The Urban Decay Vice 4 palette is currently marked down to US$39 from US$60 at several US retailers including Sephora and Ulta, so I finally picked it up. With the Ulta 20% off prestige brands coupon for Platinum members, this ended up costing just $31! Perhaps Urban Decay over-estimated the demand for this palette, and hence the deep discount just a couple of days before Christmas.
The Vice series is one of my all-time favourites for their vibrant shade combinations with Vice 4 being possibly the most gorgeously constructed with its multi-hued metal packaging. However, given the plethora of reviews that warned of glitter fallout, it did not seem to justify the original price tag of $60. Moreover, I was less than impressed with the last Vice Limited palette. But for half the original price, it's just too good of a steal to pass up with its veritable smorgasbord of 20 shades.
At Ulta, I also picked up the Becca Radiant Glow Collection which comes with a full size Raspberry/Opal Lip Shimmer Souffle, plus deluxe sample sizes of their popular Moonstone Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed, Opal Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight in Opal and Under Eye Brightening Corrector. With the 20% discount, this was just $25.60, a pretty good bargain considering that the Lip Shimmer Souffle usually retails for $25 by itself.
The Stila Shimmer & Shine Deluxe Beauty Set ($20 with a $45 value) is another attractive set of minis of their Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eye Shadow in Pixie Dust, Huge Extreme Lash Mascara and Lipglaze in Kaleidoscope. I also purchased the Got Inked Cushion Eyeliner in Smoky Quartz Ink and Rimmel The Only One Lipstick in Peachy Beachy ($6.99). Although I've been an Ulta Platinum member for over half a year, I've never received any of their 20% off prestige brand coupons (which are sent out randomly and never to all Platinum members) until this holiday season when they sent me two mail coupons and one email coupon code. I'll probably use the final remaining code to order the new Stila Aqua Glow Serum Foundation.
CVS was running a buy 1, get 1 75% promotion off all Physicians Formula products so I snagged the new Mineral Wear Cushion Foundation SPF50 in Light ($16) and Disco Glam Extreme Shimmer Strips ($12). The PF foundation was supposed to have a $4 instant rebate coupon on the box but this was missing. Fortunately, the cashier was nice enough to enter a store coupon so I received the discount. Elsewhere, these have been sighted with $9 rebate coupons.
Curiously, it is not stated anywhere on the packaging where this is made. The usual suspect would be Korea, given that this has the standard SPF50 seen in many Korean cushion foundations. The cushion plastic insert cannot be removed.
This haul helped to kick me out of my recent funk in which I've just been too lazy and exhausted to slap on anything aside from a cushion foundation, brow liner and mascara. I'm 22 weeks along now with the twins and already can't see below my massive bump. The twins are also kicking away merrily every day. At least I'm almost two-thirds of the way through. Just hoping I can hold them in till 37 weeks and avoid any time in the NICU.
Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!
Released in autumn 2014, the Anna Sui Loose Powder Foundation (US$48 for 10g) looked intriguing thanks to its unique packaging. I purchased this from B-Glowing.com recently, taking advantage of a 15% off code. Of the five shades available, I picked 101 Light Beige as I recalled that the lightest shade (100 White Beige) was too pale when I swatched it in Singapore earlier this year.
As it turns out, the packaging isn't the most idiot-proof or user-friendly. The ornate cap with the rose design pulls off easily but after unscrewing the middle cap with the attached brush, you will find a plastic sifter cap sitting on top of another plastic cap/flat cover.
The sifter cap is supposed to be placed on top of the loose powder after removing the flat cover. When I dropped it on top of the powder, the powder bloomed out of the pot and flew everywhere - my desk, keyboard, the pot itself. The instructions advise removing the sifter cap and replacing it on top of the flat cover if you want to bring the foundation on the go with you. However, fishing out the sifter cap will probably be another messy affair so this is staying put at home.
The synthetic brush feels nicely non-scratchy but it always picks up too much powder so you have to tap the brush against the rim of the pot to remove the excess. Some may prefer to use their own longer handled brushes for a better grip. Aside from these minor handling issues, the foundation is very easy to apply. Simply buff it on in a circular motion. It gives a nice matte finish and fairly light coverage. This does not perform that well in terms of minimising the appearance of pores and uneven skin texture. It can look a bit powdery if over applied or show up flaky skin if one's skin is not well-hydrated.
