Urban Decay Good Karma Brushes ($32.00 to $39.00) are eco- and vegan-friendly brushes, which have bristles made out of recycled PET bottles and gunmetal handles made out of recycled aluminum.
Finishing Brush ($39.00) is a long, flared, flat-edged brush. It looks like a stippling brush, but the bristles were the same length. I felt like this brush was a little too long; it’s very dense, which is nice, but the length makes it a little too springy and floppy.
Blush Brush ($32.00) is an oval-shaped, angled brush. It is a bit too wide to be used easily for contouring, but it works well for blush. It is dense and soft.
Powder Brush ($36.00) flares outwards with a very subtly dome shaped edge. It has enough fluffiness to work well with powder but enough density that the product doesn’t get trapped within the bristles. Though it works well as an all-over powder brush, it is quite large, so I did find it took some practice to maneuver around nooks and crannies (like the area around the nose).
Even though the outer packaging is made out of recycled egg cartons, I’m just not sure why it is necessary to have such oversized packaging for a brush few are going to actually keep in it. Aside from that, I have no complaints regarding the actual packaging of the brushes. The gunmetal handles look sleek, have a nice weight to them (not too heavy, not too light), and the shininess doesn’t take to fingerprints well.
final thoughts: The brushes themselves are all very soft and not at all scratchy, but I do find the length of both the Finishing and Powder Brushes to be on the long side, which makes me feel like I have less control over the tool. I didn’t notice any difference applying finishing powder with the actual Finishing Brush over the Powder Brush, though — even though the former is supposed to be better at that particular task.
Urban Decay Urbanglow Cream Highlight ($24.00 for 0.17 oz.) is described as a cream highlight with pearl powder, weightless formula, and “adds luminescence whenever you need it.” It can be used in the inner corners of your eyes, cheeks, or brow bones. The shade range includes four but all four are sheer enough to work across skin tones. It’s supposed to dry down “instantly” and work on top of makeup. The four shades include: Brown Sugar (warm taupey brown), Moonshine (iridescent shimmer), Sin (shimmering champagne), and Wicked (radiant pinky shimmer).
I received both Brown Sugar (which I’d describe as a gilded bronze) and Sin (which I’d describe as pale golden champagne) to review several months ago (back when they first released), they did not work for me at that time. I decided to hold off on a review and wait awhile before trying them again to see if perhaps it was something to do with the state of my skin or whatever. I tested both shades on and off since these launched (September, I believe), with each shade being trialed at least five times.
For me, these look lovely–initially–but do such a disservice to my skin after two hours of wear. I think these are best for those who have naturally beautiful skin and don’t typically wear makeup. They can work for that truly no makeup look, but once you involve foundation–and, if you dare, powder–the results took a nosedive. I could not get the highlighters to stay on for more than two to three hours before there was migration that made my cheeks look like there were chunks of glitter, rather than a dusting of sheen.
This effect worsened if you set your foundation/makeup with powder, which is something I find necessary as someone who wears liquid foundation. With powder to set, the highlighters stayed on for three to four hours, but they still migrated and bulking up so that wherever there was product, it accentuated my pores (and I never thought I had large ones, but this product made me question if I was simply delusional). They just tend to look cakey after a couple of hours of wear.
My results yielded glowy cheeks for two hours but the final look was rough-looking skin with accentuated pores and chunks of glitter and very little sheen left after two hours passed. I applied with brushes, sponges, and fingertips; over and under foundation; on bare skin alone. It seems to fade better over bare skin and doesn’t give skin such a rough textured look. When I tested it on the inner tearduct and brow bone, I had the same two-hour disappearing act and migration issues I had on the cheeks. They worked best on the brow bone, though, and wore for about four hours before fading.
I have only seen others rave about Urbanglow, and so I would encourage you to research and read more reviews to balance with mine. I hate being that one naysayer, you know? Urban Decay's products are usually good, so find these so disappointing has left me in a bit of a quandary. Between how quickly the Urbanglows faded to the overall look they gave after the initial dry-down, I just can't find much silver lining in this cloud.
