making faces :: naked days with urban decay

i usually try not to get sucked into hype, but i'd heard so many people go on about the magical urban decay naked palette and how it was basically the holy grail of versatile, neutral shades of eye shadow that i couldn't help being curious. compounding this, there's the fact that, although it's permanently available from urban decay and from sephora, it's been out of stock at the sephora web site for about the last hundred years... so it has the allure of something that doesn't want you to possess it.

add to that the fact that most urban decay shadows are made of large quantities of win [except for the shades with glitter, which are decidedly formulated with fail, but there's none in this palette] and one of the colours included in the naked palette is "sin", which is one of my favourite shadows ever by anyone and which is disappearing at an uncomfortably fast rate from its pan and i basically got myself into a frenzy of consumer madness.

thankfully, a very nice lady in the united states took pity on me and ordered me one. so for the last several days i have been trying out variations on the neutral eye with all the different colours included.

when you can get your paws on one, it's a pretty sweet deal. there are twelve different colours- all neutral, but ranging from light to dark with both shimmer and matte textures- plus a full size brush, plus a miniature bottle of urban decay's "primer potion", which helps eye makeup go on better and stay on better. all this will cost you $48, which works out to $4 a shadow, even assuming the brush and primer are free. of course, the shadows in the palette aren't nearly as big as a regular urban decay shadow, but those will run you $17 a pop for only 0.2g more worth of product [according to the u.d. web site, the fill weight per shadow on the naked palette is 1.3g, on a regular shadow, 1.5g]. so for this not to be a good investment, there would have to be something seriously wrong with the product.

l to r :: gunmetal, hustle, toasted, sin

fortunately, that isn't the case. i compared "sin" to the remains of my individual pot and they seem exactly the same in terms of colour, texture and durability. so occasionally when things look too good to be true, they're still true. doesn't that just make you feel awesome about everything for a moment?

moving on.

the idea behind this palette- which really does seem to have turned into a license to print money for the california company- is to give a range of basic shades that can be used in combination to go with virtually any sort of look. they are mostly shimmery [although there is a matte beige and a matte medium brown], mostly warm [particularly the mid-tone shades] and, yes, they are extremely versatile. a number of the shades are ones that you might have seen before, but the point here is that they're all assembled into one perfect little package.

l to r :: virgin, naked, sidecar, buck

i agree that these shades will suit pretty much any skin tone, dark or light, warm or cool. and each shade exhibits the typical incredible pigmentation of urban decay shadows, so you really get some bang for your buck. if i had to criticise, and this would be under some duress, i'd say that i wish that they'd included one or two less shimmery shades [there's a lot of frostiness, which can be a challenge for those of us over twenty-five]. i hadn't actually "met" urban decay's matte shades before and now i'm happy i did. i'm pleased that they did not include any "glitter" shades, since those were the ones that made me want to write off the brand when i tried them. in fact, there's not a single shade i don't like and wouldn't use here. [the sparkly black "creep" doesn't do much for me, since it's a dead ringer for a lot of "black with silver sparkle" shades that already exist, but the very popularity of those types of shades makes it obvious why it would be included with this set.]

ultimately, this is the kind of thing that almost every woman who wears cosmetics would benefit from having in her collection. for those who want something simple and basic, it offers a lot of alternatives at an excellent price. for those who like to have a variety, it offers the opportunity to grab a dozen urban decay shadows for barely more than the price of two regular ones. plus, of course, the shades are ridiculously easy to use. and you get a brush and a tester bottle of primer. what could possibly go wrong?

l to r :: half-baked, smog, darkhorse, creep

here are a few looks i put together with shades from the naked palette. i'd like to add that, in all of them, i used the primer potion underneath. my initial experience with primer potion was not great, but i put that down to the fact that it was a sample and it was a gold-coloured shimmery version rather than the regular one. and there may be some logic to that. i liked the primer potion much better in its "regular" form. personally, i prefer a primer with a little more colour, because my lids are fairly dark [i look like a racoon in the mornings] and i didn't find that primer potion made shadows last as long as my usual base- mac's painterly paint pot- but it did prevent creasing and it did make the colours nice and intense, which is what a base is supposed to do.

because all the shadows were coming out of a single palette, each of these looks took ten minutes tops to complete. 





