Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition) Review, Photos, Swatches
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Everything Old is New Again
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition) ($34.00 for 10 x 0.03 oz.) includes ten of Urban Decay’s bestselling eyeshadows, which are: Smog (deep coppery bronze shimmer), Mildew (mossy green shimmer with gold shift), Oil Slick (black matte with silver micro-glitter), Last Call (metallic plum shimmer), Chopper (copper shimmer with silver micro-glitter), Maui Wowie (metallic golden beige shimmer with silver glitter), Shattered (turquoise shimmer with a gold shift), Polyester Bride (white snow shimmer with silver micro-glitter), Grifter (sheer lavender shimmer with silver micro-glitter), and Sin (champagne shimmer).
Smog is a warm, medium-dark bronze with orange undertones and a frosted finish. It had excellent color payoff and a soft, smooth texture. bareMinerals Ritzy is slightly darker. MAC Mulch is redder. MAC Bronze is more metallic.
Mildew is a mossy green with an olive undertone and subtle forest green shimmer over a frost finish. It seemed a little less pigmented here than I remember the full-size pot, but when I applied it to the lid, I didn’t notice any pigmentation level differences. L’Oreal Golden Emerald is darker, greener, less yellow-toned. Tarina Tarantino Dandy Lion is yellower. theBalm Makeout Mary is very similar. shu uemura Smoky Velvet #2 is a cream version but similar in color.
Oil Slick is a dark black with a teal micro-shimmer–it looks mostly gray-black on the lid and blended out; the shimmer so fine and sparse that it isn’t visible. The color payoff was good, though, and the texture was soft though a little drier than the other shades. bareMinerals Penthouse is a touch darker and more matte. Buxom Black Lab is similar in color but a cream product. MAC Cinderfella has more shimmer. Bobbi Brown Lava is more matte and has larger sparkle.
Last Call is a pinky-plum with red undertones and a frosted, metallic finish. It had great pigmentation and applied smoothly. Chanel Harmonie du Soir #3 is more muted, less pink. L’Oreal Glistening Garnet is lighter, redder, less plum. MAC Stylishly Merry is much pinker.
Chopper is an orange-copper with a frosted, metallic finish. It is supposed to have micro-glitter, which is visible in the pan, but when I swatched it, all of the glitter was swept away. The color payoff of the underlying shade was full and opaque, and it had a smooth texture. bareMinerals Louder is a touch browner. Wet ‘n’ Wild Sparkle ‘Til Morning #6 is a bit more orange, less metallic. Urban Decay Penny Lane is a touch more orange.
Maui Wowie is a pale, not-quite-dirty gold with dark gold micro-glitter and a frosted finish. It had excellent pigmentation, and it was soft and smooth to the touch, but like Chopper, the majority of the micro-glitter disappears. bareMinerals First Class is darker, browner. Chanel Apparence is a cream product, and it is darker. bareMinerals Chart Topper is more muted.
Shattered is a bluish-teal with a green-teal sheen. It has a frosted, somewhat metallic finish. The payoff felt a little weaker here than I remember it being in the past. L’Oreal Endless Sea is similar. Guerlain Les Aquas #2 is lighter.
Polyester Bride is a brightened, creamy white with a frosted, metallic finish and silver micro-glitter. Again, the micro-glitter disappears as you smooth out the color. This shade was less pigmented than the others. bareMinerals Silhouette is very similar, slightly less metallic. Cinderella Midnight Hour is very close in color. Cinderella Ball Gown is also similar.
Grifter is a pink lavender with a frosted, metallic finish and silver micro-glitter. The micro-glitter tends to move around and disappear as you blend out the color. The pigmentation was decent, though Urban Decay did describe it as “sheer,” so it was as expected. Guerlain Attrape-Coeur #4 is less metallic. NARS Marie-Galante #1 is more iridescent.
Sin is a warmed-up champagne beige with a high-shine, metallic finish. It had great pigmentation, and it applied very smoothly and evenly. This color is the closest to a highlight shade in the palette, but it is very, very metallic/frosted on the brow bone. bareMinerals Libation is warmer. Giorgio Armani #8 is pinker. Inglot #397 is comparable.
