They’re almost here.  However, it will be increasingly hard to get a hold of MAC’s Archies Girls collection.  There’s actually an ongoing signup sheet in the U.S. that’s first come first serve. Funny thing is they’ve made availability so like we’re all fighting for Archie or something.  Sigh…I feel like I’d really like 1 or 2 things from this collection but don’t stand a chance.

Anyhoo, to be honest I’m not very fond of the visual…it’s too rarr and not “camp” enough, but the makeup is awesome.  Archie humor is quite camp and it seems they missed it by a bit.  Now look who’s sourgraping, haw-haw.

I was actually having a chat with myself when the holiday season came rolling in and concluded that I’m finally over eyeshadow palettes.  Nothing new popping up in new brand collections seemed interesting except for perhaps the “pocket-able” Urban Decay Naked Basics palette which I thought was genius save for one important fact, they didn’t throw in a matte taupe shade or shades you can alternate for brows (brow shades make any palette an instant win).  I was Christmas shopping the other day at Rustans Shangrila Mall with Mom and finally got a much needed alone moment without her (so I could shop for her, which I did) but you know being joyfully alone during the Christmas season in a Rustan’s beauty hall can ultimately lead you to some awesome  discoveries for yourself…like over at the Stila counter for example.

The Stila In The Know eyeshadow palette would make a pretty gift for a beauty enthusiast, a beauty blogger, or a makeup professional with a budding bridal makeup career which involves a nearly neverending use of neutral matte eyeshadows (which are also ideal for mature clients).  I personally think that Stila is the next best brand to Urban Decay you can actually get here locally that reflects the same sort of young urban “it” vibe and there’s something more silky and creamy about their award-winning powder  eyeshadow formulas.  Another in the series of palettes they began releasing, like the “NaturalEyes” palette I blogged about, the In the Know eyeshadow palette comes with 10 pigmented matte shades, 6 of which are nearly identical to the Urban Decay Basics offering which includes a matte black, Ebony.

ROW 1: Air / Wind / Desert / Clay / Earth | ROW 2: Driftwood / Fire / Rain / Smoke / Ebony

Oh, lest I forget (actually editing this in after having already published the post) the palette, just like the Naturaleyes one also comes with a Stila Smudgestick, a blendable waterproof automatic eyeliner in a lovely, rich deep grey shade called “halfmoon”.

The In the Know palette  has won me over because unlike the UD Basics set this set also has a rust shade called Fire, a grey called Smoke, a vanilla shade called Air, and *drumroll* a very wearable taupe called Rain.  The light and darker coffee-like browns included are also slightly more ashy than the ones in the UD Basics palette, thus making this work for brows as well.  At Rustans, the Stila In The Know palette costs Php1750…just so you know locally there isn’t too big of a price hike in comparison to the price on the Stila website where it costs about US$39 which is just under Php1650.  The great thing about this Stila palette is this one  unlike the “Naturaleyes” palette last year, this has got a mirror…and that proves I think that they revised packaging based on consumer feedback.

Oooooooh, I’ve gots me own! *Rubs palms together* This Urban Decay Naked 2 palette is probably the most reviewed eyeshadow palette in the last 6 months, thought there was not as much of a frenzy bout this as its predecessor, the original Naked palette.  So what, it’s high time I got to say something ’bout it, it’s my first Urban Decay palette, haha!  Naked and Naked 2 palettes both come with 12 lovely shades of eyeshadow.

Shades and Finish L-R: Foxy (Matte), Half Baked (Shimmer), Booty Call (Satin), Chopper (Shimmer + Sparkle), Tease (Matte), Snakebite (Shimmer), Suspect (Shimmer), Pistol (Shimmer), Verve (Shimmer), YDK (Shimmer), Busted (Shimmer), Blackout (Matte)

The palette itself comes inlaid in cardboard with a minty Urban Decay Lip Junkie gloss in the shade “Naked”. This wasn’t exactly a birthday present but then in the end it was really funny because it kinda became one.  Another aunt gave me Php1500.00 birthday money, then the aunt that got me this said she’ll only charge me something the equivalent of US$40 for this (about Php1600), so I slid the Php1500 I was given by the first aunt over to that aunt “There, paid”, she laughed and said “Okay, the money just went around”.  And then my grandmother arrived and gave me Php1000 birthday money, we laughed again.  So technically I only gave up Php500.00 for this Naked 2 palette, lots of indie makeup stockists bring this in, like House of Flair, but locally this would fetch about Php3200.00 (around $70).  In the States, its original $50 price tag converts to Php2200.  Read more to get the full post with close-ups and hand swatches.

