Beauty Review: Mally Beauty // Urban Decay

Make-up is something I seem to buy in spurts after I've been inspired by a certain magazine article or getting hooked onto a new beauty vlog...or falling victim to the black hole that is QVC. I never really watch it but one night I was flipping through the channels and some attractive Filipino woman in hot pink doing the running man caught my attention. I've seen Mally Roncal, the make up artist, featured in magazines before but was unaware that she had her own line of products. I was intrigued! After about 30 minutes I got sucked in and in a panic ordered a couple items online before the special offers disappeared. I couldn't help it, she was so excited it was infectious, but I guess that's the whole point of QVC.

Compared to most girls I don't buy THAT much make up mostly because I find keeping up with the trends overwhelming and I don't know how to utilize the products all that well. I have my regimen and process of application and don't change it up all that often. I'm a major creature of habit, not just with make up. So the items that I bought were things I'm familiar with but were promised to have extra benefits.

1. Mally Eye Amplifying shadow liner (set of 2) for brown eyes. I love eyeliner but they always smudge and run down my face! These liners were presented as being very creamy and easy to apply but also "bulletproof" meaning after they set they're not going to budge. The women even applied some on their hands and rubbed rigorously to demonstrate the staying power. Soo, I use and I wait for the stuff to smudge around after an hour or so but surprisingly the stuff is staying exactly where I put it, even in my waterline! Holy shit it's a miracle. The formula is SUPER creamy and just glides on, I love it not to mention the colors for brown eyes, Stone and Deep Plum, are very pretty. By the way, the swatches on my wrist are shown after I've rubbed the crap out of them.

2. Mally Poreless Face Defender. Described as something that no other company in the WORLD has, it's a way to touch up your make up without using powder which only settles into fine lines. It's got a gel-like consistency (almost solid), no color or scent and it goes on completely clear. You dab it on with the sponge that comes with the compact and it instantly mattifies any shine you may have. While it may not be totally unique (Benefit's Dr. Feelgood is a very similar product) it works at eliminating shine and pores and doesn't make my skin feel like it's got some funky gunk on top. Only con I find is that the sponge which comes with is totally separate and it's huge so it won't fit in the compact. It's a touch pricey but for someone like me who gets shiny throughout the day, it's worth it and a great replacement for translucent powder.

3. Mally Perfect Prep Poreless Primer. I used to use Laura Mercier's primer, that was the only one I wanted to try and while I still break it out from time to time, I've gotten kind of tired of it. I don't like how it feels on my skin and wanted something a little silkier but not TOO smooth. Really silicone-y primers are just as bad. The Mally primer when first applied feels silicone-y but after waiting a while the true texture of my skin comes through and make up goes on easily. It's Smoooooooooooth. My pores don't completely disappear but my face stays on for a long time and if I feel like I need a pick me up, I can put this stuff OVER my make up! If you can do that with most primers, I didn't know but either way that's still awesome.

4. Urban Decay Naked Palette. In case you haven't heard of this totally amazing item yet, it's a 12-eyeshadow palette featuring neutrals that are flattering to practically every skin tone. I'm boring and I love wearing various shades of taupes and browns so of course this caught my attention but I already have so many neutrals I didn't think I needed a palette with 12 additional colors. But I finally caved and am glad I did! I tested out each shade and found every one to be equally gorgeous and heavily pigmented. Another thing I like is that they're mostly shimmery which I prefer to matte shadows. My favorites are Sidecar (a dark champagne) and Hustle (which is a touch similar to MAC's Satin Taupe but slightly darker and warmer). I bought mine for $48 from the Beauty.com site and I think to receive such a great variety of colors that are pretty much full-sized is totally worth it. Not to mention that it comes with a mini Primer Potion and a shadow brush.

((Check out the mini interview of me featured on Think Runway. Thanks, Abbey!))