January 13, 2010

Are you an Urban Decay fan? If you’ve been reading BigSisLilSis for any time at all, then you already know that we’re both crazy about our Urban Decay products!

I thought that I’d take a break today from all the talking I’ve been doing about my 2010 goals to share with you my latest Urban Decay purchase. I’ve only been using the Urban Decay Ink for Eyes for a few days now, but I’m already in love with this product.

Here’s how Urban Decay describes the Ink for Eyes: It’s everything you want in a cream eyeliner! More precise than a pencil, more forgiving than a liquid, this super-smooth formula offers more control, play time, and buildable coverage than your average liner.

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes

Honestly, what’s not to love? First of all, I’m crazy about this case! It’s long and slender and comes with a mirror and a double ended applicator that has an angled brush on one end and a smudger on the other end. Before I started using the Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencils, I always used my angled MAC brush to apply my eyeshadow as a liner, so that may have something to do with why I like this applicator so much.

The color that I bought is Demolition, which is the chocolate brown color shown in the photo. I really love this color!

Now, let’s talk about what’s in this pretty, shiny little case. This creamy liner just glides on with such ease that it’s really quite surprising. No skips or smears! Really. Urban Decay does have a secret ingredient, though, it’s Nylon 12, a high-tech polymer that decreases drag for flawless application while softening and absorbing any excess oil. Urban Decay doesn’t claim this is waterproof eyeliner, but when I remove my makeup, this liner is just the same as it was when I applied it, just like the 24/7 pencils.

The liner comes in several other beautiful colors, so now that I know how much I love this product, I’ll have to try some other colors.

Luckily, we don’t have a Sephora nearby, but anytime I go into Ulta these days, I have to browse the Urban Decay counter. BigSis is ultimately responsible for my new-found Urban Decay addition. She is the one that originally turned me on to the Primer Potion and 24/7 pencils.

In case you missed my Urban Decay Hacker Tutorial, I mentioned that Urban Decay was changing the wand on the Primer Potion. When I finally broke down and bought my new tube, I noticed that it does have a new wand. We’ll see if it cuts down on the wasted product at all.

I just bought a friend of mine the cute little case of Urban Decay nail polishes for her birthday. I’ve never tried any of their nail polishes but I’m hoping that she’s happy with them since I’ve never been disappointed with any Urban Decay product. (And, no, I’m not getting paid to say that.)

Do you have any favorite Urban Decay products that you’d like to share with us?

~LilSis

November 14, 2009

The past couple of mornings when I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion, I knew that it was just about time. Time for what you may be wondering… If you’re a UDPP user, you probably already know what I’m talking about.

Urban Decay has an almost ‘cult like’ following when it comes to some of their amazing products. I think both of us have had some of the purple kool aid, too! I recently mentioned how much I love Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eye Pencils and the Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner and BigSis mentioned her love for the eye pencils much earlier this year. And, months ago after BigSis told me how much she loved the Primer Potion, I bought myself some Sin Primer and have used it every day since.

There’s only one problem with this UDPP and it’s the cutesy container that it comes in. The wand can only go straight down into the container and loads of product is left stuck in on the sides and at the bottom. It obviously hasn’t kept us from buying it though.

When we were on our trip last month, (yes, still talkin’ about BlogWorld in Vegas), BigSis showed me her little jar FULL of potion that she managed to get out of her ‘what appeared to be’ empty UDPP bottle. She had seen “the hacking” mentioned on some beauty blogs after she bought the product so she knew there was precious potion hiding in the container. And luckily, she shared that with all of us.

If I hadn’t known about that, I would have tossed my “seemingly empty” bottle in the trash once I couldn’t get any more to come out on the wand. And after you see what’s left in this container, you won’t want to throw yours away either until after you hack into it.

I never did ask what she used to hack into her bottle but I decided that this should do the trick!

Here’s my unsuspecting little container!

Not much potion on this wand.

I was going to cut the bottle lengthwise but I decided that might be a good way to end up the ER, so I started by cutting off the top.

The plastic was actually much easier to cut than I thought it would be.

Just look at all the precious potion hiding in here!

Look closer.

Score!

Can’t stop now, I’m on a roll!

And look how much was stuck at the bottom.

It was a messy job, but…

time well spent!

Voila!!

(Note: My Primer Potion is the Sin Primer and it does come in a different bottle than the original PP so it is possible that this container is made from a different plastic. I have heard that the original bottle may be tougher to cut into!)

One final note, I noticed on Urban Decays website, they mention that the Primer Potion now comes with a new wand. Here’s what it looks like.

Hopefully this new wand will be of some help getting the primer potion out of the sides but it would have to also be longer to prevent all the waste at the bottom. I guess we’ll find out once we run out of our stash and have to buy a new one.

~LilSis

November 12, 2009

Urban Decay 24/7 Sets

You know what I love more than my new Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils? Give up? Okay, I’ll tell ya. It’s my new Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner.

I’m so glad this eyeliner was included in my 24/7 Set because otherwise I never would have tried it. The set I bought came with the Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy and I love it!

The sets come in two choices, either the Stereophonic or the Hi-Fi, and both are a great bargain at $29.00. Each comes with four 24/7 eye pencils and one Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner.

I was on the phone with BigSis while I was in Ulta shopping last month before our Vegas trip.  I remembered her telling me that she loved her Urban Decay eye pencils, so when I stumbled upon the display of these sets, I asked her about them and she said they were the same pencils!

