(On the Ganges) → BONE BROKE: urban decay

The City top: c/o Crash & Burn Apparel • Maxi dress: c/o SheInside • Shoes: Arizona Jean Co. via JCPenny • Tikka: Uma • Vintage Vishnu necklace: birthday gift via Etsy • Po ison earrings & Azaria Diamond Necklace: c/o Vanessa Mooney

I had been without internet for about a week and a half -- rather, I should say I have been without wifi functioning on the router. It was uh, quite the headache. Alas, I am back. (With a cold. Awesome.)

I am so fascinated with this top that my friends at Crash & Burn Apparel sent me; it just hangs so beautifully and the cut of it is so quirky. I have actually worn this specific outfit a LOT since they sent this top to me a couple of months ago, and I've also styled it with other pieces, and it kills me to refrain from just doing like, two or three style posts in a row with it -- but I will practice my self-discipline. That isn't to say that you won't see this top on the blog ever again. FAR from it.

This outfit is kind of...spiritual? I'm wearing a lot of personally spiritual items like the tikka, the evil eye bracelet, the vintage Vishnu necklace, the Om Mani Padme Hum thumb ring, plus the Azaria Diamond necklace from Vanessa Mooney is very Eastern styled. Later after these photos were taken, I found a man renting out a cart at the mall selling stuff from Nepal, and Kathryn and I spoke with him for something like two hours about Hinduism. I bought myself a Tibetan prayer box pendant, which you will see pretty soon. He was a pretty awesome guy!

I have to say, I'm gonna miss wearing this tikka -- because I've cut my hair today! I have two other outfits to get posted here so I guess you'll have to wait and see what it looks like once I've taken photos of myself with my new do. (Unless you're buddies with me on Facebook, then the surprise has already been spoiled for you.)

I also need to point out my eye makeup -- Urban Decay's Evidence (blue) and Deeper (brown) blended with some eyeshadows from Mark whose names I don't know. LOOOVE.

Now I'm gonna go reheat my frozen Indian dinner and put Netflix on. This cold sucks.

Urban Decay has released a limited edition set of eyeshadow palettes -- Dangerous, Fun, and Feminine -- and I purchased the edgier variety a month ago at Sephora out of curiosity and intrigue. I had already been drawn to the Mushroom and Ace shades on their own (purchasable separately) and the deal was unbeatable: six shades plus lip gloss for the price of two single eyeshadows. I am no big fan of purple or blue eyeshadows but I figured at the very least I could go out of my way to try them out, or let Kathryn use them. I am more fond of Loaded and Deeper, alongside Mushroom and Ace.

⚔ INCLUDES:
Zippered compact case with mirror
Six 0.03 oz eyeshadow shades (From top left to right: Gravity, Loaded, Evidence -- from top bottom to right: Deeper, Mushroom, Ace)
One 0.11 oz Lip Junkie Lip Gloss in Naked

⚔ PROS:
Price
Versatile compact case
Compact size
Shade variety
Great quality pigmented eyeshadows
Blendable
Impressive longevity -- a little goes a long way!

⚔ CONS:
Very powdery
Creasing
Very dark application
Boring case design?

PROS:

⚔ The price is fan-freaking-tastic. A single eyeshadow typically runs for $18, and this compact comes with SIX. This was the deciding factor for me, and while that can sound steep to some, it is completely worth it if you are interested in these shades. (Or any of the shades from the other palettes, for that matter.)

⚔ The eyeshadow tray in the compact is removable in the event that A.) you deplete your supply of eyeshadows and need to designate a new use for it or B.) just want to remove the palette and use the case for something else. To avoid any mishaps, it does not sit freely but attaches to the case via hidden magnets. (Warning!! Do not put any magnetic-sensitive items in the case, such as phones or credit/debit cards!)

⚔ It is quite a small case, sizing at about 5.25" by 3.75" and 0.75" thick (just barely outsizing the height of an iPhone, and is maybe 2" wider) making it great to throw into your purse for later.

⚔ Another reason to purchase any of these palettes is the variety they give for your buck. No two shades are alike, making your money do more for you when you buy one of these products, they're very complimentary, and work well together for a dual-coloured look.

⚔ The quality of the eyeshadows is very admirable, and is certainly one of the things UD is known for. You really don't have to worry about whether or not these are actually good eyeshadows. They are highly pigmented and very long lasting.

⚔ The key to eyeshadows is blending, and these cooperate beautifully. Being smoky hued in nature, they are also seemingly smoky textured as well.

⚔ As I said above, these eyeshadows last all day. In my use of them, I have not noticed any fading on their part, which means I don't need to reapply during the day, meaning I don't even need to bring this with me when I go out, which is a relief. With as rich and dark as these eyeshadows are, you don't need to pile on layer after layer to achieve a sexy, smoky look. A little dab'll do, meaning you save more eyeshadow.

CONS:
⚔ When applying, even when I tap my makeup brush to relieve it of any excess, I still find that I have eyeshadow powder under my eyes and on my cheeks, which can be kind of irritating if I have already put concealer/foundation on my face. Wiping the powder off leaves coloured streaks on my face, resulting in the use of makeup remover, and thus, reapplying my concealer/foundation. The obvious fix is to just apply the eyeshadow first, but it's a pain if you put any base makeup on your eyelids. (I don't, but I know others do.) The powdery consistency also means getting the eyeshadow on other parts of the palette. I have not had an issue with eyeshadow colours mixing, but I do have to clean up powder off of the palette tray from time to time, which feels like a waste.

⚔ My only REAL qualm with the eyeshadows: they will crease on your eyelid. No matter what shade I use, no matter if I combine with an eyeshadow that I know doesn't crease, I always find creases later on.
THE FIX: Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. And you know what, for the price, it is absolutely worth it. A little really does go a long way. I only need to apply a ridiculously tiny amount, and when combined with this eyeshadow, I never see a single crease. (Pro tip: I also apply this underneath my eyes sometimes before using concealer, and it looks great.) If you already use primer for this purpose, you have nothing to worry about.

⚔ This is, duh, a smoky colour set. If you're buying this palette, you want rich, dark colours -- but be careful when applying. These colours apply surprisingly dark, and you can end up looking like a raccoon when all you intended was a little smoky accent to your eyes. You can totally achieve a smoky effect without going dark with these, it's just all about how gradual you are with it.

⚔ I don't know, perhaps this is just me, but I feel as though the design could have been way cooler. I mean, this is the DANGEROUS palette -- yet it looks more like the BORING palette when it's zipped shut. The Fun palette gets a sparkly turquoise case with a gold octopus -- awesome -- and the Feminine palette gets a metallic purple case with a gothic application of black lace -- gorgeous. Dangerous? Flat black with a dagger. They could totally have gotten away with black and charcoal grey texture or snakeskin print with the font and etc. in silver, with the palette tray doing something else. Grayscale flowers don't strike edgy fear into my heart, man.

⚔ VERDICT

I do recommend this. Even if Dangerous isn't up your alley, you may very well like Fun or Feminine. (And to be honest, Dangerous and Feminine have nearly identical colour options, both featuring purple, grey, gold, and green.) It's price efficient, good quality, compact, versatile, and overall really great. I pretty much use these shades constantly, even if I only use Mushroom to just give my eyes a little something. My cons are just nit-picks anyway. ♥