What do you like about Urban Decay? What don't you like?
Tell us what you love and hate about...
Urban Decay
When they’ve expanded their core ranges, I’ve found that they often become my favorite products, but they do very limited, repeated seasonal collections–like I feel like we’ve seen the same “new” eyeliner shades over and over again with very subtle tweaks. That leads me to my next point, which is they’re a brand that takes a good idea and regurgitates it to the point where you wish they’d innovate again.
— Christine
I would love for Urban Decay to either recommit to their Vice lipstick line or replace it entirely. I love Vice lipsticks but we haven’t seen any new ones in a while and I feel like UD either needs to do a refresh, adding new and/or seasonal colors, or launch a new product.
I use to be more excited about Urban Decay, but nowadays I feel more… meah… about the brand.
I love their eyeshadow formula, and that they have singles to build your own custom palette. But the only Naked color story I liked was Naked Smoky and I simply dislike what they are doing to the Naked line lately. I also wish they put more effort and emphasis on their single shadows and building your own palette (make your own Naked maybe?).
I like that it’s a brand that can be a one stop shop to do your entire makeup.
But I highly dislike their tendency to overdo. They simply stretched the Naked serries too much. And when they did brow products they did like zillion products, like that was the only thing to do in the world.
I dislike that they lost their edgy punk/steampunk vibe… or it’s my perspective changing in time on what’s edgy.
They have a couple of great products, like the primer potion, but I would love seeing them invest more in updating formulas. It’s still a great primer, but better ones were launched in the meantime.
Also, the face palettes (blush, contour, highlighter) were a nice idea, but I wished they worked more on improving packaging and shade options.
The Glide-On pencils are a total love, amazing performance and shade selection. But we need more matte nude options, too many of the shades are shimmer (even colors).
I used to love the Naked foundation (it’s the only foundation I got a compliment on how good my skin looks, but also people rarely compliment me on makeup 😅 ), but the formula needs to be updated.
ITA that they lost their edgy vibe. Pardon my Hot Take, but I actually think the shift was the Naked line, which was very safe, basic colors but marketed as something provocative. Totally genius from a marketing perspective and changed the game in terms of eyeshadow pricing industry wide, but showed them were the money really was too–in “wearable” colors.
100% agree. The brand has be become safe and boring. Also, their seasonal eyeshadows are trash. There is no way they are the same formula as the singles. For god sake, the last palette had a bad PURPLE! Good purples is what they’re known for!
Exactly!!!
Can I ask what formulas for Eye shadow primer you think are better? I’ve always stuck with Urban Decay but hey…if there’s something better I’m for it!!
In the past year I have been purely obsessed with the ABH eyeshadow primer, but previously I also liked and preferred The Balm Put a lid on it; also, I would specify that I only liked the Anti-Aging Primer Potion, not the other variants.
UD eye primer never worked for me (always got creasing) but I’ve liked many other primers -Nars, Lorac’s, ABH’s…
Decent lip products. I liked the Naked Concealer. The eyeliners are pretty decent too. I like the Moondust shadows bc I like something sparkly to tap on the eyelid or the inner corner but over all I loathe their eyeshadows. They are over priced for what they are. Very inconsistent quality and they fade fast which ultimately make me think they are an overrated, over priced, over hyped brand. I’ve tried them since ’99 and I’ve never found them to be super amazing tbh
I love the 24/7 pencil eyeliners. They glide so easily and UD offers such a unique color selection. I do really like the primer potion too, it holds my eyeshadow all day, even through humidity and sweat.
I haven’t loved their eye palettes in a long time. Naked Cherry was the last one i purchased (and later decluttered) because the color schemes aren’t all that exciting anymore for a brand that was once so innovative.