"naked matte"
like i said earlier, i really loved the matte shades [naked and buck] included with this palette and so they were among the first ones used. as a lady who loves her dark lips, this is the sort of understated eye treatment i often do, so that the focus can be a little lower. this is also the first look i did with musky amethyst, one of the new lipsticks from mac's "semi-precious" collection.

face ::
nars sheer glow foundation "mont blanc"
diorskin nude hydrating concealer "001"

eyes ::
urban decay e/s "virgin"
urban decay e/s "naked"
urban decay e/s "buck"
mac superslick liquid liner "on the hunt"
ysl faux cils mascara

cheeks ::
mac beauty powder "her own devices"
mac blush "darkly my dear"

lips ::
mac l/s "musky amethyst"






"naked smoky"
one of the suggestions on the packaging for use of this palette is that you can do "smoky bronze" looks. i went for more of a "smoky gold", which was exciting to me, because i've never had enough gold shades before to do this sort of thing. again, i went with a very pigmented lip, because, despite the "smoky" effect, i felt that the eye was fairly subtle and could deal with a deeper lip colour. on the other hand, i can also see doing this with a more restrained lip colour. hurrah for versatility.

face ::
nars sheer glow foundation "mont blanc"
diorskin nude hydrating concealer "001"
lush colour supplement "jackie oates" [as a highlighter]

eyes ::
urban decay e/s "virgin"
urban decay e/s "half-baked"
urban decay e/s "smog"
urban decay e/s "darkhorse"
mac eye kohl "smolder"
diorshow mascara

cheeks ::
mac mineralize skinfinish "new vegas"
mac blush "bite of an apple"

lips ::
chanel "rivoli




"naturally naked"
so the whole point, supposedly, of having a naked palette is that you can do very natural looks. i actually find that the shimmer in a lot of the colours makes this trickier than you would think, but there are definitely shades [hint- the ones i've used here] that capture that nice, slightly pinky flesh-tone and make it into something quite lovely. [note- if your flesh tone isn't pinky, there are probably shades in here that will be a better match for you.]

face ::
lush colour supplement "jackie oates"
diorskin nude hydrating concealer "001"

eyes ::
urban decay e/s "virgin"
urban decay e/s "sin"
urban decay e/s "hustle"
urban decay e/s "gunmetal"
mac false lashes mascara

cheeks ::
nars blush "deep throat"

lips ::
mac l/s "made to order"

today happiness is...

a big box of goodies

trying out new crayons

making ourselves look scary in the name of research and beauty

and a cat who finds you a little bizarre at the moment...

needless to say, reviews will be forthcoming...

friday favourites 01.04.11

are you feeling ready for the weekend? has this week treated you well? has it been a great ride, or have you been struggling to see the spring flowers among the weeds? well, it's been a tumultuous and unbelievable week for me and while i think that the next few weeks are going to be pretty topsy-turvy, i'm happy to be able to share a bit of news that really made my week this week in friday favourites!

conversion 2- after hours :: ok, keep in mind that this is very preliminary, because we're still finalising everything for the first film, but we have a canadian partner who has expressed an interest in producing a sequel to conversion. (if you don't know what conversion is, go look at the blog!) needless to say, they would also be picking up the original conversion as well.

i'm only starting to work on some notes for the script, but dom and i have had some discussions with our distribution partner to get some broad details dealt with. basically, the story will follow seth and julia (looks like i may have to go blonde again) after their weird night out in the first conversion. while our two central characters may believe that they've left all those strange adventures behind them, it turns out that things aren't quite so easy and that, as a result of their having met some of those bizarre characters, they find themselves in the midst of a dangerous plot.

as you can probably tell, the angle for this story will be considerably higher-action and it will be more of an action-suspense-thriller than the original. along with seth and julia, the sequel will see the return of a few of the original conversion characters, such as irina, the eccentric woman who claimed to be in some kind of trouble and the two thugs from the parking garage. plus, of course, there will be a whole new cast of crazies to entertain and possibly intimidate.

this is way more than we had expected to get and dom and i are obviously over the moon at being able not just to garner some interest in our little project, but at being able (potentially) to follow it with something fast-paced, funny and with the potential- we think- for real box office appeal.

it may be a little early to start celebrating, but, seriously, after two years of working almost every single day on making our film, it's hard to keep from feeling like everything is finally coming together. more news, much more news, to follow

NOT MUCH CAN TOP THAT, BUT READ ON FOR A FEW MORE FRIDAY FAVOURITES AND YOUR WEEKLY CAT PIC!



you do know what day it is, right?

ok, seriously, even writing that top one was enough fun to qualify as a friday favourite, but, in case there was any doubt, there is not and there never will be a sequel to conversion in the works. we've finished up the exceptionally long and agonsing process of the sound mix on conversion and we're a few tweaks away from a complete, gift-wrapped, ready-to-watch film that will hopefully be making its debut in a theatre near you and, yes, there is a lot more news to follow soon, but that's all.

now, here are some real friday favourites:

de-3d glasses!

