Fetish and Score Afterglow Blushes by Urban Decay

Fetish, Score

Disclaimer: I purchased these.

I picked up Urban Decay's Afterglow blushes in Fetish and Score during Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty last year in September, so I guess I'm a bit behind, considering the spring 21 Days of Beauty just finished. What prompted me to post them now was seeing that Ulta currently has 7 of the shades on sale for $15.60, which is 40% off of their $26 regular price. This makes me wonder if Urban Decay may be discontinuing the line, but I guess we shall see.

I do enjoy the Afterglow blush formula and find it to be finely milled with buildable color. Previously, I had purchased Rapture (full review here) and restrained myself from purchasing any others, but sales have a way of weakening what little resolve I have, and I believe these were half off. Fetish is a medium pink nude with a satin finish, and Score is a medium pink-peach with a slight shimmer.

When swatched, they are close in color and you probably don't need both, as I doubt the difference is dramatic enough to show up on the face. I don't really detect more shimmer in Score than in Fetish, but considering I prefer a satin finish, that's okay with me.

But yeah, the current sale at Ulta (plus the 20% coupon they sent to Platinum members) tempted me into buying Kinky, which is described as a light peach with shimmer. I'll have to swatch all three together when it arrives to see if Kinky is different enough from these two to make me not regret getting it.

I'm weak, I admit it. Oh, did I mention you get 5X points on Urban Decay products at the moment? That definitely factored in as well :-) I've already decided to forego the Sephora VIB sale with it's 15% code, as I much prefer Ulta's sales and rewards. I'll indulge in the Sephora fall VIB sale when the discount is 20% instead.

Fetish

Loving Your Unloved v.7: Theodora Palette by Urban Decay

Disclaimer:  I won this in a giveaway.

To be honest, a lot of my eyeshadow palettes see sporadic use at best.   Partially because I have a lot, and partially due to being constantly distracted by New! Shiny! Pretty! things.  Hence my Loving Your Unloved series, where I concentrate on an item or items that have languished neglected for too long.

Theodora brand spankin' new

February's choice was the Theodora palette by Urban Decay (2013), a limited edition palette inspired by the movie Oz, and more specifically the character Theodora played by Mila Kunis. Composed primarily of neutrals with a splash of green, I've now formed some definite likes/dislikes that will help me decide what to keep or let go of, which is another purpose of this series.

After a month of use

Of the 6 shadows in Theodora, one was a go to favorite:  the caramel matte Beware.  It makes for a great transition crease color and I used it every day in February.  It kicks up a LOT of powder, but lays down smooth color effortlessly.  Love.

Beware

The second most used shade was the creamy bisque Broken, although I was left feeling it was a bit more something:  pigmented?  shimmery?  I've got other creamy highlight shades I like better so I think this one is losing it's spot in the palette.

Broken

The Jealous split pan greens are a thing of beauty.  I love having two colors in one pan and I hope Urban Decay revisits this concept in the future.

Jealous

The other split pan called Spell, however, has too much glitter in the mix to make it something I want to reach for.  The pigmentation on both is good but glitter is no bueno for me.  Adios.

Spell

Out of the two darker browns I preferred the neutral brown shimmer Bewitch over the darker sable brown West.  I'll be keeping Bewitch and passing on West to my mother.  I'll probably use one of my four pan Urban Decay palettes to house the ones I'm passing on.

Bewitch

West

I watched Oz last year and thought it was a visually striking movie, and I think Urban Decay did a really good job with the color theme and names of these shadows.  I'm not sure I would have included two dark browns, but that's just me.  Here are some of the looks I created using Theodora:

The Theodora palette is no longer available except on ebay, where it is going for $125-$185, although I saw the singles for $12.99 each.  None of the colors are particularly unique, however, so I'm guessing those prices will mainly appeal to collectors.

Gwen Stefani Blush Palette by Urban Decay

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Gah, but I love me some blush palettes. I also like Urban Decay's Afterglow blush formula, and 6 of them for $45? So, when Urban Decay released the Gwen Stefani blush palette, I reached for my wallet immediately. Not so much because I'm a Gwen or No Doubt fan (I was more of a Seattle Grunge fan), but because "blushes!". After using the palette for 3 weeks, here are my impressions.

First, a little background on the palette:  it was developed by Gwen for Gwen, as they reflect the shades she wished she had in her collection.  The color selections therefore represent what someone who is very fair would gravitate towards.  There is a mixture of cool and warm tones, although warm dominates IMO.  All of this works for me, so far so good.

The packaging, also designed by Gwen, is NICE. Substantial and with a nice heft to it, I like the white/gold graphic pattern. 

The pans are a nice size and the formula itself is easy to work with.  These do kick up a fair amount of dust but they apply smoothly.  Taking into account these were developed with the fair complected in mind, I wouldn't call them under pigmented -  but they are light in color.  This has it's pluses and minuses, but for my skin tone it's mostly pluses. 

 The darkest shade Easy is actually the one I will use the least, as it's darker than I usually go when it comes to blush colors.  It's lovely though, and with a light hand it's definitely workable.Cherry is a cool-toned bubblegum pink and was a surprise like for me, as it has a nice glowing quality that is not over the top.

Lo-Fi is a matte tan that can be used as a bronzer and/or contouring shade for the fair complected. It's warm toned without leaning too orange, and it works well to warm up my winter pasty skin without looking obvious - I like it.  Angel's champagne beige shimmer is a lovely highlighting shade that gives a soft glow.  Love.

The other two blushes (Hush, OC) work better as highlighters IMO, as they do not give enough color to work well as blushes on me.  That's okay, because they are really pretty and I'm in a major highlighter phase right now.  I especially like using OC over a cream blush, as it's peach/pink duotone shift works well over so many of the colors that I gravitate towards.  Hush's high shimmer means I have to use it sparingly in order to not emphasis pores, hence regulating it to highlighter status.

If I had to rank them on preference and how much I will use them, it would probably go this way:  OC, Lo-Fi, Angel, Cherry, Hush, Easy.  Bottom line, it's a really good palette if the colors work for your complexion, and for mine they do!

Here I'm wearing OC over a peachy pink cream blush, Lo-Fi as a bronzer, and Angel as a highlighter. Perfect spring colors, and Mobile is having an early spring - it will be approaching 70 degrees several days this week.

Rapture Afterglow Blush by Urban Decay

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Cooler weather brings to mind a different color palette - plum and deep berry tones, in particular.  Those are colors I usually can only carry off on my nails, but I wanted to try one of Urban Decay's new Afterglow blushes and the plum toned Rapture ($26) seemed like a unique addition to my collection.

Afterglow blushes are described as being finely milled, the result of the right balance of coated powders and pigments.  Based on Rapture, I'd say that's right, as it applies seamlessly and is very easy to build up color.

Rapture has a soft shimmer that provides a nice sheen without emphasizing pores, and it pairs quite nicely with Urban Decay's Revolution lipstick in Manic. I'm also wearing UD's eyeshadow Laced (review here) and two discontinued 24/7 eyeliners - 1999 and Baked.  I still shake my head and wonder why those were discontinued.

Manic Revolution lipstick

Laced eyeshadow, 1999 and Baked 24/7 eyeliners

The Afterglow blushes are supposed to wear for 8 hours, which is a realistic claim.  My oily skin tends to rapidly break down makeup, but I can still see color at the end of my day.  Rapture gets a thumbs up from me and I think it will see plenty of wear this winter!