Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette ($59.00 for 20 x 0.03 oz. / 0.60 oz.) includes twenty new and exclusive eyeshadows, which means the palette contains $216 worth of eyeshadow, plus a dual-ended brush that we’ll value at $16 (using the lowest-priced brush they have, which is the Blending Brush, and this is one-half of the dual-ended brush, too). The total value of the palette is $232–so it’s a great deal as long as you love at least three to four of the eyeshadows. Individually, Urban Decay Eyeshadows retail for $18 (but are 0.05 oz. in size). The palette is housed in a large plastic palette where the lid releases with a push of a button. It has a mirror that spans the width and height of the lid inside. This is part one of two posts featuring the palette–there are so many shades that I wanted to split the two into more bite-sized (still a rather large gulp each, though!) pieces as well as keep the loading time down.

Overall, it’s a nice palette with several really lovely shades with excellent pigmentation, soft and smooth textures, and that wear well without fading or creasing over eight hours (without a primer). There are a few misses in regards to color payoff, and some shades have drier or powdery textures.  Shades like Lovesick, Prank,and  Toxic were misses for me, as they were dry, powdery, and not as pigmented or as easy to blend as other shades in the palette.  Shades like Madness, Strike, Derailed, Dope, Habit, Ambush, and Rewind were easy to work with, nicely pigmented, and had great textures. A lot of shades had either micro-glitter (6) or micro-sparkle (3), and I didn’t notice glitter/sparkle in half of them.  I only saw noticeable fall out with a few shades but nothing was too problematic, actually (I was surprised).

Smokeout is described as a “dark taupey-black satin.” It’s a darkened, charcoal brown–it’s almost too sooty to be a taupe to me. It had a satiny sheen, nice color payoff, and a soft, smooth texture. It was very slightly powdery, and a little goes a long way–this is the kind of shade that seems almost fragile, because the powder just dances off the surface as soon as the brush touches it. Easy does it! MAC Deep Cravings is grayer. Disney Midnight Hour #4 is browner, lighter. Urban Decay Spell #2 is darker. MAC Moody is slightly lighter. Inglot #434 is cooler-toned, less brown. See comparison swatches.

Lovesick is described as a “black matte with iridescent micro-glitter.” It’s a medium black with a matte finish and silver micro-glitter. It had so-so color payoff; the underlying matte color was a bit dry, so it went on somewhat faded and uneven, while the micro-glitter doesn’t really bind with the powder, so it tends to sit on top and can be dusted away (or prone to fall out). Marc Jacobs The Mod #2 is similar. Bobbi Brown Lava is darker. Illamasqua Zeitgeist is also darker. Chanel Mirifique and Buxom Black Lab are cream products. bareMinerals Penthouse is darker. See comparison swatches.

Shellshock is described as a “bright metallic silver.” It is, indeed, a bright, metallic silver with a very strong, frosted and metallic finish. The color payoff is intense, and the texture is so buttery that it’s almost creamy. I recommend applying less than you think you need, because this product binds together very well, but it also would stick and thicken over any creases/lines on my lid (so then it looked caked on). Marc Jacobs the Starlet is not as metallic. Maybelline Cool Crush is less frosted and a cream product. MAC Silver Sleet is darker. See comparison swatches.

Coax is described as a “medium metallic pink with golden iridescent micro-sparkle.” It’s a medium pink with slight cool undertones and pale gold sparkle. It had excellent pigmentation, and the texture was soft and buttery, though there was some stray sparkles that fell out while worn. MAC Feather Pink is less shimmery. Guerlain Boulevard du Montparnasse #3 is slightly darker, less shimmery. See comparison swatches.

X-Rated is described as a “baby pink satin.” It is a light-medium, cool-toned pink with a satiny sheen. It had good color payoff, and it applied smoothly and evenly. NARS Bouthan #1 is lighter, matte. MAC Feather Pink is darker. Inglot #319 is a touch lighter. See comparison swatches.

Prank is described as a “deep navy matte with turquoise floating pearl.” It’s a deep, dark navy blue with blue-teal shimmer. Like Lovesick, though, the shimmer floats (which Urban Decay mentions) and doesn’t really come through. I tried using this several times to get the teal shimmer to come through, but it never did–even when I layered over a white base. It ended up looking like a blackened navy. The texture is noticeably powdery, so it was prone to sheering out, which you can see in the swatch. I didn’t have any issues with it fading when worn, though. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck finding anything similar! Tom Ford Emerald Lust #4 is more of a shimmery blue. Giorgio Armani #20 is darker, less blue, more black. See comparison swatches.

