Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked

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Last Friday I launched a giveaway for an Urban Decay 24/7 Lip Liner and Revolution Lipstick in Naked. If you haven’t entered, yet, go do so – entries close April 3!

The Ultimate Pair - Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick and 24/7 Lip Liner in Naked

I mentioned in my February Favorites that I was really loving the Revolution Lipstick in Naked – so when I was planning the Vernal Equinox Giveaway, I decided to pick up one of the sets for myself. Exclusive to Ulta, the Ultimate Pair set from Urban Decay features a 24/7 Lip Liner Pencil and a Revolution Lipstick in Naked. They also offer a red version with shades 69 and F-Bomb, respectively.

The Ultimate Pair - Revolution Lipstick in Naked

The value of this set is unbelievable – $26 for both the full-sized lipstick (regularly $22) and lip liner (regularly $19). I was originally planning on a self-imposed no-buy for myself for March, but this was too good of a deal on something I already really wanted, having the wee version of it.

The Ultimate Pair - Lipstick in Naked

I own wee versions of the Revolution Lipstick in Naked and, courtesy a friend, Catfight. Given that, I already knew the formula was nothing short of amazing. Being simultaneously creamy and long-lasting is no small feat, but these lipsticks feel great and don’t need to be reapplied frequently – and it isn’t just because this is a, “user-friendly,” whose wear is naturally less noticeable; hot-pink Catfight holds its weight in the longevity arena without looking prematurely worn.

Revolution Lipstick in NakedUrban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked

Packaging

The Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked is the first full-sized tube I have from the line. When I unboxed it, I was pleasantly surprised at the weight of the tube – to me, heavier-weight packaging feels sturdier and slightly more luxe. I’ve talked about packaging before – heavier, sturdier package make me feel like my product is safer.

Color & Finish

This warm-ish mid-tone pink that has a creamy, almost-but-not-quite glossy finish. It catches light nicely without looking wet. I find it very flattering on my light, neutral-to-warm skin (NC15-NC20ish in MAC at the moment). It gives you a pretty, polished look without screaming for attention. It’s pretty much appropriate for anything life might throw at you…with the exception, perhaps, of a Rocky Horror reenactment.

Wear & Longevity

On me, applied after I’ve fiendishly consumed my morning coffee or tea, I find that Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked wears for about 3-4 hours before needing to be touched up, persisting even through drinking water. Wear is described without the 24/7 liner that came in the set. I’m not crazy about liner for lighter, neutral lipsticks like this, so I’m still trying to figure out how I like it best.

The Bottom Line

From the two shades I’ve tried the formula seems consistent in terms of application and feel once its on. From reading, I discovered that longevity wasn’t quite the same throughout, but you’ll have that with different levels of pigmentation. The quality, overall, is absolutely there and if you’re in the market for a fantastic lipstick, I recommend (any) of these. Personally, I still struggle with the idea of paying $22 for a single lipstick – MAC at $16 is the high end of, “I’m OK with this,” for me but this lipstick is really good. Since I was able to get it and the liner for $26 as part of The Ultimate Pair set, it was easier to deal with. I would still hesitate to pay full price for another lipstick by itself even though they are crazy good… Instead, I’d opt to wait for a 20% at UrbanDecay.com, or using Ulta points for a discount, or the semi-annual VIB sale at Sephora.

It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

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It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner - Stock Image

In late January I received a coupon from Ulta (because I’m Platinum this year) to get a free mini It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner. I’m not too familiar with the It Cosmetics brand, really only seeing their line in Ulta. This sums up what I know about It Cosmetics:

  1. They have a brush line that I hear is pretty good. They have a silly brush-themed logo on their aisles in both Ultas near me.
  2. They have CC cream!
  3. Their Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eye Shadow Palette has an exceptionally long name and reminds me of a mix of the two LORAC Pro palettes. Same price-point, too!

That’s pretty much it.

I redeemed the coupon and got the freebie It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner to test the waters of the brand.

itnotugbox

Here’s some info about It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner, from Ulta’s Website, condensed into tl;dr for your reading pleasure:

  • Gentle, smooth, pigmented gel formula that glides on.
  • Waterproof, proven to hold up 8+ hours.
  • Contains vitamin C and E as well as collagen, supposedly for, “younger looking eyelids.”
  • Sets after about 30 seconds (so you can blend and smudge).

My freebie mini came in Black Brown which I appreciated – I don’t need yet another black pencil liner, and am happy to have a brown pencil handy. I actually forgot about it (out of sight, out of mind) since it was tucked into my drawer, but I finally got around to it.

It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner - Swatch

It glides on effortlessly without much pressure, both swatched on the back of my hand and into my lashline.

