30 November 2012

New Urban Decay offerings, and more

Today, Urban Decay made a few new things available on their site: the Naked Basics palette, newly-packaged setting sprays and Triple Threat eyeliner set (as seen on Black Friday).

For the new setting sprays, Dew Me has been renamed to Chill (Cooling & Hydrating). The new packaging is more aesthetically pleasing; and at US$29 for 120mL/4oz, is somewhere between the original XL's (retail US$18 for 177mL/6oz; currently still available for $18) and the original travel size (retail US$12 for 15mL/.51oz).
Side-by-side comparison of the old vs. new packaging.
(Please excuse the pixellated rendition of the old Dew Me--the image was whisked away from their site as if by the KGB.)

The Triple Threat travel pencil set (US$19) contains three two-thirds-sized Glide-On Eye Pencils in Zero (black), Demolition (deep brown matte) and Rockstar (shimmery eggplant). I think this is better than the old Jet Set duos, which were the same size, but more expensive (US$15 for two). The colours in this one are even more wearable.

Naked Basics (US$27) is a wallet-sized palette of five mattes and one shimmer shadow, in creams, browns and a black. There are close-up swatches at Temptalia. Given the price, I don't think that the bold advertising claim that it's 'the palette you can't live without' is speaking to a consumer like me. The shades don't seem unique enough for me to want to zomgdr00LhumphUmphNgnGngngng!!1nnng it, and even within the palette itself it seems there is not a significant difference between the lighter shades. Sorry, UD; maybe you need to cut your shadows with a little more crack...



In addition, they also put up a Deluxe Mystery Travel Bag on their site.
Description:
This Mystery Travel Bag is packed with fan favorites in both full and compact, travel-friendly sizes. This little bag is filled with over $45 of UD products. TSA Coveted And Approved!
It pictures a small zip-up plastic sleeve that looks the same as that for their TSA bag promo (three deluxe samples of gloss, shadow pencil and mascara) that they were offering previously for orders of $75+. This one costs US$16; but since at least one full-sized product is promised, who knows what'll be in it? Perhaps they're clearing out in preparation of whatever changes are to come from their acquisition by L'Oreal. I'll post about it when I receive it with the rest of my haul. I also grabbed three lipsticks in Oil Slick, currently $3 each; the Black Palette, currently $16; and an XL All Nighter spray in the old packaging. My free sample is an 'Early Exclusive Sample'. I definitely don't mind getting to try new products when I'm helping with the supply of the (discounted) old.



I'm looking forward to trying Maybelline's new Color Tattoo shadows. I do hope they recycle more of their limited-edition neutral fall ones--I never got a chance to grab Rich Mahogany, since drugstores are typically a huge mess with slow-to-restock employees (or maybe that's just because I usually end up going to CVS at 3 AM).

Speaking of Maybelline, I received a sample of Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB from Walmart. This specific one is no longer available, but others are. I'll be doing a tutorial on the look in the promo image in the future.
Also got samples of TRESemmé's Split Remedy shampoo and conditioner with my pre-Black-Friday order from GoJane... what are they, mind-reading wizards? I waste a crapload of time cutting off split ends when I'm trying to distract myself from work. So maybe, if the stuff works well, the time savings could justify the price increase over my typical 79-cent VO5 purchases... haha, nah. (However, if you're into reducing split ends, spending a lot of money and using natural products, my sample-packet experiences with Giovanni's Smooth as Silk conditioner have been pretty good in the past.)

Another aside: Got my Iron Fist Zombie Stomper heels in the mail today as well. A little disappointing that they didn't notify me until today that they were out of stock of, and thus didn't send, the dress I ordered; but the shoes are simply charming enough to distract someone like me, who usually just wears guy shoes. (I have to leap over cracks, crack addicts and puddles, and dodge cars when I run between bus stops here in LA, thank you very much....) Zombies might be over-done, but you'd have to be a pretty big hipster to not even feel the smallest bit of excitement over bows on a bright-green toxic-waste-soaked-skull caricature.



See you next time for some swatches and sarcasm!

23 November 2012

Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2012 Sales

Quick post here.
Lots of sales going on this weekend--including from various indie cosmetics sellers who don't run promotions often.

I've spent the last couple hours spending a considerable amount of money--enough to make my ramen-filled lifestyle seem vain--at indie companies Geek Chic Cosmetics and Shiro Cosmetics; as well as at Iron Fist Clothing. I'll do swatches once I receive each shipment, assuming my mail doesn't get stolen again...

