Think Globally

Lately the world has been fixated on all of the destruction and devastation that has taken over Japan, as a result of the earthquake in the Pacific and subsequent tsunami that washed away cities on the western coast of Japan.
There were warnings. There were emergency evacuations. There were preparedness plans put into action by almost all of the Pacific countries. But even the most intuitive plans were no match for Mother Nature. The tsunami swept away entire communities, damaging not just the homes, but also families -- many of which suffered unimaginable losses. And if that wasn't enough, Japan was also left to face the meltdowns at nuclear plants, threatening to poison what was left of the surrounding cities. But one thing this disaster couldn't take from Japan: their hope.

Now the Japanese are left to clean up. Restore their cities. Band together for the sake of their homes, their livelihoods, their families. They'll be reconstructing their cities from the ground up, trying to grasp onto the little bits of hope that are left. It's heartbreaking. It's scary. It's something that has been happening a lot lately in different parts of the world. Let's not forget the destruction left behind by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, which was "estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)." Then there was the earthquake that uprooted the capital of Haiti and the surrounding villages – a place that was already struggling to thrive. Reconstruction efforts are moving slowly, and there is still a significant need for help. Then there are man-made disasters like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which impacted not only the environment and wildlife, but also the fishing industry and tourism all along the coastline – an economic disaster on its own.

All of these disasters really make people wonder: should we be taking a hint? Is this the beginning of the end? I've seen a number of different comments on Facebook about how this is "Mother Nature's way of telling us we're hurting our environment and our future." Regardless of whether I agree or disagree, one thing is for sure: people all over the world want to help. After every natural disaster I see so many people joining Facebook groups that "support the victims of the hurricane" or any number of different solidarity groups for the victims of disasters. While joining a virtual group isn't a bad thing by any means, it also isn't helping anyone. It might be the easiest thing for a person to do – click "Like" on Facebook instead of pledging money to charities or sending supplies to the Red Cross. And I don't exclude myself from doing that either. I've tried to do small things, like buying Dawn dish soap, which resulted in more Dawn products being donated to the oil spill wildlife clean-up efforts. And it's not always about the money. But when it comes to disaster relief and support, actions speak much louder than words. In looking at the bigger picture, if everyone were to do a few small things like buying a specific product from a company that supports a good cause, it would add up to something so much more significant than simply interacting with Facebook groups (and let's face it – how many truly intelligent conversations are actually conducted on Facebook group/fan pages?). So many people want to help, but they just need the information, and a little motivation. A virtual push in the right direction.

That being said, I've done a little research on disaster relief efforts and different organizations that are in place to provide support to people suffering all over the world. This includes the events in Japan, Haiti, the Gulf of Mexico and even issues we tend to forget about right here at home.
Below are some links to websites where you can get more information on ways to support various relief efforts or causes. Even if it's just to get some information on these organizations, at least it's helping to get the word out. Some of the ways in which you can help include things we all do on a daily or weekly basis: shopping! Buy items from companies that send proceeds to charities. Shop on a website that supports a specific cause with specialty products or a portion of their sales. Load up on goodies and help a good cause at the same time!

AMERICAN RED CROSS
There are Red Cross donation sites all over the country, making it easy to drop off supplies or a monetary donation. Or hey, even offer your services as a volunteer for a blood drive or relief distribution! Red Cross is supported by celebrities like Penn Badgley, Rascal Flatts and Jamie Lee Curtis.

UNICEF
Another major organization. UNICEF provides ongoing support and assistance to over 150 countries – from clean drinking water to vaccinations and food/supplies. Audrey Hepburn (one of my role models) was an ambassador for UNICEF, and now celebrities like Alyssa Milano and Sarah Jessica Parker continue to carry the torch. There are also plenty of corporate partners like American Airlines, Gucci, the NBA and Microsoft, all of which donate continuously throughout the year and sell specialty products and services that help to fund their donations. If you go to their corporate sponsor page you can view the entire list, and then shop from their companies, knowing that some of your money will be helping others both directly and indirectly.

ETSY
Hundreds of Etsy sellers have shown support for the relief efforts in Japan by listing their items with the tags "joyforjapan" or "artistaid," so when users search for those tags, the search results populate with items that are being sold to aid in the disaster relief efforts in Japan. It's a great way for a smaller indie companies to make a big impact.

