Urban Decay

Lady Unicorn

May 31st, 2019 by Karen 27 Comments

GIRL. I haven’t worn big lashes in how long? But it’s just like riding a bike!

I’m also wearing a lot of glitter in this lady unicorn look, I know.

I was inspired by unicorns because my daughter is obsessed with them at the moment, and, let’s face it, so am I.

Oh, and body glitter. I’m wearing it too because WHY NOT? FYI, body glitter has come a loooooong way since I wore it back in the day. This one from Urban Decay comes in a tube, and you kinda just put it anywhere — on your face, in your hair, on your arms, on your neck, your legs.

And, seriously, it does not come off! My goodness, I remember the old stuff lasting about 2.5 seconds in my clubbing days, so props to the sparkly scientists who finally discovered a way to get glitter to stick to yo’ body.

Eyes: Urban Decay After Dark Palette, Urban Decay 24/7 Pencils (Roxy, Electric Empire), MAC 75 Lashes, MAC Graphblack liner, MAC Princess Jasmine Palette (from the Aladdin collection), Urban Decay Glitter Liner in Disco

Face: MAC Studio Fix in NC42 mixed with Pinklite Strobe Cream, NARS Summer Lights palette (bronzer and highlighter), Urban decay Heavy Metal Glitter Gel in Saturday Stardust

Lips: MAC Honey Love Lipstick, Hourglass Prose Lip Gloss

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The New Urban Decay Naked Reloaded Palette

February 11th, 2019 by Karen 15 Comments

Dude, can you believe UD’s O.G. Naked Palette is almost 10 years old?

Wait — should that be in the past tense? Because UD phased out the O.G. Naked (RIP). They replaced it with Naked Reloaded, which’ll be out in less than week!

Overview

What is it? Naked Reloaded replaces the now-defunct Naked Palette. It has 12 powder eyeshadows, and four of the pans — satiny beige Bribe, shimmery golden Barely Baked, matte orange-brown Boundaries and matte peachy beige Blur — contain more product than the others. Those are the shades UD thinks you’ll use the most.
How much is it? ~~I haven’t confirmed this yet, but I’m guessing it’ll be $54, which is how much UD charges for the other Naked Palettes in the permanent collection.~~ It’s $44.
Who’s it for? According to UD, errrrrbody, because the colors and textures are supposed to work for every age, gender and skin tone.
When can you get it? February 18th on the UD website and at Urban Decay stores, March 4th on the Sephora and Ulta websites, and March 7th at Sephora and Ulta stores.
How is it different than the original Naked? Reloaded has more mid-toned warm browns and fewer cooler, darker shades like grays and taupes. It also doesn’t have a dual-ended liner or a brush, and then there are the four larger pans.
Is it like any of the other Naked palettes? Yup, I think so. Naked Reloaded is like a warmer, powered-up Naked on the Run (without the cheek and lip products), with lots of mid-toned colors to make it versatile. The color temps are warm like Naked Heat, but nowhere near as red.
What about the eyeshadow formula? It’s what I’ve come to expect from UD eyeshadows. They’re soft and silky with fluffy powder particles that like to fly when I touch one of the pans with a brush. Based on a prelim arm swatch, most of them feel smooth, except for Angel Fire, which has huskier glitter than the other shimmers, so it’s on the chunky side.
What about that orange? MAN, I’m so over UD’s obsession with orange in their eye palettes… I like orange eyeshadow well enough, but it keeps popping up everywhere, and I’d just assume see something else in place of it.

urban decay naked reloaded swatches tan skin — I’m an NC42 in MAC.

urban decay naked reloaded swatches — Please note the Taylor Swift-ian references…

urban decay naked reloaded — In paw for scale…

Oh, and pardon me for going all X-Files for a moment, but IT’S CONSPIRACY THEORY TIME! Here’s why I think Reputation and End Game, two of the colors, sound like Taylor Swift song references to me: Because I think someone at UD is secretly weighing in on the Taylor Swift vs. Kim/Kanye feud that hit a couple years ago… Or maybe I’m writing too much into it, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Check Out Urban Decay Streetstyle Brow

January 11th, 2019 by Karen 6 Comments

You guys. I ascribe to the philosophy that if you ever feel like your life is spiraling, get your hair situation worked out, and everything will (probably) be OK.

Ludicrous? Perhaps.