The Wear Test: It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

Most pencil liners, even ones claiming to be waterproof, do not last on my waterline. I don’t have exceptionally watery eyes, but I guess my waterline is exposed to enough moisture that it usually breaks down and fades within an hour or two

At 7am, I tightlined with the It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner to provide definition. I added just a little more along my lashline, but the real test is waterline usage, so I slapped it in there, too, in the outer 2/3 of my waterline.

I checked it at 8am, and it still looked alright. Not as intense in the waterline, but it was still visible. Upper lashline and tightline perfectly intact.

I checked at 9am – it faded more, but I could live with it because I don’t like a harsh dark waterline. I don’t bother with dark colors in my waterline most of the time because I feel like it closes off my eye…I don’t like my eyes to appear small. It was still intact and going good on my upper lashline and tightline, though.

By 10am, it was noticeably in trouble. At the outermost edge it was gone completely, meaning the It Cosmetics No-Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner line didn’t appear to start until a few millimeters into my lower lashline. Awkward. Top is in good shape, still!

At the 11am check, the product in my waterline was barely visible but the tightline and waterline looked great. I decided to reapply and try again. Unfortunately, it wore away within 3-4 hours, just like the first run.

I found it removed relatively easily with a Ponds makeup wipe – it was no more difficult to remove than an Urban Decay 24/7 pencil, for instance. Also, I can’t really speak to the whole, “younger-looking eyelids,” thing – I noticed absolutely no difference from tightlining with it, but I’m also in my mid twenties, so. I’m taking it with a grain of salt anyway because that part sounds like nonsense marketing.

 The Bottom Line(r)

So this makes a good liner for the upper lashline and tightlining. You CANNOT sharpen it (at least this little version, anyway) as it is a twist up and therefore has a blunt tip; it is not suited to sharp precision work, but makes for a smooth tightline and not-intense upper lashline work. Its performance in my waterline shouldn’t be the only thing that tells you to buy or not – like I said, I have a hell of a time with most pencils in my waterline…so if you DON’T have trouble with them, this might actually work really well for you!

I personally won’t be repurchasing a full size when I run out of this. I don’t dislike it, but I don’t like it enough to spend $22 on. If you don’t have an exceptionally watery waterline, though, it may be a worthwhile investment for you.

Disclaimer: HEY. Although I got this for free, this was not a sponsored post. ULTA has no idea who I am. I only got a voucher for this product because I somehow managed to make it into the Ultamate Rewards Platinum tier, which anyone can achieve if they have a problembeauty hobby.. This voucher was distributed to platinum members, so I’m not special. Questions? Feel free to ask.

Too Faced Selfie Powders :: An Afterthought

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Too Faced Selfie PowderToo Faced Selfie Powders

When I was researching the Too Faced Selfie Powders for last week’s post, I came across a thread on a popular makeup community discussing the product. The discussion was split roughly 50/50 – with some expressing feelings similar to mine, and others saying it was cute/kitschy/fun/etc.

There were, however, a few people who were neither for the Too Faced Selfie Powders nor against them that questioned the criticism. One participant adds something along the lines of (this is paraphrased):

I don’t understand why the Too Faced Selfie Powders are getting so much hate – why is this worse than silly nerd collections by Indie makeup brands?

It’s a good question, and it makes you think about the product and issue a little more. But I have a good answer.

Here’s the difference:

Geek Chic’s adorable Sailor Moon collection and Hello Waffle’s hilarious Archer-themed collections are just eyeshadows. They don’t claim to do anything special, they’re just cute eyeshadows with fun names. Too Faced Selfie Powders, on the other hand, are literally marketed as being, “filters,” for your real-life face…they’re just colored powders. At best, they’re for color correction. They aren’t appealing to a fandom, they’re marketing a product claiming that it does something that, realistically, it doesn’t do.

Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm

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I’ve admitted before that I’m a lip balm junkie. For me, the gold standard is a sub-$2 tube of Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. Yes, still. Judge all you like.

But I don’t always want to use it (especially now that the rights to it are changing hands and who knows if it will retain its glory?) – maybe I don’t want the tint. Maybe I want something thicker if my lips are really struggling. My fall-back is good ol’ classic Cherry Chap-Stik, even though it is more of a barrier and less of a moisturizer.

Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning

It was time to buy a new tube, and a friend recommended Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm with Kokum Butter. I used classic Burt’s Bees when I was a teenager and liked it alright, so I figured if this was anything similar it should be a good try.

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Worth it? Wet Brush

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A similarly skeptical friend (the one who alerted me to the Silkn Flash & Go Freedom) recently got her hair done. At the salon, post-wash, her stylist used an amazing hairbrush on her hair. It made quick work of detangling (finishing in just a few brush-strokes) and didn’t tug or pull a single time – she found out that it was called the Wet Brush. She was so impressed that she bought one from the salon on the spot and shared her experience with me soon after.

