It's Gotta Be Urban Decay

We've got another Friends & Family sale going on!

From November 9 - November 20 use the code FNFW1 for 30% off your order!

How exciting is that?

Here's what I'm currently craving from them:

The Book of Shadows Volume II... So much shimmer, so little time! Plus eyeliner and my beloved Primer Potion? Awesome! Head on over to Temptalia for some amazing closeups and swatches of all these shadows. I'm a huge fan of Urban Decay palettes in general - I think their shadows are so much fun and a great value for the price. I think the texture of their shadows is pretty great, too. They're all very smooth and easy to blend - a huge plus when you have such intense colors. And come on... $48 for 16 shadows, two eyeliners, and primer? Definitely on my must-have list.

Ink For Eyes - I am a HUGE fan of cream eyeliner. It's so much more forgiving than liquid liner and it's much easier to be precise with cream than with a pencil liner. Supposedly, Urban Decay has a secret ingredient - Nylon 12 - which is apparently a high-tech polymer that allows for a more flawless application. Uhmmmm... Okay, sure! Whatever you guys say. Anyway, I would love to try Binge (midnight blue) & Empire (plum), but check out Temptalia again for closeups of all the colors!

Lipstick (they couldn't come up with a more creative name?) So, the packaging is unnecessarily ridiculous, but I'm intrigued by all the fun colors. I really want to try Naked (creamy pink-nude) and Gravity (rich red). Em over at Too Much Blush gives us a fab review and a few very pretty swatches for this stuff in the color Tease and I think I definitely need to give it a shot.

So, what's on your wishlist?

Big Names Worth Big Bucks?

So MSN.com's Lifestyle section runs a weekly column by the Beauty Director of Marie Claire Magazine, Ying Chu. She's usually got some fun things to say and this week she answers the question: Are designer eye shadows worth the cost or can you get the same look using drugstore eye shadows?

or ?

Here's what she had to say:

"There are a ton of brands that offer top-quality makeup at drugstore prices—including L’Oréal, Cover Girl, and Revlon. If you’re trying out a new look (peacock blue eyes?), then experiment with something inexpensive at first. If you grow to love a trend and want to wear it regularly, then you can invest in something pricier. Sometimes, a more expensive brand can offer a wider range of colors, or really beautiful packaging (I’m a sucker for both), but the formula inside can be similar to what’s found at the drugstore."

Personally, I've never been a fan of drugstore eye shadows. I know, I know, some brands charge outrageous prices and I should be praising the likes of Maybelline and Cover Girl for providing an inexpensive option... But I just can't do it. While I adore many drugstore products, like mascara, I just don't think the eye shadows measure up.

The pigments and textures just can't compare to the high-end shadows from Chanel and Dior. Not even close to the mid-priced, but just as fabulous, brands like MAC and Urban Decay. They just don't seem to last on me and I firmly believe that the higher quality of ingredients in the more expensive shadows is well worth the price.

Of course, Chu has a point when she says to experiment with the drugstore products... But I say head on down to Sephora and try stuff out there. They have the best return policy on the planet so if you don't like it, just give it back!

So that's my view on the drugstore-high-end debate. What's yours?

[photo credits: covergirl.com, chanel.com]

Purple haze all in my brain...

Is it just me, or has purple been the it color for like...years?

Not that I have any problems with purple. In fact, I'm a pretty big fan. I have tons of clothes and accessories in every shade from lilac to plum to violet and I use them regularly.

But purple makeup is a stumper for me. I always oooh and ahhh over it at makeup counters. I'm constantly told that purple shades will make my hazel eyes appear more green, which is something I love since it's sometimes hard to convince people I even have hazel eyes because they're kind of dark. I also have a drawer full of various shades of purple that I absolutely love...in theory.

I'll use a dusting here or a sweep there and that's about as far as I ever go. I even have purple blush that does quite a brilliant job making me look bright and glowy (thank you Bobbi Brown Violet Face Palette!) but I even find myself shying away from that and have no idea why.

Well, color me totally shocked when I saw this on the Sephora website and immediately wanted to drool:

Oh. Em. Gee. Make my eyes look like THAT!! Pretty please?? (a little lighter on the eyeliner, especially under the eye, and I think this could even be considered appropriate for daytime)