Multipurpose and compact products are my favourite. Not only do they make your makeup bag when travelling a lot lighter but they are so practical for every day use. I was after a blush, bronzer and highlight compact and read a lot of positive reviews on Urban Decay's Naked Flushed Palette so I decided to splurge.

Urban Decay Naked Flushed in Naked

This product retails for $52 AUD however you are getting three products in one. It also comes in three shades: streak for fairer skin tones, naked which was the 'original' and the one I own plus strip for deeper skin tones.

On the MECCA website it states

Flattering on all skin-tones, these versatile, three-in-one complexion palettes are dedicated to enhancing your skin's natural beauty and delivering a radiant, flushed glow.

Ingredients:

Packaging:

The powders are encased in a sturdy plastic casing which clips to close rather than being magnetic. The design is very similar to their Naked Basic Palettes and roughly a similar size.

Some people have complained that the powders are not actually separated from one another so if you are using a larger brush the shades can mix together. This has not been an issue for me and I actually prefer mixing the highlight and blush shades together to give a more luminous appearance. The three powders are divided into three uneven sections. The bronzer is the largest size followed by the blush and lastly the highlight. This makes perfect sense as you generally use more bronzer in comparison to highlighter.

Now let's take a look inside the cheek palette.

This image shows the sizes of the three products. My pan looks a little beaten up and used but I wanted to review this palette after using it for a period of time. Each shade can be sheered out or layered to appear more pigmented and intense. All shades blends very easily and I prefer how you can build up to your desired colour.

I have noticed that the blush in this trio is a little more powdery than the other two powders. The blush and bronzer are both on the sheer side however are still very pigmented. They give a nice sheen to the skin. If you do not like orange toned bronzer the palette in Naked will not be for you.

I will attach two images of arm swatches I did of the three shades. The first image was taken in the shade and the second was taken in direct sunlight.

Swatches taken in the shade

Swatches in direct sunlight

If you are just getting into bronzing, blush and highlighting I highly recommend picking up one of these cheek palettes from Urban Decay. You have all the three products in one place and the colours all suit one another which takes away from you trying to match up which blush and highlight should be paired together. You also have the option of choosing shades that are better suited to your skin tone. If you are on a budget Sleek or E.L.F make compacts like this at more affordable prices.

Being a uni student that often has to go out to placement and part-time work means I need my makeup routine to be fast and reliable enough to endure long hours. After countless 6am wake-ups I have finally got a quick routine down pat.
Click on the 😍 to be redirected to purchase any of the products mentioned!

I have dry skin so I always use a hydrating primer, I alternate between Face of Australia Face Base Primer (😍), Australis Original Primer (😍) and Becca Backlight Priming Filter (😍) depending on my skin that day. If my skin is really dry and dull I always use the Becca primer as it adds the most luminosity to my skin.

Next I either reach for my Chi Chi Super CC Cream (😍) or a foundation - usually NARS Sheer Glow (😍). Again this depends on how my skin is looking. I always skip concealer so if I need extra coverage I just add more of the foundation or cc cream to the areas that need it.

Since my skin is on the dryer side I skip powdering all together and I only set my under eyes with any powder that is closest to me. Depending on the time I woke up and if I can be bothered I will use my Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette (😍) since it is 3in1. I use it to bronze, highlight and add blush.

Last two steps are mascara and lips. On the daily I skip curling my lashes and straight away apply my mascara which currently is the Chi Chi 3D Magic Lash Mascara (😍). I am currently on the hunt for a new mascara so comment your favourites below!

Lips is another product that changes up daily. I will mention a few of my favourites at the moment:
😍 Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Chihuahua
😍 Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Midi
😍 Colourpop Lippie Stix in Lumiere
😍 Scout Cosmetics Mineral Lipstick in Awaken

Thank you for reading this weeks post and feel free to comment what your go-to makeup routine/products are!

Since I am transitioning my collection to one day being completely cruelty free I have been on the hunt for cruelty free dupes for my favourite products. Hopefully this post will help you if you're interested in using cruelty free alternatives too!

MAC Studio Fix Powder ➙ Australis Fresh and Flawless

Having dry/problematic skin makes it tough to find a powder that doesn't look too powdery but still offers a medium-full coverage. Luckily both these powders work virtually the same and the dupe is a lot more affordable! I do find that the MAC powder does give less of a "powdery" finish.

L'Oreal 24H-Matte ➙ Tarte Amazonian Clay

Tarte's Amazonian Clay foundation is a thicker and moussier consistency compared to L'Oreal however they're both matte and offer very full (buildable) coverage.

MAC Fix + ➙ Australis Makeup Finishing Spritz

Both set the powders on your face giving you more of a dewy finish. You can also use both to intensify any shadows.

Urban Decay Naked Palettes ➙ Chi Chi Palettes

Although Urban Decay are cruelty free their parents company is not. I am still on the fence whether I will continue purchasing their products however for a much more affordable and 100% cruelty free option Chi Chi have so many palette's so you will definitely find a match within their range!

Benefit Porefessional ➙ NYX Pore Filler

I have never owned Benefit's Porefessional however I have tried it out on my hand and compared it to my NYX primer. They had a similar feel and filled in the "pores" on my hand the exact same. There are also other blogposts online stating that these two are dupes. Cruelty free or not I highly recommend you try out the NYX primer first as it is much more affordable and works so well.

Stila Liquid Lipstick in Patina ➙ Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Clueless

I did an entire blogpost dedicated to comparing these two liquid lips so if you're interested in reading it click here. The two shades are very similar and wear for the same amount of time.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anna ➙ Colourpop Lippie Stix in Lumiere

NARS is another brand that is cruelty free however the parent company are not. Ever since the Audacious lipsticks were released I always wanted the shade Anna. One day when I went into Mecca I realised it was so similar to the shade I was wearing - Colourpop's Lumiere.

For a full list of brands that are cruelty free click here