More than the selection of shades within beauty lovers the world over developed a yearning for this because of its new sturdy metallic case that snaps shut on both corners in contrast to the first Naked palette’s magnetized cardboard casing.  Lots of their customers were a bit disappointed with the somewhat “dead” selection of shades and the lack of matte shades, in the orignal Naked palette there were a lot more warmer colors and a blue brightened up the neutral selection.  As a pro makup artist I think it’s still a good set to have on hand, especially for weddings.  The only two matte shades in this palette are at the beginning and end, Foxy and Blackout.

The eyeshadows in this Naked 2 palette have already been reformulated to have less fallout, more pigment, and more longevity just as mentioned in the recent launch of the single eyeshadows in tandem with the Build Your Own palette.  Can you imagine what a frenzy it would cause if Urban Decay re-released the original Naked palette with its more popular selection in the new product formulation and a similar metallic case?  That would be a major sales sweep and I’d certainly want to own the first naked palette if it could stand alongside this one in equal majesty.  Here are the swatches first without Urban Decay primer potion on the arm, then secondly with primer potion applied to the arm.

Shades and Finish L-R: 1st Row Foxy (Matte), Half Baked (Shimmer), Booty Call (Satin), Chopper (Shimmer + Sparkle), Tease (Matte), Snakebite (Shimmer), 2nd Row Suspect (Shimmer), Pistol (Shimmer), Verve (Shimmer), YDK (Shimmer), Busted (Shimmer), Blackout (Matte)

You can see the difference in application with and without primer.  The eyeshadow tends to spread a little bit more and have just a tad bit more fallout without the primer and the colors over primer give or take are more vibrant even upon the first swipe with primer beneath. It comes with a lovely synthetic bristle brush which I think is better for concealer frankly, pat and blend see?

My favorite shades from this lovely palette are Snakebite (a ich, brassy, greenish bronze) and Pistol (a tarnished peuter shade). I WILL do a post with a range of smoky eye looks from this palette.  Thank you, Tita Donna for taking the time to get me this on her U.S. trip (but I’m sure she enjoyed the request because she got one for herself, too).  The Naked 2 palette is available online from UrbanDecay.com for US$50 and with limited stock in Sephora stores.  This is a permanent Urban Decay item.  You can also read Charlotte’s review here on her Naked 2 palette, she’s Lipglossiping, one of the top 3 beauty bloggers in the UK.  Locally you can check with Suyen’s House of Flair shop if she has some on hand at the moment .

From the start, when these first Body Jewelry Tattoos by Urban Decay came out in the beauty news I thought they were ridiculously priced, pegged at an absolutely ridiculous amount for whatever feeble amount of tattoos you got.  They came out shortly after the Chanel ones did.  At the time if I’m not mistaken they were about $29.00.  It’s nice to finally see the price of these drop to something more sensible (for temp tattoos) even just for a short while.

I’d certainly get these for $4.00 after it dropping from the $25 mark.  If  you’re interested I suggest now is the time to contact houseofflair.multiply.com and ask for some Pre-ordering help.  Hehehe.  The XL sized Eden Primer potion (a matte skin shade) is also marked down at 50% off from $24, so it’s now $12, and that XL size contains 60% more product than the original size.  Oh, and of course it’s impossible that you haven’t heard about Urban Decay’s latest foolproof bait for all us beauty fish in the sea, the reformulated, relaunched Urban Decay single eyeshadows hand-in-hand with the Build Your Own custom palette.  I personally like Jen’s simple little video demonstration and swatching of her own Build Your Own palette which was given to her since she was one of the bloggers at the launch.  The smoother now longer-lasting single eyeshadows come in cases with a little skylight window so you can see the shades instantly, BUT WAIT…THERE’S MORE.  They pop out of their little houses like so…

This tiny tin I think will far outdo the NAKED craze in different ways, especially for makeup professionals like myself, and what if, just what if, they come out with an 8 or 12-pan size palette…omg.  I personally thing an 8 or 9-pan one would have been more tempting, but still this has me all over it already.  The custom palette comes with a brush and a default eyeshadow “Walk of Shame” which is conveniently a flesh toned matte if I’m not mistaken, just to get you started on the popping out and in, quite clever.  Practice makes perfect, practice makes you want to buy more eyeshadows to pop in…hehehe.  For a limited time only the Urban Decay Build Your Own starter palette is priced at $18, the price of each newly reformulated single eyeshadow which are also 18 bucks a pop.