april fools' day at think geek:: every year, these guys come up with the most remarkable selection of imaginary toys for kids of all ages with two much imagination to begin with. this year's haul includes glasses that remove the world's distracting 3-d effect to make it more like watching a regular movie, a playmobil apple store and more...

the worst thing about this is that some of their incredible toys deserve to be real, but take heart!!! their "tauntaun sleeping bag" proved so incredibly popular with site visitors that they actually started manufacturing it. what will make the cut this year?

sephora pointe claire:: i mentioned this earlier in the week, but i wanted to give an extra word to the great staff at sephora in the fairview shopping centre. normally, you wouldn't see me use the words "fairview shopping centre" without the word "trapped" or "hostage", but the promise of goodies lured me there.

chocolate zombie bunny!

historically, my experiences with sephora stores haven't been great. they kind of remind me of those ads you see about home depot, where the lone customer wanders around the store desperately trying to find help. i guess that big business figured that women needed their equivalent experience.

but the folks at this store are just a fantastic balance of friendly and helpful without making you feel like you've been targeted for membership in some weird ufo cult. customer service is not dead.

arsenic-based sea monkeys!

march is over:: i hate march. i almost always have the worst month of my year in march and 2011 did nothing to break that trend. snowstorms, stalled job search, sound issues with the film, sickness... but that's all behind us now. because today, i'm just foolishly happy it's april and i'm once again ready to take on the world. in fact, i did just find a job posting for "dictator of earth" that i'm thinking for applying for... remarkably few qualifications required. i think i'm a good match.

a very happy april fools' day to everyone. i'm personally looking forward to a continuation of the milder weather we've been experiencing, a continuing improvement in my health (cold is still hanging on a little, but i'd say it's gone from a category 3 to a mild depression in the last few days) and to doing some writing work for the first time in forever. it looks like one of my stories will be appearing in the next issue of paraphilia magazine, assuming i can get my act together and get it edited on time! (you can see other short stories, as well as some music-related interviews i've done in past issues.)

i'm also looking forward to the fact that the coming week will bring two opportunities for me to dj: the first on wednesday night at cagibi (april 6th) and the second installment of "the caustic lounge" woth mr. dna. following that on saturday april 9th, i'll be doing a more dance-focused set at "kill me now" a classic goth night that takes place at cabaret playhouse. hope to see you montrealites there!

and finally, here's this week's cat photo, from the macdonald-marceau cat farm. it took our little princess a good couple of weeks to accept her new brothers, but, as you can see, the awkward stage seems to have passed.

julia & hecubus

making faces :: product review [sephora haul]

if you're a lady or a lad who's into making yourself look good, sephora is sort of like the antechamber to paradise. it has everything you need to make yourself look, smell and probably taste perfect in every way before you make your big entrance. unfortunately, and for no reason i can understand, when sephora opened stores in the montreal area, they put them in the suburbs of laval and pointe claire, rather than establishing a presence downtown. well, i suppose that keeps my wallet happy, but it means that going there is something i can't do very often.

but this week, for the first time, i made the pilgrimage out to pointe claire to see what i'd been missing- all those brands for whom sephora is the sole distributor in canada. and, yes, i was like a kid in a candy store. i decided to let myself have a couple of treats, because what's the point of making the trip if you aren't going to come back with some kind of trophy? i also decided that i would stick exclusively to things that i can't get closer to home. i did pretty well on both counts. i don't know why i ended up with only lipsticks, but i do find that they're just such a good way to get oneself introduced to a brand...

i would like to take a moment and say a big thank you to heather and daniel who were way beyond helpful and truly did make the outing there like a fun adventure in toyland. who doesn't enjoying a few moments of escapism on a dreary day in march?

SEE WHAT GOODIES I RETURNED WITH AND MY THOUGHTS ON THEM



here are the trinkets i returned with [pics are clickable]:

oil slick

urban decay :: oil slick :: this is actually not my first experience with urban decay by a long shot. i have a couple of their eye shadows (sin and asphyxia) at the moment and have had more. i even owned one of their lipsticks before, a lovely (discontinued) shade of greyish lilac called "pallor". back when they started, urban decay embraced their name, featuring colours that oozed with the decrepit beauty of the inner city at a time when everyone else was still introducing six new shades of soft pink a season. but, as often happens, others noticed what was happening and soon they had a lot of competition. with the originality of their colour palette diminishing, urban decay was left to fight on the strength of their products, which, at the time, was not great. however, they've made incredible strides in recent years and are now one of the most respected brands around, particularly among the younger demographics (which wouldn't include me, but anyway).

