As soon as I saw a picture of the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics, I knew it had to be mine. I couldn't even wait for it to launch in Australia, so I used a forwarding service to get it here. I've been playing with this for a few weeks now, and these are my thoughts so far. 


Formula

Value
So how does this fair value wise compared to other eyeshadows? This is $54 for 12 eyeshadows, working out at $4.50 USD per 0.04oz. Compare this to Makeup Geek, with $6 USD for a 0.064oz eyeshadow pan. Or $3 USD per 0.02oz. of Anastasia Beverly Hills shadows in Modern Renaissance palette. 

Price to product:
UD - $1.125 per 0.01oz
MUG - $0.94 per 0.01oz
ABH - $1.50 per 0.01oz

So, based on this, the Urban Decay Naked Basics Ultimate is of comparable value to other popular brands on the market. 

Final thoughts
I like this palette. It's a good everyday colour selection. Perfect for work or school. It's a 'I don't have to think too much about this look' palette. Not to mention, the packaging is to die for. However, this palette doesn't blow me away. The colour selection is really nothing special, chances are if you're an avid makeup junkie, you already have these shades somewhere in your collection. The formula is sheer in comparison to other brands, such as Anastasia Beverly Hills, who is known for her pigmented mattes. I honestly don't mind that though, as it means less effort on my part with application and blending. 

This palette has been a great addition to my collection, and I'm glad I bought it. But I don't think it's something that everyone needs. Especially if you already have a lot of eyeshadow. If you are however, starting out with makeup, or an avid makeup junkie, this is a great palette!

This is already available from Sephora US, which is where I bought it using the forwarding service Shop and Box. You can read more about Shop and Box on my blog post here. For Australian gals, this palette will be available at Mecca very soon, rumour has it the 11th of November. I figure I'd have this post up prior to release, in the hopes it will help you decide wether you want to pick this one up!

Thanks for reading!
Em x

So, you will need; 
- Your cumbersomely large Morphe palette
- An empty Z Palette (or two)
- Stick on magnets (these come included with Z Palettes)
- Depotting tool - this can be a depotting spatula or a small knife. In my case I had my trusty Swisse army knife. (mainly because I couldnt find my spatula)

Hello again beauties!

This months favourites is in fact a few months worth of favourites, as it includes some products I picked up or used on holiday that I haven't had the chance to talk about yet. It includes mostly new products, but also two forgotten OG favourites. There are a lot of other products I've been enjoying as of late, but I thought I'd keep this to just a few!
In order of application, I'll start with base, or rather, face. Prior to leaving for my European holiday I picked up the MUFE Ultra HD Foundation. Safe to say it lived up to expectations, and this has easily become one of my top foundations of all time. I have a full post up on this foundation here. 

Another foundation favourite is the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Even Finish Foundation. The name says it all, this foundation is very long wearing. Whilst I love the MUFE Ultra HD, I needed something more long wearing for my sometimes 12 hour days. I had tried a few samples of this, and bought it pretty much immediately after arriving home from holidays in September. I plan on doing a full post review on this one soon, but essentially my favourite aspects of this foundation are; pump bottle and luxe packaging, medium price-point, excellent shade range for yellow undertones, lasting power, medium to full coverage and matte yet natural finish. I have the shade Warm Sand, which is neutral, but my lighter shade would be Warm Ivory. I purchased this from my Bobbi Brown counter in Myer, but it's also available at Mecca for $72 AUD. 

Last month I rediscovered an old favourite, the Mac Cosmetics Pro Longwear Concealer ($38 AUD). My skin was a little bit rough after the stress of the flight, so this was perfect for concealing imperfections and masking my lack of sleep following the jet-lag. There's a reason this product is a cult classic. This is a concealer I'll always return to, as its full coverage, doesn't crease, is long lasting, and the product itself seems to be never-ending, as you only need to use a tiny amount each time. 

In the UK I picked up the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, as I remembered Shaaanxo used to, and still does, rave about this one. Even though I bought my LA Girl Pro Conceal with me overseas, this concealer became the one that I used every single day. It sits really well on dry skin, is full coverage and luminous. I got the shade Fair 1, which was perfect for highlighting. There is essentially no product left in this anymore, so does anyone know where I can purchase this online where it won't cost me an arm and a leg? If you do have access to Collection where you live (UK and NZ), I highly recommend picking this one up!

