Urban Decay Smoked VS ELF Smoke Prism Eyeshadow Palettes

Hello again readers!

This is more of a fun post, rather than a full-on review. I was going through my collection and picking out things that have gone bad (which I try to do relatively often) and I took notice on some similar shades in my Urban Decay Smoked palette, and my ELF Smoke Prism Eyeshadow Palettes. I thought that it'd be fun to put them together, and compare the shades.

First off, the packaging for both are great in their own ways, The UD Palette is larger (as it holds more shades!), with a cloth coating and a zipper opening. It's a bit of a hassle to have to unzip it and re-zip it (especially if you *think* that you're finished with your look, only to notice you didn't blend a shadow far enough and it doesn't match up.

The ELF palette is much more sleek, and easier to access. It's smaller, with a matte black plastic packaging. They both have mirrors, but the elf mirror is the entire length of the palette, making it better for the space.

The UD palette has a total of 10 shades, where six of them are shimmery shades, and four of them are matte. The ELF palette has 6 shades, all in a shimmery metallic finish.

The UD palette is better for creating a variety of looks without having to pull in shadows from other palettes. With the addition of the mattes, there are shadows to add definition, transitions, and overall a better look compared to the ELF palette, which I feel needs other shadows pulled in to make the look complete.

The only shadows that I found truly similar were the jewel tones, which are the reasons for this post in the first place. Both palettes have jewel toned violets, blues, and greens

In comparison, the UD shades are more intense, and have a deeper color to them, while the ELF shadows are more muted. It's one of those things that I don't reach for jewel toned shadows often, but if I did I would want them to be incredibly intense.

Both shadows are good quality, easy to blend, and feel really smooth to the touch.

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The UD Smoked palette is unfortunately being phased out. It's a shame, because this is the first mid-ranged palette that i ever wanted to get my hands on, it's the palette that's held my interest for the longest amount of time. It was more expensive (originally $50, down to $30, and you can still find it for $20). Most of the shadows can be bought in singles, which is great if there's only a shade or two that you're interested in.

The ELF palette is a lot more affordable ($10, but if you wait till ELF has a 50% sale you can get it for $5 like I did!) and has a lot more shimmery shades to make really interesting smokey metallic looks.

If you're someone that craves those deep jewel tones, check out the UD singles, they're really interesting and really great pigmentation.

If you're someone who doesn't reach for jewel tones often, or prefer a more muted look, invest in the ELF palette.

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay Single Eyeshadow - Faint, Roach, and Lounge

Hello again readers!

I tried out some Urban Decay eyeshadow singles. I've used shadows included in palettes, and so far I've been really pleased with them. Of course, it's never a guarantee that the quality of shadows in a palette or shadows in singles will be the same. During the Days of Beauty event at Ulta, I picked each of these up for 50% off, so I wanted to really get a feel for a few of the singles. I picked up a matte, a satin, and a duochrome.

Tease:
Matte taupe brown. This is a fantastic crease shade, and so smooth to the touch. Blends out easily and applies well.

Roach:
Burguny-brown satin. I'd almost say metallic, but especially when it's blended into the skin, it loses a lot of it's impact. Looks good as an all-over-the-lid shade, and in the crease.

Lounge:
Brick red with a teal green color shift. I am a sucker for duochromes and I certainly resist my favorite duochrome color scheme. Of course, it's also the most easily found duochrome color scheme. So, this shadow I held to a higher standard. In the swatch, it looks fantastic, after applying to the lid and into the crease, it looses that duochrome finish and just makes the shadow look dull and lifeless – like it has faded after hours of wear. It was disappointing to say the least, as a $20 shadow I wanted to really impress me and knock all the other dupes I have out of the water. Save your money, get a travel size of MAC's blue-brown pigment, and get the same duochrome color scheme but with a better application and overall look.

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I'm happy with Tease and Roach, but I returned Lounge. I have a couple other Urban Decay single shades that I've been looking at, but aside from those, I don't think I'll be expanding my collection much more than that. The formula is okay, but I'm never overly impressed with these.

