I was going to post this review some time mid-December, but my laptop died. >___>; Then right when I got a new one, life hit me pretty hard. But enough with the excuses, here is my LONG put off review.
Product Range Name: Urban Decay: The Vice Palette
Retail Price: $59
Amount: 0.8 g/0.03 oz. each
What is it? 20 piece Eyeshadow palette with duo sided eyeshadow brush.
Where to get it? Limited Edition at Sephora and Ulta
Packaging: 9/10 I actually quite like it. Having had it for months already, it's still as good as it was the day I got it with its durable rubbery plastic. The only problem is that because it's rubbery, it attracts powder like crazy so it's not as clean as it once looked. The raised acrylic/plastic jewel is a nice touch to the sleek purple packaging too.
I love the fact that the lid slowly opens on its own once you push latch button. The Vice palette also has a HUGE mirror, which is convenient.
Brush: 7/10 In general, I'm not a fan of double sided brushes because of the awkward storing options. That being said, the quality of these is really excellent for something that comes included in a palette. The synthetic bristles are as soft as they come. The blending side is quite spares and is nice for sheering out the pigmentation. The other side on the other hand is very dense and stiff, which does pack on colors well. Yet, I still don't reach for these much, but they are good if you don't have many eye shadow brushes to begin with. Still, I would've preferred an eyeliner.
The Swatches (with and without flash):
L-R: Desparation, Muse, Jagged, Blitz, Penny Lane
Desparation: Dark grey with a very subtle sheen. Okay to work with and the pigmentation is okay.
Muse: Matter dark brown base with notable bronze glitters throughout. This does have a bit of fallout and the pigmentation is a bit weak.
Jagged: Deep slightly greenish antique gold. This is a nightmare to work with: fallout, not pigmented, ang gritty. It's a beautiful shade, but it takes a load of work. I recommend to use it wet and on a sticker base.
Blitz: Very bright metallic gold.
Penny Lane: Light shimmery golden orange.
L-R: Junkie, Chaos, Occupy, Unhinged, Black Market
Junkie: Shimmery greenish teal. Drop dead gorgeous color.
Chaos: Matte Pacific blue. Somewhat patchy and a wee bit hard to blend.
Occupy: Shimmery dark blue tinted gunmetal with silver glitters.
Unhinged: Shimmery sky blue.
Black Market: Close to matte Black. Not the Blackest of black or the most pigmented, but still easy to work with.
L-R: Provocateur, Rapture, Vice, Noise, Armor
Provocateur: Super glittery silver lavender. Expect major fallout, so it's best with used wet with a sticky base.
Rapture: Shimmery dusty purple.
Vice: Shimmery medium purple.
Noise: Hot pink with a sheen and chunky gold glitter. I'd expect the glitters to not show up because they easily fell off.
Armor: Dark gun metal with silver glitter.
L-R: Nevermind. Echo Beach, Anonymous, Freebird, Laced
Nevermind: Frosty brown taupe.
Echo Beach: Shimmery beige.
Anonymous: Matte creme.
Freebird: Shimmery light pink with chunky glitters. This is quite chunky in general so with this expect fall out.
Lace: Matte pink toned beige.
Quality: 8/10 Generally speaking, most of the shades are very pigmented and easy to work with, except Muse, Jagged, Provocateur, and Freebird. . There is a consent look out for fall out with many of these shadows. Personally speaking, despite Jagged and Provocateur being a mess, they are very worth the effort to make work because of how nice the shades are.
Overall:
8/10
The Vice Palette has a variety of finishes and colors to mix and match. This palette may seem like it's geared toward the color-lovers, but more than half of the shades are neutrals. The Packaging is a plus compared to Urban Decay's usual cardboard. The drawback of this palette was the fact that it was expensive compared to the other palettes out at the time
Would I Recommend this? Yes, for the people out there that want to spice up their neutral looks with a bit of color.