Basically, get your hair outta that fun bun or that high pony and actually DO something with it. Then, fill in your brows, and the world will soon be right again. Hopefully… I mean it can’t hurt.

This held true at the gym the other night where I was wearing one of the new Urban Decay brow products from the Streetstyle Brow collection. Coincidentally, I had my hair down and done (because I hadn’t yet put it into my usual ponytail), and a couple of my friends in the class were like, “You look so nice today! What did you do?” to which I said, “Thank you! Brows and hair, babe. BROWS. AND. HAIR.”

So, obviously, UD’s brow products aren’t going to help you tame your crazy cowlick situation (that’s up to you, girl), but they will help you fill in your brows and make them more voluminous, fluffy and Insta-grammy (if that’s what you’re going for). You can do any brow style you like with something from this new collection of products.

BROW FINISH Waterproof Brow Gel ($21)

They’ve actually got some really innovative things, too, like this glittery brow gel.

(I know! It sounds absolutely bonkers, but stay with me.)

Essentially, Brow Finish in Midnight Cowboy is a clear gel with golden microglitter in it that you brush through your brows. It’s surprisingly flattering to have something sparkly above the lids. I don’t know the science behind it, but it’s super pretty. Obviously, I wouldn’t rock it to a job interview, but if I’m just tooling around town or going to Petco or a party, it’s good stuff.

By the way, it’s dries to a medium hold, so it isn’t super rigid, and there’s also a clear version called Ozone that doesn’t have the sparkles and also has a little weaker hold.

BROW BLADE Ink Stain + Waterproof Pencil ($26)

I’m also super impressed by their dual-ended Brow Blades, which have a sheer, flexible felt tip marker on one end and a fine brow pencil on the other. You can use each by itself or combine them together.

I think they’re great if you want to fill in your brows and have them still look natural.

Favorite thing about them? The felt tip pen. You can get a decent amount of color into your brows quickly with it, and the color lasts all day long…as long as you aren’t sweating like a mofo. It didn’t last through my HIIT workout at the gym, which was a bummer, but hey, I was dripping in sweat because we were doing the rowing machines, and those things kill me. So I do not blame the brows, LOL!

I would recommend Brow Blade to anybody who wants natural-looking filled-in brows. Also good if you have gaps between your brows, or if you want to extend your brow tails. t’s fabulous.
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The Easiest Way to Wear Red Lipstick

December 12th, 2018 by Karen 17 Comments

urban decay tryst lipstick — —-> I’ve found your new favorite way to wear red lipstick. ?

Nine times out of 10, I’d rather wear a nude lip than a red, because I just don’t like having to deal with the precision, man. I don’t want to spend the time loading a lip brush or dealing with red lip liner, or correcting any wonkiness with concealer. I just wanna put on some lipstick, quickly, and get on to living my cat’s best life, ha ha ha!

Be that as it may, this doesn’t mean I don’t ❤️ wearing red lips because I totally do! — especially during the holidays. ‘Tis the season for red, after all, so I have a workaround way to wear red that I’ve been loving lately, and I think you will too.

Note: It’s SUPER easy.

I’ve been doing it a lot lately with Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Tryst ($18), a charming creamy reddish fuchsia.

Here it is straight from the tube. No liner, no lip brush.

urban decay tryst lip swatch — Crazy for crimson (but not the time it takes to apply it)

I like this red full-on by itself, but it does take some elbow grease to get everything all even, and to do it semi-decently in a moving car, which is where I usually put on my lip color these days, because I’m always cutting it this close to getting somewhere on time.

So lately I’ll start with a layer of nude lipstick (Honest Beauty Blossom is my current fave, but any nude should work) instead. Then, after I get a layer down, I apply a thin layer of red lipstick on top, directly from the tube. Then I rub my lips together to mix everything, and feather the edges with a finger.

urban decay tryst on top of honest beauty blossom — You can totally do this in a moving vehicle, I swear.

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Makeup of the Day // Shades of Blue Liner

November 20th, 2018 by Karen 17 Comments

chanel splendeur et audace palette k 2 — Feeling blue

I got the idea for this metallic blue eyeliner look from a look Kristin Stewart wore to Cannes earlier this year, and I’ve been wanting to wear it ever since. Obviously, I’m no Beau Nelson (I WISH), but I tried.

