Urban Decay

New Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potions! UD Fix, Freebase, Caffeine and Sin

May 15th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

urban decay fix — New New eye primers from Urban Decay! From the top: Fix, Freebase, Caffeine and Sin

I do this thing, and I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but whatevs, but whenever I think of the word “base,” like eyeshadow base, as in Urban Decay’s new Eyeshadow Primer Potion eyeshadow base, I think of Ace of Base from the ’90s, ya know? I saw the sign? I can hear the first few bars in my head. Clearly TMI. Whatever, I know you secretly love that song and know all the words. 🙂

Yeah, Urban Decay released a bunch of new eyeshadow bases, a.k.a eye primers. There are four, and they’re $20 each.

How do you feel about eyeshadow bases? Are they a must have? Or a waste of time? I’m a fan. The one I use daily is NARS Pro-Prime, and it’s my fave, but I like UD’s a lot, too.

I like how it intensifies and holds on to color, but I think the NARS one is slightly easier to do more complicated blending with, which is why I tend to use it (not that I’ve been doing a ton of complicated blending lately, but hey).

But Urban Decay’s works great, too, and it’s a good option if you’re into cruelty-free. Shadows that I wear on top last just as long as they do with NARS Pro-Prime.

urban decay fix swatch — Swatches from the top: UD Fix, Freebase, Caffeine and Sin

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What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 11: Bright Pink and Green Eyes With the Urban Decay UD Jean-Michel Basquiat Tenant Palette

May 3rd, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

urban decay basquiat tenant palette — BRIGHTS!

I think I may have unintentionally gone ? unicorn with this look.

That was not my plan, I swear!

In my head, I pictured this eye look as being a lot pinker… Or is it more pink? I can never remember that one.

Guess who played with the UD Jean-Michel Basquiat collection today.

This girl! 🙂

I was thinking of hot pink in the crease, hot pink along my lower lash line, and bright green and purple accents, but then temptation struck! — which is what happens when you’re dealing with a palette that inspires you to try different things.

So, I started by putting a little bit of purple in the outer corner, but then this happened. Whoopsie-daisy! It’s less pink than I thought I wanted it to be, but with makeup I always reserve the right to change my mind.

You know how it is.

Technically, the inner corner highlight on my lower lash line isn’t an eyeshadow, by the way. I used the UD Gallery Blush Palette (also from the Jean-Michel Basquiat collection). There’s a super intense yellow gold highlighter in there, and I liked the idea of that playing against the green on my inner lid.

Oh, and for that bright green pop on my lid I mixed the green and blue from the Tenant palette.

urban decay basquiat tenant palette 3 — That moment when someone stands too close to you…

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The Urban Decay Basquiat Collection: UD’s Best Collection Ever

May 1st, 2017 by Karen 28 Comments

urban decay basquiat exhibition lipstick — Urban Decay UD Jean-Michel Basquiat. I’m wearing the Gold Griot Eye Palette on my lids, Gallery Blush Palette on my cheeks and Exhibition Lipstick on my lips.

If you’ve ever been stuck in a makeup rut, I’m telling you, the new Urban Decay UD Jean-Michel Basquiat collection will kick you outta that funk like that. *snaps*

“Art as makeup. Makeup as art.”

That’s the tagline for the collection, which is available now (sort of, but more on that in a minute). And the collection is a work of art. I think it’s incredible. This is some of the best — THE BEST — makeup Urban Decay has ever done. Like, every single thing in this collection makes me want to paint my face in a myriad of different ways.

But let me back up juuust a bit…

Urban Decay Gold Griot Eyeshadow Palette

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Mostly Makeup-Related Friday Ramblings: The Urban Decay Basquiat Collection, New Makeup Setting Sprays, and Mom Brain (It’s a Legit Thing!)

April 28th, 2017 by Karen 21 Comments

urban decay basquiat collection final — I had some fun today with the Urban Decay Jean-Michel Basquiat Collection.

Hey, guys! Happy Friday. 🙂 I hope you’re having a good one so far. I hope it hasn’t been too hectic or stressful. Sometimes on Fridays I feel a mix of relief, because it’s the end of the week, and a little bit of…I dunno, anxiety? Just because I like to leave things in a good place for Monday. You know what I mean? I like to fix up my office a little and have a plan for what I’m going to do the next week, maybe take pictures if I need to or go to the arts and crafts store for props.

I also like to do a little housecleaning if I can get to it, just so that I don’t have to think about it over the weekend, and I can actually, maybe relax.

So even though I’m super excited that it’s Friday, it’s tinged with slight stress, LOL.

Anyway…

Today I started testing some new products from Urban Decay. They have a new collection out called UD Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Yup, inspired by the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. That’s his artwork on the packaging.

urban decay basquiat collection 1 — The Urban Decay UD Jean-Michel Basquait Collection

I saw the neutral Gold Griot Eyeshadow palette and thought, “Girl, I need to get that on my lids ASAP,” so I’m wearing it.

I’ve got a warm brownish red in the crease (I used reddish brown Anatomy Glide-On Eye Pencil as a base), a bronze lid and a soft navy cat eye flick. I’m also wearing the UD Gallery Blush Palette and two of the collection’s lipsticks, warmish brown Epigram and purplish pink Exhibition, mixed together.