If you have the original Ammo palette, you’ll have the exact same shades; this palette has a new design and includes all of the same shades but in Urban Decay’s revamped eyeshadow formula. Also, all ten shades are part of the permanent range, so they can be purchased individually if desired. You are almost never better off purchasing singles, because the palette is less than the cost of two individual shades. Chances are low that you’ll actually finish an entire pot of eyeshadow, though the individual eyeshadows are 0.05 oz. and each shade within the palette is 0.03 oz.
If you don’t want to deal with glitter and its fall out, you may want to skip this palette, as five of the ten shades have Urban Decay’s signature micro-glitter. What I will say in regards to the fall out is that 90% of it occurs while you apply it, so after you’ve finished the look, you can remove it and while you will see some stray glitter particles throughout the day (I found some on my nose, below it, and elsewhere on my under eye/upper cheek area), it’s not much.
Now, the reason there actually isn’t much fall out during wear is simple: hardly any gets transferred to the lid! Ahh, the secret! The reality is that if you like the idea of glittery bits on the lid, you’re just not going to get the effect–they end up looking like the base color sans the glitter applied. The sparkle just doesn’t bind with the eyeshadow, so it sits on top and easily gets brushed elsewhere. If you want the glitter, your best bet is to use a firm, flat brush and pat it over a sticky base.
Overall, the pigmentation of the shades was good to great, with only Polyester Bride coming in a bit short (Grifter isn’t opaque, but it is supposed to be sheer). The textures are soft, buttery, and dense, with Oil Slick being a bit drier but seemingly softer/denser than previous iterations of it. When I wore these shades for eight hours, I had a few sparkles of fall out, but I didn’t have any problems with fading or creasing.
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition) Review, Photos, Swatches
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette (2013 Edition)
Urban Decay Smog Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Mildew Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Oil Slick Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Last Call Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Chopper Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Maui Wowie Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Shattered Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Polyester Bride Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Grifter Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Sin Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Polyester Bride, Chopper, Last Call, Smog, Sin
Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Maui Wowie, Mildew, Shattered, Oil Slick, Sin
Those eye looks are both stunning – great job Christine! =]
Thank you, Charlotte!
I love these step by step tutorials – absolutely brilliant! thanks Christine!
Thanks 🙂
Happy New Year, Christine! I love the step by step for your eye look. I’m sure this takes a lot of time, but it would be great if you could do this occasionally when you post your eye looks. It’s very helpful. 🙂
Happy new year, Deb! Thank you!
Oooohhhh… the UD shimmer formula (for lack of better words to describe what I consider their signature style) suits you amazingly well Christine! Makes me think I don’t give my UD palettes except the Nakeds enough love. Will try a look similar to the first one you did with an older Book of Shadows :))
Thank you, Christina! I hope you recreate it!
OMG this is the first UD palette I just fell in love with ;D I want to have it! I hope it comes to Holland..
Fingers crossed for ya, Linda!
Same old story, same old song… I really expect much more from UD than ” naked ” nail polishes, Ammo 2 etc.. I’ll skip all new UD products I’ve seen so far, I am quite disappointed I must say.
What would you like to see UD do?
I wish they would bring back those lipsticks or Naked Basics lipstick line. I would also love to see new nail polishes in bigger bottles, not the mini size. Brush sets. & more palettes like the Naked ones, but using color ranges (like the Hard Candy color palettes).
Love this palette, I definitely might consider purchasing it, since some of the shades are so pretty but definitely not worth purchasing individually.
Let us know if you end up grabbing it!
I’m not a fan of glitter and fallout, but I appreciate you letting us know that it’s easily removed. The two looks you created are GORGEOUS–I can’t decide which I like more!
Thanks, Marilyn! I was like, “OMG GLITTERBOMB” when I was appyling, but there’s not much left afterward so at least there’s that…
ehhh, I have all these colors and I’m going to pass. do you think shattered is a dupe for mac’s s steamy?
I want to say Steamy was tealer but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen/swatched it (I’m not sure I own it).
Sounds like the new formula improved a few of the shades. I have the original and Grifter and Polyester Bride are both pretty dry in texture. That might also be because mine is 6+ years old though.
They definitely seem softer! 🙂 I wouldn’t think they’d get really dry over the years, since they start out dry so there shouldn’t be much moisture to dry up? but I am no chemist/scientist, lol!
I remember swatching the original palette inside a Sephora that had just opened, and one of the reasons I passed on it was because it was so dry.