Here's a list of some of the sales I like:

Make-Up

  • Cherry Culture: 20% off - code TKGS20. Valid through Sunday. Sales from them aren't uncommon, but they're a good place to stock up from.
  • Beautycrunch: Spend $50+, get 20% off + free Stila Sexy Eye Kit - code BLACKFRIDAY. Valid through Sudnay.
  • Missha: 40% off. No code, prices pre-applied. Valid through Monday.
  • Shiro Cosmetics: 15% off - code CAGEAPPROVED (source). Valid through Monday the 26th.
    Also, all fullsized shadows from their Portal-themed Science Collection are on clearance for 20% off, or $4.00 per jar.
  • Geek Chic Cosmetics: 30% off + free mystery extra item. No code, prices pre-applied. Their site was slow early this morning.
  • Coastal Scents: 50% off; no code, prices pre-applied. Sale through Monday.
  • e.l.f.: BOGO (buy one, get one) 50% off + free shipping - code BLKFRI. Today only.
  • NYX: Nothing for Black Friday, but there will be a sale for Cyber Monday. Check back later.
  • Makeup Academy: If you missed the 35%-off sale, then items are now 3 for 2 for over a week.
  • CVS: 25% off + free shipping online. There are also various in-store deals through Saturday, including $4 ExtraBucks rewards on Revlon Lip Butters.
Nouveau Cheap also has a list of deals, mostly online.

Clothing

Other

  • Steam: Autumn Sale, lots of stuff. Currently, Max Payne 3 for $15 (75% off) and Sleeping Dogs 50% off. (I no longer buy games unless they're $5 or under, but these are still tempting.)
  • SureFire: 25% off + free shipping. Monday only. (This is the first time they've done a post-Thanksgiving sale!)
  • Newegg: Various discounts.
  • NameCheap: Various rotating discounts on domain services, through Monday.

You can also Google for sales yourself.

Enjoy your shopping, but don't forget to save a little for the next round of holidays, unless you plan on becoming a hermit between now and then.

21 November 2012

Ipsy (MyGlam) Bag, November 2012: Photos

This is the third bag I've had from Ipsy/MyGlam/Rebranding-of-the-Quarter subscription service so far.

My first bag from them (and from any thing-of-the-month service) was the May 2012 one--the receipt upon which I immediately ended my description. Most of the products were... well... cheap. The one better one, the lipstick, came in a shade unwearable on its own, although it worked quite well for when I was trying to dress up as a zombie (true story).

But last month's bag, the Bombshell one, promised contents good enough to get me to try again. They finally, kinda, lived up to their promise of 'personalised beauty'--imagine that! Since they called that one their 'best bag yet'

At a Glance:

  1. The Balm - Meet Matt(e) eyeshadow single pan
    Sample: .9g/.03oz (roughly the size of one full pan from the palette).
    Full size: 9.5g/.33oz for 9 pans. Retail price: US$34.50.
  2. Chella - Eyebrow Defining Gel
    Sample: 3.5mL/.12oz.
    Full size: 5.6mL/.19oz. Retail price: US$18.
  3. Starlet - Intense Eyeliner
    Full size. 1.5g/.05oz. Retail price: US$11.00.
  4. bareMinerals - Marvelous Moxie gloss
    Sample: 2.25mL/.07oz (same size as in their mini sets).
    Full size: 4.5mL/.15oz. Retail price: US$18/CA$23.
  5. 'tini - Speakeasy Collection Nailtini lacquer
    Full size. 15mL/.5oz. Retail price: US$13.


The Bag:

A more sophisticated-looking bag, though still with budget-quality zipper and cloth.

As usual, this was mailed in a blindingly shiny magenta envelope. I feel sorry for the postal service worker who had to deliver this.






Meet Matte Eyeshadow Single:

Shade: Matt Batali, a dark matte cocoa brown. About the size of one of the pans in the full nine-shade palette. Scratched it with a fingernail to give you a better idea of what it looks like when you accidentally scratch it with a fingernail.


Chelle Brow Gel:

Clear brow gel with a mascara-like applicator.

Starlet Cosmetics Intense Liner:

Shade: black. The 'Intense' version doesn't seem to be on the company's site... yet.


bareMinerals (by Bare Escentuals) Marvelous Moxie Gloss

Shade: Daredevil, a sparkly berry wine. This half-size is the same size as in their current holiday five-piece gloss sets. This shade is in this year's Cool as Ice set.
Nice, but I'm not big on gloss--especially not $18-a-tube big. You could probably feed a village of third-world children with that money, after shipping; giving a child a tube of gloss might constitute, like, a snack for such a child. Or just an emetic, so a negative snack. Awesome.


Nailtini Nail Lacquer

Shade: Millionaire, from the Speakeasy collection. Lots of gold confetti, mixed with some green/teal; the picture on the right better reflects the colour in real life. It's pleasant to look at, but if you're looking closely at my fingers (weirdo), you can probably tell that I'm not a nail polish person. If I can't gift it this year, I suppose I can use it to enhance the Sharpie penises I draw on passed-out people...



Tomorrow: I photograph the contents of the Influenster College VoxBox I received today--while it's still bright out, and I haven't started working or shameful family-less Thanksgiving drinking.

Kick-off.

I've had this idea bumping around in my head for a while. Why is it so rare to find beauty blogs without as many filters as a photo of a model on a magazine cover?

The layout now is pretty rudimentary.
I'm a programmer, not a designer.

But for now: It's the content that counts; the aesthetics can always come later.

Welcome.