I've posted before about Urban Decay's Deluxe eye shadows. Makeup aficionados love them for their silky texture and excellent pigmentation, but I love them for the unique design on each. The company has just released three new ones: Freakshow, Frigid and Ruthless. Sadly I couldn't find any pictures larger than these, but the artwork on each looks pretty good. I really must make adding these to the Museum's collection a priority!
(photos from urbandecay.com)
In the midst of my all-too frequent Sephora browsing I came across these little gems from Urban Decay. Each shade features a different man/outfit, complete with individual names. (This picture is of "James".) The ad copy mentions that they're perfect for a bachelorette party and I'm inclined to agree – since they're not doing the "full monty" they're not overly racy, just good fun. While I'd buy these just for the packaging, I'm curious to know whether the lip gloss itself is actually of good quality. I should probably buy a few to find out. ;)
(photo from urbandecay.com)
Move over, Cargo PlantLove! Urban Decay's newest palette, the Sustainable Shadow Box, contains ten eyeshadows that sit in recycled paper and a cruelty-free brush to apply them, while the cover is made out of eco-friendly bamboo. I think the use of this material is pretty ingenious. I've seen clothing made out of bamboo before, but not cosmetics. According to Cosmetics and Personal Care Packaging, the palette is the first in the industry to make use of bamboo.
(photo from urbandecay.com)
Urban Decay says the designs on the palette's cover are supposed to be "reminiscent of your high school notebook". But a not-so-environmentally friendly silk-screen and lacquering process was used for the designs. "'We tried to use greener decorating options, but unfortunately, they didn't work very well,' says Nick Gardner, vice president of sales, HCT Packaging USA (Los Angeles). The decision was made to with the best option that looked best, aesthetically." Thus it seems that there still lies a conflict between green packaging and aesthetics – the technology hasn't come quite full circle yet in terms of hip, modern design. (The use of corn-based plastic - the kind used to package Cargo's PlantLove line - may have offered more eco-friendly design options, but still required the use of oil in its manufacturing.) While Urban Decay acknowledges the palette isn't as green as it possibly could be, I think that the company, along with Cargo, has done an excellent job in leading the way towards greener packaging without sacrificing design. I'm hoping more cosmetics companies follow their lead. They strive to stay on top of the latest trends in product ingredients or even products in general (case in point: nearly all makeup lines now have at least one or two mineral makeup items in their lineup after Bare Escentuals products became best-sellers) so they should compete to see who can come up with the greenest, chicest packaging.
A brand that I've never paid much attention to, Urban Decay, has been coming out with great packaging in the past few years. I'm not sure why the line never really grabbed my attention, given my love of all things rocker/punk (their tagline is "beauty with an edge" – how did I miss that?!) but in any case, their designs are definitely catching my eye now. I'm especially fond of the Deluxe eye shadows – each has a different image:
And some of their palettes:
I'm also interested in the brand because they don't test on animals and even have some vegan items. Sadly, some of my collection contains items produced by companies that still test on animals (L'Oreal being the biggest offender, although lately they've been trying out alternative testing methods), so it would be nice to have more collectibles without feeling guilty about them.
Now, before I can embark on the massive (read: expensive) undertaking of acquiring all these objects, I will have to present them to the Museum's "Advisory Committee", who will vet each object and make sure it is worthy of the collection. The Committee consists of five distinguished scholars and academic leaders.
From left to right: Dr. Babo, Professor of Cookies and Chair of the Committee; Sailor Babo, Curator of Nautical Objects; Babo's Bird, Associate Professor of Crumbs, Dr. Jeero, Professor of Snacks; and Icebat, scholar of all things cold.
In my experience they've always approved everything I've set before them…provided there are a lot of cookies and other snacks on hand! If you'd like to learn more about the Committee members' backgrounds, click here. :)