Monday, October 1, 2012

Urban Decay Vice eyeshadow palette review + swatches


         What are Urban Decay girls made of? Sugar, Spice, and everything Vice! The Urban Decay Vice eyeshadow palette is the spectacular centerpiece of the Urban Decay Holiday 2012 collection. The palette has twenty brand new colors, a dual ended brush, and sleek packaging. I've been looking forward to playing around with Urban Decay Vice ever since the promotional photos came out; I just got my hands on a palette and am excited to share my review and photos with you today.


          Urban Decay Vice palette is packaged in a deep purple case with a smooth rubberized feel. A crystalline 'UD' logo is inlaid in the lid. The case automatically opens at the push of a button and reveals a large mirror that fills the entire size of the lid. The lid swings open to about 120 degrees. It's a convenient angle at which to see your face if the palette sits on a table or vanity.







          A dual ended Urban Decay Good Karma brush is included and housed within the palette. Urban Decay's brushes are all cruelty-free synthetics. I've been making a conscious effort to move away from fur brushes and towards synthetics, so I'm happy to have another dual ended brush to add to my collection. The Crease brush (which I had from the NAKED2 palette) is one of my favorite brushes. I often use it to apply eyeshadow. It's soft and blends colors well. The Crease brush in Vice is slightly smaller and less full than the Crease brush from the NAKED2 palette. The Shadow brush is has the typical full, short, and rounded shape of an eyeshadow brush. The bristles are soft and easily deposit shadow on the lid. The fluffy Vice Shadow brush is an upgrade from the more paddle-shaped eyeshadow brush found in my NAKED2 palette.


          The Urban Decay Vice palette has twenty different colors that are brand new and exclusive to this palette. There are a mix of glitter, shimmer, metallic, satin, and matte colors. Generally speaking, the eyeshadows are pigmented and good quality, though Urban Decay tends to be better at creating shimmer or metallic finishes. To give you an idea of what shadows are in the palette, I've organized the eyeshadows into two groups: neutrals and brights.



          Urban Decay Vice looks colorful, but it has enough neutrals in it to be a 'NAKED3'. The neutral colors seem to be neutral to cool toned with a pink and grey taupe theme. Anonymous is a matte off-white with a pink undertone. I like to use matte highlights so I'm happy to see it here. Laced  is a matte light beige with a pink undertone. Freebird is a light peachy pink with glitter. Provocateur is a dusty pink with glitter. Nevermind is a shimmery light taupe brown. Echo Beach is a champagne shimmer. Jagged is a gold glitter with a sheer black base. Muse is a reddish brown shimmer in a dark black brown base. The reddish character is less evident in my swatch below, as some of the shimmer was blended away. Armor is a silver taupe with silver glitter. Desperation is a dark grey taupe with a satin finish.


          The Urban Decay Vice palette has a rainbow of bright colors as well. Noise is a metallic pink with glitter. It's very similar to Woodstock, but more red. Penny is a light tangerine metallic eyeshadow with gold glitter. Blitz is a golden yellow metallic. Junkie is a blue-green with gold shimmer. Unhinged is a metallic turqoise blue. Chaos is a near-matte royal blue. Occupy is a dark grey-blue metallic. Rapture is a dark grey-purple metallic. Vice is a shimmery purple. Black Market is a black with a satin finish.
 
           Overall, I'm impressed with Urban Decay's newest Holiday offering. Urban Decay Vice has cool packaging, a useful brush, and a great selection of neutral and bright colors. I was happy to see a number of rosy and grey-taupe tones in the neutral selection, as these are my preferred fall/winter colors. While I tend to be intimidated by brights, I do think Chaos, Occupy, and Rapture are colors I'd reach for on occasion. Urban Decay Vice ($59) is now available at Urban Decay and other retailers nationwide. Thanks for reading! Is Vice on your holiday wishlist? Which of the new colors jump out at you the most? What are your favorite Urban Decay palettes from now or years past?

Love, Dovey.

Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration by PR. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.

34 comments:

  1. Ahhh this one is SO MUCH FUN!!! I'm a bit weird though. I like my duos, trios, quads, and quints a lot just because they're no-brainers. I might dig out another shade or two to go with what I'm wearing, but basically I like the fact that my look is already there in one little thing. With a palette like this I'll probably be a little overwhelmed LOL

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    1. Hi Sunny, I know!! Huge palettes like this do have so many options to choose from. I have a feeling though that my formula here will be 'Desperation + Armor + laced' most days :)

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  2. Such a gorgeous palette, I want it!!! :p I love the selection of shades they offer here, it's a lot of neutral but with a good edge because of the other brighter shades,love it!

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    1. Hi Teri, I really appreciate all the neutrals too. I've wanted this for weeks now; I'm happy I finally have it!

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  3. Thanks for separating the swatches into neutrals and brights, Dovey - that actually really helps with the choosing process, haha! I'm partially with Sunny - huge palettes like this don't travel well and can be a bit overwhelming, but on the other hand...would I ever need another bright palette again? Probably not, right? So yes, it's on the wishlist! Thanks for the gorgeous swatches!

