Urban Decay Primer Potion
I had honestly never heard of a primer before I started exploring the amazing world of makeup a little deeper in the end of 2008. Primer? Why on earth would one need a primer? A primer is something you use when you're redecorating your home. Somewhere along the path of exploration something convinced me to try out a primer, although I can't really remember what it was. Now I'll gladly admit that I've become an addict.
I'm sure there are lots of different ways to apply the primer, but this is what I do. I use the applicator wand to dab a small stripe of product down the middle of both my eyelids. I then put the primer away, and use a clean finger to blend the primer all over the lid and up to the brow. I'm careful to use just enough to cover the area I want. Less is absolutely more! Remember the product is not supposed to be visible, it's just a base for your eyeshadow. The consistency is creamy, and it's colorless. It's heaven in a little tube!
Unfortunately it's not all good. Even though the tube has a very nice look, it's impossible to get all of the product out of the packaging because of its shape. When you think it's empty there might still be alot of product left inside the tube. Who would want it all to go to waste? Cut the tube open from top to bottom, scrape what's left into another container, and voila! - you still have lots of UDPP to enjoy. Since I really love this product, and it really does what it's supposed to do, I'm not going to let the packaging pull final my verdict down.
Urban Decay Primer Potion comes in three different colors:
Original, Sin and now also Eden.
The Verdict:
If you have oily lids, or if you use glasses, you might have experienced that your eye makeup crease easily, or even tend to slide off your lids after a short while. That's exactly what a primer is meant to prevent, in addition to making the colors more vivid. And that my friend, is exactly what this primer does. UDPP Original leaves a perfect canvas which makes the eyeshadow easier to blend, and stay put all day. It also dries quickly, without leaving any color on the lid. I have seen some people complaining about the wand, but I don't really see the problem as I mainly use a clean finger for blending it out. If you ask me, this is an absolute must-have. If you don't already own one, run out and get it - you won't regret it!
Say goodbye to creasing, because this stuff is the bomb!
I have not accepted any free products or compensation to write this review.
The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely mine.
Photo © Urban Decay
e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow
Sammen med de andre e.l.f.-produktene fikk jeg tilsendt to Mineral Eyeshadow løse øyenskygger i fargene "Wild" og "Glamorous", og en "Eye Shadow Brush". Jeg er ikke helt sikker på hvordan jeg skal beskrive disse to øyenskyggene på en korrekt måte, men begge inneholder det jeg vil karakterisere som glitter. Personlig er jeg ingen stor fan av hverken løse øyenskygger eller glitter, men jeg gledet meg likevel til å teste dem ut. "Wild" er en kjempefin brun skygge som umiddelbart falt i smak hos meg, og her hadde faktisk det gullskimrende glitteret en positiv effekt. "Glamorous" ser ved første øyekast ut som en rosa skygge, men på meg var denne tydelig plommefarget. I denne var det gullskimrende glitteret langt mindre tydelig. Siden jeg også hadde fått med en øyenskyggekost fra den vanlige serien bestemte jeg meg for å bruke denne under påføringen, og dermed slå to fluer i en smekk.
Jeg ble ikke imponert, beklager.
Som tidligere nevnt har jeg hørt mye bra om sminkekostene fra e.l.f., men etter nærmere undersøkelser konkluderer jeg med at dette for det meste handler om kostene fra Studio-serien, for meningene rundt de andre er svært varierende. Utover kvaliteten kan du skille disse på at de ordinære kostene har hvite håndtak, mens Studio-kostene har svarte. Beskrivelsen på eyeslipsface virker vel og bra, men inneholder ikke et ord om hvorvidt kostene er av ekte eller syntetisk hår, og den kosten jeg fikk tilsendt var vanskelig å jobbe med. Den var ikke spesielt fyldig, og overhodet ikke myk mot øyelokket. Nå kan det tenkes at det finnes mer informasjon om hvilken type hår som er brukt i disse kostene et annet sted på websidene, men dersom det ikke er oppgitt i produktbeskrivelsen velger jeg heller å styre unna enn å lete rundt etter infoen.
