Tag: Urban Decay
Kat Von D – 10th Year Anniversary Collection
I’ve been waiting months and months for this…and on Cinco de Mayo, Kat Von D released her 10 year Anniversary Collection. It’s everything I thought it would be and more.
The 10th Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette ($52) was the first thing into my cart. I am blown away by the quality of the shadows. I tried it yesterday, without primer and it was ultra, mega, SO pigmented. Although Kat excels at matte eyeshadows, I’m really drawn to the transformer shades in this collection. I did a look centered around “Alexandra” (rose gold glimmer) and it matched my rose gold hair perfectly. When my husband got home from work last night, he actually said my makeup looks cute…and he NEVER says that. Literally, the best I can hope for it, “You look nice,” but usually I get “What is wrong with your face?”
So, this palette gets the husband stamp of approval – that’s even higher praise than “Jeffree Approved”!
I also picked up the 10th Anniversary Lipsticks – Everlasting Glimmer Veil in “Gold Skool” ($22) and Studded Kiss Lipstick in “Santa Sangre” ($19). I wore “Gold Skool” with “Lolita II” Everlasting Lip Liner yesterday and it KILLED. Now, the $64,000 question – how does it compare to Jeffree Star “First Class”? The two aren’t even really similar – “First Class is a black-leaning metallic, while “Gold Skool” has more of a glittery gold dust finish. Not dupes at all!
I dropped $93, but I didn’t even get the whole collection. There’s also a brush set ($125), a highlighter ($30), an eyeliner ($20) and a traincase ($150). I wanted them all…but I also wanted my family to eat this month. I am VERY happy with my purchase and I am confident when I say that Kat Von D has overtaken Urban Decay as my favorite cosmetics brand.
Since I have Sephora Flash, I broke my order up into two orders, so that I could get double samples and use two promo codes. I got my doubles AND Sephora still sent it all to me in one box. Winning!
I used a promo code to get an Amore Pacific Set, which includes Vintage Single Extract Essence, Botanical Radiance Oil and The Essential Creme Fluid. I also used a code to get a fragrance sample bag with Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium, Stella Peony (the one I wanted to try – need to buy it); Philosophy Amazing Grace Ballet Rose (another love); Giorgio Armani Sky di Gioia, Chloe Fleur de Parfum, Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh AND Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara. Nice!
For my sample picks, I got 2 Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade (each sample card had 4 colors AND a tiny brush – been wanting to try this so bad!); Urban Decay Vice Special Effects Top Coat (includes 4 colors – “Fever”, “Reverb”, “Ritual” and “White Lie”); and Clinique Moisture Syrge 72-hour auto-replenishing hydrator. Wait! That’s only 4 samples! They screwed me!
But…only $568 until Rouge…I might do it!
Sephora Play! April 2018 – Insta Beauty
I am fully aware that I am prone to hyperbole…but…this month’s Sephora Play box might be the best box I’ve ever received. I say that not because the products are good or high dollar, but because there are several BRAND NEW products that I’ve been wanting to try.
I just saw It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Pressed Poreless Finish Airbrush Pressed Powder in an Ulta circular. I wore it this morning, over only moisturizer and…WOW. It’s translucent and adds no color, but it adds a soft focus veil that is hard to beat. I think I need to buy a full size!
I have also been curious about Urban Decay Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lipgloss in “SPL”. I am not in a glossy lip phase, but who is to say that glossy can’t come back in 2018?
Also in this month’s Insta Beauty box: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Perfector in “Shade #6” (fingers crossed that it matches my skin tone); Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Rescue Mask; Peter Thomas Roth Skin to Die for No-Filter Mattifying Primer & Complexion Perfector; and Miu Miu L’eau Rosee (I have a deluxe sample of this and I wore it ALL winter).
Again, I will use every single one of these products!
If you don’t get Sephora Play, join us for Festival Fun. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Don’t Backtalk Me
Actually, yes…DO Backtalk me.
I was unimpressed when Urban Decay released the Backtalk Eye & Face Palette ($46) a few weeks ago. At first, I thought it was was just a pink version of a Naked palette…but then I got interested in the coordinated blushes/highlighters. Have you ever done your eyes and then applied a blush you though would look good, but then it did NOT look good, but then you’re late for work and you have to go to work looking like Lindsay Lohan? Ugh.
