Urban Decay Naked Heat ~ Worth the splurge? Swatches + review


I remember when Urban Decay released first photos of new Naked palette. And I remember reading many unhappy comments. That palette like this was done already, another warmed tone palette and what is UD thinking of coming up with a palette that no one will buy? Coz let's be honest how many warmed tone palette do we need? 

 when I saw the shadows in the palette I was on the fence. They were not my cup of tea. So I said to myself : passed. But, later on when I went to Sephora and saw it on the display, guess what ? I bought it!



 I could not help myself.  It spoke to me on so many levels. How could I say no to all these gorgeous terracotta shadows housed and very pretty packaging. I like warm shades so I could not passed on it. there is a mix of mattes and shimmers in the palette. All shades are nicely pigmented.  Except of En Fuego and Ashes I found these two were lacking of the pigment. They both can be build up tho. Scorched and Ember are my two favorites. I get nuts when it comes to shimmers :) 
I kinda wish for a bit more darker shades in the palette, like maybe darker chocolaty brown? Coz I feel like when applying shadows on the lid they all mash up together. Like I we need a little darker for more definition. 



Shades in the palette:
* Ounce ~ soft cream with slight shimmer
* Chaser ~ Light beige brown. 
* Sauced ~ matte tan,
* Low Blow ~ light brown matte.
* Lumbre ~ burnt peach with gold shimmer, so freaking pretty
* He Devil ~ medium reddish brown. 
* Dirty Talk ~ medium -dark coppery brown 
*Scorched ~ oh my favorite , bronzy red metallic 
* Cayenne ~ dark brown with warm undertones. 
* En Fuego ~ reddish brown. really pretty but my is not pigmented enough.
* Ashes ~ purple plum with brown undertones, same as En Fuego not pigmented enough. 
* Ember ~ dark bronzy brown metallic. 





Personally I am really happy with the palette. the shimmery - metallic shades look better applied with wet brush or even a finger. Palette is prefect for either day and night looks. Was it worth the splurge? for me most definitely. I am a UD fan and their palette are amazing.  And as a makeup collector I need Heat palette with her sisters. I can tell I will be using it more toward Fall. Summer I like my makeup light and colorful. This palette scream Fall to me than Summer. 



If you are a warm tones shadow lover or over all love UD palettes, get Heat palette. It is all up to you. If you think you will get a lot use out of it then what is topping you? 

you can get it from Sephora, Ulta Beauty , UD webiste.
Price $54 

Kokie Cosmetics ~ Unicorn inspired Nails #2

*pr sample*



Round two of Unicorn Nails :) This time more soft and girly look. 
Last week Unicorn nails check here.
I am really impressed with Kokie Cosmetics nail polishes. 
The ones I used applied so nice and went on without chipping for over 5 days! 



I really love the way my mani turned out :) Cute, girly and sparkly! 



The polishes I used :



* Berries N Cream ~ pale peachy pink. Very pretty soft and pretty. But even after two coats looked a bit streaky and uneven. I fixed it with the glitter polishes tho. And I really like the way it turned out



* Wishful ~ gorgeous sheer glittery topper. This gives this mermaid kinda sheen to the nails, it looks so good on the Berries N Cream.  I painted over BNC on the middle finger, can you tell? On the pinky I applied all three of the polishes. 



* Celestial ~ beautiful rose gold holographic glitter. OMg looks so good on :) I am a sucker for anything rose gold :) This is a great as a topper :)  Isn't it gorgeous! I am in love you guys!



I still have few more polishes by Kokie Cosmetics that I need to put out to test. So far I really like them. For $6 you can't go wrong. Plus they are Cruelty free! So there you go! 


* nail polishes were send to me by Kokie Cosmetics and Octoly for my #honestopinion #octolyfamily #gifted

Kokie Cosmetics ~ Unicorn inspired nails #1

*pr sample*



Feels good when you discover affordable brands right?  I heard of Kokie Cosmetics back when KathleenLight showed an Ipsy unboxing video . She was talking about the nail polish she got and if I remember it good, she really liked it. 
 I remember checking the brand up after the video. 
They started in US in 2015. If I read it right the CEO of Kokie was previous CEO of Sinful Colors. And yes I love Sinful Colors. Anyways Kokie, pronounce co-key, means elephant in Korean.  And if you look closely there is an elephant in the logo as well as on the polishes cap. 



I didn't purchase  or try anything untill now.
 I saw Kokie Cosmetics in Octoly free store, so I had to try something.  The products that caught my eyes were nail polishes. Set of 10 unicorn inspired colors.  I was lucky enough to be accepted in the campaign, and now here are my first swatches. 



I will try to show you new combinations every week and just swatches them all separately. I wanted to do it Sunday, but well not enough time. 



I painted my nails Sunday evening using NP31 Knockout and NP57 Intergalactic. 
They are 3 free and cruelty free. 
And I must say I love the combo. Knockout is gorgeous vibrant purple and Intergalactic have so many gorgeous sparkles in that for sure makes nails galactic! 
Intergalactic is a sheer purple based color and that why it look so good on the Knockout. Plus that little purple - gold flex makes nails so pretty. I can't stop looking at them :)




For my nails I used Maxus base and top coat. I applies two coats of Knockout and one coat of Intergalactic. 



Stay tuned for more paring :) I have 8 more polishes to show you. 
Kokie have in their offer over 80 polishes and a nail junkie in me wants them all. 

