dudes, you’re going to probably want to show yourself out for this one, and ladies, you can send all thanks in the form of nutella.

slowly, for years now, i’ve been transitioning and building my makeup collection past drugstore brands and into sephora brands. i have not advanced to mac because that store intimidates the life out of me. i will get there. and i’m not at all hating on drugstore makeup – i know there’s lots of rumors that it’s all the same anyway and yadda yadda, but this is one place where marketing really sinks its claws right into my soul. i feel a sense of Put Together Satisfaction when i review my collection and it’s urban decay, tarte, benefit, the balm, etc. i feel Fauncy.

but i’m giving too much away.

i (and everyone else) wanted the urban decay naked 3 palette for christmas – i have the first two already, as both an urban decay AND neutral shadow devotee. and in my research for whether or not i really wanted it, i happened to stumble upon a bunch of other stuff that i wanted. oops/yay!

come january, i ran into some magic money that just kind of fell out of the sky, and after i finished paying off the last of my credit card debt, i had enough left over to pick up a few things that had caught my eye. here i will tell you ALL ABOUT THEM as well as some of my other staple favorites.

• urban decay – naked 2: i will love urban decay shadow for life. some say their quality has declined over the years and they’re less pigmented and so on – i disagree and i think they’re awesome. i owned several of their crazier palettes in my early 20s (emerald green! bright purple! hot pink! glittery black!) and i about died when i heard of the naked palettes. of the 3, the naked 2 is my favorite. 1 and 3 are peachy keen – i’ve just been able to create the most variety of looks with 2, and i think it’s colors work best for my skin. (pictured above, however, is 3. why? cause i felt like it/was tired.)
• lorac – pro palette: if there is ONE neutral shadow palette you need, it is this one. it keeps you solidly stocked with high quality mattes and shimmers in neutral shades that are flattering to all. i’ve created the perfect nude, everyday eye from this palette, i love the quality of the shadow, and it’s universally highly reviewed online. this was one of my new purchases, and between it and the naked 3 that i did receive for christmas after all, i’m basking in the glory of eyeshadow.

• NARS eyeshadow base: i asked around on twitter for recommendations, because UD’s primer potion wasn’t cutting it and i think my eyelids secretly run a pizza joint or something because they are amazingly greasy. i’d be impressed with myself if it didn’t render my carefully applied eye makeup useless by 11 am every day. twitter recommended this NARS base and i’ve been extremely pleased.
• the balm – stainiac: i think every single person got a small sample of this in their birchbox once upon a time. i dig the balm as a rule and i love the simplicity of this product – it’s a lip stain or a cheek stain in a pretty flattering color. nothing crazy, just a nice berry tint. i love it for throwing in my purse when i know i’ve got to freshen up before going out after work  – it’s quick, easy, and convenient. it IS a little drying, so i generally use one of my (seventy) lip balm things over it.
• benefit – boiing: i have some truly impressive undereye circles. i mean, i have marvelled at myself in the mirror when it really seems, some mornings, as though i had the sickest bar fight ever the night before. boiing is an industrial strength concealer and has done the job for me for YEARS.
• benefit – they’re real: let me tell you the story of my eyelashes. they are stick straight and uber short. was that a boring story? yes. and that is how boring my eyes usually look unless i do some serious eyelash curling and mascara magic. this mascara does that magic, precisely.
• julep – kajal eyeliner: i’ve been pretty impressed with the quality of julep’s makeup products, despite that they’re primarily a nail polish company, but this one kind of blew everything else out of the water. goes on smooth, double ended with brown and black.

tell me – what can you not live without in your makeup bag? (i.e., what do i get to covet until my birthday in september?)