What an Eye Opener: Urban Decay Perversion/Subversion

Urban Decay is a brand that really reels you in so once you start using the products you keep coming back for more and, never one to sit on its laurels, the brand release one innovative product after another on an impressively constant basis and this mascara and primer combo Perversion and Subversion shows the brand at its strongest; producing striking products that just work brilliantly and do exactly what they promise.

Some of the highlights for me of these two complementary products are the size of the brush heads which are built to get right in to your lashes to make them voluminous and very striking and the fact that you the mascara is made as such that it can be reapplied and layered up from day into night so you can add the drama as the day goes on without ending up with clumpy lashes. Both contain some lash-friendly ingredients; Perversion contains Hairdensyl, a complex blend of proteins and amino acids known to stimulate growth. The mascara also contains honey extract to provide deep nourishment. Subversion primer contains panthenol and Vitamin E to nourish the lashes and is also free of parabens.

As I have mentioned in Penelope's Bed before, I'm a huge fan of Urban Decay's blackest of black eyeliners, the 24/7 Glide On liner in Perversion so, when I heard a matching mascara was on its way, I will admit I was extremely excited and, expecting a thick, super lustrous, blackest of black mascara, the brand delivered on everything they promised; as they always do. But it was actually the Subversion primer that really intrigued me and I was quite excited about the prospects of what it could possibly do.

I have two very different sets on lashes on my eyes. Part of my left (my left your right) eyelid is a birthmark of sorts. It isn't too different a shape - it's part of the lid itself - but the big difference is the eye lashes which are crazy on my left eye. Although the are pretty long, they are so hard to control so they actually lie directly in my line of vision. It doesn't bother me too much but I'm always worried it looks a little funny and have tried a lot of products and tools to keep them in place but they're impossible. And this was when the Subversion mascara primer became my new best friend.

I popped it on before applying my mascara and could see the rogue lashes painted white directly in eye line. But lo, when I moved on to the next step and applied the Perversion mascara, for the first time ever, all the out of control lashes suddenly sprang up and into place! I could see clearly! Basically the mascara sticks to the primer so, as far as I can see, makes the mascara itself twice as effective as it pulls up the lashes so you're definitely left with longer, more curled up lashes that are really big and dramatic.

So, to sum up! Urban Decay's promises of "Bigger, Blacker, Badder" lashes with Perversion mascara and "Thicker, Longer, Stronger" lashes with Subversion mascara primer are very apt. The result is  huge, full, thick lashes with the a lot of volume and control so the duo provides an extremely strong, striking look. And a lot of lashes to flutter.

Perversion mascara and Subversion mascara are now available from Urban Decay at Debenhams and House of Fraser and cost €21 and €18 respectively.