Best Urban Decay Makeup Products | Temptalia's Recommendations 2017
Best Products
Urban Decay
Urban Decay has a huge catalog of products! There are a lot of great, go-to formulas and shades in their permanent line. I thought I’d do a recap on some of Urban Decay’s best products and shades from what I’ve personally tried and tested over the years. Make sure you explore formulas by viewing specific shades, getting swatches, or reading reviews. We’ve covered a lot of Urban Decay over the years!
Helpful Resources
- Best of Urban Decay | Overview of the brand, the most wanted Urban Decay products, most loved products by readers, editor’s top rated products, and most recently reviewed.
- Urban Decay Swatches | Browse every swatch we’ve ever added to the Swatch Gallery from Urban Decay. You can sort the results by things like date, color, rating, price, and so forth, but you can also refine the results and drill down by color, type, finish, availability, undertone, and more.
- Urban Decay Reviews | Browse over 1,000 Urban Decay products that we’ve reviewed from highest rated to lowest rated. You can also sort the products we’ve reviewed or refine results to see things like just eyeshadow or lipstick.
Products Mentioned
You can jump to any of the products mentioned by clicking one of the below links, or you can keep scrolling down for more detailed explanations about each product we’ve featured!
- Urban Decay Eyeshadow
- Urban Decay Vice Lipstick
- Urban Decay Afterglow Powder Blush
- Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil
- Urban Decay Afterglow Powder Highlighter
- Urban Decay Naked Palette
- Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil
- Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- Urban Decay Heavy Metals
- Urban Decay Little Vices
Urban Decay Eyeshadow (Discontinued)
Urban Decay Eyeshadow ($19.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a long-time favorite, particularly their permanent range of eyeshadows (which I find stronger in terms of quality and more consistent). Some of their matte are real workhorse kind of shades with soft, smooth, silky, and blendable textures, while their shimmers and pearly shades are very rich in payoff and apply beautifully to the lid. With such an extensive range of shades to choose from, it’s hard to pick just a few favorites to call out, but we do have a list of the top 35 best Urban Decay eyeshadows, which can be quite handy.
Urban Decay Vice Lipstick
Urban Decay Vice Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.11 oz.) is available in six finishes, which are primarily distinguished by level of sheen, shimmer content, and coverage. Mega Mattes are the thinnest and have the most “cling” as they are drier and more matte (but most are semi-matte and not a totally flat matte) and can be drying, though they are longer-wearing. Comfort Mattes are creamier, a little denser, with richer color payoff on average (they are the most pigmented out of the finishes), and have a satin finish that is fairly comfortable to wear, usually lightly hydrating, and longer-wearing. Creams are usually softer and creamier, though not too soft (they don’t mush or break from the base easily), with some being tackier and stiffer in the tube until they warm up against the lips; they have good color payoff, are hydrating, and are comfortable to wear but have more typical wear (four to six hours–six hours for deeper/richer shades like a red). Sheers and Sheer Shimmers have a more balm-like consistency that feels a little thinner but is wetter/more emollient than Mega Mattes, so ultimately, they feel quite different applied; they have sheerer coverage, though more semi-sheer to semi-opaque than very sheer, and have the shortest wear time at two to fours with light hydration. Metallized is the most shimmery of the finishes, though some of the other finishes have shades that are actually as shimmery (to me), but the Metallized formula has a thinner, more emollient base that isn’t as dense or as cream-like as the Creams; they feel more like the Sheers but a bit heavier and more pigmented (but seem to run semi-opaque to opaque, not always fully opaque) with average wear (four to five hours), light hydration.
With 120 shades available, you’ll want to use our top 30 Vice Lipstick list to help narrow down what’s worth checking out! Some of my favorite shades–of this very moment–are: Tryst, Moshpit, Studded, Twitch, Amulet, Tampered, Crisis, Perversion, and Cruz.
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush ($26.00 for 0.23 oz.) is a powder blush with medium, buildable coverage and a more satin-to-luminous finish. I like how the range includes a mix of more “wearable” neutrals along with brighter pops of color, so it’s a versatile range that can work for many skin tones. Some of my favorite shades are Rapture, TMI, Fetish, and Crush.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil (Eyeliner)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil ($20.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a smooth, pigmented pencil eyeliner that works well on the lash line as it has a waxy consistency that glides easily across the skin and doesn’t tug or skip. They are long-wearing on me (eight to ten hours) and have been a go-to for years. Some of my favorite shades are Torch, Perversion, Alkaline, Pistol, and Deep End.
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Highlighter ($26.00 for 0.23 oz.) is soft, smooth, blendable, and yields moderate or greater sheen. The shade I like the most in the range is Aura, as you don’t find too many permanent, cooler pinks.
