EOTD: Stacked Teal Eyeliner

The drudgery of classes and interviews--and the boring, subdued makeup looks that are expected along with them--have really gotten me on a colour kick recently.

Last weekend, I pulled out a bright T-shirt, bright bandana and teal Urban Decay Flipside eyeliner.

Flipside, a bright blue-teal, has been discontinued, but Urban Decay's Deep End (in the Ocho Loco 2 set, which is now on sale) is close. Some other dupes are listed here.

Stacked liner looks are a good way to bring in colour, without getting too crazy (like with eyeshadows), and without stealing normal liner definition by completely swapping out the black/brown liner. These looks are a little better/cleaner with a liquid colour liner on top; but pencil liners, like the one I used, work fine, if you put in a little more effort.

Here's what I used:

• Light layer of e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeshadow in Bronzed, set/contoured with an even lighter layer of My Pretty Zombie eyeshadow in Cookie Pants. This coppery-brown lid base warms up, and adds depth and contrast to, the eye. After application, I used a blending brush until the shadow was sheer; again, I wanted it light--not for it to get in the way of the colourful eyeliners on top of and below it.
• Black gel eyeliner, in a clean-edged thin-to-medium strip along the upper lashline, with an angled brush.
• Urban Decay Flipside pencil eyeliner directly above this, in a clean strip of equal to lesser thickness than the black line; ending in a diagonal wing extending slightly past the tail of the black eyeliner. Because it was a pencil rather than an opaque liquid liner, I had to go over the liner several times to build intensity, and had to be careful to keep the line clean-edged and even. I went back a couple times with the black gel liner when I accidentally brought the teal down too far.
• Urban Decay Ransom (also discontinued, but also dupeable) on the bottom lashline.

As usual, I didn't bother with mascara, though most other people would continue with that step.

Discount Alert: Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencils

Alert: The discontinued shades for Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils are now discounted by 50%, from US$19.00 to $9.50, here on the brand's site.

Note that they did take down the free-shipping-on-$35 and deluxe-samples-on-$50 promotion that they were running just a few days before. However, they do still have stock of some of the good sale items that they had before, and also added Urban Defense. (I have two different shades of Urban Defense in the old packaging; I liked it, and would definitely recommend it over their BB cream.)

Also, if you need help moving on from the discontinuation of one of your favourite liners, see my list of (cheaper!) dupes here.

Replacements for Discontinued Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners

Urban Decay just announced a line-up of new 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils shades--and, along with it, a number of discontinuations. They list recommended replacements--primarily from their new shades, of course--here; but many of these suggestions are hardly comparable.
Hey. Don't cry. I compared various swatches online to compile this list of better (and cheaper)! replacements for these soon-to-be-gone liners.

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1999:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Jewel (compare: UD, #2 from left; vs. NYX, #2 from left)
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Stiletto (see here - less sparkle than UD)
Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Pomegranate Punk (see here - less sparkle)

Binge:

Avon Glimmersticks Eyeliner in Twilight Sparkle (UD, third from right, vs. Avon)

Covet:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Tropical Green (compare: UD vs. NYX - less sparkle)
Covergirl Queen Collection Vivid Impact Eyeliner in Jade (see here, third from right)
Sleek Eau La La Liner in Tonic (see here)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Pencil in Alligator (see here, second from left)
Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in #12 I Have a Green (see here)

Deviant:

Covergirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Blue Boom (see here - CG first from left, UD second from left)

Eldorado:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Glitzy Gold (comparison)
Sleek Twist-Up Eye Pencil in Gold (company site swatch)

Flipside:

Milani Liquid Eye (formerly Liquif'eye) in Aqua (comparison)
e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner in Teal Tease (comparison)
Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Turquoise (UD vs. Rimmel, sixth from left)

Graffiti:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Papaya (comparison)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Pencil in Green Grass (UD, fifth from left; vs. GOSH, leftmost)

Gunmetal:

Covergirl Liquiline Blast in Silver Spark (comparison--UD third from right, CG second from right; CG is darker)
NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Gun Metal (UD, right; vs. NYX, fourth from left)

Lucky:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Golden Bronze (comparison - second pair from right)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eye Pencil in Copper Girl (UD vs. GOSH, second from top - less red-toned than UD)

Lust:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Pretty Violet (UD vs. NYX, second from left)

Ransom:

NYX Slide-On Eyeliner in Purple Blaze (comparison)
GOSH Purple Stain (see here, second from left in top row)
Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in #16 Coolest Chick (see here, rightmost)

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What do you think? Feel cheated? I'll be adding to this list as I find more. If you have suggestions, put them in the comments.

Urban Decay Deluxe Mystery Travel Bag revealed

I just got my Urban Decay shipment that I ordered on Thursday night! It's been two years since I first (and last) ordered from them directly; they've definitely changed the packaging.

First order of business, the deluxe sample I received: the new Naked BB cream.

As you can see below, they do an awful lot of claims about the health benefits of this product. Just like those overpriced minerals people. Because, you know, just because something contains some amount of arbitrary minerals, means that slathering it on your face and buying it and drinking it is going to cure your cancer and marital problems and everything...

The tube was adorable, though when I unscrewed the cap it looked worrisomely different from--more beige than I'm accustomed to--my usual foundation/BB cream shades.

However, I hadn't perused the pamphlet first, which claimed that it's a one-shade-fits-most product.

At first sight, I thought, 'Hmm...'. When I blended it out on my face, though, it was basically undetectable. Partially in the sense that, like other Western BB creams, it didn't provide that much coverage.

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Now, the post-Cyber-Monday-'12 Deluxe Mystery Travel Bag, which I mentioned in a previous blog post.

Contents, as you can see above:

• a translucent vinyl zippered pouch,
• a travel-sized Supercurl mascara,
• a mini 24/7 shadow pencil in Rehab (not an unpopular/hard-to-use colour, thankfully),
• a sample eyeshadow primer potion (UDPP) card,
• a full-sized Lip Junkie in Naked, and
• a travel-sized container of All Nighter spray (of which I purchased an XL size in this same shipment).

All in all, given the full-sized Lip Junkie--not bad for US$16, although I wouldn't call it a 'must-have' steal. If you need a larger sub-total to qualify for free shipping, though, this would be a good choice.

And just because--a photo of the entire haul. Three lipsticks in Oil Slick!

I also received my MUA shipment today, so I'll be posting swatches of some of those items later.

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.

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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!