NYX butt "naked" and Laura Geller Gelato Swirl illuminator in Gilded Honey review

Hello Everyone,

I have many makeup products review coming up in the next few weeks leading up to Christmas. It will be a combination of luxury brands and drugstores. During this time of the year, makeup brands are coming out with their holiday palettes and sometimes it can be very difficult to decide on which one to get. This year, there are a lot of amazing ones out there that I am excited to review. If you are a makeup junkie like me, you can never have too many eye shadow palettes or lip products.

Let's start with the NYX butt "naked" collection. The name is just adorable.
The price is reasonable: $25 (I was able to get it at Ulta- http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod13311513 or at http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/butt-naked-eyes-makeup-palette/NYX_045.html)

The packaging is small and compact with a large mirror. Great to carry along with you when traveling.
Eye shadow size: 0.03 oz, Blush: 0.07oz, and illuminators: 0.14oz

This collection comes with 15 neutral matte and shimmery eye shadows, 4 blush, 3 illuminators. These eye shadows here are cool tones which I don't have a lot of because I like eye shadows that are mostly warm tones. If you are a cool tone lover, you may want to pick this up.

Most of the eye shadows here have great color payoff except for a few that you would need to pack on more for the color to show up. The blush on the other hand are very pigmented (two thumbs up) and the highlighters do not have any chunky glitters which is another plus. The blushes and highlights are what I like most about this palette.

 

The color here are gorgeous, especially the burnt orange/red. I have circled my favorite colors in red. Again, for the lighter colors you do need to build it up but the darker ones are great. Another thing to keep in mind, they do take a little bit longer to blend.  Although these eye shadows are not like the buttery ones from Urban Decay, Tarte, etc I think it is a good starter palette for everyday use. I would recommend to put a primer underneath the eye shadows so it can last longer.

 Here are some swatches for the eye shadows: this is the result with just one swatch. You can see that some of the lighter colors do not show up.

 Here are the swatches for the 4 blushes and 3 illuminators:

 

 

Overall rating: Best palette from NYX so far.

  

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator

Highlights and illuminators are very popular now. It definitely gives you a healthy glow, however, if you apply too much you can look like a disco ball.

I heard so many great things about Gilded Honey illuminator and it is always sold out at Ulta. Now it is back in stock and you can purchase it here: http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod12291867

Size: 0.16oz

 

This illuminator looks so natural on and a little goes a long way. It can be used as an eye shadow or a highlight. Gilded Honey works well for fair to medium skin tone. If you are deeper skin tone, I recommend the color Ballerina. The packaging is small (easy to carry in your purse) and it glides on smoothly with your finger... I do see why people rave about this. I like this highlight just as much as I like Champagne Pop by Becca.

 

 Here is the swatch: 

Overall rating:  Definitely try it out!!!

Until next time,

stay healthy, beautiful, and inspired.

<3 <3 <3