Urban Decay Naked
Urban Decay Naked Palette ($54.00 for 0.60 oz.) is a classic palette for me; it’s one I can return to and use with ease. The eyeshadows are all warm in tone with a mix of mattes and shimmers (though it is more shimmery overall) and complement each other.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil ($20.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a pigmented and long-wearing lip liner that is easy to apply to lips and one of the more comfortable lip pencils to use for all-over filling and wearing on its own. There’s pretty much a shade for everyone!
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion ($20.00 for 0.33 fl. oz.) has been a cult favorite eyeshadow primer for years. I’m a big fan of the Anti-Aging version, as I find it forgiving even when my lids are a bit dry, and also like Eden, which has a lot of coverage and can hide redness.
Limited Edition Favorites
Here are some limited edition favorites that are still available at the time of this posting!
Urban Decay Heavy Metals
Urban Decay Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette ($55.00 for 0.60 oz.) is a new, limited edition holiday offering that includes 20 eyeshadows. The... Read full review.
Urban Decay Little Vices
Urban Decay Little Vices Lipstick Kit ($25.00 for 0.15 oz.) contains five travel-sized lipsticks with two exclusive shades (Double Crossed and Mad)... Read full review.
Urban Decay will always have a special place in my heart because theirs was the first eyeshadow primer I ever tried (in the old style genie bottle with the doe foot applicator – a container design that frustrated many of us because of how much product was wasted/hard to get at. I don’t know if there were other good e/s primers before UDPP but it’s the one I first heard of/tried and it made all the world of difference in my enjoyment of makeup. In spite of some of their less than stellar products (the eyeshadows that are beautiful but unwearable because of the glitter blizzards), they make so many excellent products right across the line.
I remember UDPP being the go-to for awhile and outside of that, I’d hear about MAC Paints (the squeeze tube variety) and later MAC Paint Pots and Too Faced Shadow Insurance!
The eyeshadow primer from Urban Decay is terrible for me. Did they reformulante it? It feels more watery than it used to be.
The original doesn’t work that well on me, but the Anti-Aging and Eden work great on me.
What a great guide to have all in one place. I find Urban Decay hard to rely on — they have my all time favorite single eyeshadows and some favorite lipsticks, but the eyeliners are a gamble and I’ve never found a UD foundation or blush that work for me. So I rarely make impulse UD purchases, and all this info in one place will be great to have! Thanks
With the eyeliners, I have found that the very sparkly ones seem to be less pigmented compared to the matte versions with the more pearly/metallic ones being fairly pigmented but can be +/- waxiness. That being said, outside of the original 24/7 line-up, some of the other lines have been misses!
I’ve got a few of the UD liners (mostly ones that came in palettes/sets) and I’ve never been wild about them. I find that they don’t last and given that 24/7 name, I expected better wear from them. I honestly much prefer the Sephora pencil liners – I find them much better on all counts and the price is pretty hard to beat. UD’s new blushes are lovely, at least for me – I have Rapture and really like it.
Thank you Christine. I really like the primer potions, the eyeshadows. I need to test out the vice lipstick and the blushes. I remember when my mom (her name is Christine too 🙂 ) wanted the darkest khôl and you did a comparison article, I spotted the UD directly and this is her favorite now.
I’ve used Urban Decay for many years. My favorite products are the lipsticks (especially Rapture and Backtalk) and eyeshadow palettes (though the Naked palettes have too many shimmers and not enough mattes). I also love the All Nighter setting spray. I used to swear by the eyeshadow Primer Potion, but I discovered that NYX Proof It Waterproof Eyeshadow Primer does a fine job and costs a lot less.
On the other hand, I’m disappointed in some of the UD single shadows I own, and I’ve had bad luck with the 24/7 eyeliner pencils, which are no match for my oily, watery eyes.
But I’m still a big UD fan.. And after Naked Heat, I hope that their next Naked palette will be cool neutrals with an equal balance of mattes and satins!
I love the original primer potion. I’ve used it for years and years and it really makes any eyeshadow I happen to put on last for at least twelve hours, often a lot longer. Without it my oily lids eat the eyeshadows in less then three hours.
I prefered the old lipsticks, Revolution to the Vice ones, my favourite is F-Bomb.
I love the Naked 2 and 3 palettes, I love the original as well, but had a dupe for it, without even knowing it was a dupe, UD wasn’t available here when I got it. I hit pan on quite a few of the shades in that one.
To me Urban Decay spells eyeshadows and eye pencils more than anything else.
The Naked 1 & 2 palettes are stunning for me and I think their earlier Vice range, the 15th Anniversary palette, Mariposa and Spectrum palettes were sensational, with a gorgeous range of shades.
Perhaps the only criticism is that shimmers and sparkles were predominant, when mattes and satins would have added an extra step to the luxury.
When one peruses all the winning products that UD has put out, it is blindingly obvious why this is a favorite brand for so many of us out here! Love my Vice Lipsticks so much that when they do the Vice Lipsticksale on Monday, I’m nabbing 2 and getting the engraving done, too!