Thanks for reading!

Ulta Birthday Gift (April, May, June)

Hello again readers!

Ulta did something strange this year for their birthday gifts (or exciting, depending on how you look at it!). Instead of having one product given out all year, they're changing it up. The first quarter of the year, people received this Ulta palette.

If you had your birthday in the second quarter (April, May, or June), you received the Deluxe Size Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Voodoo.

It comes in card stock, with details on the liner shades that Urban Decay has in their line.

The pencil is a violet metallic, with orange and violet glitter. I have never been too fond of these pencils, because although they last for a decent amount of time on the lid, they don't last very long on my water line. Even so, I'm happy to have received this for my birthday gift, as I didn't want the palette, and I didn't want what's available for the third quarter gift (A Deluxe Urban Decay Perversion Mascara!) either.

If you got this, did you like it?

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I couldn't find this pencil for individual sale, but it's included in the After Dark Travel Pencil Set, available at Sephora, Ulta, and the Urban Decay site.

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay Naked Basics 1 Palette

Hello again readers!

Never went through my drafts, and found this gem! I'm working on organizing some more Indie posts, as well as some recent hauls, so keep your eyes peeled!

The Naked Basics palette has been out for what seems like ages and ages now. I picked this up over a year ago, and I guess now is a better time as any to talk about it.

To start off, the palette retails for $27. The palette itself is really amazing. It has that soft plastic coating on it, that feels smooth and soft to the touch. Sort of a bit like a rubberized plastic. I feel that it makes it a little luxurious, but I can also see it collecting such things such as powder or dust. I haven't had this happen to mine, because I keep mine in the same spot all of the time and reach for it regularly, but the threat is there.

Each of the Naked Basics palettes contains 6 matte eyeshadows. I kept thinking I was going to go around and get the Naked Basics 2, but to be honest, I prefer warmer tones for my eyes, because they make the blue in them pop!

Then again, I might be picking it up anyway in the future for another reason entirely...

Venus:
The only non-matte shade in the palette. A frosty white, that I barely reach for to be honest. I'd prefer it if it was a matte white instead. I don't use it for under my brow bone, and I barely use any for my inner corner, and often I just skip that step entirely. When i use up most of the other shadows, I know this one will be thrown away with it.

Foxy:
A soft off-white yellow cream shade. I don't find myself reaching for this very often, and even though it's warm, I don't really enjoy it. I almost never use this on my eyes.

W.O.S.:
A matte nude shadow. This one is one of my favorites, and looks fantastic as my wash of color for all over my lid. I also love it for brightening up under the brow bone, and I can get a really great look that makes me appear to be awake with ease.

Naked2:
My favorite shade and the only reason I will be sad when this palette is gone. It is the most perfect transition/crease shade, and I cant' get enough of it. It's a mid-tone neutral brown that just fits so easily in my routine. I use it on my lazy days paired with W.O.S. to just darken up the crease area and go on my merry way. The downside to this, is that this shadow has the most fallout out of the entire palette, which breaks my heart because it's the one I use the most.

Faint:
A warm brown. I use this to darken up my crease, and add a more defined look. It applies well, blends well, and I really enjoy it. It's not the most unique shadow out there, but it's a really great formula.

Crave:
Now at first glance this appears black, but I can assure you it's not. It's a blackened brown, that i only use for the outter v of my eyes to really add impact to my look. This is the patchiest color out of the entire palette, and one of the hardest to work with. To get an opaque look, I have to continuously layer it over and over until it builds up enough coverage. Just a little annoying, but for the outter-v I don't need it to be fully opaque.

This is the palette that I would highly suggest really looking at, and maybe swatching on yourself before buying. I love 2/3 of the palette, but the other 1/3 is practically unusable.

I only find myself using four of these shadows; W.O.S., Naked2, Faint, and Crave. I can get a put-together look using just those shades, and I neglect Foxy and Venus almost entirely, with a couple of uses early on in the life of this palette.

If you're in the market for a collection of matte shadows to add to your collection, or if you're interested in having them easily accessible for traveling, then this is a perfect palette for that. Easy to use, great pigmentation, and great to have on hand.

