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Urban Decay Book of Shadows III: UD <3 NYC Review
Hello readers! I am so happy to finally be reviewing this *amazing* palette! This palette came to me through a giveaway from Officially Superficial, and let me tell ya'll...I am *loving* this palette!!! Whenever I want to go out in the evenings, or really want a stand-out or dramatic look, this is what I reach for!!!
Also, I must say, this is my first review featuring photos from my new iPhone with an HDR camera! I am so excited about this as the photos are so much more vivid than in previous blog posts and the colors are showing true-to-life! Yay!!! Can ya'll tell the difference in photo quality? I had so much fun shooting these photos and doing a ton of swatching. Also, another change...I am now swatching with q-tips (don't know why I never did this before-previously I have used my clean fingertips)...but, I just feel the q-tips are more sanitary and display the colors more like how you would actually apply them.
Okay, now, on to the review!
Look at these amazing colors! Wow, vivid!!!
The low-down:
- This kit contains 16 eyeshadows, 2 small-medium sized eyeliners, and one mini Primer Potion.
- The palette itself is a work of art! Definitely a palette for the collector or makeup enthusiast. I mean, this palette literally *lights up*! While the artwork, pop ups, and light-up effects are totally unnecessary, it certainly makes this palette unique and a stand-out piece. You will WANT to display this on your vanity (if only I had one, lol!).
- The pan size of the eyeshadows is very generous. You are going to get plenty of shadow here ladies!
- The shadows themselves are a mix of finishes, but generally leaning towards bold colors and glitter/shimmer. Your only matte shade here is the black Perversion (the others are all satin, metallic, or glitter). If you love to experiment with color, you will LOVE this palette! Some have complained about the glittery finishes from this palette, but honestly...when I think glitter, I think Urban Decay. So, I am down with that.
- The quality of these eyeshadows is just amazing!!! Urban Decay is one of my "gold standard" eyeshadows for good quality. You really won't find any shadows out there with better overall quality than Urban Decay, IMHO. The pigmentation is just amazing!!! The texture is beautiful! These just glide right on and blend like a dream. Be careful with application of glittery shades as you really have to tap these on to minimize fall out. But, these are also beautiful shades!
- I honestly am surprised with how frequently I use this palette. I am generally a neutrals shadow girl, but am amazed at how "wearable" the colors are in this palette! What a pleasant surprise!!!
These are all swatched on unprimed skin.
You can see the glittery shades had some fall out.
The Shadows: I won't go into descriptions of each individual shadow, but I will describe my favorites from this palette as there are some real stand-out shades here!
- Perversion: A great matte black. Probably one of the blackest blacks that I have used!
- Rockstar: Possibly one of my fav eyeshadow shades ever. Seriously!!! I love this and this color is often the reason I reach for this palette. Who knew a deep purple could wear so neutral!!! This is just the most gorgeous shade in the crease. Absolutely love this. Looks amazing on! I can take pretty much any daytime eyeshadow look from day-to-night by adding some of this in the crease. You can also create a lovely smoky purple look with this!
- Last Call: Beautiful plummy purple color. Looks amazing when paired with Rockstar and love it with my blue eyes.
- Money: This is another unique shade. A beautiful light blue-green shade with a lovely metallic finish. Looks lovely on the lids.
- Smog: Beautiful metallic coppery brown (is also in the Naked palette, great color!)
- Radium: A very bold medium blue. I love this to line the lower lashes with a neutral lid. Very bold!!!
- Snatch: Glittery metallic pink. Love this on the lids. Tip: tap on to help avoid fall-out.
- Suspect: Rich metallic medium brown. I love this on the lid.
Last but not least: The 24/7 Liners and the mini Primer Potion!!!
These 24/7 liners have quickly become my fav pencil liners!!! They glide on effortlessly and wear all day! LOVE these. Ransom is a deep purple and Zero is a rich black. Honestly, the only thing that wears better than these pencils are potted gel liners. I will certainly be buying more 24/7 liners when I run out of these! All my other pencil eyeliners are "feeling neglected" since I have started using UD 24/7 liners! ;)
Hope you enjoyed the photos, swatches, and the review! I totally love this palette. I was amazed with how I could create not only standout and vivid "going out looks" with this palette, but also surprisingly "neutral"/wearable daytime looks. You get great quality with these amazing products! What a great value with this set, too! It retails for about $54, but when you consider how much product you get (and the cost of individual UD shadows, liners, primer potion)...not too bad! I mean, yes it is steep, but great products!
This is certainly a must-have for any collector or anyone who loves bold-yet surprisingly wearable colors! What do you readers think of this palette? Anyone else loving this palette as much as I am? I am certainly looking forward to more Book of Shadows sets from Urban Decay as this is my very first one! Thanks for reading!!!
