eyeshadow

REVIEW: Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

/ Fiona Seah / 4 Comments

Hey everyone!

The Vice sequel that everyone has been eagerly waiting for has finally hit stores today! As an avid collector of Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes, I was so thrilled that I had actually placed my order on Sephora.com even before it was launched in Singapore. But due to having too much on my plate recently (woes of being a final-year undergrad), I wasn’t able to post a review until now.

Unless you’ve already made up your mind about getting it, you may want to read on to find out more about the palette before you put your money on it!

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

Loaded with 20 never-seen-before eyeshadow shades, Vice 4 delivers darkly gorgeous colours inspired by the hues of an oil slick into a palette filled with rich, deep jewel tones. It comes with an extra slim case that doubles as a cosmetics pouch like Vice 3 and similar to all its predecessor, a large mirror that fits nicely against the lid as well as a double-ended Shadow and Crease brush are included along with this palette.

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette (US$60 / S$88)

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette (back)

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette (back)

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette (case)

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette (case)

The design of the palette gets better with each upgrade (although I’d very much prefer the lid to open on its own with just a push of a button à la Vice 1 and 2). Described as a dimensional web of broken-down facets layered over a matte black lid, the palette is an art on its own as it reflects the bold and edgy personality of the brand. The pop-up purple-ombré jagged lines that fronted the palette is made of rather flimsy plastic so be careful not to place anything heavy on it, or risk damaging the delicate overlay.

Urban Decay Vice 4 shades

Urban Decay Vice 4 shades

Urban Decay Vice 4 Swatch (click image to view in landscape mode)

Urban Decay Vice 4 Swatch (click image to view in landscape mode). And oops, please ignore the typo error for Crowbar!

Shades included in Vice 4 are:

Bones (oyster satin w/pearl), Grip (taupe matte w/iridescent micro-glitter), Deadbeat (black satin w/iridescent micro-glitter), Beat Down (deep metallic violet w/blue micro-glitter), Pandemonium (metallic plum w/iridescent micro-glitter), Framed (light neutral matte-satin), Fast-Ball (metallic peachy pink w/pink micro-glitter), 1985 (metallic fuchsia w/fuchsia micro-glitter), Underhand (burgundy-brown satin), Harlot (metallic lavender), Discreet (soft dusty mauve matte), Grasshopper (metallic emerald w/green micro-glitter), C-Note (frosted green w/micro-glitter), Arctic (bright teal w/tonal sparkle), Robbery (deep metallic brown-gunmetal), Bitter (reddish brown matte), Flame (bright orange w/gold micro-glitter), Low (brown matte w/iridescent micro-glitter), Crowbar (black w/golden metallic pearl and micro-glitter) and Delete (deep chestnut brown matte-satin).

Every shade here features the Pigment Infusion System™, which according to Urban Decay, is a proprietary blend of ingredients for rich, velvety, blendable color that lasts and guarantees little to minimal sparkle fallout. Indeed, they blend like a dream but I wouldn’t say the same for the sparkles. Low and Crowbar, for instance, have the tendency to fall out during application and it can be a real pain removing them without destroying the rest of my makeup! So if I had to use these two shades, I’d definitely do my eye makeup before everything else.

On my lids: Framed, Bitter, Delete, Underhand and Beat Down

More light is reflected on the left // On my lids: Framed, Bitter, Delete, Underhand and Beat Down

As with other Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes, Vice 4 has a vast majority of shimmery shades. In fact, only 4 of them (Framed, Discreet, Bitter & Delete) are full-matte with no glitter nonsense. With the exception of Framed which failed to show up well against my arm (and hence making it a great choice for the base colour), all of them have pretty decent colour payoff with a buttery yet slightly airy consistency. But as much as I favour mattes over shimmers, the latter have definitely performed better this time around in terms of application for they had mostly silky texture and fantastic pigmentation.

A quick side-by-side comparison with its predecessors

A quick side-by-side comparison with its predecessors

This is probably the most amateur-friendly Vice palette because clearly, there are more neutral than bold colours to work with here. Blue hues are evidently lacking in this latest Vice as more pans were given up for the greens.

Already own a Vice palette but not sure if you should get this one? Here are some swatch comparisons with similar shades from Vice 1, 2 and 3 to aid in your decision making!

