby Aria. For my first big event since her birth, this one really inspired me not just in the beauty sense but, seriously, Wende is such mom goals. I'm going to take this as my motivation on behalf of all mothers and say we are all warriors and we can do anything!

Today I wanted to share a tutorial using none other than the totally sexy Urban Decay Smoky Palette which I previously reviewed here. Although there are a variety of looks that you can create with this palette, I thought it would only be appropriate to share its namesake look: the smoky eye.

This smoky is very red carpet glamorous but not too over-the top so I consider it more of an everyday smoky you'd wear on a date night or going to a special event.

Yes mom, you can wear red lips with a smoky eye! *teenage angst*

Oh goodness gracious, Urban Decay has a brand new lipstick line out for the Summer and it's going to go strong through the Fall as well! Introducing Matte Revolution which is a collection of 9 shades (plus 2 more exclusive to urbandecay.com and UD boutiques) full of bold, creamy opacity.

More than calling these straight-up mattes, I see the Matte Revolutions as being a sister to the original Revolution lipstick since most of them don't have that uncomfortable dry feeling typically associated with matte products but it certainly has all of the extreme pigment you'd expect.

I've got to say, today's review was a definite freak-out-moment product for me. I was completely unprepared for the next sibling from Urban Decay's NAKED clan to have appeared already (If you want a full side by side, here's my comparison of the past 3.) and she's just as lovely as her predecessors. I'm talking about UD's NAKED SMOKY Palette.

Let's let that sink in. An entire smoky palette.

Yes, we've seen some smoky companions in the past like the Smoked Palette but Naked Smoky has every piece you need for the perfect smoky eye including a stellar highlight shade, a few shimmers to make the lid pop, and a plethora of sexy smoky colors so you can create a proper variety of smoky eyes and everyday looks alike.

Now, I'm a bit biased. I always use a darker shadow even on my less-makeup days due to my monolid eyes so I'm constantly on the lookout for browns, grays, and blacks that will go on properly opaque and true to the pan.

Drumroll, please...

When I opened up my mail and saw this year's Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette (which I didn't even know was going to be made....eee!) my heart gave a little flutter and I actually squealed out loud. Check out this beaut'! The reflective cover, ocean-sunset streaks, and chartreuse crystallized lettering looked very promising. Would this palette live up to the exceptional Vice's past? Let's take a gander below!

Like its predecessor Naked Basics, this comes in the exact same format. A small iPhone-sized compact holding 6 neutral eyeshadows (in cooler tones this time) with a full-sized mirrored lid and slightly rubbery case.

 

Hey guys! Today I wanted to share with you this punchy cobalt blue that is the counterpart of Urban Decay's spring nail polish offering that I previously reviewed. Taking a departure from the pastels I've been so into lately, I wanted to switch things up with an edgy polish and Chaos seemed like the perfect fit!

For today's Manicure Monday we are going full-on into Spring mode! Taking a break from the recent pastels I've been sporting, I went with this new release from Urban Decay called Bang which is a saturated red-orange with a slight teal pearl finish. Absolutely love this one to pieces! Let's check it out below.

Happy New Year everyone!

Facing the fresh start of 2014, I am feeling immensely blessed at the amazing things that have happened this year. 2013 wasn't so much about the tangible things that I had, but more so reminders of not taking for granted the things that I've always had: my family. From my sister battling and overcoming cancer to welcoming our puppy Oreo (his instagram) into our lives, I feel like I can't reflect on the past year without a great depth of appreciation for the love around me, especially when it was least expected.

I wanted to write this first before getting into my favorites because I know it seems like each month a lot of the talk goes into consumable products and tips for surface-level beauty but ultimately this blog, my videos, and everything else I talk about means so much more to me than just things. You guys give me passion. It's about how we touch each others' lives and bring each other confidence, hope, and positivity in a world where there is far too little of it and far too much judgement and cruelty.

For this next year, it's my resolution to (of course) continue bringing you my thoughts on my favorite products, but more than that, to bring you the ability to be more yourself by loving yourself at every stage of your face and body. Hopefully recommending a few good things will give you more time to spend doing you. Let's all be more comfortable in our own skin in 2014!

With that, lets get on with this month's favs!

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share with you a makeup tutorial I've been loving lately using the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (Review & Swatches). Although you could do this look anytime, pairing it with a red lip makes it a perfect rose gold twist on traditional glamorous holiday makeup. Can I use the cliché and say these are a few of my favorite things? Yeah, they totally are.

Hey everyone and happy December! It's now my favorite month of the year since it contains both my birthday (Dec 14th! Anyone have the same b-day as me?) and also Christmas. Is it just me, or was November especially fast? We had Thanksgiving dinner at our place with friends and family and ordered in Jack Stack Barbeque from Kansas City so it would taste like home. Add in a few more Thanksgiving favorites and Monsters University and we had a wonderful, cozy, and very thankful holiday. :)

Here's a photo I shared on Instagram of some of the delicious meal:

Hey everyone! Today's Mani Monday is another Urban Decay nail color. It seems Urban Decay has decided to get back into the nail polish world by releasing 2 nail polishes each Spring and Fall season and Blackheart (which shares names with the eyeshadow shade in the Naked 3 Palette) is one of the holiday offerings. You guys know I love complex, hard-to-describe colors so it's no surprise that I was happily surprised after applying this one. Let's check out more about it below!