In our Beauty Extremist series, we interview someone with a bona fide beauty addiction to find out what makes them tick and how they got hooked. My friend Wende Zomnir, Urban Decay's Chief Creative Officer, won't go a day without statement makeup. You won't believe the number of steps and shades that go into her makeup looks for the gym, ski slope and church confessional (spoiler: a priest criticized her taste in makeup!). Welcome to Wende's colorful world and her new Urban Decay flagship boutique in California.

“I can do an eye that takes anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the look. If I have to be somewhere and look good, I usually put anti-redness eye drops in first. Then I use anti-aging eye shadow primer to smooth out my lids and color-correct. Then I do base shadow from the Naked2 Basics palette to neutralize and even out everything from my crease to my brow bone. And then I put the lightest satiny shade in the brow arch and blend it with the neutral shade. I brush my eyebrows up and even them out with a pencil, then I set them with gel."

"I put something in water line, whatever color I am using, an aqua blue, black or brown. It could be minimal or extremely involved, depending on the look. I always light up the inner corners with shimmer. I do either a sparkling lid with great liquid liner or a smoky eye, layering pencil and different colors. One of the coolest things about eye shadow is you really can mix it up a lot. Ultimate freedom. I create a shadow above the eye with my lashes. I use Subversion lash primer and Perversion mascara. If I am really going for it, I’ll put on false lashes. I finish with lining the upper lid in black, even if the rest of look is soft. That really adds definition to the eye."

"I was really into experimenting when I was 12. I taped pictures of Brooke Shields and Kim Alexis to my mirror and would try to recreate their looks. When I was 13, my mom got tired of me raiding her stash, so she bought me a giant blockbuster set for Christmas. It had every eye shadow color. It was the best thing I ever got in my whole life."

"I’ve worn full make up to go surfing, and I wear makeup when I go snowboarding. I took my son to a swim lesson with crazy shimmering eye shadow, blue liner and full mascara. After going underwater, the swim teacher said, ‘Why isn’t your eye makeup all over your face? How did you do that?’" 

"I have worn bold eye shadows in some crazy places. People look at me like I am nuts. I had on a really sparkling, glittery eye shadow at CrossFit gym [center photo]. I was doing heavy bench presses -- over 100 pounds -- and tapped out. My partner didn’t help me, and the weights nearly dropped on me. She said, ‘I’m so sorry. I was bedazzled by your eye shadow.’"

"I was sent home in 8th grade for wearing too much make up. When I was in high school, I went to confession and the priest told me that I hid behind a mask of makeup. He felt that I was hiding behind my true self."

"I’ve done my makeup in all kinds of places -- cars, airplanes. I used to take early morning flights to San Francisco to see Sephora. I would roll out of bed and get on the plane with sunglasses and zero makeup. I would sleep for 30 minutes, then I put on my makeup at my seat and emerge with a full face of makeup. The flight attendants would say, ‘Oh my gosh, what just happened?’ I travel with 16 shadows, 12 pencils, eye primer, mascara, brushes and  little travel sizes of everything in a big bag. It's stupid how much makeup I travel with."

"My 9-year-old son likes to help me put my makeup on. We were talking about having him do my make up for a video. My older son knows what mascara and liquid eyeliner are. How many 12-year-old boys know that? I always wear makeup, even if I just smear a sparkling Moondust shadow on my lids and add some liquid liner. That’s what I call the 'little league look.' I show up for little league games like that."

PRODUCTS: 1. Urban Decay Moondust eye shadow in Space Cowboy & Diamond Dog 2. Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid eye liner in Perversion

"I have multiples of every brush, so I don’t worry about residue of the wrong color. I have a different crease brush for blue, brown and purple-pink shades. I have a separate blender brush for light and darker. I have foundation brushes for dark, light and my actual foundation color. Then I have four liner brushes for black, brown, blue, purple. My brushes just live with those colors on them."

Above: Wende Zomnir stands inside Urban Decay's Laguna Beach boutique

"We have a shade name library. I'll be driving and hear a word on the radio, like 'pandemonium.' And I'll think ‘That’s a great shade name.’  At the red light, I text one word to the office. They know exactly what I mean and add it to the library. I get super inspired by naming new shades. We get drinks and sit around a table throwing out names. It's an organic meeting-of-the-minds collaboration. Perversion came from a 90s band called Gravity Chill. They had a single called Perversion and asked me to make a jet black polish to go with it." 

Above: Eye shadow display at Urban Decay flagship boutique (left), boutique exterior (right)

"I love the big chain chandelier the most. It's fun and crazy, but feminine and beautiful. It really embodies the brand, which I think it’s important. I also love the bathroom. Regular stores don’t think about giving you one. When I was potty training my kids, the thing I needed most was to run into stores and use the bathroom. They say 'Yeah, I guess you can use the bathroom.' They are so not nice about it, and then there's a dirty mop with you. Why can’t it be a nice experience?"

"Almost anyone can wear any color. The key is great application and precision. We have super-trained makeup artists in our store to create new looks for people. You can say, 'I need to learn how to do daytime eye looks for work.' Or 'I want to rock an edgier look for a date' and do it. I like to experiment at home right before I go to bed. I try different versions on each eye, then I wash my face. I like to plan ahead." 

A note from Polly: Over the years, I've seen Wende's vision bloom into a cosmetics empire. She has infectious creativity and positivity, and works tirelessly with her team and chemists until they get a formulas right. Her egdy aesthetic influences everything across the brand, from packaging to shade names to decor. Walking through the Urban Decay offices feels like playing in an industrial rock'n'roll playground. Executives wearing hot pink liner and platinum pixies swirl past artsy murals, mirror chandeliers and Alice in Wonderland furniture.  

Check out the new Urban Decay Spring 2015 collection of luminous, edgy shades. My favorites:

Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Powder Foundation. When I wear it, everyone tells me how rested and refreshed I look. Since when does a powder do that? It's weightless, buildable and luminous, so your skin never looks chalky or dusty. It's my Mommy Messiah.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer. It glides on, blends easily with a finger, covers without looking like beige paint. And it stays in place. Somehow, it never finds its way into fine lines. I tap it on pimples, sweep it along areas that tend to look red, the dark splotch from pregnancy and veins on my legs. 

Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Sheer Anarchy. As a rule, I don't wear dark lip colors. They cling to my teeth and draw too much attention to my big lips and big teeth. Wende urged me to try Sheer Anarchy, a flush of shiny fuchsia that manages to last longer than you'd expect. 

Urban Decay Mascara Resurrection. Don't you wish you could click 'Undo' on beauty fails? Over-applied self-tanner, crooked liquid liner and clumpy mascara, ugh! This cool product lets you have a do-over with mascara. You sweep the wand through lashes, and a clear serum revives your lashes.