While I'm on the note of concealers, special mention goes to the Smashbox Studio Skin 24 Hour Concealer. This isn't pictured, as it permanently lives in my handbag until I have time to exchange it. Story is; I asked the Mecca girl for Fair Light, and once I applied the product, I was like waaaaaait this is not Fair, she had sold me the shade Light by accident. So, I'll eventually get to that, but the times I did use the product, it was high coverage and super long lasting. It's no joke that this product could easily last 24 Hours. I believe it also makes waterproof claims, which I would entirely believe!

To set my makeup of late I've gone back to using the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. I bought the Ambient Lighting Palette back in 2014, when I first started getting into high end makeup. I decided to pull this out again ahead of the launch of their 2016 Holiday Ambient Lighting Edit, which I'm so excited for Mecca to get in stock in the next few weeks. The finish of these powders is so beautiful and luminous, and is one of my favourite ways to set my face as of late. Only thing I could possible say badly of these powders is I find these a little pink toned than what I'd prefer, so I look forward to the more yellow toned powders in this years palette. 

I've been applying these powders with my Look Good Feel Better Powder Brush, pictured above, which I was gifted in their The Makeover Brush set, available from Priceline for $45. This brush is always what I pick up when I'm in a hurry, as it's a true multi-tasker. I can use it for face powder, translucent powder, bronzer, highlight and blush. Its has a greater width than depth (i.e. is flat) so it's both really great at blending out product and applying it in a specific spot. I've not tried Morphe Brushes before, but the shape and look of these hairs reminds me of some of their brushes. The other brushes that come in this set are also amazing, so I highly recommend the set as whole. 

Last but not least is the Sleek Solstice Highlighter Palette. All shades in this palette are beautiful, which includes 3 powders and 1 cream. My favourite is the bottom right shade which is a highly reflective gold, which you've probably seen on Jaclyn Hill's snapchat and youtube, as she essentially caused this palette to sell out worldwide! The other shades are also beautiful, and the lavender shade is particularly nice for nighttime as it picks up in flash photography or nightclub lighting really well. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Is there anything in here that you enjoyed as of late? Let me know in a comment below or on my Instagram @themakeupgrub !

Thanks for reading,
Em xx

Hi again beauties!

It's that time of year that drives makeup addicts crazy: limited-edition-holiday-makeup-time. Unfortunately in Australia, we sometimes don't get these sets and palettes, or, they come out months later than in the US. So, I made a list, and used a forwarding service to get some items from Sephora US to Australia. In the end I picked up the; Sephora Favourites - Trending: Beauties most Coveted ($75 USD), Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfecter Rose Quartz ($38 USD), Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics ($54 USD), Marc Jacobs Objects of Desire Face and Eye Palette ($69 USD) and House of Lashes Eye Adhesive ($9 USD).



At the time of the order, the USD to AUD conversion was relatively good (however pretty sure PayPal screwed me over with the exchange rate and fees, be aware!) so my $245 USD haul was $347 AUD in the end. I used the service Shop and Box, a personal forwarding service in which a local boxer orders, repackages and sends the package to you. It's fee structure is based on two things; cost of shipping, and the Shop and Box service fee, which is what pays for your boxers time and keeps the website running. You can have a look on the website as to how they charge for both, but for my order international shipping (Express DHL) was $35.62 USD, and the Shop and Box Service fee of $34.30 which was 14% of the cost of goods, a total of $100 AUD. I submitted my order on 22nd of September, and all up with my boxer placing the order, awaiting my payment, repackaging, awaiting my payment, it arrived at my door 7 business days later on the 3rd of October! So you can see the service itself isn't cheap, it's reliable, personal and quick. 



So, if you're impatient like me, and want that holiday palette exclusive, or want to grab one of the favourite holiday sets before they sell out, I recommend using Shop and Box. Sing up here and receive $10 USD off your first order! This is a referral link, so when you save $10, so do I! Full link also at the bottom of this page. 

If you can wait however, you will pay less overall when you purchase these items in Australia. In the meantime, I'll have a few extra blog posts going up on some of these products, so you can decide when they're released here if they're worth the money! 

Thanks for reading!

Em xx

http://www.shopandbox.com/v2/landing/friend_invited_you/33837/