Urban Decay - Electric Pressed Pigment Palette

Like your neons? Then you'll want to take a look at this - the new Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment palette.
Ten shades in all, eight of them brand new colours, all of them bright.

The back of the box shows the colours inside & that a double-ended brush is also included.
The actual palette is made of a sturdy plastic, and the lid houses a decent-sized mirror. This is definitely packaging that will stand up to travelling.

Urban Decay - Naked Skin Foundation

It's been a while since I posted anything. I've been trying out Urban Decay's Naked Skin Foundation, and, as usual with foundations, I like to test things out for a while before committing my review.

What initially attracted me to Naked Skin was its promise of giving the effect of healthy, gorgeous skin without feeling heavy. As much as I absolutely adore my Kat Von D foundation, the idea of something that felt barely there was really appealing, what with warmer weather on the horizon.

Shade matching was a relatively painless task - Shade 1.0 is pale with undertones that lean more towards the yellow side. My first instinct was right - 1.0 is a great match for me. 0.5 would have been far too pink, anything that pink doesn't look at all flattering on me.

Look - Chartreuse Fizz

Today's result of boredom turned out to be the look I've named Chartreuse Fizz. Because I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, I did just the one eye, in case it all went horribly wrong. As it turned out, I was rather pleased with the result.

Urban Decay - The Vice Palette

The minute I saw the new Vice palette from Urban Decay, I had to get my hands on it. Twenty shades of shadow & all of them previously unreleased - how could I say no to that?

It's only recently that I've developed a bit of a thing for the Urban Decay palettes, two of my favourites have been the Smoked palette & the 15th Anniversary palette. I think that the Vice palette may well end up becoming a favourite, too.

Urban Decay - Smoked Eyeshadow Palette

The newest addition to Urban Decay's palette line-up is Smoked. What Naked & Naked 2 do for neutral shades, Smoked does for deep jewel tones & smoky eyes.

Included are ten shadows, a full-sized 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte black), a mini tube of Primer Potion & a booklet that gives step-by-step guides to different looks you can achieve using the shades in Smoked.

Urban Decay - Gunmetal Eyeshadow

The third colour I have chosen to put in my create your own palette from Urban Decay is Gunmetal. This particular shade has appeared in the original Naked palette and there's no colour difference between the two versions, although the single pan does seem a tiny bit smoother.

As with Blackout & Mushroom, I have depotted this for my palette, but it can be left in its original packaging.

Urban Decay - Mushroom Eyeshadow

Another of Urban Decay's newly reformulated shades, I chose Mushroom to add to my UD 'build your own' palette.

With the new shadows, you can choose to put them into a palette or keep them in their pans. Depotting is an easy task with these; just press on the underside of the packaging (where the label is), and it will pop right out.

Urban Decay - Blackout Eyeshadow

My ridiculous urge to buy black shadows hasn't subsided, I caved in & bought the single version of Urban Decay's Blackout from their newly-reformulated eyeshadow range. In my defence, it is to go in the UD build your own palette, although quite how much justification that is... either way, I like always having a matte black to hand.

Blackout has previously popped up in a couple of the Urban Decay pre-made palettes; Naked 2 & the 15th Anniversary palette.

Ignore the pink tinge on the shot of the packaging, it seemed I couldn't find a decent angle to get a good shot without it showing up.
This is how Blackout looks in its packaging. You can leave it in there, or pop the pan out to store in the palette.

It's not a massive chore to remove the shadow from the packaging, all you need to do is open the lid & carefully push on the label with the name of your shadow and out it pops.

Urban Decay - Naked 2 Palette

Urban Decay's latest palette offering; the Naked 2 palette follows on from where the original Naked palette left off.
Both boast an array of neutral shades that can take you from daytime to full-on smoky looks with just the one (or two, if you have both) palette.

So, what's the difference and is it worth buying Naked 2 if you've already got Naked? Read on to find out.

Rock 'n' Roll Challenge - Eye of the Storm

The second part of my Rock 'n' Roll challenge & this was also my New Year's Eve look. This particular eye was based upon the Smashed Gladys song, Eye of the Storm.

Look - Poison & Bubblegum

Only managed to get a few shots of this one, I was in a bit of a rush to get out to see The Darkness (who were great).

It looked a lot brighter in reality, the lighting just wasn't cooperating at all.

What I used -

• Sugarpill's Tako - inner corner & browbone
• Urban Decay's Omen (from the 15th anniversary palette) - in the crease & just above
• Sugarpill's Poison Plum - blended into Omen 
• Sugarpill's Bulletproof - in the crease
• Sugarpill's Dollipop - on the lid & under the eye
• Kat Von D's Autograph Liquid Liner in Puro Amor
• Kat Von D lashes from the Tattoo Chronicles volume 1 palette
• Urban Decay's Heavy Metal glitter eyeliner in Catfight - patted over Dollipop under the eye, but it didn't show up very well. I think I need to put more on next time.

Fiery Blackened Gold - Eye of the Day

Last night's look; I wanted to play with my Sugarpill stash & in particular, Goldilux Chromalust. I didn't take any full-face pictures because the flash washed my foundation out so badly that I looked like I'd stumbled off The Walking Dead set.

Urban Decay - 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Perversion

I've been playing around with this for a couple of weeks now. I love liquid liners, especially ones that stay put. As far as the 24/7 Liquid Liner goes, it's comparable to MAC's Superslick Liquid Eye Liner & Illamasqua's Precision Ink. All three are waterproof & when removed, they flake off rather than smearing all over the place (a huge reason why I like these kind of liners). Wear-time is great with these type of liners, they stay put all day until you remove them. I haven't noticed any flaking or peeling with them.