AMFAR
The fight against AIDS/HIV is a global effort being led by AmFar, which was created 25 years ago. Former President Bill Clinton has focused a lot of his charitable attention on this foundation, and AmFar is also supported by people like Kenneth Cole (currently the Chairman of the Board), Susan Sarandon and, of course, the late Elizabeth Taylor. This is a constant battle that should not be overlooked and forgotten in the midst of natural disasters.
This goes hand-in-hand with the ONE Project, which was co-founded by Bono and other campaigners as a way to achieve change through advocacy.

CLINTON FOUNDATION
The Clinton Foundation has grown in size and importance over the years, notably in their support of Haiti relief efforts. The Clinton Foundation also focuses on climate change, HIV/AIDS and Malaria, childhood obesity and promoting economic opportunity. If you do a Google search for products that direct proceeds to the Clinton Foundation, you will be able to look through a multitude of different options and ways of supporting this cause.

NOT ON OUR WATCH
This charity has been in the news a lot lately, as George Clooney has been very vocal about getting the word out. It was founded by Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and a few others. The mission of Not On Our Watch is to end genocide by offering "humanitarian assistance and protection for the vulnerable, marginalized and displaced."

THE ANIMAL RESCUE SITE
This website was a recommendation from my friend Tamra. She bought some cute boots from this site, and I was intrigued by the purpose of this organization. It's part of the GreaterGood Network and  aims to "provide simple, effective, feel-good ways to address an urgent, specific need: providing food and vital care for some of the eight million unwanted animals given to shelters every year in the U.S., as well as animals in desperate need around the world." As a pet owner myself, I could make a connection with this and bought a number of cute things in support of their cause. The GreaterGood Network also includes the Hunger Site, the Breast Cancer Site, the Veterans Site, the Child Health Site, the Literacy Site and the Rainforest Site – each site sells campaign-specific products to support their causes.

ASPCA
This was a difficult website for me to read through, and even to look at. Pictures of abused animals, stories of deplorable conditions that animals were found in – it disgusts me to no end. I can't watch the ASPCA commercials on TV without crying, so I change the channel every time it comes on. However, their purpose is to build support in their cause by appealing to the emotions of everyday people...and they do a darn good job of it. If I could rescue every single abused or neglected animal in the country, I wouldn't think twice. But we can help the animals – by donating to the ASPCA. If you visit the website, you'll find many different opportunities for supporting their cause. Even if it's a small donation, every cent helps. I plan on making a contribution this weekend.

AUTISM SPEAKS
Autism Speaks is an organization that helps to fund research in the prevention methods, treatments and potential cure for autism, while also raising awareness of autism and its effects on families. Autism Speaks has a great fan page on Facebook that sends out a number of helpful articles, and the website can give you more information on ways to help this cause. Autism touches so many people's lives, yet it's still such a mystery to so many people. The only way we'll ever learn more about autism is if the research is funded and scientists/professionals are able to spend the time and money needed to gain insight into the lives of autistic children and adults.


Stay Fabulous.

Heavenly Naturals: A Review

I've been very interested in mineral/organic makeup ever since I discovered all of the unique and talented shop owners selling their handcrafted products on Etsy. My collection started with Orglamix, and has evolved into a plethora of different sellers' products from Etsy and beyond. I also started following a number of bloggers and beauty pages on Facebook, like Beauty by Charlie and Phyrra. They present a variety of different makeup suggestions, which I've taken advantage of many times. One seller I came across was Heavenly Naturals Pure Mineral Makeup. I read a few reviews and was intrigued by their selection, so I ordered seven different mineral shadows to try out, ranging from a shimmering white to deep smokey silver.

Heavenly Naturals

The shadows above came packaged in a normal bubble mailer, accompanied by a few business cards (which are great for referring friends and cultivating new customers), along with a free sample of Rare Beauty mineral shadow. Each color has a distinct quality about it that sets it apart from the rest, and all of the pigments wear really well with a smooth finish. Any color with shimmer or glitter in it looks the best when stippled onto the lids instead of swiping it across, which allows the pigments to stick and not fall off, and gives the color a more rich look versus a sheer tint.

