Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Review

     Hi girls!  You know that terrible moment when you look in the mirror and you see that your eye makeup has creased and is all smudged?  I have good news; there’s a great product called Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion to keep your eye makeup long lasting.  An eyeshadow primer is used to keep your eye makeup from creasing, smudging, and it makes your eyeshadow more vibrant.

     Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion is one of the most popular eye primers.  I’ve had my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion for almost a year now, and I love it. 

Pros:

Long lasting - My eyeshadow lasts a lot longer when I wear primer.  What I love about this primer is it allows you to wear drugstore eyeshadow without worrying about it not being long lasting.  It claims to keep your eyeshadow on for 24 hours, but my eyeshadow hasn’t lasted longer than 10 hours at times.  If you use high end eyeshadow with the primer it might last for 24 hours, but I don’t think most drugstore eyeshadow would.  I do have oily eye lids so that plays a factor in how long your eyeshadow lasts.

Vibrant- It makes your eyeshadow more vibrant because it creates a base for the eyeshadow and it’s easier to build the color.

Goes on smooth- It has a creamy texture and it goes on smooth.

Different colors- It has four different colors to choose from: Greed (gold), Sin (shimmering champagne), Eden (matte tawny), and Original (sheer nude). 

Use it instead of eyeshadow- You can use the colored primers as eyeshadow if you only want one color.

A little goes a long way- It only takes a little dab of product to cover each eye.  I’ve had mine for over a year, and I still have enough left for a couple more months.  I don’t use it every day since I don’t wear makeup every day, but if you did, it should still last for quite a while.

It has great reviews- Before I’m willing to spend over $15 on a makeup product, I usually check the reviews to see what other people think about it, and I go to a store and get a sample.  That way I can be sure I’m buying something that will work with me.

Moderately priced- For one squeeze tube with .37 oz., it’s only $20.  For some people that might be a splurge, but it’s totally worth it!

Cons:

     The old tube was very flimsy.  I dropped it once and that container cracked and the product oozed out when I used it.  I dropped it another time and it cracked in half.  I had to put the product in another container because it starting drying out.  Another con is that you can’t get all the product out of the container without cutting it open because of the way it’s shaped.  They made new squeeze tubes since then which I’ve heard work much better. The packaging has been about my only complaint besides the one I said earlier about drugstore makeup not lasting as long as they claimed.

     Overall I still love this primer and it works so much better than going without one.  Once it runs out, I’m pretty sure I’ll be repurchasing. 

    Do any of you guys use an eyeshadow primer? If so what brand and how do you like it? Let me know in the comments!

Becca xxoo

All About Eyeliner

     “Eyeliner is the ultimate way to define and enhance the eyes.  It frames the eyes, makes them appear larger, and really makes them stand out.”  -Bobbi Brown

     I love eyeliner so much.  Black eyeliner is my favorite; it's classic!  I barely ever wear anything else.  Black eyeliner is also very versatile; almost anyone can wear it.  Just a little side note, always wear concealer with black eyeliner, because it will make your dark circles look darker. 

     There are several different eyeliner formulas—gel, liquid, pencil, and shadow. 

     Gel and liquid are what Bobbi Brown calls the bad boys of eyeliner.  They’re definitely longer lasting than the rest and they’re great to use when creating dramatic looks.  They’re a lot darker and also a lot harder to apply.  One mistake can make your whole eye look bad.  They take a lot of practice to master, but if you get the hang of it they work really great!  I personally prefer gel over liquid; liquid eyeliner sometimes changes the shape of your eye. 

     Pencil is by far the most popular and easiest to apply.  Pencil is great if you want more subtle eyeliner and you don’t want it very dark.   The downside to it is that it smudges very easily.  To keep it long lasting, get an eyeliner brush (or a cotton swab) and sweep some eyeshadow the color of the eyeliner on top of the line.  It’s also great to do that if you want a smokey look.  To apply use short feathery strokes, it makes it look more natural.  To soften the eyeliner, smudge with you finger or a cotton swab.