Light Neutrals

Light Neutrals

Iridescent dark neutrals

Iridescent dark neutrals

Shimmery browns and greens

Shimmery browns and greens

Browns

Browns

Iridescent purples

Iridescent purples

Purples

Purples

Shades with a golden hue

Shades with a golden hue

Iridescent pinks

Iridescent pinks

Blues

Blues

Greens

Greens

Still on the fence? I’d say go for it! Apart from the fact that these colours are not really dupeable, there is also a good mix of vibrant and dark colours in this palette.

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette

So ladies, what do you think of this Vice palette? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay Vice 4 Eyeshadow Palette is now available on URBANDECAY.COM and in all local Sephora stores.

REVIEW: Urban Decay Naked Smoky Eyeshadow Palette

/ Fiona Seah / 14 Comments

Hello everyone!

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As a beauty junkie, I experiment with my looks from time to time using several makeup brands and it’s through these experiences that I discovered the cosmetics lines that would be the mainstay in my beauty regime. For instance, I rely on MAC lipsticks to give my lips colour but when it comes to eye makeup, I switch to none other than Urban Decay to give my peepers some depth (though Tarte and Too Faced are creeping up my list, that’s a different story for another post 😀 *hint*).

I remember owning my first eyeshadow palette 3 years ago when I started out on (proper) makeup.  It wasn’t a full colour palette because I didn’t know how to work with bold shades. I wanted colours that were more neutral and easier to blend with (as I think I suck pretty much at colour combination). Therefore, I eventually decided on Naked 2 which was the latest palette from UD then.

Fast forward to 2015, I have more than 10 eyeshadow palettes from various brands in my possession. But those of UD are still my ultimate holy grail because of their great pigmentation and good mix of matte and shimmery shades. Plus, UD is known to be cruelty-free and vegan, including their complimentary brushes that come with their full palettes! So what’s not to love about UD? 🙂

Of course, the highlight of this post isn’t my vast collection of eyeshadows, but the latest Naked eyeshadow palette rolled out by UD this summer! Nope, it isn’t Naked 4 (it’s ok, that’s what I thought too). It’s the Smoky palette!

Smoky? *scratches head* Doesn’t UD already have it long ago?

No, dearies, it’s not the Smoked palette. I know, I know. It is a little confusing but trust me, you will catch on because these two products are worlds apart! I will go into that later. But first..

The familiar font of NAKED that immediately catches your attention

The familiar font of NAKED on the packaging that immediately catches your attention

Back

Back

Unveiling what's inside the box

Unveiling what’s inside the box (minus the faux flowers of course hehehe)

This palette comes with a lookbook with detailed steps on achieving a pair of sultry and smoky eyes in 4 ways!

Palette

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette (US$53/ S$83)

Along with the truckload of samples I got from Sephora.com!

Along with the truckload of samples I got from Sephora.com! Key in code “HOTHAIR” upon checkout to get them 🙂

This purchase made me so happy because of all the freebies! But I could have gotten a bag of many mini branded fragrances instead if not for the fact that alcohol-based products are prohibited for air shipment -_- Dammit, why don’t the Sephora outlets in Singapore shower their customers with as many samples as their US counterpart? 😕 *greedy*

Back of the palette

Back of the palette

Side of the palette

Side of the palette

The transparent case is made of hard, uniform plastic material featuring floating smoke effect to exude a sense of mystery.  On the surface are the words “Naked Smoky” printed in gunmetal foil. It also has a magnetic closure for convenience .

Eyeshadows

Eyeshadows and full-size mirror

The Naked Smoky palette consists of High (champagne shimmer with micro-glitter), Dirtysweet (medium bronze), Radar (metallic taupe with iridescent micro-glitter), Armor (metallic silver-taupe with tonal sparkle), Slanted (light metallic gray), Dagger (medium charcoal with micro-shimmer), Black Market (jet-black satin), Smolder (deep plum-taupe), Password (cool taupe matte), Whiskey (rich brown matte), Combust (soft pink-taupe) and Thirteen (light beige satin).

Swatch

Swatch

My favourites are Dirtysweet, Radar, Dagger, Smolder, Password, Whiskey and Combat. Great neutrals, don’t you think?

