Sep 12, 2011

Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection - THOUGHTS and SWATCHES...

Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection - THOUGHTS and SWATCHES...

 
Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection 
15 ALL-NEW shadows for our big 15! You get neutrals, brights AND deep shades in a sleek gunmetal collectible box (our most luxe EVER!).

It’s our party, and we’ll launch 15 NEW (and only in this kit!) eyeshadow shades if we want to! 

With just the right balance of neutrals and brights, darks and lights, the 15 Year Anniversary Palette is both versatile and the ultimate collection for the Urban Decay junkie. Shades like Junkshow (bright pink), Evidence (deep metallic blue), and Midnight 15 (an oyster pearl shade) are perfect for creating mesmerizing looks. The collectible gunmetal box features a luxe faceted jewel "UD" on the cover and an eye-grabbing laser-cut filigree design on the sides. Inside, the shadow tray can be pulled up and out to reveal a velvet-lined compartment that can be used to stash jewelry or other personal mementos.

This set contains:
- 15 x 0.05 oz eye shadows in Deeper (deep shimmery golden brown), M.I.A. (soft shimmery dark brown), Ace (dark gunmetal shimmer), Blackout (darkest, most saturated black), Half Truth (shimmery smoky purple), Tainted (pale matte purple with golden shimmer), Junkshow (bright pink with fuchsia shift), Omen (shimmery metallic bright purple with blue shift), Evidence (deep metallic blue), Deep End (bright teal shimmer), Midnight Rodeo (medium metallic brown with silver and gold glitter), Midnight 15 (oyster pearl with silver glitter), Vanilla (shimmery white gold), Flow (soft peach shimmer), Chase (metallic bright bronze).

Size: 15 x 0.05 oz/1.3 g
Price: $55







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My Five Ps

Price 
The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection retails for $55 for 0.75 oz (15 x 0.05 oz.) of product. Each Urban Decay single eyeshadow goes for $17 for 0.05 oz. of product so this palette carries a $825 value! Sounds quite absurd to me but that's the way the math spells it out. There is none of the usual fanfare associated with Urban Decay Palettes - you get no mini Primer Potion or 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in this deal.

The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection falls within the price range of other Urban Decay Books of Shadows (which keeps going up every year it seems) but with larger eyeshadows albeit one less (15 vs. usual 16) and none of the accoutrements. The value can be argued but just based on the amount of product versus the price I think this is a BARGAIN! Add to that these are ALL NEW Eyeshadows...no repromotes and no permanent colors here (yes some are similar)!
Purchasing 
The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection is available at Sephora (stores and online), Ulta (stores but not online as yet) and the Urban Decay website. As is usual with Urban Decay Limited Edition Palettes they sell out fast so get it while you can!

Packaging 
The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection is housed in a purple velvet box which can be used separately as a storage for knick-knacks. The color theme for this palette is purple and silver which translates as divinely luxe especially with the velvet and jeweled case.

The palette itself comes in a sleek hard plastic case with a purple metalized finish and 15 eyeshadows arranged into 3 columns and 5 rows. The cover is silver with a raised jeweled UD logo on top, a lattice design along the sides a full-sized internal mirror (with protective sheet of course). The cool thing is...at the end of life (eyeshadow that is) the little tray pops right out and ta-da you have a nifty little momento box!

My gripe with this palette, as beautiful as it is, it is not functional at all for travel. The cover is loose fitting with no clasp or securement means and easily comes off leaving your gorgeous eyeshadows susceptible to damage. Unless you keep the plastic packaging to travel with I would recommend leaving this guy at home nicely displayed on your vanity.

All in all it's a great display piece but not really functional...but that can be expected since after all the palette is essentially a collector's item. Consider it your trophy wife! :) 





Product & Performance
Now onto the good stuff!

The palette sports 15 new shades with a nice assortment between neutral golds and bronzes, jewel-toned blues and purples and, sultry silvers and black. The drawback? ALL (but one) shades have a FROST finish! And these are full on metallic frosts and not just a subtle sheen. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. If you were seeking an all-rounder palette then you are out of luck here. But if you love frosty eyeshadows and you are just interested in adding to your collection then you may love this palette.

I know by now you have heard the usual - "great pigmentation", "buttery smooth", "applies beautifully". Yes these are all true for the colors in this palette. They are indeed nicely pigmented and creamy. They apply well but some fallout can be expected due to the soft texture of the eyeshadows - by default softness leads to excess product which leads to potential fallout. The fallout is not excessive since Urban Decay did the wise thing and left out the glittery eyeshadows. The only shade with some bothersome fallout is Midnight Rodeo since it has some glitter ala all the Midnight themed eyeshadows from Urban Decay. Not too terrible but worth noting. Another shade I am not too thrilled about it Omen because it is not as richly pigmented as the other shades.

Now let's talk blend-ability which I am shocked to see hasn't really been mentioned in other reviews. This is my biggest disappointment with these eyeshadows. The eyeshadows do blend well...a little too well. For me they seem to disappear under my blending brush and melt together as one. This is not a good thing at all since you can over-blend without much effort and end up with a frosty muddy mess.The eyeshadows also fade if manipulated too much. No bueno : ( They do wear well when they work but do better when used with a primer. 

Overall
I appreciate the palette for what it's worth. It is a fun palette with beautiful packaging that is best suited for collection purposes - not so much travel. The shades are rich and creamy but strictly frosts which makes it a supplemental palette rather than an all-round everyday palette. You will definitely need some mattes and semi-mattes to mix in for a complete eye look. The colors are gorgeous and you are sure to find a shades to suit your style and create numerous looks. Is it a must have? I don't think so. Is it a nice to have? Sure it is. I say check it out to see if you like the colors enough but don't bend over backwards for it or cry if you miss out.

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PICTURES & SWATCHES




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Midnight Rodeo, Midnight 15, Vanilla, Flow, Chase


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 Tainted, Junkshow, Omen, Evidence, Deep End


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 Deeper, M.I.A, Ace, Blackout, Half Truth




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