So I had dropped in to Sephora to pick up a birthday gift for my Mother-in-Law, and there was the Backtalk palette, right inside the front door…so I started swatching the colors on my wrist. It wanted to come home with me! But I walked away…to see if they had a Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in “Backtalk”. Yup, and on clearance for $9. (So are they eliminating the whole liquid lipstick line after just a year? Or are they going for a reformulation, like Kat Von D did with her Studded Kiss Lipsticks?) So I just HAD to buy both the palette and the lipstick.
I did a full face yesterday and the formula is the high quality I’ve come to expect with Urban Decay. I used it with no primer and still got good color payout, although it was tougher to blend. I will note that this palette is BYOB – Bring Your Own Brush.
Only $785 to Rouge. Woof.
Give Me Some Nude Lip – Take 4
I am such a sucker for Sephora’s curated lip sets. I don’t know if it is the lipstick or the little lip shaped box that they come in. I’d say it was the box, but I REALLY wanted one of those lippies. So I got the new Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Nude Lip Set ($28).
The one I really wanted? NARS Lipstick in “Orgasm”. I had gotten a deluxe sample of NARS Orgasm Blush a while back and it is one of my favorites – all the hype is true – it is universally flattering. I actually put on makeup for the first time in weeks yesterday, just so I could see the blush and lipstick together – heavenly.
Also in the the glittery white lip box: Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in “Futurist”; Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in “Sugar” (really just a sheer gloss); Tarte Tarteist Quick Dry Matte Lip Paint in “Exposed” (I love a basic brown matte); Urban Decay Cosmetics Vice Special Effects in “Fever” (I’d be more impressed if these weren’t on clearance for $9 everywhere); and Smashbox Cosmetics Be Legendary Lip Pigment in “Mauve Wife” (this will be my fave – it’s like a cross between Lolita and Androgyny!)
Oh, and no dupes! I didn’t have any of these lippies!
I also used this order to get my Sephora Birthday gift – I chose the GlamGlow set with GlamGlow SuperMud Clearing Treatment and GlowStarter Mega Illuminating Moisturizer. My other chose was some Bite Beauty Lipstick – meh.
Can we talk about samples? Even though I got the 2 deluxe samples I used a special code for – it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cleanser (divine) and Miu Miu L’eau Rosee (not a straight rose, but like running through an unkempt rose garden with roses and whatever happens to be growing there) – I DID NOT get my other samples. This is the third time in a row!
First I emailed Customer Service again, they quickly apologized qand gave me 225 points. That’s nice and all, but not a solution. I took to twitter and then DMed with Sephora. They admitted it’s been an ongoing issue, blah blah blah. I can tell you what the issue is – the samples are no longer showing up on the pick list that shows up in my box. I’ve been using the app to order, so next order will be placed online and we’ll see if that helps..
$932 to Rouge…but $282 to VIB Insider is more likely.
Double Troublemaker
So my first Sephora order of 2018 actually turned out to be my last order of 2017. So I ended up placing a second order for the Urban Decay Troublemaker palette (normally $39, on sale for $24). But why???
I wanted to take advantage of the “Sale on Sale” – an extra 20% off on sale items (bringing the price down to $19.80)…but I wanted my sale to count towards 2018 and going Rouge. So I was fucking around on my phone on New Year’s Eve, but after midnight….in Texas. I figured I could place my order and it would count towards 2018…nope. I got my order summary and it said December 31, 2017. Fuck. I emailed customer service and asked if they could fix it. Sephora Customer Service actually answered on New Year’s Day, but gave me the dumbass answer that they could not modify the sales date on the order and that I should just reorder the palette and return the first one. So I did. I figured that I could get three extra samples and just take the extra palette back…but there were no fucking samples in either box. what the FUCK, Sephora??? I emailed customer service – still waiting to hear back. At least I got another 2017 Rouge gift…not sure why.
…now about the palette itself. Troublemaker was released as a companion to their new Troublemaker Mascara, a deluxe sample of which is also included in the box.
The palette has just 9 colors, with matte and shimmer finishes. The colors lean warm and all mesh rather well with each other. I’ve used the palette for the last two days and have found the colors to be standard Urban Decay quality, although I noticed that the shimmers shifted darker on my eyes than in the pan – oxidation?
