Archived Post

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow ($18.00 for 0.05 oz.) is described as a “soft cool brown matte.” It’s a cool-toned, gray-tinged brown with a matte finish. It’s a brown-leaning taupe, but it has a fair amount of brown in it. Wet ‘n’ Wild Desert Festival #3 is slightly darker. MAC Omega is much lighter. Bobbi Brown Hot Stone is darker. Urban Decay Faint is a few shades lighter.

The texture was a little dry, and the resulting color payoff was good but not excellent; when I applied it to the lid with a fluffy crease brush, I had less trouble getting better color payoff, but it did need a second layer of product to really get true-to-pan color.  I wish it had been just a bit denser/more buttery, because it was also somewhat dusty, so it was prone to fading.  There was some noticeable fading of the color when I wore it, though no creasing, starting at the seven hour mark.  With a really fluffy brush, it works well enough, but it took extra work to blend it out if used with a firmer brush (say for applying to the lid, rather than the crease).

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Secret Service Eyeshadow
Urban Decay SWF (inner lid), Scratch (middle of lid),
Roach (outer lid), Secret Service (crease)

29 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
lala k Avatar

Yes it’s a touch powerful, but I really like it. I use it in the crease paired with sparkly light pink or shimmery nude and it looks great. Cool colors look best on me and its really hard to find a cool matte .

Lisa Avatar

I’m SOOO glad you reviewed this. This shade has been on my wish list for a very long time. As everyone knows, Urban Decay doesn’t have a wide range of mattes so when I discovered this shade existed I was really excited about it. (I have an unhealthy obsession with neutrals, okay?) Unfortunately, there aren’t really any reviews on it that offer anything other than swatches. Now I know for sure that I can take this off my list. I have oily eyelids so eyeshadows tend to fade on me quite easily. Thank you, Christine!

t_zwiggy Avatar

I have crazy oily lids (creasing within 15 minutes without a primer), and this is one of my favorite shadows for the crease. I’m actually shocked by the low rating, because mine is pigmented, smooth, easy to blend and doesn’t fade or crease. I do however have an old version of this (before the reformulation) so I suspect they might have ruined this shade in that process.

Julie Avatar

I wonder if the formula has changed, because I’ve has this for years and mine is brilliant – very pigmented, and not powdery at all

Lisa Avatar

I have the older version of this & I love it! I wonder if it’s the “new” formula, but if it is, it would be weird since it’s supposed to be more pigmented & smoother than the old ones. I have two back-ups when they decided to discontinue the old packaging & formula so I guess I’m good on this for a while 😀

Machostage Avatar

Oh, wow, I’m SO surprised at the rating given here! I wonder if when UD changed/improved their formula this one somehow suffered? I have the original version and I can’t rave enough about it, I think it’s a fantastic shadow in every regard.

Michelle Avatar

I’m really shocked by this review. This is my go to matte brown and mine is completely buttery and pigmented. Especially compared to any MAC matte shades, Secret Service texture and formula is amazing. Maybe I just got a good one, but I do not have any issues with blending or application of this shade.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!