N.Y.C. New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compacts

I first discovered these when I was searching for a dupe of my HG eyeshadow which was discontinued. I purchased 938-Union Square for Brown Eyes (shown above) because it had a shade similar to what I was looking for. I was really impressed by the amount of product for the price, so I sort of expected the quality to be below average. I believe I paid $4.49 for four eyeshadows, a primer, and a creme illuminator. Not bad, right? I was later sent 942-Smokey Blues (for Blue Eyes) and 940U-Central Park (for Green Eyes) for review, so now I have had the chance to give three of these a try.

Each NYC IndividualEyes Custom Compact comes with four eyeshadows designed to work with a certain eye color, but I think these would work on multiple eye colors. Each shadow is marked with what part of the eye it's for, such as: highlighter, all over lid, and two crease/contour shades. In addition, each palette comes with a creme primer and illuminator, which are the same universal shade in all of the palettes. Like I stated above, these retail for $4.99, and I paid $4.49 at Target for the one I purchased.

I must say, the quality of these shadows really surprised me! Normally I find cheaper palettes like this to be very hit and miss as far as pigmentation and texture, but not these. I found all the shades to have great pigmentation, and most of them were fairly soft, as well. The only shade I found to have texture issues was the grey "All Over Lid" shade in the Smokey Blues palette, it just wouldn't swatch well. It seems to be "chunky" when you swipe a brush over it, rather than buttery and soft. You get a lot of shadow in one swipe, but there is little color payoff...perhaps it's the shimmer? It does work better over a base, though...so not all is lost.

As for the primer and illuminator, I really like the primer! I can't speak for how well it works on it's own, but I have been using it over UDPP and I really like how it intensifies the eyeshadow but it doesn't make it crease. I don't use the illuminator simply because i'm not a huge fan of shimmer. However, from swatching it I did find that it's very creamy and blends out well. I think it would make a great brow highlight for those who like the shimmery effect.

The only negative thing I can say about these is that the combo of powder and creme in one palette means that the powder will inevitably get into the creme, but for $4.49 it's not a deal breaker for me. There are quite a few high-end palettes that also do this! If you're careful and tap/blow off the excess powder from the shadows before you store these, it keeps it to a minimum.

Pictures & Swatches:

(Click To View Full Size!)

T-B: Union Square, Central Park, Smokey Blues (with flash)

L-R: Union Square, Central Park, Smokey Blues (with flash)

938 Union Square for Brown Eyes:

Union Square:

Highlighter: Satin Ivory/Beige, All Over Lid: Matte Medium Neutral Brown

1st Crease/Contour: Bronze/Brown with a slight shimmer, 2nd Crease/Contour: Eggplant Purple with a slight silver shimmer.

942 Smokey Blues for Blue Eyes:

Smokey Blues:

Highlighter: Shimmering Gold, All Over Lid: Cool Grey with silver shimmer

1st Crease/Contour: Dark Chocolate Brown with gold shimmer, 2nd Crease/Contour: Shimmering Eggplant Purple

940U Central Park for Green Eyes:

Central Park:

Highlighter: Shimmering Champagne, All Over Lid: Shimmering Olive/Gold

1st Crease/Contour: Matte, Muted Brown, 2nd Crease/Contour: Dark, Muted Chocolate Brown with a slight shimmer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would I recommend these? Yes. I think for the price, these are great. Some shadows are more pigmented and apply better than others, but I feel like this happens with most palettes (and less with these than others I have tried!). You're only paying about $1 per shadow, and $0.25 each for the illuminator and primer. Doesn't get much cheaper than that! These are definitely great budget palettes!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

I naturally have very oily skin, and therefore I have oily eyelids, as well. If I try to wear eyeshadow alone with no base or primer, I get about an hour (two if I'm lucky!) of wear before it starts to crease horribly. Eventually, it just disappears altogether and I'm left with a line of eyeshadow in my crease. Not a good look.

Before I joined the cult of UDPP fans, I tried many bases and concealers all to no avail. Each one would slightly extend the wear of my eyeshadow but it would add pigment that I didn't want, and it would still crease within hours.

I had heard about UDPP but never thought it was something I needed since I don't wear any color eyeshadow, just neutrals. But, when all else failed, I broke down and bought a tube. I had no expectations given my oily eyelids with the tendency to crease, but I was hopeful because of the many raves I had heard about this miracle primer.

UDPP is a light beige, soft cream that blends seamlessly into the eyelid and browbone area, leaving behind a silky smooth canvas for eyeshadow. It dries within a matter of seconds and you can apply eyeshadow right away. You also only need a *tiny* bit for each eye, so one tube will last a really long time.

After applying UDPP, I apply my eyeshadow like I normally would, and go on about my day. This is when the magic happens...after a few hours, there is no oil breakthrough, fading, or creasing. After 8 hours it still looks the same as when I first applied it, again at 16, and even after 24 hours. You would expect me to stop there, right? But no, I'm not done! Being the insomniac I am, I have pulled numerous all-nighters with eyeshadow still on from the morning, and while my foundation is disappearing, my eyeshadow still looks PERFECT! And we're talking 24-40 hours after application! No oil breakthrough, no creasing, no fading...just perfection. I have joked that with UDPP I could apply my eyeshadow once a week instead of every morning...it's THAT good.

The only possible downside I can think of (other than the original packaging, see below), is that it *can* be a little bit more work to blend over, since it tends to grab your eyeshadow, but that's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. You just have to use a light touch initially, no biggie.

The major gripe with UDPP has been the packaging. In the beginning, UDPP was only available in the genie bottle pictured above. Yes, it's cute, but the problem with this bottle was that eventually you would no longer be able to get any out, and you would have to pull the stopper out to give the wand more reach. This too, would stop working after a while, even though there was plenty left inside. At that point, you would have to cut the ends off the tube and scoop the remainder out and into a jar.

After many complaints, UD attempted to fix this by switching to an angled wand. This did little to fix the problem, and you would still have to do the same thing after a while. After more complaints, UD finally changed the packaging to a squeeze tube which solved everything. Needless to say, there were many happy customers.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about this product! If you have oily eyelids and you have problems with fading and creasing, do yourself a favor and RUN, don't walk, to get a tube. I can almost assure you that you will love what you see. However, if you have dry eyelids, this may not be for you. You may want to give Too Faced Shadow Insurance (TFSI) a try, instead...that seems to be a favorite of those with drier eyelids.