The middle shade, “Clash” is a dupe for “Furious/Anger” from the Pulp Fiction palette. I’m not mad or anything, just pointing it out.
The Troublemaker Mascara is nice – I like it better than the Perversion Mascara. It’s less clumpy and I feel like it defines my lashes better. That being said, the Deluxe tube is annoying – the wand is too short and I feel like I am in danger of stabbing myself in the side of the nose.
I would hesitate to pay $39 for this palette, but $19.80 is a fair price. Now to decide what to do with the other one…to return or to gift???
$970 to Rouge…can I do it?
October Ipsy Bag – Spellbound
This month’s crimson lace makeup bag is absolutely outstanding. Sure, I have more makeup bags than any human being ought to have…but you never know when you’ll need another one.
The first thing I saw in the bag, was the huge Urban Decay package…I got excited, hoping it was the new Troublemaker Mascara (I know, I bitch about too much mascara – but new is new). But no, it was an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in “Perversion”. I think I have 3 or 4 of these. I don’t even use eyeliner anymore…but I can use this for my Halloween eyebrows? Also in this month’s bag: Nail Medic Charcoal Infused Nail Polish in “Volcanic Ash” (ipsy, why do you send me so much gray nail polish?); tarte deluxe lifted sweatproof mascara (just say NO to waterproof mascara); Hey Honey Trick AND Treat: ACTIVE PROPOLIS CREAM CONCEALER; and TONYMOLY Peach Hand Cream (yummy!).
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Sephora Play! September 2017 – Fall Into Beauty
You’d think that I don’t LOVE my Sephora Play, the way I’m always late in posting about it. But I dooooo love it – in fact, it’s probably my favorite monthly box! I’m just lazy-ish.
First off, the pink satin bag is adorable – reminds me of the Pink Ladies. Rattling around inside this month’s box: Urban Decay VICE Liquid Lipstick in “Amulet” (fuck, I already have a full size of this shade – it’s my favorite from the line though); IGK Hot Girls Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner; Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel (I’ll try it, but I don’t think I have enough for the fibers to stick onto); Algenist POWER Recharging Night Serum; Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb (yassss); and Sephora Waterproof Contour Eye Pencil in “Black Lace”.
No fragrance this month – what the fuck is up with that, Sephora?
If you haven’t signed up yet, you are missing out on the best subscription box out there. This is by far the best subscription box I get every month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Naked Heat
I’d passed quite a few opportunities over the past month to pick up the newest Urban Decay Naked Heat palette ($54). Both Ulta and Sephora had a few pre-sales, then there was the official online launch. But the stars aligned while I was on vacation…not only had I accrued $53 in Ulta points (my last spend was the Alice Through the Looking Glass palette), but I received a 20% off anything coupon from Ulta….would it work?
Fuck yeah, it worked! But to my delight/dismay, I was now under the $50 shipping threshold. What is there to do, but to also add one of the new Urban Decay Naked Heat Vice Lipsticks in “Scorched” ($17). All told, I paid $4.11 for the palette and the matching lipstick. My samples were good, too – NARS Blush in “Orgasm” and it Cosmetics No. 50 Serum Collagen Veil.
Damn, I’m good.
I waited a bit after receiving to write my review…I wanted a chance to fully try it out and make sure before declaring it the palette of the year. IT’S THE FUCKING PALETTE OF THE YEAR. No joke, I’ve been using this palette every single day since I got it. The rich bronzes, coppers and bronzes blend beautifully and coordinate well together. There’s a full range of shades and finishes. This might be my favorite Naked palette now – so sorry, Naked 3.
$86.66 away from Platinum status for 2018.
Magical Bag
Did I need more liquid lipstick? No, but I wanted it. Same thing.
I’ve been jonesing to try the Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick ($17) since it dropped at Ulta a few weeks ago. I’d been admiring “Emerald City” – not a duochrome, but a trichrome – for quite some time. I also picked up “Versailles”, because I need more rose gold in my life. “Versailles” is very close to Jeffree Star “Pussy Whipped”, but not quite as peachy. “Versailles” looks better on me, TBH. I haven’t tried “Emerald City” yet. The Ofra formula is nice and smooth and not drying.