The lasting power isn't fantastic, but I wasn't expecting it to be given the loose powder format. However, it does lend itself better to mid-day touchups than liquid foundations. Oil breakthrough occurred after about two hours. The foundation also bears Anna Sui's signature rose scent, which I don't mind as it was not that noticeable upon application. For better coverage, I've been applying this over primers or CC bases such as Etude House Magic Any Cushion in Magic Lavender and Ettusais Premium CC Amino Cream.
The pics above were taken indoors without flash on a cloudy day by the window while the pic below was taken with flash.
Below is the list of ingredients.
Other products used for this look include Urban Decay Vice Limited palette, Lunasol W Lighting Mascara EX01 and Ettusais Premium CC Amino Cream and Creamy Lip Crayon PK2.
So far, my experience with the Vice Limited palette has been disappointing as the blue, purple and green shades (Goddess, Freakshow and Floss) all fade to a murky grey on me and there was a severe gold glitter bomb fallout with Disco that I had to remove with washi tape. I'm still experimenting with different eyeshadow primers as Urban Decay's Anti-Aging primer and Wet'n'Wild Fergie Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer have all proven inadequate. The Ettusais Premium CC Amino Cream leaves a slightly whitish, pale pink cast on my skin, so I can't wear it alone as the shade difference between my face and neck is too stark. Once corrected with a foundation on top, the difference becomes more subtle. Anyway, it's not like anyone will notice or care as I spend my days here with mostly my husband (who won't notice anything short of a black eye) and my toddler.
The lighter, more angelic counterpart to the Urban Decay Theodora palette is the Glinda palette. I love the cover design which is very different from Urban Decay's previous palettes.
Glinda is the character played in Oz The Great & Powerful by Michelle Williams.
The Super-saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Glinda is a much more subdued neutral rosy beige compared to the fiery red of Theodora. Also included is a 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Rockstar, which is not a new shade sadly.
The eight eyeshadows feature a good mix of metallic, satin and semi-matte textures, and even a duochrome. Below is Oz.
Aura is composed of a duochrome bluish white that has a lovely glowy finish paired with a pearlish pale beige.
Magic is a satin cotton candy pink, not really my type of color as it's just so generic and little girlish.
Illusion is a shimmery peach beige.
Tornado is a metallic dark eggplant, which applied more sheer than I expected.
South is a rich metallic antique silvery taupe, the kind that reminds one of Lancome's famous Erika F. It was the combination of South, Oz, Aura and Tornado that convinced me to purchase this, although Tornado turned out to be less than impressive.
Included is a tutorial on how to achieve the look.
Using Too Faced Shadow Insurance as the base, I applied Tornado along the upper lashline to the crease, South along the lower lashline, the bluish white half of Aura over the browbone area, the silver half of Oz at the inner corners and along the lower lashline (over South), Magic above the crease and Illusion in the crease.
There was just a tiny bit of fallout during the application process with Tornado. The eyeshadows all lasted very well over nine hours of wear without any creasing. Overall, I think the shades in Glinda complement one another superbly, and allow you to create a variety of wearable looks thanks to the interesting mix of shades and different textures. If you prefer neutrals, Theodora is probably a better pick for you.
Do you need both? Probably not, but it's hard to just pick one!
Last weekend, I found the Urban Decay Oz The Great and Powerful palettes in stock at Sephora in France. These were retailing at €43 each, versus US$49 in the US and £35 in the UK. As I had 10% discount voucher, it worked out to be about S$64. They are not available in Singapore yet.
This is the Theodora palette, a character played by Mila Kunis in the upcoming Oz movie.
The sleek metal case is nicely slim, compact and easily portable, unlike the earlier Box of Shadows in their various incarnations. The movie name is in raised embossed lettering on the lid.
The lid flips out to almost 180 degrees and has a generously sized mirror under it.