Konklusjon:
Det første jeg merker meg er hvordan e.l.f. fremhever at produktene deres er uten parabener, men når jeg tar en kikk på innholdsfortegnelsen på produktene fra Mineral-serien oppdager jeg at samtlige inneholder vismutoxiklorid (Bismuth Oxychloride) som utløser allergiske reaksjoner hos veldig mange. For min del påvirker ikke dette den endelige karakteren siden jeg ikke reagerer på vismutoxiklorid selv, men veldig mange vil nok måtte tenke seg om to ganger før de velger produkter fra Mineral-serien nettopp på grunn av dette.
Øyenskyggene var helt OK, og jeg kommer sikkert til å bruke "Wild" flere ganger. "Glamorous" derimot var ikke helt rett farge for meg, det er ikke veldig sjarmerende å sminke på seg noe som minner om en saftig blåveis. Jeg understreker dog at dette har med hudfargen min å gjøre, ikke selve øyenskyggen - den var bare feil i forhold til mine farger. Glitteret i disse er på ingen måte overveldende, og det gjør at de får et ekstra pluss i margen tross glitter. Videre var de enkle å påføre uten noe særlig dryssing, noe som muligens kommer av at jeg brukte UDPP under, men jeg syns de var noe vanskeligere å blande, og å duse ut enn jeg er vant med. Det kan tenkes at det har sammenheng med at jeg ikke er vant til løse skygger, men for meg var det nesten umulig å duse ned overgangene, selv med min høyt elskede M·A·C 224. Ellers kan de brukes både i sin naturlige form, eller våte for sterkere fargeintensitet.
Kosten var dog elendig til påføring av øyenskygge, og kommer ikke til å bli brukt igjen.
Mineral Eye Shadow i mange forskjellige farger kan du kjøpe her, for 32,70 kroner eks. frakt.
e.l.f. Complexion Perfection
Som allerede nevnt tester jeg altså litt forskjellige produkter fra e.l.f., og første produkt er Complexion Perfection. Produktet kommer i en enkel svart boks, og kan minne litt om NARS' produkter ved første øyekast. Boksen er av glatt hardplast, imotsetning til NARS' som er gummiaktige, og har et stort fint speil på innsiden av lokket. Complexion Perfection er et av produktene i den nye Studio-serien.
"Oppnå en balansert og strålende ansiktsfarge som er vakker og sunn. Den lette formelen jevner ut hudtonen og absorberer overskytende olje. Den semi-transparente formelen lysner, matter og nøytraliserer huden."
Kort fortalt, Complexion Perfection skal gjøre nettopp det navnet tilsier, nemlig perfeksjonere hudfargen din. Ta en stor pudderkost, bland fargene i denne paletten og påfør i hele ansiktet. Dette vil lysne og jevne ut hudfargen din, samt nøytralisere rødheter. Vær dog oppmerksom på at dette produktet overhodet ikke har dekkevne, så det egner seg fint til bruk dersom du ønsker å hoppe over foundation en dag, men likevel gjøre noe med huden din. Selv om fargene kan virke skremmende, hvem vil vel ha grønn hud, så ikke vær redd. Dette produktet farger overhodet ikke huden, bare ta deg tid til å jobbe det inn med en god kost.
Konklusjon:
Jeg har brukt en M·A·C 224 til påføring av dette produktet, rett og slett fordi jeg har valgt å konsentrere meg om de partiene i ansiktet hvor jeg sliter med rødhet. Siden jeg er såpass heldig at jeg ikke har mørke partier eller ringer under øynene kan jeg dessverre ikke si noe om hvorvidt Complexion Perfection hjelper mot akkurat det, men det å blande gult og rosa til oransje, alternativt den rosa alene, skal være effektivt for å nøytralisere blått. Uansett, jeg er utrolig fornøyd med hvordan Complexion Perfection virker, for mine røde partier forsvinner som ved et trylleslag direkte etter påføring! Produktet er veldig greit å påføre, lett å jobbe inn i huden og krever nesten ingenting fra min side. Med tilnærmet full score sikrer Complexion Perfection seg en plass i makeupveska mi. Et godt produkt til en billig penge!
Complexion Perfection kan du kjøpe her, for 38,15 kroner eks. frakt.