Each retails at $6 and can be purchase at Kokie Website




Empower Collection by MAXUS Nails ~ swatches

*pr sample*



Hello my nail polish junkies :)  
Have you ladies heard if MAXUS NAILS?  Its the nail polish line that puts nail health first. 
Founder, Dasha in 2015 launched Maxus Nails after formulating three products in her essential line. She didn't lunched colors but instead she started  with three basic and yet important products in every manicure : nail strengthener , base coat and top coat. 
 I can't tell much of the strengthener because I don't have it, but the base and top coats are amazing.

Base Coat specially formulated to deep nourish and strengthen natural nail plate. Protects nails from staining and discoloration. Creates a ideal canvas for flawless application. It contains silk amino acids and tea tree oil. This base coat is simply amazing. It helped my nails a lot after I had my acrylics removed. My nails were weak , thin and broke so easy.  This base coat arrived just in time for me to use it on  my nails. It definitely helped me to strengthen them.  Plus it help my nail polish last over  a week! There are two base coats I love and this one is one of them :) btw did you know that tea tree oil its great to defeat fungal infections? And this base coat is infused with tea tree oil, so I guess it is moving to my number 1 base coat, coz no one wants to have fungal infection right? 

Moving on to Top Coat, formulated with ceramic  powder and nylon, helps manicure last longer. Provides chip resistant, high shine, quick drying and streak free application. I like how it makes the nail polish look like gel polish. I be honest and say that I don't like gel polishes. I have had them done once and they did look good , but were pain in the butt to take off, plus I notice that my nail plates were really damaged. I dunno maybe I didn't use a good base coat. But anyways I prefer regular , old fashion nail polishes.  Just like the base coat I really adore this top coat. Makes my nails shine! and if I reapply every two days it makes my manicure last really long. Plus it protects against UV fading. 



Now lets move on the the colors ! Dasha launched her nail polish colors in 2016 and guys they are gorgeous! The protecting nail strengthen formula is infused into each polish, so that you can skip a base coat. I personally love base coat and I can't skip it :) Each polish is packed with amazing pigment and beautiful color pay off. They apply like a dream and last so long on my nails. The brush gives really precise application. There is four colors in Empowered Collection :




*Admired ~ rich bold color of bordeaux. 
* Adored ~ pretty nudy pastel pink
* Inspired ~ classic red 
* Respected ~ vampy Merlot.




all colors applied beautifully. I only had problems with Adored coz it looked a bit chalky, but once I applied top coat it was all better :) on all swatches I applied two coats of nail polish :)
The nail colors are 7 free. 
\Also did you know that Angelina Jolie , Hilary Swank and Anne Hathway are fond of Maxus Nail brand :) 

Base Coat, Top Coat and All nail colors can be found at MAXUS NAILS.
Retail $18 each 

  

Brand Focus ~ Nyakio Beauty

*pr sample*



Nyakio Beauty, owned by  first generation American of Kenyan descent, Nyakio Grieco. Ever since she was  little girl she spent a lot of time traveling to Kenya to see her grandmother. While there, Nyakio would learn family beauty secrets, that  later would spark her interest in skin care.

Her 16 piece skin care collection launched at Ulta Beauty few months ago.  
It is priced form $22 to $49. The brand uses amazing hydrating ingredients like neroli, maracuja, sweet almond and marula oil. Most of her faboulus ingriedients can be found all over the globe, Kenya, India (tamanu), Egypt (chamomile), Mali (baobab), Peru (quinoa).



I really like how the inside of the packaging looks like! 

I have 4 products that I will share my opinion on :)



Sweet Almond Cleansing Oil Balm ~  I really love the idea of double cleanse. For a quite some time I been using oils first and than I would follow up with my cleansing gel or balm. This balm to oil gently melts away makeup and dirt. it Smells wonderful too! Too be honest with this particular product i don't even need to follow up with any other cleansing products. It literally take it all off. But there is a con with this. If you take it off with water it get so greasy! like I need to use a paper towel to clean up all the,mess. Once that is done my skin does feel hydrated and clean. There is no makeup or greasy residue left.  I believe that people with dry skin would love this cleansing oil balm.  I am not a fan. I use L'Occitane  Cleansing oil and I think it works better in my opinion :) $28

Baobab Youth Infused Daily Defense Creme ~ Oh my goodness this creme smells so good! Moisturizer feels really lightweight and absorbs quickly leaving skin so soft and beautiful. My skin feels hydrated with out being greasy. I use it night time . for day time I reach for moisturizer with spf in it.  $35





Chamomile Soothing Sleep Mask ~ this ultra hydrating overnight facial mask instantly quenches skin with intense, lasting moisture and nourishment. This comforting cream works with skin's natrual nighttime recovery process to calm and rejuvenate tired looking skin with soothing blend of Chamomile, Calendula and Aloe Vera, With that said this is by far my favorite product.  Oh god how I love sleep masks! I do think they work wonders to the skin. And this one is no different/ Especially now, I been working a lot and myself and my skin feels tired. Once I apply this mask at least three times a week I can see a difference! My skin feels hydrated, calm and  well rested. I use it with Baobab daily moisturizer. I have to say once its on my face I feel more relax and I sleep better :) Definitely a must have in my routine . $35





Kenyan Coffee Lip Polish ~ did someone say coffee? Another great product by the brand. Lip scrubs and any kind of lip polishes are my jam. Well hello I been wearing matte liquid lipsticks and you know they are drying as hell. So a good scrub is a must have to get rid of the dry skin off my lips. I simply squeeze small amount and rub on my lips. I rinse with warm water. My lips feel really soft and plump :) After words I apply a lip balm for extra moisture. $24



Overall this brand is pricey I know , but at the same time is good. They use organic and natural ingredients and plus its cruelty free! No harmful ingredients what so ever. My personal favorites is the duo that I use night time Baobab creme and Chamomile Mask. 

You can find above products and more at Ulta near you :)