Urban Decay - 15th Anniversary Palette

I'd been eyeing this one online for a while. I'm still not sure what won me over the most - the gorgeous packaging or the colours inside, maybe a combination of both.

All 15 shades are brand new and this palette manages to cover all the bases, pretty much. This one palette contains colours that go from neutral to bright to smoky.

This picture really doesn't do the shadows justice, the bad lighting in my house washed them out quite a bit.

As far as textures go, there's only the one matte shadow here - Blackout (a great, really deep black). Some Urban Decay shadows have a lot of glitter in them & as a result can cause the dreaded glitter-ball effect on your face. There's only one shadow inside the 15th Anniversary palette that does this - Midnight Rodeo.

Black Shimmer Shadows - Blue & Green

The last in the Black Shimmer Shadows series of posts. Blues & greens are the featured shades here.

Dagger - Kat Von D

From the Metal Orchestra palette. In the picture, this looks far more blue than it actually is. The pan is a black base packed with blue shimmers. Best used wet for full shimmer effect. Soft texture that blends well & very pigmented.

Oddfellow - Kat Von D

Another from the Kat Von D palettes, this time it's from the Love & Fury (or Adora) palette.

Oddfellow has larger glitters than Dagger. Both blue & green glitter are packed into the black base, although, on the pictures, it looks predominantly blue. Whilst it's best used wet, it still has a good amount of shimmer used dry over a slightly sticky base.

Lightweight Black - MAC

A limited edition from the Summerwear quad, Lightweight black hasn't got the deepest of black bases. As with other MAC velvets, the shimmers blend right out of this when used dry. Using it wet will give a better result.

Black Shimmer Shadows - Gold & Red

The second in a series of posts on black glittery shadows. This one has blacks with gold & red shimmers.

Smoking - MAC

From the Smoking quad that came out with the Smoke Signals collection. Another velvet finish shadow like Black Tied, this isn't the darkest of black bases. As with Black Tied, to get the shimmers to show, this needs to be used wet. Using it dry & blending gets rid of nearly all of the shimmers.

Tijuana - Kat Von D


Tijuana has been in two of the Kat Von D palettes; Memento Mori & The Tattoo Chronicles palette.
Vivid gold shimmer that will show up if used dry but really pops when used wet. Nice, smooth texture that blends well & a good, solid black base.

Black & Silver Glittery Shadows

Since I did a post on matte black eyeshadows, I though a post on shimmery & glittery blacks would also be a good idea.
Because I'm easily lured in by blacks with shimmer, this is going to require more than one post. For this one, it's concentrating on blacks with silver shimmer.

Cinderfella - MAC

This came out with the Style Black collection a while ago. One of MAC's mineralise shadows.
Nice, dark base absolutely loaded with silver glitter. Goes on smoothly but, because it's a mineralise, there can be a bit of fall-out. Much more dramatic when used wet.

Night Breed - NARS

This is gorgeous. Very deep, black base with vivid silver glitter. This one will show up dry & absolutely pops when used with a damp brush. Great texture that's extremely blendable.
Makes a really pretty liner when used wet.

Back in Matte Black

This is something I've been working up to doing for a while now, a comparison post of matte black eyeshadows.

As it turns out, I had a few more matte blacks than I thought. I wonder if there's a rehab programme for black shadow addicts?

All together, I've included 12 in this post by various brands. Some are solid, matte black whilst others are more of a charcoal.

Sugarpill - Bulletproof


This is one of my favourites. Rich, well-pigmented & great texture. It's a dream to apply & blend. Don't have as much trouble with fall-out when applying as I do with some other matte blacks.
Packaging is gorgeous, cute Sugarpill logo on a clear lid with a black plastic base. It's also sturdy too.
One of my top matte blacks.

Urban Decay - Black Dog


From the Black Palette. You want an extremely pigmented, blendable, blacker-than-black matte? This is the one for you. Upon swatching all of these shadows, I noticed that Black Dog is darker than the others. When it says black, it means business.
The downside? You'll have to buy this as part of the palette.

Eye Primers

UD Primer Potion, Etude Proof 10, NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Kat Von D  High Voltage Eye Primer in Skin, UD Primer Potion in Eden, Kat Von D High Voltage Eye Primer in Smoky & Stellar.

It has been somewhat of a chore, but I've tried a fair few primers now. My main concern is creasing in the inner eye corner. Having oily lids & somewhat hooded eyes has presented a challenge to say the least.

With that in mind, I've decided it's time to compare some of the primers I've tested out. Just ignore the bloody plug lurking in the picture background!

Urban Decay - Naked Palette

Yes, I am a little late in getting this. Still, better late than never.

I'd had my eye on the Naked palette for some time. Santa was kind enough to make sure I got one. I'd read numerous glowing reviews for this and, after a couple of weeks or so of playing with it, I can see why.

It's less of a naked look, there's a fabulous frosty black in there after all, more of a neutral palette. Two shades are matte, and fabulous, blendable, pigmented, soft mattes they are. The rest are shimmery shades. Unlike some of UD's other shadows, none here have the large chunks of glitter that cover your face when applying.

12 shadows all in all, each of a good size, you're definitely getting bang for your buck with this one. The double-ended pencil boasts two shades of 24-7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero (black) & Whiskey (dark brown). Also included, but not inside the actual palette, is a mini Primer Potion.