Entries for Thursday December 08
Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-on Pencil Travel Set - Electric
- Manufacturer: Urban Decay
- Availability: webstore and channel partners; beginning November 2011
- Contains: five mini (.02 oz) waterproof eyeliner pencils
- Cost/Amount: USD$32
- Would you purchase again: yes
Last year when I picked up the 24/7 Jackpot collection and compared them to Sephora’s Flashy Waterproof Liners, I determined that - as far as I’m concerned - Sephora’s Flashy Waterproof Liner pencils are a better value, and so I just won’t pay attention to Urban Decay’s liner pencils. At $24 per pencil versus $8, for comparable performance and a similar amount of product, the comparison gets pretty easy. Except…in the past year, Sephora’s started slimming down its Flashy collection, pulling some of the brighter colors and subbing in shades like Plum Taupe and Moss. While I genuinely like those shades, bright and colorful is also good. So when in Ulta looking at their items on sale and using a coupon, I picked up this set of brightly-colored eyeliners - because as long as I’ve been buying them, the Sephora kit has never had a hot pink shade like Woodstock.
Meow Cosmetics’ VIP Blush collection
- Vendor: Meow Cosmetics
- Availability: part of the regular line; available through the company's webstore
- Contains: 10 blushes
- Cost/Amount: USD$15.25 for 4 grams; $8.25 for 2 grams; $1 for a sample baggie
- Would you purchase again: yes
The VIP stands for “Very Intensely Pigmented”. They can sweep on sheer, or build for a more pronounced effect. (So even though a part of me yearns to try Bombshell and Dame…I’m holding firm. Maybe they’d work as lip shades? Hey, now there’s a thought…) Most of these have a bit of shimmer to them - not a lot of shimmer, but if you want something totally matte, look at Meow’s Masterpiece or Lush Blush collections.
Beauty Blog Advent Calendar 2011: Day Eight
I tend to be a cautious MMU buyer. I don’t necessarily go scouting Etsy or Artfire or where-have-you for the latest indie companies to try out. I tend to try a few here and there, based on what I see on a few beauty blogs whose opinions I generally trust. (For example: I haven’t tried one particular vendor because while they seem to have good buzz around the beauty blogosphere - including recommends from a handful of bloggers whose opinions I trust pretty highly - they don’t really have many colors that I personally am interested in.)
Still…I do try new vendors. Some I only buy from the once, others I keep returning to their shop. Sometimes a vendor has offers so compelling, that I go just a wee tiny bit nutso. Such is the case with My Pretty Zombie. I had kind of been aware of this company for a while, but hadn’t really seen any swatch photos that made me start drooling, so I didn’t wander over to the shop. And then…Toxid Lotus posted about the new Drugs Like Me blushes, and posted some swatch photos of MDMA, a gorgeous duochrome blush that looks excellent with my coloring. So wait: coral-pink? with gold duochrome? Oh, yeah, sign me up!!! (LSD and THC are also duochromes, albeit not as dramaticly so as MDMA.)
A good portion of the products are duochrome. Most of the eyeshadows are pretty saturated colors, though there are a few neutrals and softer shades. There are a few sets available as well, including Geekily Ever After, a collaboration with the owner of Geek Chic cosmetics. And hey, Toxid-lotus is hosting a sweepstakes for a set of all five MPZ blushes! The winner will be chosen on December 21, 2011. Head over, see the swatches, and enter to win!
Zoya’s Gems and Jewels collection
- Manufacturer: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: beginning September 2011 from the webstore and salon retailers
- Contains: 6 nail colors
- Cost/Amount: USD$48.00
- Would you purchase again: not the whole kit; but individual colors, yes
Three full-coverage jeweltone metallics, and three bar-glitter polishes in corresponding colors. I am barely a fan of microglitter polishes, so that let three of these shades slide right off my “ever think about acquiring” list. The metallic shades looked good, though - and once I saw color plates of the whole collection, I got Holly and Noel during flash promos. (I’m still debating about getting Izzy…but thanks to Zoya’s “we don’t do LEs” policy, the shade will be around for quite some time. I’m in no rush.) The bar glitter polishes have good coverage, but you may find that without an opaque polish beneath them, you might get some gaps in coverage unless you apply this polish fairly thick (and / or use multiple coats.)