Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation and Optical Blur brush

UD's Naked Skin Foundation has been everywhere since its release. With good reason. It really is a great foundation. I waited a bit before purchasing (I posted a picture on Facebook when I did), mostly because I wanted to see what everyone else thought of the foundation first.

When I finally purchased it, I was at ULTA with my toddler (note to self: do not buy foundation with a toddler in tow). Obviously things were a tad rushed, so rather than actually applying the foundation to my jawline as I should have, I held up the transparent plastic thing that UD claims will give you your shade number. I bought 1.0, which I expected because my friend Phyrra was 0.5, and generally I'm just a tad darker than her. Luckily the ULTA SA put in a little sample shade pack from UD. Because that 1.0? Waaaay off. I was a lot closer to the 2.5 in the shade pack. I returned it a little later when it was obviously much too light. Later, Urban Decay sent me the foundation (and the brush here), and it turns out that 3.0 is the best match for me.

Naked Skin is definitely more liquidy than most foundations. You can see it is just barely not watery, and the 2.0 and 3.0 shades are actually very close. The coverage is in the light-medium range, and very easily builds for more coverage. It doesn't need much blending, I can get nearly flawless coverage with just my fingers. I didn't have any issues with the foundation changing colors later (that oxidation is one of my biggest pet peeves) and everything still looked perfect at the end of the day.

Any foundation that gives me such great looking skin (you can't even see that foundation) and lasts for well over 12 hours is definitely one I can recommend.

Urban Decay also recommends their Optical Blurring brush for use with the foundation. I'm not usually a foundation brush girl (I prefer to apply with fingers and then complete my blending with my Beauty Blender sponge).

While this is a pretty big brush, it's still smaller than my big kabuki brushes. It's slightly domed and the bristles are a bit stiff, but do bend easily and are fairly soft.

I've been using the Optical Blending Brush to slightly stipple and blend my foundation, and the results have been much better than my Beauty Blender. I have noticed that there are some foundations that the brush is better for, and some that the Beauty Blender is better for. In general, the brush works better with more liquid foundations, the thicker the foundation (such as the new Stila Stay All Day foundation, which I'm reviewing tomorrow) are better off with the Beauty Blender.

Do you use a brush or a sponge with your foundation? Do you have a great blending trick that you can share?


Urban Decay

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A Month of Red Lips: Urban Decay Red Light

If you're afraid of red lippies, this is the perfect way to slowly introduce yourself! This gloss isn't sticky, has an amazing minty taste and I love the faint red color.

Urban Decay

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5 Years of Favorite Products: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

I fully admit, I ordered the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette during the first release on-line. I didn't post a review, because by the time I received mine, all the bloggers with early releases had posted their swatches and reviews... and I felt like I was just jumping on the band wagon at that point?

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But, when it came time to post about my favorite products, I really couldn't avoid the fact that I have never had a palette alter my morning routine to this extent.

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I reach for this palette every morning. Every single day I use this thing. I've become much more daring with color because of this palette. Yes, I know the colors are "Naked", but with my pale skin they are more mid-tone neutrals. The result? I'm wearing a variant of a smokey eye almost every day. Even if I'm just at home playing with my 1 year old.

No other palette has ever been my "go-to" for such a long time, nor changed things up for me like this. Get one if you can!

Urban Decay

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Concealer Series: Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil

Finally, I am reviewing it. A concealer that ranked a 5 on my coverage scale.

Seriously, this stuff could cover anything. I'm adding it to the list of things I recommend to friends when they want to cover a tattoo. If it can cover my undereye capillary (that sucker is dark and likes to be the center of attention), I'm sure it will work on a tattoo. My friend Phyrra thought it was great at covering things up too.

Consistency: It comes in a "stick/pen" as you can see from the pictures, so it is very dry and formed. Because of this it is super pigmented. I haven't had to sharpen one yet, this does make me a tad nervous.
Blendability: Not so much. It is creamy initially but it sets very quickly, so I recommend using it in a small area and blending quickly.
Buildable coverage: No need really, it is very pigmented.
Feeling on skin: Lightweight
Wear: 10-12 hours
Problems with wear: Caking if not blended properly, I suspect this is because of how it is formulated.
Shades Available: It comes in 4 different shades

6/11/2011 Update!
In some random discussion with my cousin Ellery from Mom's Life Made Easy on Facebook today I learned something interesting. Ellery says:
"Loving the Urban Decay concealer, but went to sharpen and half the stick fell out! Contacted the company and they said it would happen if I live in place warmer than Alaska (where they test them)! Told me to just stick it in the fridge first next time! So helpful!"

I admit I was wondering this as well, so I've yet to sharpen mine. I'll definitely be chilling it first!

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil

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An Eye Shadow Primer Confession

In the past, my holy grail eye shadow primer has always been Urban Decay's Primer Potion. In the past I've made half hearted attempts to find something better, cheaper, with packaging that doesn't waste most of the product... (Yes, UDPP is now available in a tube. Note that tube is huge and I have 3 backup wands in my stash right now. Yes, there was a good sale on-line for $4 each, don't look at me like that.)

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UDPP-- Is it a Rip Off???

See that magical purple wand? That is Urban Decay's Primer Potion, a holy grail product that I use everyday on my eyelids before eyeshadow. I love this stuff so much that it was one of the first products I wrote about (that post is 2/1/07, I started on 1/27/07).

I've heard rumors of huge amounts of product left over in the wand. A friend on Makeup Alley told me to remove the ring at the top (it helps to remove excess from the wand), this would allow the wand to reach in much further and I'd get a lot more product! Well, over at Clumps of Mascara they discovered a much more efficient way to get at that product! I'm simply amazed at these pictures, and you can bet that it won't be long before I take both of the wands I have upstairs (my current and it's backup) and do this exact same thing.

The Primer Potion was worth the price to me before, but knowing that I'll now have a huge increase in the product I can use makes me very happy!

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Urban Decay Eye Primer Potion

I've talked about my issues applying eye shadow properly in the past. A big part of my issue was that by the time lunch came around, anything that I had applied was gone. I thought this was something I was doing wrong, but probably it was a combination of not preparing my lid and using cheap eye shadow. I know that "in theory" I should be downsizing my morning routine. But, the 15 seconds applying this primer each morning is well worth it!

The primer comes in a tube, and is applied almost like a lip gloss. I apply with a finger and let it dry for a few minutes while finishing my hair. The primer blends right into my lids, and I can't even tell it is there. Then, when I go to apply my eye shadow, the shadow applies much more smoothly, is easier to blend, and best of all everything looks great when I get home about 11 hours later!

I've tried other versions of eye shadow primer since buying this one, but they paled in comparison to this one. This primer is well worth the time and money that it adds to anyone's morning routine.

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