Nestled inside are six eyeshadow pans, featuring eight brand new shades. It's always a plus when a brand comes up with new shades instead of recycling the same old bestsellers. I wish Urban Decay had included a new shade of the 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil, instead of Zero which has been in many previous sets. I think this is the third or fourth Zero that I own, and I'm not a fan of it.
The eyeshadow pans can be easily lifted out of the case. These are made in the USA while the eye pencil is made in Germany.
The palette leans heavily towards neutrals, with three matte/satin hues in the top row that are good for shading and as the base shade. The bottom row is more interesting with a rich shimmery deep brown, a metallic black and dirty gold, and a green duo.
Spell
West
Broken
Jealous
The palette also comes with a Super-saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Theodora, a bright shiny cherry red, that is made in Germany. This is intensely pigmented so I applied a coat to my lower lip and then pressed my lips together to transfer the color to the upper lip for a more muted, smudged effect.
I love the striking red shade which lasted well over four hours of wear and has no distracting gritty shimmer or glitter particles. However, after a couple of hours, my lips started to feel dry. After removing it, my lips were parched and in sore need of lip balm.
Using Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I applied West along the upper lashline, Bewitch in the crease, the lighter half of Jealous at the inner corners and in the crease, the gold half of Spell along the lower lashline and in the middle of the upper lid, and Broken over the browbone area.
Aside from being easy to blend, the shades lasted well through nine hours of wear without creasing or fading. The lighter green shade in Jealous gives a lovely glowy effect. I was expecting some fallout from Spell but didn't notice any. There was some fallout from West though, but this was easily cleaned up.
Urban Decay has a gifted knack for producing eyeshadow palettes that pack in great value along with reliable quality. Despite the fact that I already have an arsenal of their palettes, I still could not resist purchasing Theodora, partly because the red lip pencil looked so enticing. The Super-saturated lip pencils usually retail for €18, while the eyeshadows are €17, the case is €17 and the full size eye pencil is €16. So the value of Theodora works out to be around €145 for a highly wearable set of colors. For more reviews of Theodora, do check out Xsparkage and Phyrra (also here).
Other products used: Coffret D'Or Silky Fit Liquid Foundation OC-B, Lunasol Under Eyes Base 01, Paul & Joe Highlighting Powder 002 and Cheek Color 08 Candy, Canmake Nobimori Mascara and Lower Lash Mascara, Addiction Eyeliner Pencil Sleepless NightsK-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow
Here's another purchase from this season's holiday collections. Chantecaille's Lip Chic line has a wonderfully elegant formula that glides onto the lips. I purchased Nocturne (US$35) from BeautyHabit.com after reading about it on Best Things in Beauty.
It looks quite red in the tube but on the lips, it's a very pretty rosy pink, perfect for virtually any occasion.
There's a slight shine to it, and no frosty shimmer or glitter particles. Made in Italy, it wears very comfortably on the lips, although it doesn't quite have the melting quality of Esprique Mellow Forming Rouge.
For this look, I used Shu Uemura Prestigious Bordeaux from the Karl Lagerfeld collection with the dark purple applied from the upper lashline to the crease, the light purple over the browbone area, the brown shade in the crease and the orangey-gold shade along the lower lashline and over the middle of the upper lid.
The deep purple shade has a very lovely violet shimmer in the pan but it looks much more muted and murky on my lids such that the brown and bronze tones tend to dominate instead. Nevertheless, I still like this palette and have been reaching for it frequently. See more looks on Drivel about Frivol.
Other products used for this look: Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation 3.0, Lavshuca Fairy Candy Cheeks OR1, Becca The Ultimate Mascara, RMK Super Basic Liquid Concealer EX01, Too Faced Shadow Insurance and K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow 02.
The Lavshuca Fairy Candy Cheeks OR1 give just a subtle hint of peachy color with a glowy finish, not really discernible in the photos but it's there. It's a pity that this is limited edition.
The Naked Skin foundation is a sample that I picked up a couple of months ago in London.
It has a very light texture that is easy to blend. The coverage is light to medium and it doesn't completely conceal the redness in my cheeks and around the nose, although it does help to even out the skintone somewhat. While the shade 3.0 is a good match, I won't purchase this as Coffret D'Or Silky Fit Liquid Foundation suits my needs better.