The Wet Brush - Stock Photo

She tried it out at home to ensure that it was not just some hairdresser magic, and enjoyed the same results – both with wet and dry hair. She found that the bristles flex as needed to gently pass through hair without tugging.

I’ve been using a classic Denman for the past year or so, being tired of yet another $5 Conair that inevitably breaks, is hard to clean, or whose nubby-tipped bristles lose their tips, scratching my scalp and yanking my hair. The Denman is fine, it works, but it isn’t winning any Outstanding Hairbrush awards in my book. I wasn’t really looking to replace it, though (if it ain’t broke, etc). I figured if I wanted to, I’d look into a Tangle Teezer or a dupe of it.

But with her endorsement of the Wet Brush, I was curious. I found that it is not a salon exclusive, but that you can buy it from Amazon.com, Sally Beauty, and Target, among other places for about $8-9. That’s not bad. I still wasn’t planning on it right away, but kept the idea in the back of my mind.

I renewed my Sally Beauty membership last month and still had the resulting $5 off coupon to use, plus their nearly-always-available 15% off circular coupon. I stopped in when I was nearby and rather than getting even more gel nail polish (though their new Nail Studio is pretty neat!), I picked up the Original Wet Brush – between my membership discount, the 15% off, and the $5 off, I got the brush for $2.69. They had one that had boar bristles (says it is great for Dry Shampoo users) as well as the ones I was looking to try, but I opted for the original for the sake of science.

The Original Wet Brush Packaging

The Brush Itself:

I prodded the Wet Brush’s bristles in the packaging. They do flex, but they seemed to flex a little differently each time I touched, depending on the angle and amount of force I applied. It was neat, I thought. The brand says the unique flexibility is owed to their IntelliFlex bristles tipped with SofTip nubs to ensure gentle use. To be frank, I don’t care for the silly marketing names. The bristles aren’t, “smart,” bristles. They are, however, a neat polymer that does allow them to flex as needed to provide just the right amount of resistance. I’m more interested in how they achieved that than I am in them passing it off like it is an intelligent device.

When I unpackaged it at home, I was pleased to find that the brush has a relatively slim profile – the bristles are by no means short, but the plastic back is flat and not bulky.

The Wet Brush - Profile

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LimeCrime – No Thanks, I’m Fine

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Years ago, and I do mean years ago – like six or seven of them – I spotted an oddly colored cyan lipstick on an obscure website (kind of like Urban Outfitters, but smaller). I have no desire to slap cyan on my face, but I was curious enough to see what other weird things this LimeCrime brand had. They had some unique ones, for the time – a minty green, a fun, pale tangerine, but at like $18/tube (I think!). I wasn’t into cosmetics at the time so I did pass them by, but I did remember the LimeCrime brand just because I’d never seen anything like them…but remember, I also wasn’t into makeup at the time.

Since I’ve gotten into makeup, though, I’ve learned about how LimeCrime’s proprietress, Doe Deere (and is that your real name? No – but I don’t really care about that) lacks a professional touch…to put it succinctly.

I still liked seeing the silly purple tubes when they’d pop up on YouTube and actually really liked the look of a few of the Velvetine shades, but I could never bring myself to pull the trigger and make a purchase. The cost, the ultimate wearability, and the fact that, well, I’d be supporting someone with a well-documented history of a) not being cool and b) being awful to customers when problems are reported. We make mistakes, we’re just people. Running a business comes with its own challenges, too. Most of us learn and grow, apologize for our missteps and commit ourselves to doing better next time – but the overwhelming volume of evidence suggests that Ms. Deere thinks she is exempt from these things.

Most recently, they have become embroiled in a pretty substantial credit card fraud scandal. At minimum, hundreds of customers’ credit cards were compromised (PayPal transactions seem OK) after making purchases from LimeCrime’s site. Instead of handling it properly, LimeCrime stayed VERY hush-hush, like, “If we don’t talk about it, maybe it will go away!” until the collective outcry became so great that they had no chance but to acknowledge it…which they did with a load of BS (was linked, but they deleted the post; go figure). They have not been helping concerned customers, and everything about it has been immensely unprofessional. Unapologetic. So many things.

I’m not going to flood you with a wall of text on this. There are many walls of text already written, such as this one, that chronicle the history of LimeCrime and their questionable business practices, and social media is rife with disappointed customers sharing their stories.

I will not be making any purchases from LimeCrime either directly or through resellers. I won’t tell you what to do with your life/money, but if business ethics/general decency of the companies who get your money concerns you, I suggest looking into it so you can decide for yourself.