Product
4/10
Pigmentation
8/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
3/10
Application
4/5
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Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil Blending Brush($16.00) debuted in the past couple of months, and it is a very small, domed pencil brush designed to blend and feather products like Urban Decay’s Shadow Pencils. It is made out of PET (recycled plastic bottles), so the bristles are synthetic and vegan-friendly. The brush itself is small–around 6mm or so in length–and it can be used in the crease, smudging of colors (on the lash line or elsewhere).
I found the brush wasn’t tapered enough to be a really great crease brush but too dense to blend out colors with ease. The fluffiness was lacking, and so while it could deposit color well enough, it didn’t provide the soft, airy feel that seems to make blending nearly effortless. I also wish the tip itself was a little more tapered and had a touch more give.
Funny enough, I didn’t find it useful in softening the edges of the 24/7 Shadow Pencils much; it worked better with powder eyeshadows. I felt like the creaminess of the 24/7 Shadow Pencils got eaten up by the brush and the result was more of a smeared look, rather than something feathered at the edges.
final thoughts: I’ve liked Urban Decay’s new brushes, but this one was a bit of a miss for me. It was designed to blend out the 24/7 Shadow Pencils, which I felt is where it performed the worst, and it didn’t excel in the other ways I tried it either.
Fun Palette: Woodstock, Baked, Uzi, Sin, Flipside, Psychedelic Sister
Urban Decay Spring 2011: Fun Palette
Urban Decay Fun Eyeshadow Palette ($34.00 for 0.34 oz.) includes six eyeshadows: Woodstock (bright pink with slight shimmer), Baked (rich bronze), Uzi (metallic silver with big iridescent sparkles), Sin (champagne), Flipside (electric teal with blue sheen), and Psychedelic Sister (bright purple). Also included is Oil Slick 24/7 Liner (black with silver sparkle) and the original primer potion (nude).
Woodstock is a medium-dark fuchsia pink with a soft shimmer finish. This shade is available individually as part of the permanent range.
Baked is a rich copper with a metallic-frost finish. This shade is available individually as part of the permanent range, and it has been in the Baked, Book of Shadows, Vol. 1, and Alice in Wonderland palettes.
Uzi is a bright silvered white with silver glitter. Yes, there is fall out. This shade is available individually as part of the permanent range, and it has been in the Book of Shadows, Vol.3 and Sustainable palettes.
Sin is a pinky champagne with a frost finish. This shade is available individually as part of the permanent range, and it has been in the Alice in Wonderland and Naked palettes.
Flipside is a teal-tinged green with a metallic-frost finish. This shade is available individually as part of the permanent range, and it has been in Baked, Book of Shadows, Vol. 2, and Sustainable palettes.
Psychedelic Sister is a red-toned medium-dark purple with a shimmer finish. This shade is available individually as part of the permanent range, and it was in the Book of Shadows, Vol. III palette.
my thoughts on the formula: Urban Decay’s eyeshadows are rich in pigment, apply evenly, and feel like butter. Generally speaking, their formula is excellent. I will warn and caution you against their shades with “glitter” or “sparkle” in the finish–some of these can be prone to fall out (for example, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again).
In terms of value, the palette includes 0.18 oz. of eyeshadow ($61.20 value), 0.03 oz. of eyeliner ($12.75 value), and 0.13 fl. oz. of primer potion ($6.88 value). The total value of the palette is $80.83, while the retail price is $34.
