Review: Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette

Last review of a Christmas gift, promise!

Today we look at the new pride and joy of my collection: The Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette.

This was, just like the Black Market Set, part of last years holidays collection by the brand and probably the most popular of the holiday releases. It is no longer available at Sephora or through Urban Decay, but other online retailers do still carry it. At release it sold for $59, which I feel is a lot for a palette, but you get your moneys worth with this baby.

Let's start with the packaging, can we just like... Take a moment to admire this? URGH! SO PRETTY! The UD logo is this beautiful jeweled 3D gem... Looking at it just melts my little girly heart. Purple and silver are the brands colours and I think this is just absolutely captivating. I love it!

 

When you open the palette (which is completely automatic, might I add!) you see these 20 beautiful eyeshadows and a huge mirror in the lid. The mirror is literally the size of the whole palette. It is supposed to stop at an angle so you can use it when sat on a table, but the openening function in mine unfortunately broke in transit. It still opens, but it doesn't stop when it's supposed to. Annoying, but not a complete tragedy. You also get a dual ended brush with the palette, which is decent. The blending side of the brush is a little too flimsy for eyeshadows for my taste, but perfect for concealer and the like. So it's okay, but I don't use it a whole lot.

On to the swatches!

L-R: Smokeout, Prank, Radar, Dope.

Smokeout is a dark charcoal-taupe with a satin finish. Great pigmentation.

Prank is a beautiful deep teal-navy colour with teal and green micro-glitter. Great pigmentation. The glitter doesn't show up great when applied, but if you use a stickier base, it will.

Radar is a warm, medium brown with gold micro-glitter shot through. It is a metallic finish. Great pigmentation.

Dope is a peachy-pink champagne with a frosted finish. Great pigmentation.

L-R: Lovesick, Madness, Damaged, Toxic.

Lovesick is a matte black with multicoloured glitter. A little dry, pigmentation wasn't amazing and the glitters pretty much just fall out instantly.

Madness is a bright metallic blue with blue micro-glitter. Great pigmentation.

Damaged is an absolutely beautiful metallic emerald green. Great pigmentation.

Toxic is a copper-pink with a metallic finish. Slightly dry, great pigmentation.

L-R: Shellshock, Strike, Voodoo, Habit.

Shellshock is a bright, metallic silver. Amazing pigmentation.

Strike is a light metallic gold. Slightly less pigmented than the other metallics in the palette, but not by any means bad.

Voodoo is a shimmery purple with iridescent purple micro-glitter. Great pigmentation.

Habit is a matte nude/light beige. Great pigmentation.

L-R: Coax, Stash, Betrayal, Ambush.

Coax is a metallic medium pink. Great pigmentation.

Stash is a metallic olive green with gold micro-glitter. Great pigmentation.

Betrayal is a bright purple duo-chrome with a blue shift. When blended out it does go a little sheer, but still nice pigmentation.

Ambush  is a warm metallic brown satin. Great pigmentation.

L-R:  X-Rated, Poison, Derailed, Rewind.

Extra swatch of Rewind since my skin was not working with me in the first picture. This is a much truer swatch.

X-Rated is a light baby pink with a satin finish. Good pigmentation.

Poison is a charcoal-green satin with teal micro-glitter. Glitter barely shows up, but great pigmentation.

Derailed is a medium to dark warm taupe metallic. Amazing pigmentation.

Rewind is a matte, medium brown. Great pigmentation.


Conclusion: This palette is amazing! There's like one or two colours I feel it could do without (Lovesick and Strike) but other than that everything in here is great! They all blend like a dream, most have a very buttery, smooth texture and great colour pay-off. It could have used a few more matte shades for blending out, but in general I highly advise this to other make-up junkies. Obviously it should only be a choice for you if you feel comfortable with the colours in it, it is not a palette for people who only wear neutrals. I am very happy with this palette and will keep in my collection for years to come!

I will do some looks soon using this palette. Neutral and bright!

Pros:

• Amazing quality eyeshadows.
• I feel it is MORE than well worth the $59.
• Packaging is durable plastic and absolutely gorgeous.

Cons:

• To some the pricepoint might be, although I feel it is fine.
• It's not a really -complete- palette, I would need some a few more mattes for that.
• Availability. By now strictly online.

Do you have this palette at home? Any of the Urban Decay palettes, Naked, Books of Shadow or Vice? Let me know down below!

Thank you for reading and untll next time!

XXX

Review: Urban Decay Black Market 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

As stated in my last post, my next post would be a review of this wonderful eyeliner set which was one of Urban Decays holday releases last year.

These liners are a slightly smaller version of the cult-favourite, but they are by no means a mini. They are about 25% smaller than the original and there by a lot more travel friendly. The set retails for $36, but contains a value of $85, so you sure get your moneys worth. (The standard size retails for $19, so you do the math!)