As for how each color works...
Lovely Lady is a shimmering white color with some sparkle, but not too much. When I use it, it's usually as a highlighter under my brow bone and at the corners of my eyes, which really widens and brightens my eyes.
Honesty is the next color, and while it looks just like Lovely Lady, it's more of a pearly white with slightly more depth to it. I use Honesty as a highlighter as well.
Soulful is a fantastic gold/bronze color with shimmer and light glitter. It looks great on just about anyone, and especially brings out blue and hazel eye colors by offering a contrasting tone. I usually wear it as an accent color layered on top of a neutral like taupe or off-white.
Courtship is part of Heavenly Naturals' Peacock Collection, which includes a group of jewel-tones shades that complement each other quite well. Courtship uses a black base (all of the Peacock colors start with a black base) with dark brown secondary tones and a warm rose shimmer. All of the different facets of this color combine to create a unique look from different angles, depending on the light (usually referred to as a "duochrome" effect).
Charmed is an antique-looking silver color with a deeper, richer color than other metallic or bright silver shades. I often use colors like this foiled as eyeliner, unless I'm creating a nighttime look and want a smoky effect.
Twilight is another Peacock color that uses a black base and lovely jewel-toned pigments. Twilight uses a deep gray/silver layered with shimmery midnight blue for just a touch of color and depth. It looks very nice as a liner as well.
Fate is one of my favorites from Heavenly Naturals. It's made with a black base and given a soft forest green sheen, with just the slightest amount of blue glitter to give it some added depth that's relatively undetectable when it's on.
I was also sent the sample of Rare Beauty, but I haven't worn it. I don't wear many matte colors (I just find them boring I guess), and this pink color wears more matte than it does shimmery. I tend to stay away from darker pinks altogether, as I think they make my eyes look bloodshot and tired, unless I use it as a subtle liner. I think fuchsia and magenta colors look better on brunettes than on blondes.
Has anyone else tried darker pink colors and observed similar results? Or do you have a good method of mixing darker pinks into your routine?

Here's a picture of the color swatches. I used them as-is, without any primer underneath or base color.

 

In regards to the technical details, I paid $2.25 per jar of eyeshadow pigment. They're considered sample jars, but when you have as many eyeshadows as I do, it takes a long time to get through a single color, so a sample will last me a few months or more. You get 1/4-teaspoon of shadow in a 3-gram jar. Shipping was only $4.95 and it was very quick — it only took about a day or two to process my order, and then about 3 days for shipping. I spent $27.70 total on 10 sample jars (three of them went to my mom) and shipping. You can get the full-size jars for $6.49 each, which includes 1.5-grams of product in a 5-gram jar. My recommendation is to buy sample jars when you can (some sellers only sell samples in baggies, which holds less product and isn't as convenient to use). Samples give you the chance to try out any colors you want without committing to a full-size jar that could potentially be wasted if you don't like it. It's something I wish I would have considered when I first started buying mineral shadows, as I ended up giving away a handful of colors that didn't work well with my skin tone. Some sellers offer decent return policies, but usually not on samples. So if you're just looking for new colors to try out or a new seller to purchase from, I would suggest buying the samples to start out and then buy full-size jars of the colors you really like. Overall the pigments from Heavenly Naturals were easy to work with and had a nice color payoff. I wouldn't consider this my favorite brand to use — it's a good brand but not extraordinary, and the colors aren't completely unique compared to other brands' offerings. But I did like the way it looked, which is what matters the most. I couldn't give these a higher rating, because compared to a few other brands I've tried, this wasn't my favorite (but wasn't bad by any means).

My official rating for Heavenly Naturals Mineral Eyeshadow Pigments:

Stay Fabulous!

Style Icon: Michelle Obama

Lately I've been participating in a photo challenge on Facebook, which includes posting a new picture every day (for 30 days) that answers particular questions. On the sixth day, the photo was to be "a picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day." It was an easy answer for me: Michelle Obama. It transcends politics and comes from the way she carries herself, her sense of style and her humble nature.

Why would I trade places with her?
Imagine all of the different people she has the opportunity to meet on a weekly, or even daily basis. International royalty, athletes, musicians, actors, TV personalities, humanitarians — and that's just the beginning. She gets to travel all over the world, sometimes to several different countries just within a week. She is able to experience things us "normal" people can only dream about, and she does it with some humility, respect and appreciation for the people who helped her along the way.