These eye pencils are unbelievable. Not only do they go on really creamy, but they are also waterproof and stay on all day! I’m so glad that I picked up one of the sets.  I love every single color that came in my set.

The Hi-Fi set includes the new shade, Mildew, a deep green, which is exclusive to this set. The set also includes Zero (black), Flipside (teal), 1999 (plum), and the Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Distortion, an iridescent sparkle.

I picked the Stereophonic set that features the new shade, Crash, which is a rich eggplant color that is exclusive to this set. This set also includes Zero (black), Underground (metallic taupe), and Gunmetal (dark gray like it sounds). And my favorite item in this special set is the Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy, a beige sparkler.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner

I think the main reason that I even tried this eyeliner is because we were in Vegas and I thought it would be something new and fun to try! And, I haven’t stopped using it since. It’s really easy to apply with a tiny, precise brush so you can apply as much or as little as you like. Just a little line of this over the 24/7 eye pencil adds just the right amount of glitter! You can even add a dab to the inner corner of your eye for a real pop!

The Heavy Metal Glitter eyeliner comes in over ten amazing shades! These usually retail for $18.00 each so getting one in this set with four eye pencils for only $29.00 is a real deal!

If you have someone on your Christmas list that loves trying new things with eye makeup, one of these Urban Decay sets would make a perfect gift, for under $30.00.

And, believe it or not, just a little glitter does make a girl really happy!

~LilSis

January 12, 2009

Hooray for Urban Decay!  How can a company with only two products in my makeup drawer have an enormous impact on my daily makeup routine?  I don’t have the popular Urban Decay Lounge or YDK Eyeshadows, Greed Lip Envy, Midnight Cowboy Lipstick, or Catfight Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in my stash.  Nothing but two little beauties: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  I don’t like to say a product is life-changing, but these guys are incredible!

LilSis and I talk all the time about what MAC eyeshadow snobs we are, but without a good eyeshadow base, we’d be cheating ourselves out of a lot that a high quality product has to offer.  A good eyeshadow primer will grab onto your shadow, and enable it to last longer while intensifying the vibrancy of the color.  Fading and creasing will become an instant thing of the past!

Even with a great eyeshadow like MAC, you still have plenty to gain by taking a few extra seconds to apply a base.  I resisted adding another step to my morning routine, but I finally caved and tried some products that were recommended to me as base: MAC Paint in Base Light, Bourjois Survolteel Waterproof Eyeshadow in Beige, and Bourjois Shimmering Shine Liquid Eyeshadow in Beige Metallique.  As far as I can see, these particular Bourjois products aren’t available any more.  My experience is that they’re all great as long-lasting shadows, and I especially like them for muggy summer days when my chances of creasing climb to 100% along with the humidity.  As a base for other shadows though, I think they’re too thick, plus they bring color and shimmer with them so any shadow you put on top of them is going to change.  Maybe for the better, but it’s going to change.  Plus, it takes me way too long to get the application even and smooth, and I just don’t have that kind of time (or patience) in morning crunch-time.

Urban Decay Primer Potion

I much prefer the invisible Urban Decay Primer Potion.  The Primer Potion goes on clear and you can’t even tell you have it on.  You use a very very small amount;  I spread it around quickly with a small concealer brush but you could smooth it on with a fingertip if you wanted to.  Then apply your eyeshadow on top as usual.  You won’t believe how much difference it makes!  Today, I put my makeup on at 6:30 am, worked all day, worked out at the gym, did a bunch of errands, took care of the furkids, made dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and at 9:00 pm, my eyeshadow looks like I just put it on!  I’m SO not kidding!  The color is true and there is literally NO creasing!  Try this Primer Potion now!  It may be the best $16 I’ve every spent on a product.  I agree that the cutesy container leaves a lot of product inaccessible, but you can do what Clumps of Mascara does, and hack into it!  That’s what I’m going to do!

The other Urban Decay product I’m crazy about is their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil.  I like automatic pencil eyeliners usually because I don’t like fiddling around with a sharpener whenever the pencil loses it’s point,  but I’m willing to make an exception for the 24/7, which is a normal-needs-sharpening pencil.  This super-creamy pencil glides on like butter, and then you have 30 seconds or so to smudge it around or blend it as you wish.  Then it’s ON baby for the rest of the day!  No fading, no disappearing, no creasing.  It’s totally waterproof, but disappears easily at bedtime with a swish of Lancome’s Bi-Facil.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil

I have the Glide-On Pencil in 4 colors and none of them are boring.  I have 1999 (plum with teeny gold glitter), Bourbon (brown with teeny gold glitter), Lucky (brilliant deep copper), and Covet (peacock green).  My favorites are Bourbon and Lucky.  Bourbon is a great snappy bronzy brown, but don’t be afraid of the glitter…I wouldn’t even call it glitter.  It’s just a little pizzazz!  Lucky is a fabulous color for blue eyes!  Try it!  1999 doesn’t show up much on my skin, so it needs a deeper shadow color on top of it, which I always do anyway to help set any liner pencil I use.  I’m not sure what to do with Covet, maybe someone can give me a suggestion of how a blue-eyed person can wear peacock green liner without looking like a peacock.  I have my eye on a couple of other colors:  Underground (metallic taupe), and Ransom (deep purple with subtle silver sparkle) or Lust (bright iridescent purple).  At $16 each, you can afford to try some fun colors, even if like me you need a little guidance in wearing them!

You can order Urban Decay through their web site, but you can also find their products at Ulta, Sephora and department stores.

~BigSis