How excited I was to finally get my hands on this palette! Thanks to my bf who surprised me by buying me this palette from Sephora when he was overseas. I didn't even mention this palette to him although he knew how obsessed I was with Urban Decay eyeshadows! <3
I quite like the packaging. The case feels very well made, sturdy and has a rubberised texture to it which I must say, can attract a ton of fingerprints and dust. What I am especially amazed about is how the palette opens. With a push of a button, the lid slowly props up and assumes position at an angle perfect enough for you to be able to use the mirror without having anything to keep the lid upright. The size of the mirror in the palette is also very generous- it basically covers the entire lid. Along with the eyeshadows, the palette also comes with a double-ended synthetic eyeshadow brush.
Now onto my favourite part, the eyeshadows! I'm a huge fan of Urban Decay eyeshadows- they have the perfect texture, pigmentation and colour range. I particularly wanted this palette in my collection because all 20 of the eyeshadows were new releases and exclusive to this palette. There are a variety of colours from neutrals to brights as well as different finishes from mattes, satins, shimmers and glitters!
A majority of the shades have wonderful pigmentation and colour pay-off and also applied really smoothly although to my disappointment, quite a few of them felt almost too buttery and too powdery. Just a dab with my eyeshadow brush created a heap of mess on my palette with chunks of glitter scattered everywhere. This was especially prominent with the eyeshadow, 'Provocateur'. I don't understand why Urban Decay has to ruin their eyeshadows with an overload of glitter chunks!! It makes application too troublesome. Another standout no-no eyeshadow is 'Jagged'. I've heard a ton of problems with this shadow and boy is it gritty! Upon swatching this eyeshadow, I could see the tiny black specks almost resembling dirt (you can see this in the swatch below!). I don't know if I want to even use this on my eyelids!
Don't get me wrong, I really do love this palette and will still continually use it. It's just a formulation issue with a few of the eyeshadows that really bugged me!
Now onto the swatches, starting from the top row....
L-R: Desperation, Muse, Jagged, Blitz, Penny Lane
Desperation: Grey-taupe brown {satin-matte}
Muse: Deep reddish brown with golden microglitters {glitter}
Jagged: Brownish-black base with gold glitters and tiny black specks {glitter}
Blitz: Bright yellow gold metallic {shimmer}
Penny Lane: Bright orange-bronze metallic {shimmer}
L-R: Junkie, Chaos, Occupy, Unhinged, Black Market
Junkie: Dark green-blue with gold microglitters {shimmer}
Chaos: Bright royal blue with subtle shimmer {matte-shimmer}
Occupy: Dark blue-grey metallic {glitter-shimmer}
Unhinged: Bright electric turquoise blue {shimmer}
Black Market: Dark charcoal black {matte-satin}
L-R: Provocateur, Rapture, Vice, Noise, Armor
Provocateur: Light dusty pink with a ton of chunky glitters {glitter}
Rapture: Deep eggplant purple with silver microglitters {glitter-shimmer}
Vice: Vibrant purple with a slight red shimmer {shimmer}
Noise: Bright hot pink with gold glitters {glitter-shimmer}
Armor: Taupey grey with silver microglitters {glitter-shimmer}
L-R: Nevermind, Echo Beach, Anonymous, Freebird, Laced
Nevermind: Light browny bronze {shimmer}
Echo Beach: Light champagne gold {shimmer}
Anonymous: Light eggshell white-pink {matte}
Freebird: Light pink with silver microglitters {glitter}
Laced: Pinky taupe {matte}
Pros:
- Great variety of shades, from neutrals, darks and brights
- Different finishes from satins, mattes, shimmers and glitters
- Most eyeshadows apply smoothly with little fall out
- Awesome pigmentation even without an eyeshadow primer
- Good value for money- ~$60AUD which means each eyeshadow (0.03oz) costs $3 each! If you buy an individual eyeshadow which is around 0.05oz, it would cost you around $18!
- Nice large mirror
- Lid is able to stand up on its own
- All 20 eyeshadows are new shades that's only ever been released in this palette
Cons:
- Some eyeshadows are too soft and powdery, they make a mess in the palette
- Too many of the eyeshadows had chunky glitters which produce some fall out- I prefer satin, matte or shimmery finishes
- Limited edition palette
- Palette attracts fingerprints etc.
Here are some photos uploaded on my instagram recently of me wearing some of the eyeshadows!
Do any of you guys have this palette? How are you liking the eyeshadows and do you think the purchase was worth it?
Thankyou for reading!
* Disclaimer: This is a non-sponsored post and I am in no way
affiliated with Urban Decay. The product mentioned was gifted (not from the company) and as always my reviews are 100% my honest opinion. *