I have a soft spot for Urban Decay. After a period of veering away from makeup years ago, Urban Decay drew me back again with their fun aesthetic, nice packaging, and great quality. But IMO everything seems to have changed (not for the better) once they went from an indie brand to being purchased by a mega-company, L’Oreal. I no longer immediately purchase the new Urban Decay release because I’m either not interested in much of what has come out, and/or I can’t always rely on the quality to be there. 🙁
I still love their eyeshadow singles, their eyeliners, and their lipsticks. But I feel like their brand identity has gotten a little lost (and needs updating!) and I don’t understand why they discontinued their Afterglow blushes and highlighters. A lot of their palettes seem to be inconsistent on quality, which is a bummer. But when they knock it out of the park, they really knock it out of the park!
They are my go-to brand, but I am constantly disappointed by quality problems in the last five or so years. I remember staying up all night since I’m EST waiting for a palette to drop because I knew it would be awesome. Now I have to go test them every time (or did pre-covid) to make sure it performs. I have returned and passed on a few with no payout.
Like/love: Their 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils are one of my favorite pencil eyeliners in existence. Also love their earlier LE eyeshadow palettes, both Revolution and Vice lipstick formulas, and the fantastic Afterglow Blush formulas.
Dislike/hate: That they discontinue absolutely flawless parts of their permanent lineup without much, if any notice, as in their perfectly WONDERFUL Afterglow Blush formula, Revolution Lipsticks and certain very interesting or even HG Vice lipstick shades like Broken or TMI. Also, what’s up with their constant reformulations? Also, their eyeshadow palettes have been extremely inconsistent in more recent years, it seems.
I wish they would reevaluate their eyeshadow formula. I remember when many people considered their eyeshadow formula to be one of the best on the market (maybe 2005-ish?) but lately I have been incredibly disappointed by their eyeshadows. I also feel like they used to have a very cohesive vision for their line between shade names, packaging, colors, etc… and I think they’ve lost some of that unique personality that helped them stand out from the crowd. I’m sure some of that perception is also due to other brands expanding their offerings to include more unique shades and products.
Like: I like their shadow singles and lipsticks: those are consistent in quality
Dislike:
-Inconsistency in their shadow palette quality–I remember the days where I never had to hesitate on the quality–I just needed to make sure the colors were right for me.
-Cyclic silicones! I can’t wear the lip liners, eye liners, or shadow primer bc of this inclusion. I’ve never been able to touch the foundation bc of this either.
-Lack of innovation: UD was a brand that did once do it and I’m just not seeing it anymore
LIKE: They still have a lot of great permanent products, such as the Vice Lipsticks and the Eye and Lip Pencils, All Niter Setting Spray, their mascaras, and their foundations. They can still sometimes surprise us and knock it out of the park, like they did with Naked Honey. They still mostly do beautiful packaging.
DISLIKE: They’ve lost their edge and sense of innovation. Their quality has become incredibly hit and miss, with more and more misses. They’ve run the Naked line into the ground, out the other side of the earth, and it’s now orbiting the earth lost and alone. They’ve discontinued so many great products for no apparent reason, and with no replacements. The Wired Palette…WTF.
You nailed it about Naked. loooool
I love them because they know how to go bold and vibrant with their colors (especially purple). I don’t like how they almost never do anymore, favoring their “naked” neutrals. Take their Ultraviolet pallet, for instance. When I saw the first sneak peek of the cover, I was soooo excited! An entire pallet devoted to their (and my) signature color! Then I saw half the colors were boring browns as if no one has any neutral shadows already in their collection. I still have yet to buy it.
I now equate UD as that aging musician who gave up hard rock to sing lounge room ballads. And I’m that groupie that still goes to the show hoping they’ll throw in one or two songs to prove they can still rock the house.
That last paragraph is the perfect analogy for us old time UD fans.
I like their 24/7 pencils — I love how they still have such an amazing color range in them. It seems like a lot of other brands don’t bother much with colorful liners anymore. I still like the original Primer Potion. And I’ve generally been pretty happy with their foundations — I can usually find a good match for my pale, cool-toned skin, where a lot of other brands I tried were too warm or too dark or both! I like the Moondust formula and I especially like the shades in the Moondust palette.
I dislike that their recent releases have felt rather boring and/or that the quality simply hasn’t been there. I feel like they’ve really lost their touch.