Michelle Obama can also make a significant difference in the lives of many people by offering support, hope, optimism and a positive agenda. As the First Lady, she's able to work on many important issues like supporting military families, helping to empower working women, encouraging national service, and an issue I care deeply about, promoting the importance of arts education in schools. With all of the resources she has at her disposal, the opportunities to help others are endless.

I can't forget the one thing that stands out from the rest (and even stands out from First Ladies of the past): the woman has class. Her style is chic and timeless, she portrays an image of strength and sophistication, and she takes risks that other women in her position wouldn't (and haven't) — like wearing sleeveless dresses (haha). I would love to have her wardrobe. She looks fabulous in just about everything she wears and knows what looks best on her body type. Her look is modern and elegant, powerful but not stuffy. It's very J.Crew-ish, which makes sense considering she wears a lot of looks from J.Crew and White House | Black Market.

Here are some of my favorite outfits:

Wearing a Kai Milla green trapeze dress with graceful gathering at the waist

Beautiful pink sheath dress by Michael Kors (AFP/Getty Image)

Tracy Reese floral halter dress

Glittery silver Peter Soronen gown with great statement necklace

Gorgeous strapless Naeem Khan gown

Violet Maria Pinto sleeveless sheath dress

Bright lemon yellow Jason Wu dress with green floral accent

Shimmery blue/violet one-shoulder Peter Soronen gown

Casual-chic sweater with tweed J.Crew skirt

Agree/disagree with any of these looks?

Stay Fabulous!

Movie Madness: The Social Network

Hello, my name is Jen, and I'm a Facebook addict.

Actually, I wouldn't go quite that far, especially compared to most people. I have no problem going days without logging in. I don't post updates every 30 minutes to tell the world about what I'm eating or how I'm feeling. Usually when I'm online, I'm not even at my computer — it stays logged in on my phone all the time. Some nice things about Facebook: birthday reminders, keeping in touch with long-distance friends and being able to share news with people quickly. It is quite convenient for those purposes. However, that isn't what Facebook was originally intended to be, according to "The Social Network."

"The Social Network" follows Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) not only as he invents Facebook, but also as he becomes the youngest billionaire ever. But it's not without fights and lawsuits along the way. As the ad for "The Social Network" explains: "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies."

This movie is basically a dramatized reproduction of the actual events that transpired between Mark Zuckerberg and a variety of different people in his life. The other important role in this movie (and in real life) is Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield). For the sake of not ruining the movie for those who haven't seen it, I'll just say that Eduardo started out as Facebook's CFO and Zuckerberg's friend, but ends up betraying him a few times along the way (though Zuckerberg did his fair share of betraying as well). Also featured in this movie: Sean Parker (founder of Napster, played by Justin Timberlake) and Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss — the twins who sued Zuckerberg for intellectual property theft, claiming Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook from them.

The entire story behind the development of Facebook is quite interesting. It was a fast-paced movie that shifted between the past and the present without compromising the integrity of the story. There were certain parts that didn't seem as necessary to the plot, but overall everything seemed to make sense and add to the movie in the right ways. I thought Jesse Eisenberg was a genius in his role — if Zuckerberg is truly the way Eisenberg portrayed him, I'd love to meet that guy someday. His character was intelligent, but to a fault — he often joked around at the expense of others and came across as condescending on more than a few occasions. He was sarcastic and blatant, refusing to sugar-coat anything. But he was also quite humorous at times. I liken his character to that of Hugh Laurie's "House" in that they're both too smart for their own good, and they don't let people forget how smart they are. Zuckerberg's character almost had an "invincible" tone, like the laws couldn't touch him or didn't apply to him because he was above it all. Obviously this mindset cost him many relationships (and a lot of money), but overall it didn't hinder his success. Aside from Eisenberg's acting, the only other stand-out star was Justin Timberlake. He brought some energy to the movie that it would have been lacking otherwise.

I wouldn't consider "The Social Network" to be one of my favorite movies of the year so far, but it was entertaining and interesting, and sometimes that's enough.

My Rating:

Stay Fabulous!

Movie Madness: "Nowhere Boy"

I'm in love with the Beatles' music. I have been for years. I've seen every movie, every documentary, I own a variety of books and anthologies and of course, I own every album. I also own all of John Lennon's solo work – I wouldn't consider him a great vocalist, but his messages were powerful and his music was artistic, and the songs are still as relevant as ever. War = bad. Peace = good. Imagine. Love.