With High (brow bone), Thirteen (base), Bittersweet (corners), Combust, Radar, Daggar and Whiskey

With High (brow bone), Thirteen (base), Bittersweet (corners), Combust, Radar, Daggar and Whiskey, primed with Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer Potion.

All my Naked palettes prior to this purchase have been extremely satisfactory but for the Smoky palette? Not quite. The colour payoff for the mattes (e.g. Smolder and Password) are mostly weak and sheer although they are generally darker than those in Naked 1, 2 and 3. I had to apply at least 3 layers to make the colours show. But having said that, you may enjoy this palette if you have issues working with eyeshadows that appear too pigmented.

The shimmery ones, on the other hand, have impressive consistency and the glitters are very micro and evenly distributed. The metallic finish for Bittersweet and Armor are too frosty for my liking but the rest are rather muted. Never thought I would say this but I really prefer the shimmery to the matte ones for this palette!

One thing about the eyeshadows that stood out was the fallout. I mean, the very minimal fallout, perhaps because of the thinner texture of the eyeshadows. I usually have my eyes done so that I can cover the fallout with my foundation thereafter but nope, nothing much to conceal! I guess UD finally hit the nail on the head this time!

Palette comparison with Smoked palette

Palette comparison with Smoked palette

Swatch comparison with Smoked

Swatch comparison against Smoked with just 1-2 swipes

The Smoked shades are a lot more pigmented and heavy (even the lightest matte ones!) as you can see.

Moving on to the complimentary dual-ended eyeshadow brush, the bristles are similar to what you have in the first 3 Naked palettes – smooth to the touch of a finger but slightly prickly on the lids because they are too sturdy. I don’t really use the provided brush anyway so I’m not bothered by it.

Naked Smoky Dual-ended Brush

Naked Smoky Dual-ended Brush

Naked Smoky Dual-ended Brush

Naked Smoky Dual-ended Brush with smoke effect

Smoky Smudger Brush on one end

Smoky Smudger Brush on one end

Tapered Crease Brush on the other

Tapered Crease Brush on the other

On the whole, this palette is a good investment if you’re looking for a set of not-too-heavy shades to do your smoked eyes. The colours are relatively easy to work with (except that the mattes could be a bit more pigmented) and I’m always very tempted to blend all of them on my lids (HAHA, Singaporean kiasu mentality, I guess. Anyone else does the same??). It’s definitely way better than the Smoked palette which I felt were too dense to the extent that it gave me panda eyes on many occasions and I ended up having wipe some off (and ruining my makeup in the process).

Is there ever going to be an end to this Naked series? I mean, since we already have bronze-hued, taupe-hued, rose-gold and now smoky-toned palettes, I wonder what’s going to come next! What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 🙂

Thanks for reading, lovelies!

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Eyeshadow Palette is now available on Sephora.com and Urbandecay.com. It will be released in Singapore on 20 August 2015.

TAG: The Beauty Blogger

/ Fiona Seah / 6 Comments

Hey guys! Hope your day is going well 🙂

I was tagged by some bloggers (didn’t keep track of the names but thank you, whoever you are!) to do a variation of tags a few months ago. Tags are a series of questionnaires about your personal life and you’re supposed to repost the questions on your social media account with your answers if you’re tagged to do it. It’s like responding to survey quizzes with Facebook Notes which apparently was the craze a few years back. Now, it’s back to haunt me on WordPress. Hahaha, kidding.

Well, throughout my 5 years on WordPress, I have been documenting my life in the form of product and service reviews. Very seldom would you see me writing extensively about myself here because I’m usually quite uncomfortable with the idea of baring my soul to the world and documenting my every move online (the internet is such a scary place).

But I actually thought that tags would be a fantastic way to unveil bits and pieces of my life without sounding too.. self-obsessed? And it’s about time I take a break from reviews and inject some personal touches to this space of mine. 😉

For this post, I have picked a beauty tag which I’m always very excited to talk about (and ‘coz beauty inevitably forms part of the backbone of this blog). So here goes!

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Lipsticks are my obsession

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

Naturally straight. It used to be very straight before I chopped off my hair when I was 15 and people would think that I rebonded it when I didn’t 🙂 Now it’s more wavy than straight because I bun up my hair a lot.

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Shampoo and conditioner I use!

2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I get it done at a salon because I can’t dye for nuts.. and my hands won’t be able to reach some parts of my hair.

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it?