Hands down, their eyeliners. I have been wearing them as my main ones for over 10 years and they rarely smudge or leave dark circles, even if my eyes water, unlike most other brands.
I love their 24/7 eyeliners and am still mad I missed out on the light beige one they had in their GoT collection. I also really love the earlier incarnations of their aesthetic and would really like it if they would do another relaunch of some of their vintage colors. Biker Lip Tar and Lounge lipstick were two of my faves back in the day and I think those types of pearly shades are making a comeback now.
I don’t like that it seems like the quality of their eyeshadow palettes has become inconsistent, their singles are horrendously overpriced with no discount or minimal packaging options, and it generally seems like they overhaul or reformulate aspects of their core range too often.
That liner you refer to – Lannister Gold – is so gorgeous. I don’t mean to rub salt on a wound but I am so glad I got it. I wish UD would change the name and re-introduce it because I can’t think of another liner from any company that is identical to it.
That’s the one! I’ve tried hard to find a dupe and eventually settled on a Marc Jacob’s one, but it’s just nowhere near as good. It’s the perfect inner V highlight eyeliner.
Many years ago, Bare Minerals had a liner called 5 AM (I think – it was part of an “around the clock” collection) that Christine showed here but it was never available in Canada. It was beyond gorgeous and I could never find anything similar until I saw that Lannister Gold pencil so I almost RAN to Sephora to grab one. As I said, I don’t see why they don’t re-promote it either with the same name (as they’ve done with Mrs. Mia Wallace) or with a new name but make it part of their permanent line because it really is unique.
Lannister Gold is like the one the ABH did, if I had known they were going to discontinue it I would have stocked up on it, so I did manage to get one Lannister Gold, hopefully that and my ABH one will last for the rest of my life hahaha!
I’ve never seen the ABH one. I wonder if it’s from when ABH wasn’t available in Canada. I tried looking here at Temptalia to find it but there don’t seem to be any photos of any of the ABH liners. There’s a real need for a permanent shade like Lannister Gold, though!
I went to a Rouge Event in Canada six or so years ago and stumbled on them in gold and silver and bought them and later learned they were discontinued. I never even saw them advertised so how, when and where they came to be I have no idea.
Hey Lannister Gold fans – you might try Wunder 2 Super-Stay liner in the pale gold (don’t know the exact name). I don’t have LG, but from Christine’s pic, they look close. I’d call Wunder’s version a metallic pale golden taupe.
They seem old and tired and the last couple eyeshadow I bought from them a while back had poor pigmentation. I don’t buy anything from them. There lipliners all tend to turn orange on me. No interest!
I hate that they discontinued many of my favourite products – those wonderful blushes and highlighters (talk about wonderful products), the “Revolution” lipsticks, which were so superior to the Vice ones and, of course, my beloved original Naked palette. And I detest the new packaging of UDPP. Oh – speaking of packaging – I so wish they had eyeshadows available as “pro pans” like MAC, ABH and several other companies. I’d get a lot more use of my single shadows if I could put them in a custom palette.
What I love – UDPP! It was the first eyeshadow primer I ever tried (it may have been the first truly effective product of this kind) and it was a revelation and a game changer. I like that they come out with new palettes and new colours that frequently tempt me and about which I get a bit excited. The company seems to have something for every taste and style.
I used to love Urban Decay for the uniqueness and concept of their older palettes. Since the success of the original Naked palette, I feel that they have been on a downward trend with innovation focusing on the success of the Naked palettes. I loved the holiday kits with the fun eyeliner colors. They were such a good way to try new colors and get a lot of them at one time. I wish they would look back to the more conceptual palettes like the Vice or special collaborations with movies (like Pulp Fiction, Great and Powerful Oz).
I have that little Pulp Fiction e/s palette and it’s a great little powerhouse. Those Vice palettes were all such stunners – I’ve only got 2 of the 3 (how many overwhelmingly large e/s palettes does one woman need?) and every time I use them, it’s like discovering that initial excitement all over again.