I was really excited about this re-release but definitely will be holding it off now that you mention how glittery 5/10 shades are. The first look is definitely I’m going to try to recreate! Thanks Christine 🙂
No problem, Stephanie!
BEAUTIFUL looks Christine 🙂
Thanks, Krista!
I love the tutorials you do!! So helpful!
Thank you, Nikki!
Might be a really good palette for someone new to UD but I have so many of these shadows already in other palettes. The only one that interests me is, as I said in another post, the new formulation of Maui Wowie since it has less glitter fallout. But now, from your description, Christine, I’m wondering if it’s as beautiful once applied as the original. Any chance you might do a “look” using the newer Maui Wowie or even several shadows from this palette?
Hi Mariella,
I did two looks of this! http://www.temptalia.com/urban-decay-ammo-eyeshadow-palette-2013-edition-review-photos-swatches
oops! Forget my earlier question…I should have scrolled down further. I see you have done a step by step with MW. Can I blame too much champagne? (actually, I only had one glass; I just didn’t get enough sleep!)
No worries! 🙂
Ah the glitter. I have this same issue with Sidecar from the Naked palette. >:(
Sidecar was my favourite shade in the original Naked palette…UNTIL I tried to use it! Such annoying fallout. I still use it from time to time but have to go to such lengths not to have glitter all over my under-eye area when I do trot it out!
I had the same problem with Sidecar but I’ve recently noticed that its stopped being so glittery! I think I’ve finally used up enough of the top layer to get to the shadow underneath. For some reason, all the glitter must be up at the surface.
I’m one of those people- I don’t actually mind glitter or even just fall out in general when I’m applying makeup. Of course I’d prefer my shadows to have little to no fall out but as long as they don’t blend away to nothing the extra step to clean up before I put anything on my face doesn’t bother me. I do wish the glitter translated into the shadows since there is glitter in them but UD isn’t the only brand this happens with.
Somehow though I only have one of these colours so this pallet looks like something I’ll be picking up soon… o/
I like it! I’d probably get this if I didn’t have so much fallout with UD shadows 🙁
So hard to really review a reformulation without a comparison with the original product. Since we are dealing with essentially the exact same colors the only difference is performance.
The fallout you described sounds exactly like my experience with the original, which I own. Glitter on your cheeks, instead of on the eye. I do find it continues to fall out throughout the day, but I also think it would depend on how much you use of the “offending” color. The looks demonstrated use only a small amount of each color.
I have noticed a reduction in eye irritation between the old and new formulas.. and I got a chance to directly compare the old and new Mowie Wowie when I purchased the Vice palette (which I returned just FYI) and did find it was much easier to work with.. however it was also a very different color and texture to the original. Much less dimensional shimmer.
I also wanted to mention I find this palette to be extremely versatile. The selection of colors gives you a tremendous amount of options for different looks. If the shadows themselves were a better formula it would be one of my favorite palettes. That said my experience with the new formula in Vice was simply not good enough, thus the reason I returned. They are better.. but still have enough issues to make them very frustrating to work with. I expect better for the price.
I’m so sorry that I do not have the original!
I’ve got to say that I am not really excited about the palette, but I love the looks you made and I’m gonna try to recreate them with some similar colors! =) Oh, and the little brush is really cute, don’t you think?
I LOVE the tutorials you did! I will be recreating both of them. 🙂
Thanks, Gabriella!
Christine, I purchased the original palette and loved it (use it all the time, still haven’t hit pan on any of them!), and fallout from glitter has always been a problem it seems. It made me wonder–how do you think the “new, revamped formula” compares between palettes? Are the formulas really all that much different/better compared to the original palette in terms of pigmentation and workability? I don’t think I’d want to go out and replace my whole palette just yet unless the formula is just that much better, and with the fallout you’re describing it doesn’t seem like anything’s changed much!
Hi Bre,
I don’t have the original palette, sorry!
I love the second look.
I have to admit that launching a new eyeshadow formula was marketing genius… Now they can sell you the EXACT same palette you bought a few years ago, with the EXACT same shades, and expect you to buy it again!!