When I saw the preview for "Nowhere Boy" (2009), I was intrigued not only by its premise, but also because it puts a different spin on Lennon's teenage years compared to all of the movies and documentaries done in the past. Instead of being a documentary, "Nowhere Boy" is more of a fictional interpretation of John Lennon's early years, based on factual events and inspired by the actual people. "Nowhere Boy" stars Aaron Johnson as John, Kristin Scott Thomas as John's aunt Mimi, Anne-Marie Duff as his mother Julia and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Paul McCartney (you might recognize him from one of my favorite movies; he played Sam in "Love Actually."

For a little background on John Lennon, one would start with his family situation. Lennon was raised in Liverpool by his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George Smith, after his father left town and his mother gave up guardianship (though she continued to visit him through the years). One might say Lennon was slightly rebellious, but he also had a heart of gold, a lot of love to give and talent that couldn't be denied. His rebellion didn't reveal itself as much as it did following the death of his mother, who was hit by a car in 1958 – when Lennon was 17 years old. When Lennon was in high school, he and his friends started the group "The Quarrymen," which is when Lennon met Paul McCartney and eventually George Harrison (Ringo wasn't part of the band until later). Soon after, the Beatles were born – and the rest is history.

"Nowhere Boy" is given a short summary at IMDB.com:
"The story of John Lennon's childhood and teenage years from 1944 to 1960, his relationship with his aunt Mimi and his mother Julia – the two dominant women in the first part of his life–, his first meeting with Paul McCartney and George Harrison, their friendship, their love for music and the birth of the Beatles."

Don't be fooled by the short synopsis though – "Nowhere Boy" is filled with complexities, conflict, drama and humor – things you won't always see in similar documentaries and movies about Lennon. As a Beatles fan I really enjoyed the movie, and appreciate the new perspective and interpretation of John Lennon's life. I can't really say if a non-Beatles fan would get the same enjoyment out of the movie (if you're not a Beatles fan but have seen the movie, let me know!), but it was clearly a good pick for me. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it was entertaining and kept my attention the entire time.

Final rating of "Nowhere Boy":

Stay Fabulous!

Marisa's "I Want" Wednesday

 I want a new job. Simple as that. And not just on Wednesdays. Every day. Let me start out by saying that I do actually like my current job. Honestly, I do. I just don’t love my job. And, since I’m studying employment law right now, I know better than to tell the vast reaches of the Internet anything about what I really do for a living or the people I work with that may or may not be the inspiration for this piece.

In a perfect world I’d like to do something that was low stress. Something that yields beautiful things and happy people. I’d love to be a florist. Surround myself all day with pretty flowers that smell nice. Flowers don’t have emergencies. Flowers don’t give me heartburn. Flowers don’t boss you around. Flowers make people happy and show that someone else cares. They’re used for so many positive things. They smell wonderful and when arranged properly, make a statement. I could do that. I would be awesome at that.

I would also be awesome at being a dessert tester. I love dessert. Cupcakes, pie, tarts, cake, truffles, chocolates, ice cream, coffee cake, all of it. In a perfect world I could create these little tasty morsels of love and open up some super-cute little bakery that would be just fabulous. In this world, I’m a terrible baker. So I buy fabulous desserts, and if I really need something homemade for a dinner thing, I ask my husband or my sister-in-law, since both of them make fantastic desserts. My sister-in-law makes cheesecake that is to die for. If I’m ever on death row, my last meal will be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Liz’s Oreo cheesecake. Not a slice, the whole thing. It’s that good.

Another perfect job? Movie critic. I’m an expert movie watcher. I watch a lot of movies. And not just new stuff either. I grew up going to the movies with my parents or my dad and brother almost every weekend for many, many years. Some of my favorite memories with my dad revolve around going to the movies and him smuggling food into the theater in his jacket. Like the other people in the theater aren’t wondering where a liver sausage sandwich came from?  Or when we still lived in our first house sometimes on the drive home he’d make a detour to the movie theater, park in front of the doors, run in and buy a bucket of popcorn because movie theater popcorn just “tastes better” than anything you can make at home.

