Review: Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original)

UrbanDecay.com: $20 (full sized, 11 oz), $9 (travel sized, 0.13 oz)

http://www.urbandecay.com/eyeshadow-primer-potion/296,default,pd.html?start=1&cgid=1_503

Contains parabens.

courtesy of Urban Decay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Urban Decay Primer Potion is advertised as an eyeshadow primer that prevents creasing in eye makeup for up to 24 hours and makes colors more vibrant. It comes in the Original formula (which I will be reviewing), which dries to be invisible, as well as Greed, Sin, and Eden which are all tinted.

Ingredients:

Isododecane, Talc, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trihydroxystearin, Triethylhexanoin, Isopropyl Lanolate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Dimethicone, PEG-40 Stearate, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Cera Alba (Synthetic Beeswax), Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Methicone, Isobutylparaben

May Contain:

Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride)

I’m sure nearly everyone in the beauty community has heard of the Urban Decay Primer Potion. And everyone seems to love it. Which was why I was very disappointed when it didn’t work for me.

I have quite oily eyelids, and UDPP didn’t really stand a chance. Maybe it extended the wear of my shadows a bit, but they certainly never lasted a full 8-hour day. And this is coming from a product that claims to last 24 hours. I don’t really expect any product to do that, but for that claim, not lasting 8 hours just doesn’t cut it. In addition, I find that the product doesn’t deliver in terms of vibrancy claims either; my shadows don’t look any different applied with or without primer. I must say though, the primer does have a really nice consistency and makes the texture of my eyelid more even.

I have the travel-sized version (which has lasted me about a year, with pretty consistent use at certain times), and I really like the packaging of it. It looks really cool for starters, and I think the bent doe-foot applicator is a very good way to apply the product. I hate the new packaging of the full-sized product; I always squeeze out too much. For the clear version it’s not that much of an issue, but for the versions with shimmer squeezing out too much is guaranteed to make a huge, shimmery mess, which is a pain in the ass.

The Verdict:

While this product may work for people with less oily eyelids, it just does not work for me. The product fell way short of its claims; it claimed to make eyeshadow last 24 hours and then didn’t even last 8. This is very disappointing coming from such a hyped-up product.

Rating: D-

Review: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils (Yogurt, Cottage Cheese)

Ulta: $4.49

Douglas: €4.95

http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/products/eyes/eye-shadow/jumbo-eye-pencil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is probably one of the most confusing products I have ever tried. Confusing for several reasons, but the main reason, the ‘parent’ reason, if you will, is the fact that people continually rave about, recommend, and repurchase these things.

One major point that people that people always talk about when they review these guys is the pigmentation. That, I will allow for. The pigmentation is pretty good. And yes, they do make shadows way more vibrant. Ok, on that point I agree with everyone else.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils Swatches
Left: Cottage Cheese
Right: Yogurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From left to right: Urban Decay Sidecar over Cottage Cheese, Sidecar over UD Primer Potion, Sidecar on its own

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But in every other respect? They suck.

People do normally talk about the creasing in their reviews, and I agree. My eyelids are pretty oily, and this creased like crazy without primer almost immediately. With primer, it lasted a tad bit longer, but nowhere near what it should. Setting it with a powder also helps, but it doesn’t completely solve the problem

Surprisingly enough, what I haven’t heard squat about (although maybe I didn’t look hard enough), is how unbelievably crappy the packaging is. The lids crack really easily, and so either continuously slip off or get jammed too far down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s bad, but honestly if this happened with another product that I liked it I could definitely deal with it. The cap never smushes the product, at least. But no, I have far worse gripes with the packaging. So when I got the product and was checking it out for the first time, I was pretty disappointed when I couldn’t find a way to twist the product up and down. It looked like what you could see through the lid was pretty much all the product you were going to get. OK, I know $4 isn’t going to break the bank, but for that much product? So not worth it. I’m not great with measurements, but I was pretty sure that what I was seeing was not 5 grams. I got curious and wanted to see how much product was actually in the stick. What did I do? I cracked that sucker open. By the way, I wouldn’t really recommend trying it, it makes a huge mess. And ladies and gentlemen, when I say huge, I mean huge. To my amazement, the product ran a fair ways down, about the where the color name was! All that product, and as far as I could tell, no way to access the product. Excluding breaking the packaging, or depotting it, of course. There was no way to twist it up, and the packaging is plastic so sharpening it down like a traditional wooden eyeliner pencil is out. I don’t know about you, but I for one do not call that good packaging. No one else seemed to be complaining about this though, so there may be some secret way that I don’t know about. If you know, please comment below. It bamboozles me. But even if there is a way, if I haven’t found it within like 5 minutes of looking at the product, it is too obscure and therefore doesn’t work.