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    1. Hi Larie, I like redoing palette order as it helps me visualize too! Vice is a bit for travels, though I wouldn't mind taking it with me on a longer trip!

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  4. Holy crap, this palette is gorgeous! So basically every color in the rainbow is in this palette. *makes grabby hands*

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    1. HI Maggie, I was secretly pleased when I noticed the rainbow too :)

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  5. Such a pretty palette! I like that it has shades ranging from demure to very bright. This would make a nice holiday gift for someone. Oh, who am I kidding - I really want it for myself! :)

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    1. Hi Makeup Magpie, Hehe, that thought has crossed my mind too, many a time!

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  6. I love your swatches Dovey! Very organized as well. UD seems to have improved their e/s textures (?) My favourite colours would be Rapture, Occupy and Unhinged. This palette looks way better swatched than in the pan. I also like that there is a bright blue Chaos (lol), I am really tempted now! I have to admit, I don't own any UD palettes, I am also eyeing Smoked. / Claire

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    1. Hi Claire, Thank you so much! I think the texture is improved, though I thought the one before was great too. I agree about the better swatches. I surprised myself when I looked at the photos as well! Occupy is gorgeous. I love smoked hues, and Chaos is really pretty too. I'm glad they kept a bright color matte. (And of course Smoked is <3 too)

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  7. I really like the look of this, I adore larger palettes and like being able to take just one along on a holiday and be able to throw together quick looks as well as nice bright ones! Thanks for separating them into neutral and bright, it made me lemm this palette even more.

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    1. Hi Emma, thank you for the nice comment! Vice does have a few more options than smaller palettes; sometimes I feel as if I could subsist on a couple colors, but more is always better!

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  8. Looks lovely, the range of shades is fantastic and the addition of a brush is a nice touch. Does anyone actually use the sponge applicators you normally get with palettes? Anyone apart from my mother that is (in spite of my best efforts to convert her to brushes).

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    1. Hi Mopsy, thanks for the comment! I really do like the brush too! Sponge-tipped applicators have perplexed me in the sense that I'm not sure how to care for them. Can they be washed? I've also heard there are higher quality sponge-tipped applicators, though I'm not sure what that means

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    2. I spotted a sponge applicator with removable sponges. Trying to remember the brush company. Louise Young? Sponges to me are just a breeding ground of mank, I considered swiping some across some spare agar plates to see what they contain.

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    3. Sounds like a good science project! I like the way you think :)

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  9. Brilliant idea to divide and swatch them this way! It's much more cohesive to see them divided into colors/neutrals and then light to dark/rainbow colors, it really shows you what you're getting. Better than the piecemeal way everyone else swatches them. I am so happy I bought this since it's LE. I love palettes that have both neutrals and colors in them (ie NOT the naked palettes) This is my favorite of all my (many) UD palettes.

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    1. Hi Superhamdi, I'm so happy you liked the color division and Congrats on getting your own palette! I hope it gets a lot of love :) I do think this palette has favorite potential. The colors selection is well thought out!

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    2. Actually, I haven't touched it yet, aside from swatching. It's just too pretty...

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    3. I know what you mean!

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  10. Dovey - have you tried the Real Techniques brushes yet? They are AMAZING and super affordable. I highly recommend (from one synthetic brush/animal lover to another :)!

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    1. I love their stippling brush, it really is one of the best.

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    2. Hi Natalie, Thanks for the rec! I haven't tried them yet, though a fellow blogger (Eye Heart It) reviewed a few sets recently. I'm def. keeping them in mind too.

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  11. Great blog - I agree with others, I love the way you've set the swatches out in 2 different colour groups. And it really shows what a huge array of colours there are! I ordered mine last night from the UK, as we don't have Urban Decay in Australia, so it will be about a month before I receive it - can't wait though!!

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    1. Thanks ChicBeauty, I'm so glad the layout was helpful. You must be a real fan to order from halfway around the world!

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  12. aaakkk I want to see this in person so badly!! I love the neutrals so bad but really not sure about getting this. I have my NAKED and UD Anniversary palette which I like a lot and not sure whether I should get this. But this is so pretty <3

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  13. Hi dovey!! I love your blog really helpful but I have a dilemma
    I'm still a make up amateur but I wanna buy some high end eyeshadow
    but im not sure which one I should get the vice palette or naked ...please help?? :0

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    1. Hi Anonymous, thanks for the comment! That's a tough question, as both palettes are beautiful, but in very different ways. It depends on your coloring (warm/neutral/cool) and your preferences (dramatic/muted). NAKED has more warm and dramatic colors. If you like golden, warm, or dramtic colors, this might be for you. Vice has more cool pinks/greys/taupes that are not as dark/dramatic. It also has a matte off-white and black which are useful. I'd probably choose Vice if money is not the issue. The packaging is much improved, plus you get many more eyeshadows to experiment with, including color.

      Then there's also NAKED2, which is my personal favorite...

      Good Luck, and let me know what you choose!

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  14. i agree with larie, I like the organization of the swatches! I'm really surprised that there are so many neutrals in this palette! Good to know... although I'm going to ignore the fact that this palette exists so i don't want to buy it lol!

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  15. I would totally buy a NAKED 3 if it had all the swatches on the VICE arm!

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