Urban Decay 'Sephora Exclusives'

I think I should start this entry out by saying that I am an Urban Decay whore. If I had money to throw around, I would have no qualms owning just about every eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick in their arsenal. But, alas, I have yet to hit the lottery. :P

One thing that Urban Decay does that I absolutely love is they periodically come out with palettes. I own five of their eyeshadow palettes so far. Palettes are great because you get a variety of colors for an excellent price. It's definitely the best way to try out Urban Decay's eyeshadows and find out a) if you like their product, and b) which colors you like enough to spend the $16 it costs for a full size. It's how I got hooked.

Around mid-November of last year, I started browsing Sephora.com and Ulta.com for my "Christmas" presents. (Really Christmas is just a "good" excuse to buy myself more makeup!) I came across two palettes that I knew I had to have. The first was the Sustainable Palette. It came with 10 shades that were paired to complement one another, a miniature vial of their awesome Primer Potion, and a small brush. The second was their Book of Shadows palette which came with 16 shadows (eight of their 'best sellers' and eight colors that were exclusive to the palette), a miniature vial of the Primer potion, and two brushes. I think just about all of their palettes are dubbed "Limited Edition" but I can still find all the palettes I bought in 2007 with no problem so I didn't think there was any reason to rush out and buy either palette right away. Oh how wrong I turned out to be! I waited until I started my Christmas shopping in early December (which turned out to be a good thing since I wound up getting a free $15 off a $35 purchase at Sephora) to buy my palettes. But, much to my dismay, the Book of Shadows palette was SOLD OUT. I checked Sephora.com religiously every single day waiting for them to restock the palette.

It never happened.

Heartbroken, but not defeated, I decided to check eBay. And I was in luck! That is if I wanted to pay triple or quadruple what the palette went for on Sephora ($45). I am really not kidding. I am quite addicted to makeup but I'm not crazy! So I quietly accepted defeat and tried my best to come to terms with my "loss". About a week after Sephora removed the product listing from their website (oh yeah, that hurt) I decided to check eBay again. Much to my surprise there was an auction running for a brand-spanking-new palette and the bid price was at a reasonable $55! Even better, it was ending in a measley five hours! I pounced on the opportunity and watched the auction like a hawk. With 30 seconds to go, I put in a ridiculously large proxy bid and refreshed the auction until the timer ran out. I won the palette for just over $65. In my opinion, $20 was a small price to pay for something that was practically unattainable! The palette arrived five days after I won the auction and I quickly became acquainted with several of the colors (Mayhem and Absinthe being two of my favorites). A happy ending, indeed!

The moral of the story (yes, there is a lesson to be learned here): If you see an Urban Decay item labeled as 'Sephora Exclusive' and think you must have it, do NOT assume it will be there forever! Especially if it's labeled 'Sephora Exclusive' and 'Limited Edition'!

That and eBay is NOT always your friend! ;)

Sephora now carries the Urban Decay Primer Potion - Sin (a new spin on their classic favorite). It is another Sephora exclusive item. I think I will take the plunge and buy it when we get our tax return. (Assuming it is still available, of course!) It is their acclaimed primer potion with a Champagne hue added to it. I have a feeling it will become a must for the summer. (You know for those days on the beach where you feel silly putting on makeup but feel it would simply go against everything you believe in to not put on anything at all? Is that just me?? Hmmmm...)