Urban Decay Naked Basics Review and Swatches

In the process of moving, I sorted through my makeups and got rid of things I don't (at least semi-) regularly use. This included theBalm Nude 'Tude, leaving a brown-neutral (matte) hole in my stash, which I decided to fill with Urban Decay's Naked Basics. (Urban Decay just released Naked2 Basics, which I have not seen in person. It claims to be a cooler-toned version to Naked Basics, but swatches online suggest it doesn't have the same range of depth as the original, so while I love cool-toned neutrals, it's not calling to me particularly strongly.)

Naked Basics is UD's matte companion to the more glitter-tastic full Naked palettes, none of which I own. Basics includes 5 matte shades and one shimmer (Venus), with 3 pale highlighting-type shades. It is definitely not a palette that everyone will find useful (though the denizens of the internet review sites certainly seem to like it), as you have to like mattes and light shades, but I find it to be a very valuable addition to my stash.

Urban Decay Deluxe Palette Quick Review and Swatches

I said I would review this once I had some EOTDs using it, but I have decided to just post this now since it's being discontinued but is still available at Sephora and Urban Decay and I don't know how long it will last. And I have one EOTD, which is something, I guess? (I know y'all stop by for some quality blogging, and I am clearly here to deliver...)

Neutral Eyes: Quick Reviews of Urban Decay Shadow Pencils in Juju and Sin and Hourglass Visionaire Eyeshadow Duo in Gypsy

I wanted to get my thoughts on Urban Decay's shadow pencils up before the end of the giveaway (extended through Memorial Day! Go enter if you haven't!), but didn't feel like doing a full review and happened to have swatches of Hourglass Gypsy that I needed to do something with, so...here's a quick combo review!

Juju (left),
Sin (right)

Urban Decay's eyeliners are cult favorites (I have Mildew and Rockstar, and love the former [the latter is a bit too glittertastic]), so everybody was pretty psyched when they came out with bigger shadow pencils. I picked up the 5 pack they'd released for the holidays when it was on super-sale and kept the two lighter neutrals for myself (the others are here), and have been using them on and off for the past couple months.

Juju (top), Sin (bottom)

Sin is a shimmery light champagne, and Juju is a shimmery taupe. They're pretty firm, so I just swipe it all over my lid and then blend to soften the edges. On their own, they crease and fade pretty badly on my oily lids, but they last ~8 hours over TFSI, and longer if I top them with powder shadow.

Sin blended all over lid, Juju blended in crease

They do need to be sharpened, but I've gotten a lot of wear out of them without needing to do so yet (the only reason I did was to test and make sure it could be sharpened before writing this review, and yes, it can––I used the larger hole in the $2 Revlon sharpener I have to no ill effects). I wouldn't pay $20 for one, but I'm very pleased to have the ones I do! Grade: B (if you get them for cheap, A-)
$20 for 0.10 oz, available from Sephora and Urban Decay

More Product Mini Reviews

Hey hey, it's time for another post of mini-reviews! I got to try a lot of products during my New York visit, thanks to L's impressive collection, and will remark on them in a succincter-than-usual fashion. I've decided to post this rather than a monthly favorites/empties (or Skincare Saturday, for that matter, though there are several skincare products here), mostly because I'm sick and don't have the energy to write a new post. Here they are, in no particular order:

Philosophy The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

$25 for 8 oz, available from Sephora

This is a very nice, gentle exfoliator. I only used it the one time, since I spent 4 out of 6 of my nights at Z's, but I found it to do its job without unnecessary irritation. I'm not sure I'd want to spend that much myself, especially since I have my Clarisonic which takes care of my physical exfoliation needs, but if you don't have a Clarisonic and want something mild to exfoliate, Microdelivery is definitely worth checking out!

Foundation Primers Reviews and Comparisons: Urban Decay, Fyrinnae, Black Radiance, and Too Faced

I've been trying a few different face primers recently, and rather than doing individual posts on each of them, I figured I'd save myself some trouble and just do one bigger post. There's no real rhyme or reason to the order, except that I put my favorite at the end, so feel free to read only that, or all, or none. You know, the usual!

I discovered over the course of testing these primers that MAC Matchmaster does not play well with primer, so I ended up just wearing them all with Revlon ColorStay, which can benefit greatly from use of a primer (though, as you'll see, it doesn't always!). I haven't tried any of these with MMU, but if/when I do, I'll update this post.

Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion – Pore Perfecting

$31 for 1 oz, available from Sephora and Urban Decay

I got a little sample tube of this from Sephora awhile ago, and have used it a few times. There's not a whole lot I can say about it; it doesn't really diminish my pores any, and it does absolutely nothing to control my oilies or make my foundation last longer––in fact, I think it makes my oiliness worse. The only good things about it for me is that you barely need any product to cover your face, since it's silicone-y and spreads really easily, but that hardly makes up for the fact that it sucks as a primer. Verdict: Be off with you!

Currently Coveting: Urban Decay Mini 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Sets in Darks and Brights

Currently Coveting is a near-daily feature on products that look interesting, whether new releases, cult classics, or anything in between!

With the holidays over, there's been an increase in the number of new products available at Sephora and other online beauty retailers––yay! Urban Decay's come out with two new sets of mini eyeliner pencils, one in dark colors and one in bright (though honestly, I think they both have a mix of both those kinds!).

UD Mini 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Sets in Darks (left) and Brights (right); images via Sephora (both sets are linked in there––have fun figuring out where the division lies!)

The Darks set comes with eyeliners in Corrupt, Graffiti, Oil Slick, Ransom, and Stash, and the Brights set includes El Dorado, Rockstar, Electric, Binge, and Corrupt. Both sets have 5 x 0.02 oz liners for $19 (compared to the full-size 0.04 oz liners for $18), and are a great way to try out 24/7 liners if you haven't before! I'm going through a not-wearing-eyeliner stage right now, so I don't think I'll purchase either, but I'm sorely tempted to just because they're such a great deal.

Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette Review and Swatches

I picked up several things during the Sephora F&F sale, including this palette from Urban Decay.  Originally released this summer, I wanted it from the first time I saw it on Temptalia, but I knew it would eventually go on sale, so I bided my time.  I've never tried any Urban Decay eyeshadows, but the Naked palette has gotten such rave reviews that I've been wanting to for a long time.  Luckily for me, on sale did it go, and with my 20% off code, I picked it up for a mere $14.40.  Happy days!

Closed Rollergirl palette (gloss not shown, obviously)

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Midnight Cowboy Review and Swatches

Out of all the free codes for stuff at Sephora, the one that appealed to me the most was a free mini Urban Decay lipgloss, even though it's a sparkly nude (not my normal choice).  But order it I did, and can now share my thoughts with you.  Oh joy!

Midnight Cowboy swatched on arm in sunlight, unblended

Eyeliner

I often wear eyeshadow as eyeliner, applying with either my smudge brush or, for more precision, my bent eyeliner brush.  Recently, though, I purchased a few eyeliner pencils (therapeutic shopping, and yes, it helped!), which I'm going to talk about today.