Urban Decay ordeal

♫ Sonata Arctica – Mary-Lou

Oh my, let's talk about cosmetics for a change. I rarely blog about make-up since I don't have much to say, really. I'm neither innovative nor experimental with make-up and I feel my creativity is confined by this skin I was blessed to have. Which properly leads me to the subject...

I had been wondering how I could possibly keep eyeliner from melting away during the day... And a few years ago I found a relatively good solution; Grimas eyeshadow. Sounds a bit strange, I suppose – now, if you look back on the photos you've seen of me in my blog, you can probably notice that I am indeed wearing bright pink eyeshadow pretty much all the time. Well, I do like the looks a lot, but the fact that it stays so damn well without any special eye make-up base and also keeps eyeliner from melting and fading has been one of the most important reasons for me to keep wearing it daily – in other words, at work as well. I love Grimas products because they have a lot of pigment too, and won't really remarkably fade with time. And since I've been suffering from a nasty acne ever since I was, uh-oh, ten, I think subtle shades wouldn't look good on my face. Getting creative with make-up requires a relatively flawless skin which I certainly don't have.

Anyway, although I hadn't got totally fed up with my trademark looks, I wanted to solve my eternal problem; how to wear eyeliner without any Grimas eyeshadow and prevent it from melting? The problem may seem quite easy to solve for all of you with a normal skin, but for someone like me, whose skin is particularly oily, there are much less functioning solutions! And let's put it this way; I haven't yet encountered a single make-up primer product (foundation, powder, anti-shine) which would retain the matte finish they eagerly promise. (Covering the whole face with Grimas eyeshadow might work, though.) I highly doubted some eyeshadow primer potion would work on my oily eyelids.

The package is quite pretty!

However, I read reviews of Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion in various beauty blogs and decided to give it a try even though I considered it pricey in case it would turn out to be just as useless as most products for me. So far, I've tried it thrice, so it's been through these ordeals:

Case #1
• Make-up applied in a hurry, used UDPP underneath some Gosh eyeliner
• Had an appointment with a doctor, went to work, had a dance lesson
• Normal winter weather; no extreme frost or snowfall
Results; A light trail of eyeliner in the lid furrow of my right eye, which is exactly what I had been hoping to avoid. The eyelid in the right eye is the problem, my left eyelid is slightly different and make-up doesn't melt so easily on it. Hence, I was disappointed.

Case #2
• Make-up applied with time, used UPDD, Grimas eyeshadow and Gosh eyeliner
• Stared at the TV screen for hours, which often makes eyes more tired and thus, make-up more vulnerable to flaws. Also, slept with the make-up on!
Results; Noticed how eyeshadow was getting slightly lumpy (before I went to sleep), but nothing too bad. Make-up hadn't melted by the time I woke up. However, I've done the same without UPDD, and most of the time Grimas eyeshadow alone works. I've had it melt too, but it occurs rarely. Hence, I wasn't convinced.

Case #3
• Make-up applied rather quickly, UDPP and Gosh eyeliner
• A normal day at work, a bit of exercise after work.
Results; Nothing suspicious in the eyelid furrows – yay! A bit of melting in the inner corner of the right eye, but I can forgive that. Maybe I didn't even apply the primer potion properly there. Hence, I'm getting convinced! Maybe UDPP is the miraculous product everyone has been praising!

Make-up after work, case #3. It's there... there, where it should be! And it seems I can be slightly more creative again, trusting my make-up just might not melt after all if I decide to go without my trusted Grimas eyeshadows. I would be more comfortable experimenting with lipsticks without a strong and bright eye make-up, so... It's about the time I learn to accentuate my lips for a change! So long!