Conclusion:

This product does make colors pop, but honestly if you need to depot it before you can actually use it (taking away the whole jumbo stick advantages) and even then it creases despite your best efforts, it is NOT a product that I would consider worth purchasing, even if it is under $5. When you consider how many cream eyeshadows there are, and even how many fatter stick cream eyeshadows there are, I really don’t think there is a justification for getting this product.

Rating: C-

 

 

Lilla’s Box of Treasures (LBT): May 2012

As the month of May draws to a close I would like to draw your attention to a couple of products that I have really reached for this month.

MAC Eyeshadow in Quarry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have really been neglecting my eye makeup recently (the result of warmer weather, extreme laziness, and the sudden fascination for bright lipsticks, which I unfortunately am not brave enough to wear to school), but when I have done something with my eyes, it often involves this color. One of my biggest pet peeves in the world of beauty (or anywhere, really) is an overly dark crease color. I don’t think having a brown line in your eye socket is attractive, and it sure as hell isn’t fooling anyone when it comes to eye depth. To me, Quarry is the perfect color. A beautiful soft purple-y brown (I don’t think the camera is quite picking up on that), it is subtle enough that it can actually look like a naturally shadowy socket, but does still provide a unique color. I also sometimes use it as an all-over lid color for a subtle and polished eye look (a nice partner for bright lips, for instance), or to blend out the edge of Urban Decay’s Sidecar eyeshadow. As for quality it is a very nice, smooth texture, and provides the perfect amount of pigmentation for a crease/blending color. I really do recommend this shade; it is a very versatile and unique eyeshadow that you can always depend on.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in Genius in the Bottle

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have only recently acquired this color, and I have been really enjoying it! It is a beautiful color, one of the many dupes of Chanel Peridot. I have gotten a ton of compliments on this nail polish, and actually a couple of friends bought this shade after borrowing mine, so expect some drooling if you choose to wear it ;).

Wet n’ Wild Megashine Nail Color in 437F Emblazed 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me this is the perfect summer color: a gorgeous true coral, even if it doesn’t show up on camera as such (it is actually less orange in real life). I currently have this on my toes, and it looks amazing! Another amazing thing: the price (somewhere under $2, I believe…)!

Labello Soft Rose Chapstick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s just talk about lifesavers for a minute. Along with my face, my lips have been so dry recently. And then, of course, I went and lost my Carmex. I was not amused. So of course I had to trek down to my local drugstore and pick up another chapstick, and I picked up another one of these guys. Well, two of these guys, as they came in a two-pack for a grand total of €1.99 (!). The color provided is really sheer, NOTHING like the Revlon lip butters, but when applied they just give you the prettiest your-lips-but-better lip color imaginable.

Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has been getting pretty sunny this month, especially now towards the end, so sun protection is getting to be really important (click here to see more about sun protection). This has made it really easy for me to just throw on some protection without needing a separate facial sunscreen. In addition, my skin has been especially dry recently (normally it’s combination, but it has been just flat-out dry), and this also has really helped that.

Clarins Moisture-Rich Body Lotion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I have been into skincare this month, more so than usual (skincare normally comes as an afterthought to makeup for me). I have been really into this moisturizer this month, because it is fabulous. It is so super nourishing; my dry scaly legs just love to soak it up. Good thing too, considering I have to expose them now that it is warm…

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioning Spray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking for a good detangling spray to use on my rat’s nest after coming out of the shower. Apparently your hair is super-vulnerable when it is wet, so you’re not supposed to yank a hairbrush through it at that point. Oops. Anyway, that’s where this spray comes in: you spray it in your hair, and voila, your brush just slides right on through with no problems whatsoever. I was also very excited to see that it comes with heat protection, so I can blast my hair with a hairdryer and not feel bad. Is it bad that this makes me so excited…?