Shirt dress – Uniqlo, necklace – from ages ago in Melbourne.

I’m loving this Uniqlo linen shirt dress.  It ended up looking more work appropriate than I thought it would when I slipped it on this morning with a favourite necklace I found in Melbourne whilst on a shopping marathon with Carly many moons ago.  I like how the Mandarin collar gives the dress a less formal edge than the traditional raised collar.  Yet, the buttoned cuffs of the sleeves differentiate it from a beach coverall.

Yay for having the time and frame of mind for proper clothes shopping whilst on holidays, I say.

Returning to work was not as traumatic as I thought it would be.  It actually felt good to be back doing my normal thing.  Give me a few weeks, I’m sure I’ll be hankering for the airport, hotels and power shopping once more.  I’d best enjoy my current frame of mind while it lasts.

Did you know that Longchamp have a line of all leather Le Pliage bags, Le Pliage Cuir.  They are available in a range of colours already in Australia though I believe the option to personalize is currently only available overseas.  I found the black small version in Singapore and it works very well as a work  bag – it holds more than you might think it would and the monochrome look goes with everything.  I also saw this version of Le Pliage with the long shoulder strap in canvas whilst I was away.

I wish I could say that the shopping stopped the moment I touched down but that would be a lie.  L’Oreal’s La Palette Nude eyeshadows have finally arrived in Australia.  Beauty bloggers overseas have been all over them for close to a year now and now we finally have a chance to jump on the bandwagon and decide for ourselves.  And by decide, I mean, of course if these sets with a RRP of $29.95 AUD rate against Urban Decay’s Naked palettes, RRP $83 AUD.  The other drugstore competitor that looms large in discussions is Maybelline’s The Nudes which I think has a RRP of $24.95 AUD.  This fabulous post on LiveLearnLuxeIt compares the three brands in great detail.

I’ll start by summarising what I’ve read about the comparisons so far:

• most of the US reviews relate to the La Palette Nude made in the US.  There are two versions available in the US, 1 (browns/beiges) and 2 (rose pinks).  
• the version for sale in Australia is made in China and are simply titled beige and rose.
• the compacts look different between the regions, with the American version featuring a clear panel on the mirrored lid and instructions for use on the base.
• while its tempting to assume that the colours of LLPN duplicate UDN based on the way they look in the pan, the swatches shown on many blog posts show that there are few exact duplicates between them.
• the Australian version is a bit more basic without the tutorials on the base or the clear panel.
• most reviewers agree that there’s little to be gained in doing head to head comparisons of L’Oreal La Palette Nude (LLPN) and the Urban Decay Nakeds (UDN).  The pricier UDN has a softer, richer consistency that has more colour pay off with each application.
• it seemed to be a given that a  layer of decent eyeshadow primer is necessary for the application of the cheaper products.  In Australia, many of the popular brands of primer retail for around $33 AUD (Urban Decay and Too Faced) so this would need to be factored into any perceived savings made on buying the drugstore versions.
• the real focus of reviews is then how well LLPN compares independent of the comparisons.  Can a compact a third (or less when Priceline is doing its 30% off thing bring them down to around $20) the price of UDN deliver eye shadows that have true colours, blend and wear well?
• there is definitely a place in the world for both UDN and competitors like LLPN – not everyone feels comfortable parting with the cash for Urban Decay and not everyone needs the shimmer, frost and less wearable colours that their Naked palettes offer.

I wore the Beige set to work today.  Responsible and diligent sometime beauty blogger that I am, I used Urban Decay’s Anti Aging Eyeshadow Primer Potion first.  It’s $39 at Mecca Maxima, $6 more than the original formula.   I’m under no illusion that it’s going to turn back time on my crepey eyelids  but I do appreciate the ‘blur effect’ and less opaque consistency than the original version.

First impressions

As I explained earlier, with Priceline’s 30% off L’Oreal promo, it would have been criminal not to have bought both palettes.  Here’s a photo of the front and back of the palettes, showing the differences to the US version.

www.dailybaileyb.com

These are the US La Palette Nudes FYI.

LLPN is smaller than UDN.  There’s also two less shadows in LLPN.  Not a big issue for me as I’m not too adventurous in my eyeshadow colour choices these days.

I do like how LLPN is housed in a slim line, sturdy black plastic compact.  The packaging design makes them the eyeshadows I’ll be bringing on holidays in future with me over UDN.  Both LLPN would fit the space occupied by a single UDN in my luggage.

Consistency and application

You can also see from my photo that there is an obvious difference in consistency of shadows between the two brands.  UD is  more finely milled, softer and has more visible frost and sheen in most shades.  LLPN are harder shadows in the pan, more matte options and minimal chunky frost in the other shades.

For me, this translated into needing a different technique to apply LLPN.  While soft and fluffy brushes worked well with UDN, I found I needed denser brushes to get the most colour from LLPN.  Many beauty bloggers have observed that there seems to be some kind of coating that needs to be ‘broken through’ on the top of LLPN shadows and once you’ve done this, the shadows appear to be much easier to apply and blend.  This observation related to the US version of LLPN.  I suspect the same is true of our Chinese made version because I did get more colour on my brush when I reapplied shades I’d used earlier.

Final result and wear

I was pleasantly surprised by how well LLPN worked for me.  I haven’t had the best track record with L’Oreal eyeshadows.  I love their mascara but found their earlier eyeshadows chalky and impossible to work with.

The beige colour way gave me an easy, polished look that’s perfect for work and weekends.  I haven’t used all the shades yet but all the colours in the palette work well with my lifestyle and wardrobe.

I do like how LLPN is easy on the frost and glitter but goes harder on matte shades.  I did have to use a heavy hand with my brushes to get the intensity of colour I wanted and using primer definitely made my make up last longer and its colour stay true for the entire working day.

I wore my usual Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil and some new Rimmel mascara to finish off the look.  So a bit of mixing and matching of price ranges in the make up department today for me.  As you can see, it’s serious between my Corrupt eyeliner and I….  I’m down to the last precious stub of it.  The Rimmel mascaras are relatively new releases.  Less thick in consistency than my Maybelline favourites.  A nice change for the moment.

I usually spend more on eyeshadow based on the idea that the higher price guarantees better wear and performance but now, thanks to L’Oreal’s La Palette Nude I’m not so sure about this.

Have you tried L’Oreal’s La Palette Nude?

Have you tried the US version or our Chinese made one?

I’m sorely tempted to get the US made palettes when I head to the US in June….

Gee this was a girly clothes and makeup kind of post.  Don’t know what got into me.