I think sometimes we lose sight of what the beauty industry and market are like as a whole — not every person purchases every palette or even much at all. Not everyone enters at the same time, so even though you may find yourself owning many of the shades, it doesn’t make it a terrible product – Urban Decay does some really excellent shades that you can get year round, but these sure make those shades more accessible and affordable to people who don’t have a lot of Urban Decay or have always wanted to try it. It would be great to see new shades, of course, but I recognize what value they may hold to others.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 28/30
Value: 10/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
final thoughts: Fun has the most shades that are permanent/available individually, as they are all available whenever your heart desires. Whether it’s a good value/purchase depends on just how many Urban Decay products you have in your arsenal. The palette itself is an excellent value, and if you like more than two shadows, it works out to be the same if you had bought then individually ($17 each). Uzi has a slightly fussy finish/texture, but the other five eyeshadows are really nice, especially Woodstock and Baked.
Urban Decay Dangerous Eyeshadow Palette ($34.00 for 0.34 oz.) includes six eyeshadows: Haight (dark teal with shimmer), Mildew (deep green), Virgin (satin chamois), Oil Slick (black with silver glitter), Rockstar (deep red-purple with metallic base), and Gunmetal (gunmetal gray with silver glitter). Also included is Rockstar 24/7 Liner (eggplant) and Greed primer potion (gold).
Edited @ 7:10AM: Images are fixed.
Haight is a brightened medium blue with a frost finish that pulls just an itsy bit teal. This shade is part of the permanent range and available individually, and it also appeared in the Book of Shadows, Vol. 3.
Mildew is a rich olive green with dirty bronze-brown lying underneath the richer green sheen. This shade is part of the permanent range and available individually and has appeared in the Show Pony, Preen, and Ammo palettes.
Virgin is a pale beige with a satin-shimmer finish. It’s very, very light, but it’s such a beautiful neutral. It’s a little frosty for a highlighter, particularly on darker skin tones, but it would make for a great all-over wash or pop of light on the inner tear duct. This shade was in the Naked palette and not available individually.
Oil Slick is a rich, deep black with silver glitter. The glitter is more of an overlay, so there will be fall out. It’s not as bad as ultra glittery shades like Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, but the fall out does occur. This shade is part of the permanent range and available individually and has appeared in the Alice in Wonderland, Ammo, and Sustainable palettes.
Rockstar is a deep shade of eggplant purple with burgundy-red undertones and a shimmer-sheen finish. This shade was in the Book of Shadows, Vol. 3 and not available individually.
Gunmetal is a dark gray with a deep silver sheen. Despite the glittre in the pan, it seems to disappear before you even apply it. I’ve had this shade for awhile, and I don’t find fall out to be an issue. This shade is part of the permanent range and available individually, and it has been in the Book of Shadows, Vol.2, Naked, and Vegan palettes.
my thoughts on the formula: Urban Decay’s eyeshadows are rich in pigment, apply evenly, and feel like butter. Generally speaking, their formula is excellent. I will warn and caution you against their shades with “glitter” or “sparkle” in the finish–some of these can be prone to fall out (for example, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again).
In terms of value, the palette includes 0.18 oz. of eyeshadow ($61.20 value), 0.03 oz. of eyeliner ($12.75 value), and 0.13 fl. oz. of primer potion ($6.88 value). The total value of the palette is $80.83, while the retail price is $34.
I think sometimes we lose sight of what the beauty industry and market are like as a whole — not every person purchases every palette or even much at all. Not everyone enters at the same time, so even though you may find yourself owning many of the shades, it doesn’t make it a terrible product – Urban Decay does some really excellent shades that you can get year round, but these sure make those shades more accessible and affordable to people who don’t have a lot of Urban Decay or have always wanted to try it. It would be great to see new shades, of course, but I recognize what value they may hold to others.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 27/30
Value: 10/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
final thoughts: Dangerous has shades we have all seen before, but ultimately, whether it’s a good value/purchase depends on just how many Urban Decay products you have in your arsenal. The palette itself is an excellent value, and if you like more than two shadows, it works out to be the same if you had bought then individually ($17 each). Oil Slick has a slightly fussy finish/texture, but the other five eyeshadows are really nice, especially Haight and Rockstar.