I’m thinking about throwing on some glitter later to take it up a notch if we go out to dinner (we’re thinking pizza). 🙂

urban decay basquiat collection k1 — That’s the UD Gold Griot Eyeshadow Palette on my lids (also used Anatomy 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil as a base), the Gallery Blush Palette on my cheeks, and the lipsticks in Exhibition and Epigram mixed together on my lips.

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Fri-Yay Makeup Fun: Ombre Eyeliner

April 21st, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

Yeah, you could line your lash lines with a basic black or brown liner and call it a day, but it’s Fri-YAY! Let’s wear two different colors. Two fun colors, woo-hoo! ?

I mean, you don’t have to go as crazy as I did here with, like, teal and purple, but I’m not going to discourage you if you’re in the mood to go bold.

So, let’s talk about ombre eyeliner, which is what I call it when one shade of liner merges into another shade to create an ombre effect.

I usually like to do the inner part of my lash lines in a lighter color than the outer part because I think it makes the most visual sense to me, but it’s just a preference. Anything goes.

For this look here, I’m doing my lighter liner on the inner part, and a darker liner on the outer part.

1. Choose your two liner colors

I think this is the hardest step — picking two colors that go well together, and also go well with your overall look.

Think about what you’re wearing on your lids, a.k.a. everything about your lash line and below the crease. I’m wearing a teal shade on my lids, so I went with a darker green shade for my inner liner, and a dark purple for the outer liner (the purple also echoes my purple lips, but I might try this again and use a dark blue).

Side note: when I do this kind of look with neutrals (you know I love me some browns!), I like to use gold, bronze or rose gold for the inner liner, and then, say, a dark plum, dark navy or a forest green for the outer section.

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New Skin Care From Urban Decay

April 20th, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

urban decay rehab makeup prep — New skin care from Urban Decay

I would have been a poor product prognosticator because I never — never! — expected to see an Urban Decay skin care line. No, a career as a fortune teller is clearly not in my immediate future.

A skin care line from Urban Decay. That is NOT what I expected, but it’s kinda cool, because when I think of UD, I think of color, glitter and crazy lipstick. I picture putting everything and the kitchen sink on my face, and sure, they also have the Naked palettes, but when I think of Urban Decay at its core, I think of bold, bad-@ss makeup.

Even though skin care seemed a little out of left field to me at first, it doesn’t anymore after seeing the products. There are seven in all, ranging from $15-28 each, and they’re divided into two groups — 1) products to prepare your skin for makeup, and 2) another group of products to remove your makeup.

And the products really are true to UD’s makeup roots, because they’re focused on preparing skin for face paint and helping it look its best. And then also on helping you remove everything you just put on.

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What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 9: Purple Wings and Lips

April 19th, 2017 by Karen 41 Comments

It’s been a minute since I’ve worn this much color! It felt SO good though. I was inspired by a picture I saw of model Ruby Rose on Urban Decay’s website wearing purple winged liner with matching sparkly purple lips.

So I took the idea and ran with it. I’m wearing a lot of Urban Decay in this look, including their Afterdark Eyeshadow Palette.

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ALL THE FEELS! The Purple and Pink Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks, and the Crazy Emotional Ride I Went on Yesterday

January 26th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

urban decay zz top pic — PURPLE POWER! (Wearing Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in ZZ)

If I’d known what I was getting into yesterday before taking Connor to her first official outing involving a large group of babies, I would have done some deep breathing exercises or yoga beforehand.

We went to our first Kindermusik class, which is like a loosely organized music circle for babies. There’s a guitar-playing teacher who leads the troupe through songs and dances and baby sign language lessons and, basically, I lived a lifetime of emotions in the 40 minutes we were there. I got all the feels! Girl, I was a mess.

What does this have to do with these new Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks? Well, I’m wearing them in this episodic representation of the emotional roller coaster ride I went on in Kindermusik class, LOL!

The Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks are a new line of lippies from UD. They’re $18 each, and these are the purple and pink shades. (I reviewed the orange and red shades and the nude and brown shades last week.)

These last about four hours on my lips, which is consistent with the other bright shades I’ve tried and OK for a liquid lipstick…although not exceptional. I was hoping they’d last longer, but I do have to say that they feel FABULOUS! The formula isn’t drying at all — another plus for a liquid lipstick — and I think they look great.

They’re available now online and at UD stores and counters.

The first emotion: nervousness, as told by Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Twitch

urban decay twitch — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Twitch

I was a little nervous when we walked into the class because, ya know, it was the first time Connor had hung out with a large group of babies. Was she going to scream? Was she going to be quiet and coy? Would she be outgoing? Would the other babies be nice to her? Would she try to meow to everyone like she does to Tabs? I didn’t know!

Turns out she was fine. She was super cautious and reserved when we first sat down, but maybe she was picking up on my energy.

The second emotion: pure joy, as told by Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in ZZ

urban decay zz — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in ZZ

As the music started and everyone began singing and clapping and dancing together, she started to really enjoy herself. She was laughing, smiling and VERY interested in the teacher’s guitar.

The third emotion: togetherness, as told by Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Firebird

urban decay firebird — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Firebird

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