The 2nd look you made with it is absolutely gorgeous! But I’m pretty sure I have what it takes to copy it, even if it’s not with the new formula…
Dear UD,
Please make more palettes using this type of packaging. Its so compact and travel friendly! I’d love to see a NAKED themed palette packaged like this. 10 shades is perfect for variety and its so portable! I loved the Wallpaper and Skull palettes too and would love to see revamped versions of those! I really like the idea of the Fun, Feminine, and Dangerous palettes, but the packaging and the shade selection makes them fall a bit short in my opinion 🙂
Love,
slick
Meh. I already have multiples of these colors from several different UD palettes. A revamped shadow formula is not enough for me to buy them all again.
The original version of this was my first UD palette, and is still after all this time my most-used palette from anywhere. No matter what kind of look I’m doing I almost always end up reaching for this one. If I travel, chances are I’m taking this one.
That said, I won’t be replacing it with the new formula unless something happens to my original one. I like the old packaging and the shadows work just fine!
I probably said this about the original release but – A lot of pretty shades but nothing I don’t have dupes for (or wouldn’t wear much).
I love the original Ammo palette and am glad to see that Urban Decay is updating it with the new formula. I am definitely purchasing this when my original Ammo palette runs out.
Love the looks you did, Christine. I might purchase this regardless of the fallout, as I don’t own the first version that came out. 🙂
i don’t understand all of the hate for glitter in UD shadows. i understand that the vice palette sucks with fallout, especially since shades like provocateur are nothing but glitter and it doesn’t even apply well anyways. however, i’ve never had trouble with UD’s glitter. sure a little will get on your face. that is if you ever wear anything with glitter; even the microglitter of highlighters will travel a little.
the way to get them to work perfectly: just use a flat stiff brush and ANY primer, take the brush and dip it into the shadow, tap your brush a few times, then pat it on the lid. the first time i used the naked palette, i hated sidecar because of the glitter; i tried this and now it’s my favorite UD shadow of all time; YDK and maui wowie are my other favorite two for the lid.
Blasted glitter fallout! Ruins my dreams for perfect eyeshadow every single time. I have a deep hatred for migrating glitter, and micro glitter is worse than chunky glitter bc it’s harder to remove. 🙁
I got this palette for Christmas. I’m at war with myself, not sure if I should return it. Even tho I got it as a gift I’m not to sure if I will really use it. I really want this palette to work but it’s too much glitter for me. All colors seem to be so shiny. What to do? hmmm…
If I were new to UD, I’d be all over this palette as it has lots of colors and is a very portable size. Plus it includes a nice brush and primer. However, I have a lot of the colors in this palette, so I’ll pass (Not to mention I really do not need any more eyeshadow). I happen to be wearing Maui Wowie today (with Twice Baked in the crease). I also love Sidecar. I wear it constantly.
I’m not sure I get the recent UD hate. I actually don’t find the UD glitter fallout to be such a big deal. I find other brands can be worse and actual dark eyeshadow falout on my face is more annoying – and that never happens with UD. As for the L’Oreal buyout, it hasn’t been approved yet, so L’Oreal cannot possibly have anything to do with product development (not to mention the long planning phase for new products). Plus many companies classified as cruelty free are owned by larger parent companies that have brands that aren’t cruelty free. I just don’t see the big deal.
I don’t know, I love UD. It’s one of my favorite makeup brands.
My comments are not directed at you Christine. 🙂 I think your review looks fair. I am thinking more of comments I’ve been seeing in the comments section and on other sites regarding UD.
I think Grifter is my favourite Urban Decay eyeshadow ever. I only have it in this palette (well, the previous incarnation) and it’s the only shade in the palette that I have absolutely demolished lol. I do think Ammo offers a great selection of colours though.
I have last year’s version of this. And I like the colors but they are all so shimmery and glittery. Too much so (and I like shimmer and glitter). But the pigment and pay-off is great in them. In these photos they don’t look as glittery and shimmery as mine are.
Looks like a really nice palette but I’ll probably pass since I have most of the shades in other palettes. Love your swatches though, shows off the colors well. Thanks for all your great blog post, I read it often 🙂
Loving this palette. The shades are all soft and it’s a great one for some pretty Spring looks.
I totally agree with this. I love the colours but wish the actual eyeshadow itself was a little bit more effective. However this is a fun palette.
I like to use glittery shadows with a stiff damp brush,it works pretty well and it gives the color a more metallic-foil effect. It’s also how I use the Mac lustre shadows too. HTH 🙂 I will be getting this one,since I don’t have a lot of UD colors,ty Christine!