Like – back in the day, a long, long time ago, the brand was creating stunning eyeshadows – Nakeds 1, 2 and 3 – Vice 1 & 2 – 15th Anniversary palette and lots of beautiful little ones – Mariposa, Feminine, Ammo etc plus the Book of Shadows…They were mostly good quality eyeshadows and have lasted the test of time. Their eye crayon range was fabulous.
Dislike: Now the brand is run of the mill – Ultraviolet is an example of all that is currently wrong with UD.
The eyeshadows are average in quality, the palette is poorly put together in terms of its colour story and the brand has not done anything remotely fabulous for a long time.
Even the Heavy Metals palette, which was overall, pretty good, should have been divided into two. It was so obvious that I don’t know what the execs of the company were thinking of.
I live in Mexico where getting brands lots of brands tends to be a little bit hard o way too expensive, so in that context, i think Urban Decay is a great option if you want a wide array of eyeshadows and eyeliners that tend to be great quality wise. That being said, i do think Urban Decay has played it safe too many times and it has lost its “edge”. I wish they would drop the whole Naked concept and come with something more innovative, for example. But i love their eye products, although i never buy their new releases.
Like: Their Vice Lipsticks (although I liked the older revolution formula also and don’t understand why they reformulated). Also a fan of their 24/7 eyeliners and how they glide right on and stay put, for the most part. I have to say though that I feel their eyeliner quality has declined a bit with some of the newer color offerings. I’ve had good results at a lower price point with Ulta’s pencil gel eyeliners, just putting that out there.
Dislike: Their eye shadows, especially the palettes have really gone down the tubes as far as the UD quality that made me fall in love years ago with their single eye shadows. The Ultraviolet palette is a big fat no for me. So disappointing that I don’t even have the words. Especially when I think back to how good their purples used to be, it’s inexcusable!
I have found them mediocre for the vast majority of past purchases. I’m not attracted to the label and even if something looks interesting, I tend to not buy. I still have U/D liners in my possession, but they are far from favourites; too waxy. I do have a few unique liners I keep purely because of the colour.
I think their branding is usually pretty stale. It’s seemed very difficult for them to move beyond what was considered cool and counterculture in the 90’s and it all feels very dated and “hey fellow kids!” at this point.
hey fellow kids 🙂 ! LOL
I don’t really think about UD any more except for their 24/7 eyeliners which I wear all the time. If they ever were taken off the market, I might cry. I was never a fan of their non-matte formula anyway, even when UD was the IT brand.
I’ve always loved UD, but they seem lost. They launched their new mascara on *QVC* before their own website. What happened? Did they get caught up chasing influencers or something and lose their edge?
While Naked Honey is good, their most recent products have been really hit and miss, mostly miss. (Naked Reloaded is garbage, and based on Christine’s review I’ll probably skip Naked Ultraviolet.)
The 24/7 eye liner pencils are the best & I wish some of their LE pencils would become part of their permanent collection. I do agree about them making more matte liners instead of colors with a hint of sparkle.
I really liked their Naked Powder Foundation that came with the square sponge applicator. It was discontinued & I thought it would come back either as a new formulation or packaging or relabeling or all 3. N/M I see it’s back as Stay Naked The Fix Powder Foundation. Now I see I would need to be color matched because of all the ‘shades’ available.
Their Naked palettes color stories don’t appeal to me, neither the On the Rune line, except Naked Cherry which I had to bring back because the two cherry mattes had hard particles in them and were awful, also you came out with the same look over and over. Now I only have the Aphrodisiac and Kaleidoskope Dream. The formula is good in those two. I wish they came back with the Vice palettes, maybe not so big but with color variety and high quality. Also the Ultraviolet was such a waste, bad quality and not a great color story.
Love/like: the olden eyeshadow days. (pre-Naked)
UDPP. Game changer at the time, though don’t use it anymore.
Mixed feelings: 24/7 liners. Love the variety. Very fond of shimmer/variety of textures. I wish they weren’t so soft – I find it hard to get a crisp line or do a decent wing w/them, and not willing to refrigerate to improve texture.
Dislike: What’s happened to the quality.