Madness is described as a “bright metallic blue shimmer with blue micro-glitter.” It’s a medium blue with cool undertones and a frosted, slightly metallic finish. It had excellent pigmentation and had a soft, buttery texture that applied very evenly and smoothly. Urban Decay Unhinged is slightly more muted, as is Urban Decay Haight. MAC Pure Creation is less frosted and a cream product. Guerlain Les Aquas #3 is darker. Sugarpill Starling is a slightly brighter. See comparison swatches.

Strike is described as a “antique gold shimmer with silver micro-glitter.” It’s a muted, medium yellow gold with a frosted finish. There are bits of silver micro-glitter that I saw in the pan, but I didn’t see any translate to the lid or even swatched. It had really nice color payoff with a soft, smooth texture. Too Faced Instigator is darker, more metallic. Sephora Girls Night Out is darker, warmer. Urban Decay Blitz is a touch cooler-toned. NARS Etrusque is slightly darker. Maybelline Bold Gold is a cream product. MAC Gaelic Gold is warmer. MAC Sweet & Sour is more frosted. L’Oreal Gold Imperial is similar. Chanel Topkapi #4 is brighter. See comparison swatches.

Stash is described as a “deep olive green shimmer with iridescent micro-sparkle.” It’s a dark, muted olive green with khaki and forest green shimmer. It had a soft, frosted finish. The texture was a little drier compared to the the average Urban Decay eyeshadow, so it didn’t apply as intensely or as smoothly as I expected. Dior Bonne Etoile #1 is less frosted. Urban Decay Mildew is a touch lighter. MAC Unsurpassable is lighter. MAC Vintage Coin is a cream product. MAC Greensmoke is cooler-toned. MAC Fiction is less green. Lancome Designer is similar. Guerlain COup de Foudre #1 is lighter, warmer. bareMinerals Eureka is more frosted. Inglot #419 is more metallic. See comparison swatches.

Poison is described as a “charcoal satin with iridescent micro-sparkle.” It’s a dark gray with brown undertones and very, very fine teal shimmer. It had a drier consistency, so the payoff was somewhat prone to sheering out and looked faded when swatched. A lot of product actually comes off the pan when I was applying this to the lid, but if you try to blend it, then it gives off a rather faded appearance. Disney Jetsam is bluish. Urban Decay Ace is lighter, grayer. Urban Decay Desperation is lighter, warmer. bareMinerals Do Not Disturb is a touch cooler-toned. See comparison swatches.

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Smokeout Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Smokeout Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Lovesick Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Lovesick Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Shellshock Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Shellshock Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Coax Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Coax Eyeshadow

Urban Decay X-Rated Eyeshadow

Urban Decay X-Rated Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Prank Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Prank Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Madness Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Madness Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Strike Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Strike Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Stash Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Stash Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Poison Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Poison Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Strike (inner lid), Stash (middle of lid), Derailed (outer lid),
Poison (crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Dope (inner lid), Habit (middle of lid), Rewind (outer lid),
Smokeout (crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Coax (inner lid), Betrayal (middle of lid),
Voodoo (outer lid/crease), Prank (outer crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Coax (inner lid), Betrayal (middle of lid),
Voodoo (outer lid/crease), Prank (outer crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Toxic (inner lid), Radar (middle of lid), Ambush (outer lid),
Derailed (crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Toxic (inner lid), Radar (middle of lid), Ambush (outer lid),
Derailed (crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Shellshock (inner lid), Betrayal (middle of lid),
Voodoo (outer lid), Prank (outer crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Habit (inner lid), Toxic (middle of lid), Ambush (outer lid),
Smokeout (outer crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Habit (inner lid), Toxic (middle of lid), Ambush (outer lid),
Smokeout (outer crease)

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Betrayal (inner lid), Shellshock (middle of lid), Madness (outer lid),
Prank (outer crease) [over NYX Milk]

Urban Decay Eyeshadows: Betrayal (inner lid), Shellshock (middle of lid), Madness (outer lid),
Prank (outer crease) [over NYX Milk]