Deep Sunset Eyes

I wasn't sure what to call this look. It reminds me of a gradient in Paint Shop Pro called 'Deep Sunset' so that's what we'll go with. I found it matched this shirt I bought from Old Navy around Christmas time perfectly.

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion: all over lid and brow bone area; under lower lashline.


• Urban Decay Baked (rich bronze): inner third of eyelid.


• Urban Decay Last Call (plum punch): middle of lid, blended into the Baked.


• Urban Decay Mayhem (dark blue-purple): outer corner of lid, blended over and into the Last Call.


• Bare Minerals Glimmer in Queen Phyllis: brow bone highlighter.


• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Lust (deep purple w/ subtle silver sparkle): lined lower lashline with Mayhem applied over top to smudge out a bit.


• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara in Rich Black

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...)

Pink Lemonade -- 80's Style!

Here is today's look that I am dubbing "80's Style Pink Lemonade". It's a little daring, maybe a tiny bit garish (depending on your taste), and definitely vibrant! I based the look off of her photo. The look is similar, the technique (and makeup used)is different.

Colors/Products Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion: all over lid and brow bone area, under lower lashline.


• M·A·C Shadestick in Corn: inner corner of lid and inner corner of lower lashline.


• M·A·C Shadestick in Beigeing: outer corner of lid and outer corner of lower lashline.


• Bare Minerals Glimmer in Meow (bright gold/yellow): over top of Corn.


• L'Oreal HiP Duo in Brazen (pink side): over top of Beigeing.


• Bare Minerals Glimpse in Pink Posey (peachy pink shimmer): over top of Brazen to add a sheen to the pink.


• Bare Minerals Glimmer in Queen Phyllis (shimmery vanilla): brow bone highlighter.


• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero (blackest black): along waterline.


• Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar (darker shade)

The Result:

Soft Pink & Purple

Today I did a soft pink and purple look inspired by this video.

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay Cherry (soft shell pink with silver glitter): all over lid, slightly dampened for a richer color


• Urban Decay Matte Trio in Haze; lightest shade (matte purple trio): brow bone highlighter


• Urban Decay Flash (bright iridescent purple): outer corner of lid, blended into crease about halfway


• Urban Decay Mayhem (dark blue-purple): liner for lower lashline, used wet with homemade mixing medium.


• Urban Decay Perversion (matte black): liner for upper lashline, only outer half of lid

The Results:

Smokey Green Eyes

After spending the last month wearing nothing but neutral colors, I decided to bust into my new palette with a nice green look today. I watched this tutorial first and then basically did my own interpretation of Smokey Green Eyes.

Colors used:

• Urban Decay Absinthe (bright green with gold shift): inner corner of upper lid, blended into crease


• Urban Decay Perversion (matte black): outer corner, blended into the Absinthe


• Urban Decay Polyester Bride (shimmery white with subtle gold glitter): brow bone highlighter


• Urban Decay Vert (vibrant jade green): wet on inner corner of lower lashline


• Urban Decay Protest (dark forest green): over top of M·A·C Shadestick in Sharkskin on outer corner of lower lashline

Sharp Smokey Look

This is an Urban Decay look (pulled from Sephora.com) called Sharp Smokey Eyes. I always have a hard time getting my smokey looks to look right because to pull it off you have to do a fair amount of blending. My sister is awesome when it comes to blending but whenever I blend it seems I don't blend enough (which leaves harsh lines) or over blend (which nearly obliterates the color completely).

The Sharp Smokey Eye looked easy enough and, incidently, I had all of the components the look called for. So I gave it whirl.

eXtrEme close-ups:





Not-so-close-up:



It was, by far, the easiest smokey look I have tried to date. The only real problem I had with it was the black eyeliner. Urban Decay makes an awesome eyeliner pencil. It is remarkably creamy and goes on oh-so-smoothly so a little goes a long way. But try as I may to get a nice, thin line around my lashes I just couldn't. So my liner is quite a bit thicker than the model's. But for an amateur, I think I did pretty well. I really like the look, and though I find it a bit dark for 'everyday' wear, I will be trying it again next time I get dressed up for a special occasion or a night out.