Anyway, I would be an awesome movie critic. I have a wide variety of tastes that appeal to a wide variety of audiences. I love Steven Seagal for his corny movies. His early work was awesome...not so much anymore. I love Meryl Streep. I have seen “The Bridges of Madison County” at least 431 times. I. LOVE. THAT. MOVIE. Suspense? Drama? Comedy? Period Pieces? Yup, I like those too...well, not all period pieces, but everything else. The only genre of movie that I don’t like is horror.  I’m a chicken, and I don’t like paying to be scared. Haunted houses, scary movies, zombies, I hate all of that nonsense. Maybe movie reviewing wouldn’t be for me...I doubt I’d ever be able to get over that horror movie genre...

I’d also love to write children’s books. I’ve had dreams before featuring my naughty cats where they’re doing weird human like things. I think I could make a whole successful children’s book series: “The Adventures of Mavis & Wanda.” If I could draw, it would be even better. The cats give me good ideas...and I’m an expert book reader, how hard could it be to write some funny ones about the cats? Little kids would love them!

Until any of these dream jobs open up, or I run into a giant influx of cash that will enable me to start such a fun new career, I’m forced to stick with what I’ve got. In this economy, it’s not so bad to have a job that you like, but it sure would be great to have one that I love. Life is just too short to spend it doing things that suck.

Makeup Master List: Urban Decay Primer Potion

I'm skeptical when I spend money on cosmetics that I've never tried. Sure, most companies allow returns, but who wants that kind of hassle? I'm even more skeptical when it comes to eyeshadow primer. I've tried everything I could find, and nothing could keep my eyeshadow crease-free and still looking fresh after a 12-hour day. Mineral makeup, certified organic makeup, high-priced boutique makeup — I've experimented with everything. The closest I got was a nice little primer pot from a mineral makeup shop on etsy, which was a steal at only $5. But, price isn't everything, and with most items, you get what you pay for.

So I expanded my horizons and read many a beauty review on websites like Sephora and ULTA. After much research, there were three primers that stood out from the rest and were highly recommended by most people with oily eyelids. The first recommendation was Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and the second was Benefit's Stay Don't Stray. The third primer proved to be the most talked about, and ended up being my choice: Urban Decay's Primer Potion. So I crossed my fingers and ordered it, at $18 for 0.34 oz. of primer. Not expensive compared to similar brands, but not an inexpensive item considering its size and volume. However, if it worked the way people said it would, I figured it would be worth the money.

After using the UDPP for about three weeks, I found that all of the recommendations were right on — I'd never be loyal to another. I can confidently say that it's the best primer I've ever tried, though I still plan to test out the Too Faced and Benefit primers just to see where they measure up.
Prior to using UDPP, my oily eyelids wouldn't allow eyeshadows to stay put for more than a few hours. I'd put on my makeup at about 5:30am, and by 10am it was a hot mess — that is, if you could even see it by then, as many times it looked like it was completely gone. Where exactly does it go? I don't rub my eyes or anything, so is this another phenomenon like those random socks that go missing when you do the laundry?
Enter Urban Decay Primer Potion: a makeup God-send. It made my shadow not only look more vibrant and easier to blend, but it also kept everything in place until I washed it off at night — it looked like it was just applied, even 12 hours later!

For those who don't use eyeshadow primer, or would like to but are unsure how to incorporate it into your makeup routine, Urban Decay makes it super easy, and the color payoff is worth it. I started by applying foundation as usual (I don't use it all over, just in necessary areas), followed by translucent loose powder to set everything. Then I swiped a thin layer of UDPP on my lid and below my brow bone. After I let that dry for about a minute, I followed it up with Clinique's Touch Base for Eyes in Canvas Light, just to add a little shimmer and an extra barrier, which proved to be the best combination for me. Once finished, I'd apply my shadow as necessary. The primer makes shadows easy to blend and crease-free for a nice, seamless look.

Needless to say, I highly recommend Urban Decay's Primer Potion, regardless of your skin type. Even if you don't have problems with creasing or color fading, this primer enhances the pigments and gives them more depth than they would have on bare skin. Overall, I give UDPP two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

My official performance rating:

The only reason I didn't give it a 10 was because the bottle and wand make it hard to access all of the primer, so eventually I'll have to cut it open to get to the rest (which happens to be a lot).

Stay Fabulous!