If you're on the Urban Decay mailing list like I am, you probably got an email not too long ago announcing the launch of more than 30 new products for fall. If you're a makeup whore like me with itchy fingers, you probably zoomed over and picked up as much loot as your bank account would permit, amirite? (Of course I am.) I got the new Primer Potions for face and lips, a tube of Jailbait lipstick (not new, but w/e), and the new Ink for Eyes cream eyeliner in Loaded.
Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base (all over); Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream; Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion in Pore Perfecting (just on T-zone)
Face: MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC15; BE Mineral Veil (as finishing powder); MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NW15 (under eyes)
Brows: Bobbi Brown shadow in Mahogany (matte deep brown)
Eyes: Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer; MAC shadow in Creme de Miel (all over lid, and as highlight); MAC shadow in Buckwheat (in crease); UD Ink for Eyes cream liner in Loaded on upper lashline
Lashes: BE Buxom Lash mascara (black)
Cheeks: MAC blush in Peaches
Lips: UD Lip Primer Potion; UD lipstick in Jailbait (peachy-nude)
General thoughts on the new UD collection, or what I've tried so far:
- I really like Ink for Eyes. I've been looking for a nice green eyeliner (not sage/olive green, or teal, or green with glitter... just... green!) for a while, and Loaded should do pretty nicely. It's very pigmented, and very extremely smooth in its application (like Fluidline in that respect - I find that BB gel liners are a bit more difficult to work with sometimes). It stays creamy for longer than either than Fluidline or Bobbi Brown (not sure about Stila, I didn't think to run that particular experiment), so you can smudge and blend it more thoroughly if you wish. It doesn't really *dry* like the aforementioned gel liners, and I'm not quite sure why, but unless you're rubbing at your eyes, it shouldn't be a problem. (I didn't get the dreaded eyeliner-on-the-browbone that sometimes happens with inferior-quality liners, which is normally what befalls me if a liner stays sort of wet.) The applicator brush is of a decent size, and is actually really nice quality - I was able to make a good, medium-thick line across each lid with the angled end; I haven't tried out the spongey blender end, but it's quite small and seems like it would be useful for smudging in a more subtle way. (If such a thing is possible?) The packaging, of course, is absolutely gorgeous, with an elaborate peacock rendered in color on the cardboard box and then again in greyscale on the plastic container. A mirror runs the full length of the lid, but it seems more suited for touchups or on-the-go application. The only complaint (and it's not really a complaint, just a warning of sorts) I have is that in all the promo photography, and even when you open the box, it looks like it should be an emerald or kelly green - but it's not. It's a forest green. Not a really dark one, but still definitely not true bright green. (I'm going to continue in my quest to find a beautiful bright green liner, though - MAC Chromaline in Landscape Green is my next target!)
- Lip Primer Potion tastes like rat poison. Seriously. (Okay, that's not entirely true. It just tastes like rat poison when you put lipstick over it. BUT STILL!) They should have done a little (or a lot?) more R&D on this one, because I don't mind a tasteless primer or a slightly flavored/fragranced one, but I *do* mind tasting a revolting mix of paint thinner and shoe polish every time I lick my lips or take a bite or a sip of something. You can't just make the eye primer into a stick and call it lip primer! Gross taste aside, it's passably decent as a primer - it made my lipstick last for ages, although not through an entire meal and drinks (we had Ethiopian for dinner, yum!) - but make sure to exfoliate your lips first, or it'll be chunky/goopy/generally unpleasant. I'm going to try it out with a few different lipsticks to see if it improves at all (I've only tried it with UD lipsticks in Jailbait and Apocalypse, so far), but if not, I'm probably going to return/exchange.
- I like Jailbait lipstick (I know it's not new, but I just bought it...). The formula is creamy and smooth and fairly sheer, and it smells pretty nice (although you'd never guess if you're wearing it over the UD lip primer!). The primer makes it a bit more matte and intense, but it photographs pretty true. I've had UD lipsticks in Gash and Rush for quite a while (maybe a year? I can't remember when they came out...), and I just picked up Apocalypse the last time I was at Ulta. I'm also intrigued by two of the new shades - Naked and Confession, but I want to try them out in person, because it's quite hard to tell what they'll look like from the swatches.
- I'm still a bit undecided re: Complexion Primer Potion. I put it on over my Bobbi Brown Face Base (more of a moisturizer than a primer), and it didn't give any problems (no grittiness or shedding/peeling, *ahem* Smashbox!). It definitely mattified my skin instantly and made my pores look way smaller, giving a very smooth finish. I didn't have any of the usual troubles when applying foundation over it, either (I used the MAC 190 brush), and I was able to blend pretty vigorously without causing flaking bits of primer... which happens on occasion even with my HG, MAC Oil Control Lotion. But... it doesn't seem to be super oil-controlling in the long-term, as the product description would indicate. I had to powder my T-zone twice in five hours, which honestly isn't *that* much, compared to the oil-spill days of my youth, but is still more often than I would like to have to think about my oiliness levels (once at lunchtime and once before dinner, and that's it!). I'll probably try this out a few more times before I make a final decision.
Apologies for the essay, but thanks for reading! I'll post further and final thoughts on the primers later this week or early next week, if you're interested.
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