oil slick

"oil slick" is actually an old colour for u.d., but it has, like the rest of their lipsticks, undergone a reformulation. where older lipsticks tended to be dry and cakey, the new formula is unbelievably moist. it smells faintly of caramel, which doesn't bother me, although it does make me crave creme brulee at the most inappropriate times. it's a sheer colour, which means that a lot of your natural lip colour will show through. i've seen pictures where it looked almost colourless, but in fact, it can be built up with a couple of passes to a very visible stain. the base colour is a blackish brown shade and there is loads of silver shimmer added. the shimmer and the moist texture combined mean it's incredibly reflective and catches the light just beautifully. the shimmer isn't gritty, although you may notice little flecks of it in odd places on your lips.

given the sheerness of the shade, it doesn't have great lasting power, but i wouldn't really expect it to. the only thing i found myself wishing was that, given the name, they had made the shimmer multi-coloured, like the rainbow sheen on an actual pool of oil. but perhaps that's for another revision. until then, i'm happy with this sort of "summery vamp" shade. ($22cad)

candide tangerine

givenchy :: rouge interdit candide tangerine :: well, as you can see, i'm still getting over my orange crush from last week. i didn't really see myself as needing another bright orange shade, but the second i laid eyes on this one, i knew that i had to either wear it or eat it, which meant that one way or another, it was coming home with me.

i have to say that i wasn't really aware of givenchy's cosmetics. while i expect that lesser-known brands like urban decay will only be available at sephora, i see givenchy's perfumes everywhere (dom actually wears their men's scents fairly regularly), so when there was no adjacent cosmetics counter, i just figured that they weren't in the business. in fact, they seem to have a small but beautiful selection that i wished i'd met sooner. their pricing is actually a little lower than chanel or yves st. laurent, who i would see as their natural competitors, so that's a welcome surprise. it's not a lot but, hey, i'll take it.

candide tangerine

"tangerine" is an absolutely perfect name for this shade, because it's exactly what it looks like. an intense reddened orange, tantalisingly juicy, different than any shade on the market. it's a limited edition from what i understand, part of the company's spring collection. i'm late getting to it and, for those in the montreal area, i grabbed the very last one at sephora pointe claire, so you'll have to take your chances at the laval store (or online at sephora.com). it's a luscious shade and a wonderful, moisturising formula. it's not quite opaque, but a couple of passes basically meant there was nothing of my natural lip colour peeking through. applying a single layer would give you more sheer covereage, obviously, which might be preferable for those who like their lips a little tamer. there was a very faint "cosmetic" scent on application, but that faded very quickly. i can't say whether the rest of the rouge interdit lipsticks are the same quality, but i can guarantee that i'll be checking them out.

as a shade, "candide tangerine" is deeper and much shinier than mac's "neon orange", brighter and redder than guerlain's "gipsy". i also found that it was less warm than either of those shades, which probably makes it a better bet for those who have cooler complexions. delicious. ($32cad)

drop dead red

too faced :: drop dead red :: ok, if there is one thing i do not need in my life, it is more red lipsticks. but put one like this in front of me and i'm just a girl who can't say no. this goes double if dom is around since, as i've mentioned, he's a man who loves the bright lips.

i'd heard of too faced, but i had never bought anything from them before. they're overall look reminds me a lot of benefit in its cuteness and cheekiness- it looks a little like something old-fashioned, but viewed through a modern eye. they have a number of well-priced kits that allow you to sample a number of their products at once, all of which are housed in adorable, music box-like packaging. for individual products, their pricing falls around the same level as mac.

as a colour, this one is killer. even for an intense shade, the pigmentation is incredible. it stained my hand when i swatched it and removing that stain took some work with makeup remover. on the lips, that translates to maximum staying power. it goes on shiny, but settles pretty quickly to a semi-matte finish. while it's not drying, it doesn't add any moisture to the lips, so if you might want to apply a light coat of balm first.

drop dead red

the colour looks more red in the photos (particularly the close-up) than it does in real life, i find. to me, it looked like a very strong reddish pink, a deep berry colour, rather than a true red, although it's close enough to go either way. it's quite cool and it's a colour i really can't see working on warmer tones. on fair skin, as you can see, it makes a real statement. on darker complexions, it would be a strong shade as well, but not as "shocking". the pigmentation is pretty much completely opaque, even with a single swipe, so i don't think that it's going to vary much from person to person. personally, as a lover of dark, intense lips, this is perfect for me. ($18cad)

the awful part about this is that i already have a list of things that i want to go back for. normally, you'd have a lot of trouble getting me to go near a suburb (particularly since i have a bad tendency to get lost in them). now, all of a sudden, i can't wait. hurry up and open a downtown store already, sephora. just make sure the staff are as awesome as the place in pointe claire.