When I went to New York last September, I picked up Urban Decay's The Vice Palette on a whim. It was really between that one and the Naked2 Palette, but since I already own the original Naked Palette, I decided I couldn't justify spending $50 USD on another palette full of neutral shades (especially given that I already have tons of neutrals at home). I'd been eyeing The Vice Palette for about a month prior to buying it and decided that the colours included in it were unique and varied enough to justify such a purchase (also because it retails for $68 in Canada; it's $18 cheaper in the US even though our dollars have been on par for over a year!).
The Vice Palette includes 20 brand new and exclusive shades of eyeshadow varying from light to dark and neutral to bright, and comes in several different textures including matte, satin, shimmer, and frost. Every shade contains Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System, which is "the proprietary blend of ingredients that gives every shade its velvety texture, rich colour, serious staying power, and blendability." The Vice Palette comes in a deep indigo purple rubberized rectangular case with Urban Decay's initials in a plastic "crystallized jewel" gothic emblem inlaid the centre, and has a dampened hinge so that the lid stands on its own when opened. Each palette comes with a large mirror encompassing the entire inside of the lid, and a double-ended Good Karma Shadow and Crease Brush. It includes a total of 16 grams of product (0.8 grams per eyeshadow), and retails for $68 CAD.
Top row (left to right): Desperation, Muse, Jagged, Blitz, and Penny Lane
Desperation is a dark cool-toned smoky grey-taupe with a sheen in a satin finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more blue than MAC Satin Taupe, and lighter and more grey than MAC Contrast.
Muse is a dark sepia brown with shimmer-sheen in a frost finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more reddened than MAC Bronze, and lighter and more frosted than MAC Handwritten.
Jagged is a medium-dark cool-toned tarnished olive-brown with gold micro-glitter in a frost finish. It has drier, more gritty texture, and tends to go on powdery and patchy with some fall-out. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but is harder to blend out due to the grittiness. It is more gold than MAC Greensmoke, and much cooler than MAC Tempting.
Blitz is a light-medium brightened yellow gold with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly lighter and much more metallic than MAC Goldmine, and is brighter and more intense than MAC Gorgeous Gold.
Penny Lane is a light-medium peachy melon with gold shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more peach than MAC Expensive Pink, and similar in colour to MAC Melon Pigment.
Second row (left to right): Junkie, Chaos, Occupy, Unhinged, and Black Market
Junkie is a medium-dark vibrant teal with gold shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and much brighter than MAC Steamy, and lighter and less intense in colour than MAC Teal Pigment.
Chaos is a medium-dark vibrant royal blue in a matte finish. It has a finely-milled texture but is slightly on the drier side, so it can go on a bit powdery. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pigmented than MAC Atlantic Blue.
Occupy is a medium-dark cool-toned smoky steel grey with multi-dimensional sparkle in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. Due to the glitter particles, there is some fall-out. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more blue than MAC Knight Divine, and darker and more grey than MAC Steel Blue Pigment.
Unhinged is a medium vibrant electric turquoise blue with shimmer-sheen in a frost finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more turquoise than MAC Freshwater, and darker and brighter than MAC Styledriven Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Black Market is a dark soft warm black in a satin finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly lighter and warmer than MAC Typographic, and warmer and much more pigmented than MAC Carbon.
Third row (left to right): Provocateur, Rapture, Vice, Noise, and Armor
Provocateur is a light pinked mauve with multi-dimensional sparkle in a metallic finish. It has a very loose, soft consistency and a very gritty texture, and tends to go on powdery and patchy with some fall-out. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but is harder to blend out due to the grittiness. It is darker and more mauve than MAC Sweet Lust, and much lighter and more pink than MAC Shale.
Rapture is a medium-dark dirty plum with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is much darker and more purple than MAC Shale, and much more grey than MAC Nocturnelle.
Vice is a medium-dark vibrant purple in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter and less red-toned than MAC Nocturnelle, and similar to MAC Plush Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Noise is a medium vibrant fuchsia pink with a subtle shimmer-sheen in a satin finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than MAC Tease with Ease Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Armor is a medium taupe with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and less brown than MAC Satin Taupe, and much lighter than MAC Keep Your Cool Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Fourth row (left to right): Nevermind, Echo Beach, Anonymous, Freebird, and Laced
Nevermind is a light-medium warm bronze brown with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has intense pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less reddened than MAC Sable, and lighter and much warmer than MAC Mulch.
Echo Beach is a light wheat brown with shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and warmer than MAC Patina, and similar to MAC Sweet Satisfaction Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Anonymous is a light warm ivory with peach undertones in a matte finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less peach than MAC Orb, and less beige than MAC Brule.
Freebird is a light warm pink with champagne shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pink than MAC Naked Lunch, and is slightly lighter than MAC Pink Frontier Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Laced is a light dirty pinked beige in a matte finish. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more pink than MAC Malt, and similar but more pigmented than MAC Bloom On Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.
Overall, I'm really impressed with this palette. With the exception of Jagged and Provocateur, which are more sheer and gritty with a lot of fall out, every shade was smooth, silky, and pigmented. I don't have a lot of Urban Decay products — I own this and the Naked Palette — but I am extremely pleased and pleasantly surprised with what I've tried so far. I love that this palette includes such a variation of colours and textures; they cover light to dark, and neutral to bright, and keep a similar quality across the board. This palette is phenomenal for those who already have a variety of eyeshadows and are looking for a more unique, colourful palette to add to their collection. And, as always, it's a great value. Since Urban Decay's eyeshadows are typically $22, it makes the product worth $15.49 per gram. So this palette is technically worth $247.84, and that's not including the brush (which is worth about $25). When you look at it that way, this palette at $68 is really, really worth it. A must-have for eyeshadow fiends.
Damn, it is a good deal. I can't justify any more anything on any makeup anymore but THIS IS PRETTY! LOL
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that I'm only looking at the colourful shadows now? So over neutrals. (I still wear mostly neutrals but the colour fascination continues...)
Haha, RIGHT? This is definitely one of the more intriguing palettes I've seen in a while. I wear a lot of neutrals, too, but I feel like it's so played out in palette form, you know? :P I like that this palette has colours to suit your every mood.
DeleteLOL, it was only a matter of time before you got into colour, Liz! But you see how much more dangerous it is? :P
It is, and I'm trying to be cautious! Don't want to end up with a tonne of shades I won't touch in my 40s and 50s, ya know? ;) Vice Palette is nice but I really dislike huge bulky structures.
DeleteFair enough, Liz. Honestly, I think you're better off building your own palette at MAC. :)
DeleteLOLLLLL @ "I really dislike huge bulky structures" -- that's not what she said!
(I clearly have the maturity of a 15-year-old boy.)
Hahahahahaha, I knew you'd say something about it but my brain couldn't find a better way to put it. At least I didn't say "huge package", LOL.
DeleteLOL, you might as well have, LIz. ;)
DeleteOf course, now that I think about it, I'm not sure how to word it, either... Bulky packaging?
Everything sounds dirty to me. :(