#kristenstewart in Cannes hair by @bridgetbragerhair styling @taraswennen makeup and Photo by me @beau_nelson #beaunelsonstudio

A post shared by Beau Nelson (@beau_nelson) on May 10, 2018 at 12:31pm PDT

There are so many things I love about this makeup look, but the main things are 1) how vibrant and metallic the liner is, and 2) how the liner morphs from bright metallic teal in the inner corner, to green in the middle (it isn’t obvious, but it’s there, methinks) and a dark blue in the corner, and that’s just along the upper lash line! The lower lash line has these small, subtle blocks of dark blue interspersed with teal… It’s colorful but not cray-cray.

I would totally wear this out to run errands. In fact, I did, out to get groceries, and I almost said “WASSSSUP” to the older woman who straight-up stared at me in the bread aisle as if I were a visitor from another planet.

Some thoughts on the key products

The most complicated thing in this look is the liner, but you can make it as easy or as complicated as you want. If you want to go a simpler route, you can use a couple of bright metallic blue pencils and a black liner on your water line, but I did a combination of eyeliner, cream shadow and powder shadow… Basically, I was in the mood to play. 🙂

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Electric: A metallic teal with silver glitter, available in the permanent line. It’s super bright and intense, but don’t get it anywhere close to your water line because your eyes will tear up if they’re sensitive.

Chanel Stylo Ombre Et Contour in Contour Graphique ($34): I used this dark matte navy as a base for the darker blue parts of the liner. It’s creamy, smudgy and intensely pigmented. It also takes about 5 minutes to fully dry down, so you’ll have lots of time to play with it.

Chanel Splendeur et Audace Quad ($61): I layered the black and blue shades on top of the dark matte navy liner. It’s shiny but less intensely metallic than similar shadows from Urban Decay and MAC… Eh, it’s alright.

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Hanging With “Makeup People,” and Thoughts on Looking Like You’re Trying With Your Makeup Even Though You Really Haven’t Tried at All

November 9th, 2018 by Karen 15 Comments

Last weekend at a children’s birthday party, which was held inside an art studio, I got to make pinch bowls with ceramic clay (I asked El Hub if he wanted to recreate that scene with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore from Ghost but he said no). At the party, I bumped into a fellow makeup person (hey, Shakun!), and as our kids devoured birthday cake and buzzed around the room, naturally, the conversation drifted to the makeup we were wearing, because that’s what you do when you are a “makeup person,” as opposed to a standard “makeup civilian” (yes, I’m officially coining that term right now).

Big surprise! — I was wearing neutrals on my lids and lips, but because it was a party and I felt like I needed to try a little bit, I also drew some shimmery blue winged liner at the last minute using two colors for an ombre effect. I used a light teal in the inner part of the lash line (Urban Decay Deep End) and a darker sapphire for the outer third and wing (LSD, also by UD).

Not one at that party — not even El Hub, who was the person who probably spent the most time looking directly at my eyes that afternoon — noticed that I was wearing two shades of blue liner, except for Shakun.

BAM! Right off the bat, she pointed out the ombre effect and asked what I used. Funny how it’s like that when you’re hanging with a makeup person, right?! They notice the details right away.

I complimented Shakun on her bright red matte lipstick, and she said that she was wearing red lips because she didn’t have a lot of time to get ready, but she still wanted to look like she tried because it was a party. LOL!

That got me thinking bout the things we do as “makeup people” when we want to look like we tried, but we’re still pressed for time.

I definitely have a go-to bag of tricks for these occasions, like colorful liner, of course, which is so easy, and it’s even easier if you leave out the winged part of it. Anything jewel-toned and shimmery, I like, but purples are what I reach for the most. And GLITTER! A glittery liquid liner, or a glittery eyeshadow top coat (Urban Decay Diamond Dog!), always works wonders and doesn’t take a lot of effort. And, of course, a bright hot pink or red lip. All of these things pop with hardly any effort.

False lashes also up the ante, but at this point in my life I reserve them for special events and holidays like Halloween.

Thanks for being a fellow makeup person. 🙂 Because sometimes I really need someone more interactive to talk to about these things than Tabs…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

The Best Glue for False Lashes

November 6th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

urban decay lash glue the best — The best!