However, if it's not the case, whether you're not fond of mattes, you have too many in your collection, or you don't find yourself travelling, it might be a good idea to skip over it.

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

Hello again readers!

I have been lusting after this palette for years, and never was able to commit to buying it. I'd see it, and I'd want it, but spending that chunk of cash just wasn't something I could afford to drop on one product until recently.

The packaging on the box is very smooth. Just to the touch, the packaging itself feels luxurious, like the Too Faced Packaging.

The palette itself is a little strange. It has a fabric covered cardboard casing, which collects SO much dirt/product onto the surface. The picture above is before I even got to use the shadows, and you can see how dirty it looks already. It's also pretty bulky, and zips shut, which I haven't seen in another palette that I can remember. It's strange, but it's memorable.

I wish it didn't have this kind of packaging, since it's time consuming to get into it, and it gets dirty so quickly. The only upside I can see to having a zipper, is that it won't burst open if you travel with it. Otherwise, if you just keep it in your collection or in your makeup area, it seems useless.

The palette inside, has a mirror, ten eyeshadows, and a full-sized eyeliner. 

In the box, it supplies you with a really adorable mini (top) Urban Decay Primer Potion. I have it next to my travel-sized  UDPP, and you can see that the primer that comes in the palette is still smaller. Though it's small, the primer will last a long time, especially if you change our your primers like I do.

There is also a booklet inside that gives detailed instructions for creating some looks, but I don't keep that on hand since I'd rather go with trial and error to see what works for me.

This was my first Urban Decay eyeliner pencil that I own, and I was happy that it was in black. I use black liners over any other shade, and if it turned out to be brown I wouldn't get any use out of it.

The eyeliner is incredibly creamy and smooth. This was one swipe over my arm, and I didn't have to press down to get pigmentation, similar to my Milani and Jordana gel eyeliner pencils. 

Since it's so creamy, it's easily blendable, and easy to smoke out, making it a great addition to the palette.

However, it just doesn't work out for me. I haven't found an eyeliner that i can wear comfortably in my waterline yet without major smudging, and even with setting this eyeliner with a powder, I still get smudging and mega wear through the day. It just doesn't hold up for me. 

The shadows however, being the reason that I wanted this palette in the first place, do not disappoint. In the palette, they give you four mattes, and six shimmers that can be used to make a multitude of eyeshadow looks, from casual everyday to club-worthy.

Each of the shadows are buttery smooth, with great pigmentation. Aside from the black and brown, they all go on on incredibly easy and build up to full opacity.

Kinky: 

Matte Cream

Freestyle: 

Matte peach/tan. I use this as my blending shade.

Mushroom: 

Taupe Shimmer. Favorite shade out of the palette, but that's not so surprising.

Backdoor: 

Matte Brown.

Blackout: 

Matte Black. Pretty pigmented for a black, and it can also go on pretty sheer if you tap it into the product. Not the best black I've ever used, but one that I will use up.

 Barlust: 

An almost coppery, brown shimmer. Beautiful color, and I didn't expect to like it as much as I do.

 Rockstar:  

Plum shimmer.

Evidence: 

Blackened cobalt shimmer.

Loaded:

 Blackened emerald shimmer. One of my other favorites. It goes on so effortlessly and smooth. I love it!

Asphault: 

A silver grey shimmer. Perfect for all over the lid with some smoked out eyeliner.

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All of these colors were perfect choices for a palette like this. An easy smokey eye, no matter if you want to go more natural, or really out there.

I was incredibly impressed with the wear, the pigmentation, and the feel of these shadows. They didn't disappoint, and this palette was well worth the 29 dollars.

I think that this *might* be discontinued, since I can no longer find it on the Urban Decay site. If you don't want to miss out like I might have if I didn't jump on it, go out and see if you can find it in store! I got mine from Ulta, so try there. Free shipping, and free samples if you order it that way!

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay Primer Potion Review

Hello again readers!