I included a video of the featured Build Your Own Launch below, and while you’re at it join me in wondering why they didn’t call it something like the Urban Decay DIY palette instead, I love the idea but Build Your Own gets lazy.  At the TOP SECRET launch, the Urban Decay team invited 4 YouTube Bloggers, whose names I’ve linked to their individual Urban Decay video features, Leesha (xsparkage), Kandee (kandeejohnson), Jen (frmheadtotoe), Christine (temptalia), and 1 online Beauty Editor, Megan McIntyre of Refinery29.comto test, feel, and think about the newly reformulated eyeshadows and create their own individual custom palettes.  I personally thought that was quite brilliant, except for one thing, they didn’t invite me, tsk, LOL!

I was trying to get this post up as quick as possible once I realized how many good deals there were online, sorry I didn’t get this up sooner.  I spotted a few luxe deals on StrawberryNet HK already going for less but on top of the existing discounts if you get the ones that fall under the Christmas Specials Gift sets by today or tomorrow you get an additional 10% off.  All these I’ll be mentioning are discounted but not all are part of the Christmas Specials.  Click on the image to go straight to the item on the site.  As always on StrawberryNet, shipping is FREE.

I’d rather share what I like with you guys to satisfy the want.  From what I understand the initial discounts will remain till about New Year, but it’s the additional 10% discount that’s only up to today.  I’ve made a list here of my favorites, click Read More or on the image above to read the full post and check out what made the list, the discounted prices, product descriptions and my quick captions on each.

1. LAURA MERCIER Colour Essentials Kit – BEFORE: $115.00, 31% OFF, NOW: $79.50 (then plus 10% off ’til today!)  Who doesn’t love Laura Mercier?  I’ve not yet met a beauty junkie who dislikes the brand.  This kit is great for people who like simple, wearable looks and colors that enhance beauty in a polished way.

2. PIXI Essentials Gift Set – BEFORE: $28.00, 50% OFF, NOW: $14.00 (then plus 10% off ’til today!)  Pixi is an affordable but above-drugstore British cosmetics brand popular among young adults like myself.  They’ve got products that make beauty easy for anyone.  This eyeshadow isn’t an accurate color in the photo but from what I understand, the listed eyeshadow comes in a beautiful shade called Champagne Glow.

3. Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Gel liner in “Ocean Teal” – BEFORE: $23.00, 48% OFF, NOW: $12.00

The color Teal has come forth this year especially in the realm of eyecolor.  This should be a wonderful formula to work with, after all, it is Elizabeth Arden.

4. Too Faced Wild Thing Collection – BEFORE: $38.00, 30% OFF, NOW: $26.00 (then plus 10% off ’til today!)

The Too Faced Wild Thing collection is a fun one, particularly for a senior teenager, who wouldn’t want to make use of that leopard print pouch apart from the goodies it comes with?

5. Jurlique In-Flight Essentials Kit -   BEFORE: $97.00, 33% OFF, NOW: $65.00 (then plus 10% off ’til today!)

I was extremely happy that Benefit Cosmetics entered Greenbelt 5 but very sad that Jurlique had to close.  I understand though, their prices are way too high for a country like ours when it comes to skincare and there’s not enough familiarity with the brand.  This gift set is something I’m actually considering for myself since I want to switch to an organic eye cream.  Nobody does properly processed botanical formulas quite like Jurlique, actresses like ScarJo depend on the brand.

6. PIXI Natural Mineral Kit – BEFORE: $25.00, 50% OFF, NOW: $12.50 (then plus 10% off ’til today!)

This one is a personal favorite of mine, it comes in 3 different sets of shades, I own the “St.Tropez” one and have brought it with me in my purse so many times because it’s extremely handy, the St. Tropez’s champagne shade is absolutely gorgeous, but I also recommend the Santa Barbara set because that has normal cheek blush shades instead of bronzer.  I also just gifted a friend of mine this Christmas with the St.Tropez one.  Eyes, Cheeks and Lip products all in one 3-inch tiered kit and it comes with a mirror.  The Pixi Natural Mineral kit is made of sturdy magnetized cardboard so it’s perfect for a lady on the go.

7. FUSION Beauty Lip Fusion Luxe Boudoir lipgloss – BEFORE: $32.00, 50% OFF, NOW: $16.00

This isn’t part of the Christmas Specials but who wouldn’t want to try the great LisaEldridge’s  favorite high-end lipgloss for less?

8. Molton Brown SnowClay DeepCleanse Snowclay Purifier – BEFORE: $17.00, 32% OFF, NOW: $11.50

Molton Brown is an established British skincare brand, though I haven’t tried it, Charlotte has featured the brand on her blog Lipglossiping, and the lot of you know I trust the dear girl completely.  This looks like a lovely cleansing masque for those who need to hit the “reset” button for their skin, and I think the word “Snowclay” is lovely.

I think that list is long enough for now, any longer and I might be wasting your time for availing of the additional 10% discount.  There are some more really great deals on at StrawberryNet.  It’s time you had a look!