The set is called "Black Market" and contains 6 sort of smokey, grungey dark liners with a mix of different finishes. Most of the colours in this are limited edition and one is part of the permanent collection (which is extremely extensive, might I add!).

I think this set is a nice way to try out the Urban Decay liners without having to commit to a full size. The fullsize is a very long pencil and  unless you wear that single colour every single day I don't really think it's possible to use one up, so this seems a much better alternative! This is unfortunately not sold anymore, but I wanted to share it anyway.

AL-R: West, Desperation, Black Market, Riot, Apathy, Ink.

West is by Urban Decay called a "dark brown pearl". It is a warm, dark brown with a gold sheen. Had perfect coverage in one pass, no need for layering. Absoutely beautiful! (Limited Edition)

Desperation is by Urban Decay called a "deep taupe-gray matte". It is a matte, mushroom grey with a hint of taupe. It has decent coverage, but I would do two or three layers of this to get it properly opaque. (Permanent Range)

Black Market is by Urban Decay called a "charcoal black satin". It is a dark charcoal, almost black with a teal or green satin finish. Has good coverage and is opaque in two passes. (Limited Edition)

Riot is by Urban Decay called a "smokey gray matte with violet and fuschia micro sparkle". It is warm, dark purple with purple and silver sparkles. It is not greatly pigmented, but can be made opaque by layering it enough. (Limited Edition)

Apathy is by Urban Decay called a "metallic olive green shimmer". It is a forest green with olive undertones and flecks of emerald green sparkle. Pigmentation wasn't -amazing- but as you can see in the swatches with just a few passes it goes opaque. (Limited Edition)

Ink is by Urban Decay called a "deep navy blue satin" which is pretty accurate. It is a deep navy, with a royal blue pearl. Great pigmentation, opaque in a single pass. (Limited Edition)


Pros:

• Great price for what you get.
• Amazing longevity. They are practically waterproof AND they will last you a long time.
• Great variation of colours for all your dark, smokey eyes needs!

Cons:

• Pigmentation in some leaves some to be desired.(Good thing it is buildable coverage.)
• Availability. It's a  Limited Edition set, and no longer available. And even then Urban Decay is just simply not available in Holland anymore. *sadface*

Conclusion:  My mum is a gem for getting me these! It was a Christmas present and she got it shipped to Denmark just for me! (Along with another Urban Decay item that you will see on the blog soon.) I love my Black Market set and will definitely be using these often. After swatching these on my hand for the photos, I couldn't even get these off with normal makeup remover. I love them! <3

Do you have any of the 24/7 pencils? Do you love them as much as I do? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XXX

Tutorial: Sleek Vintage Romance Palette

I promised a tutorial using my new Sleek Vintage Romance Palette, so here we go!

Naked face! Just moisturized and applied Too Faced Shadow Insurance to my lids. Sorry if I am looking at bit peaky, am currently on my pre Gastric Bypass Surgery diet. Meaning diet shakes only and about 400 calories a day at the moment, because I am choosing to skip breakfast.

Applied Catrice All Matt Plus foundation in the colour 010 Light Beige with my BeautyBlender sponge. Also Blended in my concealers with the BeautyBlender sponge. For concealing under my eyes I used Maybelline SuperStay 24H Concealer in Light 2 and for redness on my face I used my trusty Catrice Camouflage Cream Concealer in 010 Ivory.

Filled in my brows with the Catrice Eyebrow Stylist in Date with Ahs-ton, topped that off with NYX Blush in Taupe on an angled brush and to make sure it stayed where I wanted it I then applied Catrice Eyebrow Filler.

Click it big to read names of the shadows!

As said, today was about showcasing the Vintage Romance palette shown above.

To start off the look I applied Honeymoon in Hollywood on the inner and outer 3rd of my lid with a flat eyeshadow brush and connected them in the crease. Didn't blend anything yet.

To blend out this slightly tricky colour, I dipped a fluffy blending brush in Propose in Prague and took my time blending it out, using windshield wiper motions.

For a nice pop of shimmer I applied Meet in Madrid on the gap on the middle of my lid and using my flat eyeshadow brush, I gently swiped side to side to blend it into the purple.

Using the Urband Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Riot I lined my upper and lower lashline and my waterline.

Underneath my eye I blended the liner out with Honeymoon in Hollywood and on top I blended it out with Forever in Florence. I also blended Forever in Florence into my outer corners for some extra depth.

To highlight my brow I used Catrice Mono Eyeshadow in Bring me Frosted Cake on a large eyeshadow brush. I then curled my lashes with my Tweezerman lashcurler and applied Maybelline Volume Extreme OnebyOne Waterproof mascara royally.

I kept my skin fairly simple, as the eyes are so extreme. I applied the Sleek Blush from the same collection, in Antique with a duo-fiber brush to make sure I didn't over-apply.