I just a super quick review for you. I know I already posted a comparison post including this, but I wanted to put it on my blog anyway.

Urban Decay Primer Potion - Original 

This is the original, and though they changed the packaging, they kept the look. Bright light violet with a silver cap. Instead of a doe-foot applicator, it's a squeeze-able tube. I like it because you can get control over how much product is distributed. Eye catching, and definitely looks magical, but does it perform magically?

The product comes out in a flesh tone, so it neutralizes the eye area. That gives an extra boost the color of any eyeshadows that you apply to the lid, because it has an opaque base. It also preps the eye with a little color covering up any redness, veins, and prevents creasing.

I always love using this Dark Green eyeshadow from Forever 21, because by  itself it isn't pigmented at all, and it gives me a good idea of how primers can perform.

I'm happy to say that this primer performed very well. I get good eyeshadow pigmentation when I go to apply the product to the lid. It also keeps my look fresh for over 8 hours, which is great for when I'm at school or work. 

I do still get some smudging if I tough my eye area, and it does fade slightly through the day, but with the results I get from this product, I can definitely understand why it has such a cult following.

Another issue I have with this, is that I get some... odd distributions from the tube. Most of the time it's rather thick, almost fluffy whipped feeling and it blends on the lid easily, but sometimes it comes out a greasy mess... I'm not sure, maybe I just need to give it a nice shake here and there, but it was a bit shocking to see.

For $20 a piece, it seems hefty, but the large tube will last you forever. You can also get travel sizes, packs of two, or you can wait for Ulta to put it on sale again for $10 a piece. If you want to splurge on an eyeshadow primer, this is a great one for your money, and I can see myself buying this one again in the future.

Thanks for buying!

Battle of the Eyeshadow Primers

Hello again readers!

I love being able to try new makeup products, nothing beats being able to test out a new product to see if you'll fall in love with it, or if you'll hate it. I've tested my fair share of eye primers, and after using a primer for the first time, I can never go back! Of course, not all of them are created equal, so I compared the ones I have to see which ones are really worth your money, and which ones are better worth a trip to the bin.

For the shadow, I used the dark green eyeshadow from Forever 21. I love the shade, but without a primer it just will never reach it's true potential. I applied it with my ELF Essential Eyeliner Brush, and left it on my arm for 8 hours.

The competitors:

ELF Eyelid Primer – Original

ELF Eyelid  Primer – Pearl

Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Primer – Original

Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Primer – Shimmer

Milani Eyeshadow Primer

Hard Candy Eyeshadow Primer

NYX HD Eyeshadow Base

Urban Decay Primer Potion – Original

Too Faced Shadow Insurance – Original

I put them in order with the (C)ontrol being the shadow by itself.

Obviously right out of the gate, they all look very brilliant, aside from E1, and F1, that look duller than the rest, and C which was almost completely rubbed off.

The next is after 8 hours of wear:

Clearly there is a lot of fading present in all of the swatches, which isn't surprising at all.

I have separated them into three categories: Low, Medium, and High Performance Categories.

Low  Perfomance:

Elf Eyelid Primer – Original

Elf Eyelid Primer – Pearl

Both of these primers are better than no primer at all, but only by a little. E2 started out looking brighter, but ended up fading the most. Out of the two, I will stick with E1 for swatches.

Medium Performance:

Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Primer – Shimmer

Milani Eyeshadow Primer 

These both had better wear, but not as great as the higher performance products. They faded, but still retained color and shimmer well. I was surprised with Milani as I've heard many times that it's a dupe for the Urban Decay Primer Potion, but clearly that is not true.

High Performance:

Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Primer – Original

Hard Candy Eyeshadow Primer 

NYX HD Eyeshadow Base 

Urban Decay Primer Potion – Original

Too Faced Shadow Insurance – Original

I was really impressed with how many did well. I found that the higher end products did hold up (as they should, since they are so expensive), and I was really impressed that the Fergie primer did as well as it did, since it's so cheap. They held color and shimmer for 8 hours.

I hope that this helped some of you make decisions on some of the products you're interested in.

Thanks for reading!