It had been a minute since the last time I wore false lashes, but I went there on Halloween. Thankfully, I remembered an absolutely game-changing tip when it comes to falsies. If you’ve every had trouble applying them (and who hasn’t?), what you need to do is hunt down a set of UD Urban Lash False Eyelashes.

They’ll make your life easier.

Doesn’t really matter which style… Seriously, it’s not about the lashes themselves, although they’re pretty good too.

But I’m all about that lash glue. I think it’s the best out there. I stockpile Urban Decay falsies just to get more of the glue!

I think it’s even better than Duo lash glue, which you can find everywhere and almost everyone (except me) seems to like… I think it’s 1) stinky and 2) almost too sticky, and unless I place it perfectly that first time, it’s darned near impossible to lift the lashes off to re-position them.

Urban Decay’s glue, on the other paw, doesn’t stink (YAY!), and it has some “leeway” to it, meaning that I can lift off the lashes and put them back on a few times (which always happens because I never get it perfect on the first try) before committing to the final positioning.

It’s just so easy! Plus, once it’s dry, it doesn’t move at all.

The viscosity of the UD glue is perfect, too. It isn’t too runny or too thick, which are other issues I have with Duo. The consistency of the formula varies wildly, whereas I’m consistently able to apply the exact amount of UD’s glue I need on the lash band.

Oh, and when you open the tube, there’s also the teeny, very skinny applicator, and it’s easy to get just the littlest amount of glue on your false lashes with it, which is crucial because you want to use the least amount of glue you can get away with (bonus: one tube will last a while).

halloween 50s girl — Is it weird that I have a favorite lash glue?

Did I mention the style I’m wearing in this pic? It’s called HBIC.

I mean…by no means is it a natural lash look, but it’s great for ? parties and cutting-loose days.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bada-Bing! The Urban Decay Naked Cherry Collection Is Out Now

October 9th, 2018 by Karen 21 Comments

urban decay naked cherry palette — The new $49 Urban Decay Naked Cherry collection eyeshadow palette

Clearly, UD has a thing for Bing…cherries. Based on the packaging for new Naked Cherry collection, Bing is bomb, and I can appreciate that. I mean, I get it. I see the connection. A deep, dark, purplish Bing makes sense for a makeup collection, but I still like Rainiers more. They’re sweeter, man! And I love that red and yellow ombre action #importantfruitopinions.

(Quick makeup query: Years ago MAC also released a cherry-inspired collection. Can you remember what it was called?)

No reds, but plenty of pink and plum

Surprise! — there’s not a lot of red in UD’s new Naked Cherry collection.

LIKE NONE.

Red eyeshadow is on trend right now, but if you were hoping for seductive scarlets, vampy vermilions and ruby reds in this release, sorry.

The collection, which has been out about a week now, includes an eyeshadow palette ($49), a blush/highlighting trio ($34), two eyeliners ($21), three lipsticks ($34), and a cherry-scented setting spray ($15).

Judging by the name — Naked Cherry — you may have quite naturally expected there to be copious quantities of crimson in this collection, but these pretties are predominantly pink, rose, purple and mauve. Even more shockingly, no orange-y browns in the eye palette!

I know; am I still in the normal reality?? When was the last time UD released a palette without an orange-brown?

Quick take: shockingly wearable

If you’re craving something kind of different that isn’t filled with typical browns, AND you like wearing purples, AND you can see yourself venturing into the Land of Mauve and Rosy Tones, the Naked Cherry palette is worth a look. I like it.

The Naked palettes are Urban’s take on neutrals, and Naked Cherry still seems, well…neutral. I thought I would have a hard time with it because whenever I wear red, or reddish eyeshadows, I look sick and/or tired, but that’s not a problem for this palette, since these shades do not have red undertones. There are just plenty of wearable purples, plums, burgundies, roses and mauves.

Oh, and kisses of copper, beige and peach to break things up a little.

urban decay naked cherry k — Wearing the eye palette, cheek palette and Devilish Lipstick

The palette appears to be similar to Backtalk (which caused a minor uproar among people who were expecting a straight-up red eye palette when it was recently launched), but… Anyway, you could stick the eyeshadows from Naked Cherry into the the Balktalk palette, and they’d appear to fit right in, but they are quite different (see the swatches below). These colors are more than different enough to stand on their own.

urban decay naked cherry collection swatches — From the top: the eyeshadows, the blush and highlighter, lipsticks and the liners

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