 For my lips I chose Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in 07 Natural Beauty. It's a very nice plummy-pink. I powdered my face using the Essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder. It's a translucent setting powder and highly efficient at keeping me from getting shiny where I don't want to be!

And the final shots of the look! It's a bit more dramatic than I usually go for, but I like it a lot. I love the berry-wine-purply colour with the pop of gold on the lid.

Let me know what you think in the comments down below!

Thank you for reading and untill next time, where there will be a review of the Urban Decay Black Market eyeliner set!

XXX

Review: Sleek Vintage Romance

Oh, hello there! I know, I'm a bad blogger and I should feel bad. But hey, I do this for my own pleasure so if I don't feel like blogging/have nothing to blog about I won't, really.

Christmas has come and gone and the loot was aplenty and I am about to share some of it with you.

Vintage Romance is the newest Sleek palette and was also released with a blush and today I will review both of them!

A romantically themed palette, which just like all other Sleek palettes is only € 9.99. We're starting off good, it's budget-proof!

The packaging is the same as all Sleek palettes, it's black and matte with shiny print.
It's a really nice mix of cool- and warm-toned shadows, ranging from neutrals to plums and burgundy type colours.

A major plus for me is that, unlike my Storm Palette, the colours in this palette have names. And REALLY cute ones too! At first glance some of the colours in this had me a bit nervous, especially the mattes with glitters. On to the swatches!

L-R: Pretty in Paris, Meet in Madrid, Court in Cannes.

Pretty in Paris is a bright, light silver. It's very metallic and brightening. Not as pigmented as I'd like, but it's a good inner corner highlight for instance.

Meed in Madrid is a medium, neutral gold. It's a very smooth colour and applies nicely. Pigmentation is good!

Court in Cannes is a warm-toned medium brown. It's very frosty, but an amazing lid or lower lashline colour, swatched lighter than it looked in the palette. Pigmentetion was again good.

L-R: Lust in LA, Romance in Rome, Propose in Prague.

Lust in LA is a frosted chocolate with a sort of orange undertone. Very smooth and blendable. Good pigmentation!

Romance in Rome is a medium purple, with a blue duo-chrome. The texture of this was very dry, which I think shows in the swatch. Pigmentation wasn't amazing, but the colour itself is pretty.

Propose in Prague is a matte, medium to dark brown with a very warm/reddish undertone. The pigmentation is good, although the formula on this is a tad dry and makes it a little tricky to blend.

L-R: A Vow in Venice, Marry in Monte Carlo, Honeymoon in Hollywood.

A Vow in Venice is a medium to dark berry colour with a slightly frosted finish. Good pigmentation and blended wonderfully.

Marry in Monte Carlo is a medium berry colour with a fuschia duochrome. Wonderful pigmentation and a very smooth and butter-like forumula.

Honeymoon in Hollywood is a deep, dark berry-wine, cool-toned, colour. In the palette you see silver glitter shot through the colour, but applied you barely see it and I expect that while wearing it, it would just fall down. Formula wise it is again a little dry which makes it a bit trickier to blend than I'd like,

L-R: Bliss in Barcelona, Forever in Florence, Love in London.

Bliss in Barcelona is a dark, cool-toned, violet-purple with a frosted finish. Pigmentation was good, not quite as smooth a shadow as some of the other frosts in the palette but still blendable.

Forever in Florence is a mostly matte, deep burgundy. It has a touch of silver sparkle, but it doesn't really show up much, which I personally don't mind. It's a touch drier than I'd like, but with some effort easy enough to blend, pigmentation wasn't AMAZING but still more than decent.

Love in London is a charcoal blackish gray with a satin finish. Good pigmentation and a soft formula.


I love the purples in this palette and I feel it's a very well rounded palette for a night out. Personally I would have liked to see a lighter matte colour as well, but Sleek wanted to go for a romantic theme and I feel like they nailed it with this. Personally I would have liked a neutral highlighter in here as well.

Pros:

• Pricepoint (€9.99)
• Shadows are overall very high quality.
• Generally very easy to blend!

Cons:

• Availability. The brand is almost exclusively found online in Holland, except a few stores spread through out the country.
• Not enough for a full look.
• The glittery shades pretty much lose all their glitter when applied and become satin/matte.

On to the blush!

 The packaging on this is just like a tiny version of the eyeshadow palettes, I think it's adorable. It CAN be hard to open, and did kind of ruin my manicure, but once you get a hold of how to open it, it's easy.

The blush is called Antique and is a deep reddish-brown brick colour with silver glitters. It is very pigmented, so for the fair ladies like myself: less is more! It's a beautiful colour, but it IS very glittery, so it's (for me) an evening time blush.


Conclusion: Both of these products are great and I would advise them to makeup lovers. If you love a neutral, fresh faced look, neither of these products are for you. I will try to get a look up using these products within the next few days! Don't forget to click the pictures for higher quality and bigger images!


Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XOXO

Becky