I also decided to try Ulta Adjustable Coverage Foundation in “Fair”, which is very affordable at $14. I’m pleased with the performance. it’s light coerage, but a good match for my skin. I also picked up the new Ulta New Hue Shadow Switching Pan. I know I just paid $9 for a sponge in a tin, but this damn thing works like a champ. I don’t know that I could’ve made my own at home for cheaper. I spent just enough on Ulta products to get a FREE Deluxe palette, one of those ones with ALL the products – 24 shadows and blush and lip stuff. I might never use it, but free is free. I used a code for $5 off $15 in Ulta products, so I got all those goodies for a steal.
I also threw in a Zoya Remove+ for shits and giggles. My free sample pack had Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturizer and Jack Black Double-Duty Face Moisturizer (for my man).
The real star of my order was the FREE 24 product beauty bag that I got with a $60 purchase. It was packed so full, I can barely get all the stuff back in it!
Inside this magical bag: philosophy time in a bottle repair serum (love this stuff, but too pricey); DevaCurl Buildup Buster Gentle Deep Cleansing Serum; it Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer (I’ve heard good things about this stuff); Sexy Hair Long Sexy Hair Shampoo, Conditioner and Detangler (I don’t have long hair anymore, so I must be patient); NYX Total Control Drop Foundation (4 shades, surely the lightest will work); Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream; Clinique BIY Blend It Yourself Pigment Drops (very interesting concept); Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray (Finally! I’ve been wanting to try this); Ulta Mattifying Balm (another one I’ve wanted to try); Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil (another genius idea); Jimmy Choo L’eau; Tory Burch Love Relentlessly; Benefit Hoola Quickie Contour Stick; Julep love your bare face Hydrating Cleansing Oil; Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner; First Aid Beauty Oil-Free Mattifying Gel (another WOW product I want to try); Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Cucumber and Green Tea (I stuck it in the fridge for a hot nasty day); Organic to Green Coco Oil; Lancome Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate; Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in “Butter Scotch”; Vitabath Spa Day Body Wash in “Lavender Chamomile”; COOLA Classic Sunscreen White Tea Moisturizer; StriVectin Hair Deep Repair Mask; and Smashbox Cover Shot Golden Hour Eye Shadow Duo. Phew, finger cramps. Oh, and another $5 off $15 Ulta coupon.
Give Me Some Nude Lip – 3rd Edition
Even though I was able to resist the 2nd Edition of Sephora’s “Give Me Some Nude Lip” – I wasn’t able to resist the 3rd. Really, the only reason I didn’t get the second was because I already had a full size of Urban Decay “1993”, but I had none of the ones included in this set.
Inside this 3rd “Give Me Some Nude Lip” ($28): Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in “Kristen” (very…MOIST); Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Enamored Hi Shine Lip Lacquer in “Sugar Sugar” (haven’t tried this one yet); NARS Cosmetics Velvet Lip Glide in “Bound” (Somewhere between a lip gloss and a matte liquid lip, it stayed put most of the day and was very hydrating); Tarte lippie lingerie matte tint in “Revealed” (I thought I hated chubby lip pencils, but this one is nice and long-lasting and a nice medium brown); Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in “Spice Girl” (I have regrets about wearing this to work today – my lips were stinging for a good hour and a half…and looked no plumper); and Urban Decay Vice Waterproof Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in “Trivial” (Full size – and the best shade of the bunch). This was a good buy – I can see wearing all of these, except for the Lip Injection.
I also splurged on Taste Beauty Felicia the Flamingo Lip Balm ($10). Even though I hate using my finger to apply lip balm, I will make an exception for this cute little flamingo float.
I used a code to get a Deluxe Sample of Atelier Cologne Clémentine California. I love the smell – like fresh Cutie Clementines – but it doesn’t seem to last very long on me. I’ve worn it twice this week and it faded by the time I got home from work. I was also pleasantly surprised to receive the exact samples I picked: philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser, philosophy Time In A Bottle 100% In-Control, and SUNDAY RILEY C.E.O. C + E antiOXIDANT Protect + Repair Moisturizer.
How am I gonna get to Rouge Status by the end of the year? I have $674 left!