Photo © eyeslipsface
M·A·C Paint Pot in Soft Ochre
My new found love must be M·A·C Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. I've heard a lot of these Paint Pots from all over, and they are generally loved as an eyeshadow base. The first one I got was Painterly, another infamous Paint Pot, but I didn't fall in love with it, and so it kinda disappeared into a drawer. When Soft Ochre came with the N collection, I didn't even know what M·A·C was yet, but when I discovered that it was a more yellowish natural base available from M·A·C Online, I decided to try it out. Do I regret giving Paint Pots another chance? No, not at all.
Some people say that these Paint Pots can be used as primers, but if you like me have oily lids you will be disappointed. The Paint Pots will not keep the eyeshadow from creasing, unless you use a primer underneath, like Urban Decay Primer Potion, Too Faced Shadow Insurance or even Benefit Lemon Aid. Needless to say, I have always used UDPP ever since I discovered it, and I can wear a look for a whole day without any creasing at all. I don't know if you understand which one I mean, but there's a look called "Sunset Eyes" which always makes me drool. It consists of yellow on the inner half of the lid, light orange on the rest, and deep orange or even pink in the outer corner and crease. To me it's a truly gorgeous look IF you manage to find the correct shades. I'm fairly new to building the color so mine turned out rather pale, but in daylight it still looked nice. I naturally started with UDPP, put Soft Ochre on top as a base, before I moved on to pigments in the colors Golden Lemon, Melon and Rose in that order. I did not foil them, and I was not satisfied with the intensity at all, so I used M·A·C Firespot in the outer corner and crease for a little more color. Soft Ochre made a really good-looking base, and I can truthfully say that I've found "my base" in it.
The Verdict:
The common mistake people do is believing that this is a primer that will prevent creasing. It's not, it's a base. If you're lucky you might be able to use it without a primer underneath, but I can't. Since it's clearly stated that this is a base, I'm not going to let it affect my decision when grading, even though it would have been nice if it acted like a primer as well. Soft Ochre gives my lids a light lemony color, and it works perfect with my skin tone. Since it's slightly sticky it helps keeping both pigments and eyeshadow in general in place, and it didn't feel heavy at all. It kept my look just as nice as when I put it on still after several hours of wear, and it gave my lids a very soft, velvety feel. What can I say? M·A·C Paint Pot in Soft Ochre is absolutely worth the money, and I'm in love.
Get your M·A·C Paint Pot at Glasmagasinet in Oslo for 160,- NOK, or order it online from ACW for $15.99 USD. ![]()
Kiss and Makeup NY
I was so sure that I had written a post about NARS, but since I couldn't find it anywhere I decided to write a new one. Blind? Yes. After writing an almost identical post to this one, I found it. Incredible. Anyway, I wanted to share my little review of Kiss and Makeup NY with you. This purchase was made in May, I had just forgotten all about it. Since this review is mainly about Kiss and Makeup NY I promise to return with another review, and maybe some EOTDs, of my NARS products. I might also include a review on the NARS Holiday Palette as well, since it's another gorgeous product from NARS that's now in my possession.
During one of my daily online escapades I stumbled upon Kiss and Makeup NY, a site offering a small variety of NARS products. The highlighting powder "Albatross" has become a HG product of many a makeup addict, so I kinda had to find out what the fuss was all about. I ended up ordering 3 eyeshadow duos in the colors "Scorched Sun" (glazed apricot and orange with a delicate sheen), "Demon Lover" (iridescent storm blue and deep indigo) and "Kalahari" (gold confection and sugared cocoa), in addition to a single eyeshadow in the color "Night Flight" (black with cobalt blue pearls) from the Nightlife Collection and of course "Albatross". I just adore these colors, especially the gorgeous "Scorched Sun". I don't know why, but whenever I find a bright yellow or orange eyeshadow I just have to have it, and this one's got both.
The Verdict:
Kiss and Makeup NY offers international shipping at a flat rate of $7.95, which to me is pretty incredible! My order was shipped after 4 days, and arrived within only 2 days! I'm giving Kiss and Makeup NY a huge gold star for extraordinary good service and extremely fast shipping. So to all of you out there who's looking to get your hands on some precious NARS, Kiss and Makeup NY is absolutely worth the effort, and I will most certainly order from them again!
* HG = Holy Grail
Photo © NARS Cosmetics

Uncurable shopaholic and makeup addict with an unhealthy love for everything colorful. Medium dark brunette with dark brown eyes. Also known as KinoGodt or Psychedelic Wheels.