     Shadow eyeliner is exactly what it sounds like.  It’s using any powder eyeshadow of your choice as eyeliner.  Shadow can give your eyeliner a smokey look, but it’s not very dark.  Using shadow eyeliner requires a good eyeliner brush—one that is thin, stiff, and flat, with either a straight or a slightly rounded tip.  It can be applied damp or wet.

How to Apply

     I usually start from the middle of my eye and work outwards.  Then I come back and line from the inner corner to the middle.  You can start in the inner corner and work to the outer corner.  Or you can start from the outer corner to the inner corner.  Just make sure that the line is always thinner in the inner corner and gradually gets thicker as you work out to the outer corner.  When applying eyeliner, use small strokes instead of trying to do a continuous line.  It works a lot better for people with shaky hands.  If you have a lot of trouble with your hand shaking, place your pinky on your cheek to steady it. Always start with a thinner line; you can always make it thicker if you need to.  Never leave space between eyeliner and the lash line.  Try not to pull on your eyes when applying eyeliner; it cause premature wrinkles.  If you need to, use a cotton swab to hold your eye lid still. 

     If you line your lower lash line, make sure you keep the line thin and close to the lashes.  Always make the lower line thinner than the top line.  Otherwise, it will draw attention to under the eye and make you look tired. 

     Lining the inside rims of your eyes (your water line is on the bottom and your tight liner is on the top) can look really cool, but the problem is, is that it make your eyes look smaller if you use black and it comes off easily and gathers in the corners. 

     In Bobbi Brown’s book Makeup Manual she tells how to make eyes more intense by double lining.  Use a dark shadow with a dry eyeliner brush, and then repeat with a liquid liner or wet brush using a slightly thinner line.  The gradation in depth from the lash line will give a dense look to the lashes.  The technique can also be reversed—gel can be softened with shadows. 

     One of my favorite eyeliner looks is the cat eye.  Here’s a video with a simple tip to help you achieve the perfect cat eye.

       I hope that helped some of you guys!  Have a great week! (:

Becca xxoo



*Photos taken from Maybelline website. 

Petroleum Jelly

      You can use petroleum jelly for so many different things.  You can use it as a makeup remover, but I only use it as an eye makeup remover when I do use it, because petroleum jelly is sort of oily so I don’t know if it would make my skin oily or not.

     Petroleum jelly can be used as an under eye moisturizer; I use it for that a lot.

     You can also use petroleum jelly as natural mascara.  I’ve only done this a few times when I was going to go somewhere before I went swimming.  It doesn’t harden or dry like mascara does so if you touch your lashes it will come off and it’s a little gloppier than mascara.  I would curl my lashes before I apply it so if you blink it doesn’t get petroleum jelly under your eye.  I would also separate my lashes before I apply it because it will make your lashes look like they’re all stuck together if you don’t.  Use a disposable or an old clean and washed mascara wand, put the petroleum jelly on the wand and apply.  Or, you can just put a little petroleum jelly on your finger and apply it.  I hardly ever do this because regular mascara works so much better.  Even if you’re going to go swimming, waterproof mascara works 100% better.  I thought I would just tell you about using it as mascara since you can.

     It works really well as a lip balm.  I use it almost every night, and whenever my lips are dry.  You can use it as a lotion, but it makes your skin feel a little greasy so I usually only use it on my hands when they’re really dry.

     On the back of my petroleum jelly it says it can be use to temporarily protect minor cuts, scrapes, and burns.  When I’ve gone skating before the ice skates rubbed on my ankles so I tried putting petroleum jelly where it was sore and it did help a little.  Plus, petroleum jelly is hypoallergenic.  I usually get the flip-top one because then you can just squirt it out instead of digging it out of a container with your finger.

     Also, this isn't that beauty related, but you can use petroleum jelly to get scuff marks off your shoes.  I use it to get dirt off the rubber part of my Converse.