A Bandwagon Worth Jumping On: Urban Decay Naked Palette

Buy this palette. Now! That's an order.

If you don't already own the Urban Decay Naked Palette, you need it in your life. I've been using it every day since I bought it (it made its debut when I was on hiatus, so I'm a little late), and I'm obsessed. This is the best $44 I've spent on makeup, well, maybe ever. Believe the hype!

First off, it's a pretty incredible value; the palette contains 12

Green For Faith and Hope, and Gold for Charity

The post title's for all my high school friends - it's a line from our school song (probably the only one I remember)! I thought of it when I saw the influx of green, gold, and generally forest-y eye colors that have piled up in my beauty closet this season. Hunter, olive, amber, black gold - all these colors are perfect for creating a dark, mysterious, green-tinged eye, which is very much of the

Get Baked with Urban Decay

Friends, I am on SUCH an Urban Decay kick lately! (Check out this recent post, and this one, and this one.)My latest obsession is the Get Baked Palette ($28). First off, the palette itself is adorable, with a brown floral, '60s mod cover and an aqua interior.Inside you'll find four shimmer-packed shadows, a fabulous 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil, and a mini Primer Potion in Sin.The shadows work really

Not the Holy Grail, But Close: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil

I know I've mentioned this before, so forgive the ranting, but I have a problem with lip pencils.My slightly asymmetrical mouth and "soft" lip line pretty much demand the use of a pencil when I'm trying to achieve a polished, finished lip look, so I know I'm stuck with 'em. But, most of the shades marketed as "nude" or "natural" are nothing of the sort on my lips; they just end up looking orange

Nine Ways to Shine On This Summer

Looking for some pixie dust in your life? Now that summer is upon us, top up that tan with a little nighttime shimmer. Check out these nine standout products in varying formulations, shimmer levels, scents, and price points. I've focused on neutral/colorless shimmers for this piece, but if you're on the hunt for a body bronzer, look no further than this post from last summer, with all the deets

Put Your Faith in a Potion...Or Just Buy Insurance?

We've talked many times about how Urban Decay Primer Potion is a life-changing, amazing, must-have product. I mean come on, the elimination of eyeshadow creasing and migration is MAJOR, no?But the packaging of this little miracle is a royal pain. Think your tube is empty? Not so! (Check out this post for the background.)I was getting a little tired of scraping the extra UDPP from the stupid

Beauty Graveyard: My 5 Most-Missed Products

Just recently I "hit pan" on a limited-edition MAC eyeshadow, and as I saw the first glimpse of silver metal at the bottom of the near-empty pan, I realized that once I finished it, it would be gone for good. Damn these limited edition products!It got me thinking about some of my old favorites (limited edition or not) that are, ahem, "in a better place now." Some, I still haven't been able to

5 Cosmo-Inspired Beauty Products

Can you believe I still haven't seen the Sex and the City movie? Shameful, I know.If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, or if you just can't get enough of the SATC hype, bring home some of these beauty products inspired by Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda's favorite cocktail...the cosmo!Me! Bath Ice Cream in Cosmopolitan is like a LUSH bath bomb -- throw it in the tub and it fizzes

A Thin Line Between Pink and Brown

Back in November I wrote a piece that laid bare all the positive aspects of...gasp! lip liner! You can go back and read that post for my full thoughts on the subject, but the fact is, people don't always like to admit that they use lip liner. But most people also need it every now and again.One of my favorites, as mentioned in the post, is Clinique Pink Truffle. But there's another favorite, that

Urban Decay Primer Potion: Get Your Money's Worth!

You've heard me rave about Urban Decay Primer Potion time and time again...it's a staple in my makeup bag and is amazingly effective at preventing eye shadow creasing (and it helps keep shadows true to shade, too).Effectiveness notwithstanding, I'd always had a suspicion that the curvy, lip-gloss style tube packaging was trapping quite a bit of product inside. Then I saw this post on Clumps of

Release the Crease

One of the questions I'm most frequently asked - in the comments section, over email, by my friends - is how to keep eyeshadow from creasing. It seems that no matter how enthusiastically a company claims that its shadow doesn't crease, it inevitably will, and you'll end up with that telltale cakey, smushed mess on your eyelid.The answer I always give when asked about this is simple: Urban Decay

Workin' On Our Night Moves

Nightlife, my friends, is cyclical (check out this great article about it by Jim Holt here). One year, huge dance clubs are the place to be, the year after that, it's all about dive bars, which then give way to lounges. Back in my college days at NYU, big clubs ruled the New York nightlife scene. We'd get all dressed up, wait in line in the freezing cold outside Exit, Twilo, or China Club, pay a