I’m all about convenience when it comes to dressing up and it has always been the case since I started buying my own clothes. Is that considered as a style? But I love anything pink, floral and girly.

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Floral dresses, my ultimate luv

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

I… don’t do any mani or pedi.

*gasps*

Yes. I think it’s a complete waste of money and they won’t last more than a day on me anyway!

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

As above, no nail polish unless I’m in a destructive mood to scratch off paint from my nails.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer?

Never!

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup?

It depends on how much time I have for makeup. Typically 10-15 minutes during morning rush hour (lighter makeup and sans highlighter and mascara) and 20-30 minutes on days I can afford to waste 😉

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What I use on a daily basis!

8. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

Used to be my face until I realised that it’s way faster to do my eyes first! Plus, the foundation that comes after helps to cover up all the annoying fallout!

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Collectibles 🙂

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Highlighters

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

I unabashedly admit that I collect makeup so I have tons of unused products at home. Eye palettes and lipsticks are just too irresistible.

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My almost-complete collection of Urban Decay Revolution lipstick

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Some of my unused collection

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

I don’t wear them because eyelashes make a huge difference to one’s look (and I dislike the feeling of them weighing down my lids). I like my makeup to stay as natural as possible and I don’t wish to appear unrecognisable without my lashes 😉

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I rely on mascaras to enhance the look of my natural lashes. I alternate between Benefit and Urban Decay, sometimes using both (waterproof on upper lashes and non-waterproof on lower to prevent clumping). Also not forgetting my trusty Shiseido eyelash curler. I also own a Shu Uemura curler which works as great!

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

Yes, as long as I have the time for it. And especially if I am experiencing breakouts.

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Full makeup

12. Do you wear makeup when you’re home alone or with family?

Nope, I’m perfectly fine with my family and boyfriend seeing my no-makeup face. I’m not that self-conscious!

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?

Yes, definitely. I’ve done that a couple of times on days when my skin looks flawless HAHA. And also I don’t mind leaving the house without makeup if I’m commuting by car. But it’s a huge no-no if I’m heading to farther places from home like town by public transport.

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Face products I use to pamper my skin!

14. How many high-end products do you have?

I’m not a high maintenance person so I don’t seek brands like Gucci, Prada or LV. I think my most expensive accessories to date are my Coach wristlets (gifted to me by my cousin and boyfriend), Kate Spade bag and wallet (bought by my boyfriend when he was in US a few years back). My other high-end products are perhaps my more expensive cosmetics from Chanel, Dior and Guerlain.

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you’re getting dressed?

I have to plan my OOTD the night before. Otherwise, I would be late for whatever I’m rushing off to.

16. How often do you change your handbag?

Rarely. I own tons of handbags but there’s only a handful (no pun intended) that I use regularly because of the size. I need a medium to large handbag to store my barang-barang hahaha.

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

I’m nocturnal and I know it’s bad for health 😦 I typically sleep after 4am (latest was 7am) and wake up before 11am. That’s less than 5 hours of sleep each day and I’ve grown accustomed to this sleeping pattern. But what to do, I’m just so busy! 24 hours a day is not enough for me.

18. How often or when do you workout?

I try to do short exercises (sit ups, crunches, stretches, planking) every night before I sleep. I run at least 3 times a week if my schedule allows.

19. Left handed or right handed?

Right handed.

20. How tall are you?

165cm the last time I measured. I hope I’ve grown taller after all the stretching exercises 😀

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?

Is Cantonese foreign? I have studied basic French, Spanish and Malay but I doubt I can carry a conversation in those languages. I can understand a little though.

22. How many pets do you have?

One, for now. Planning on getting another dog soon (if the co-owner agrees to be more responsible)

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My lovely Chubs the Pomeranian 🙂

23. How often are you on WordPress?

Daily. WordPress is one of my pinned tabs and it’s also my homepage on my mobile Chrome.

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

I don’t really bloghop (too busy for that these days) but I do head straight to the comments after reading a post/news article because I enjoy reading alternative views 🙂

25. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see on other posts?

Not really, I pick up whatever that catches my attention when I go shopping.

Great Singapore Sale is happening right now at ZALORA! Head on to ZALORA now for the best deals and offers 🙂

26. How did you come up with your blog name?

It’s my name, duh! I wanted a name that truly represents me and eventually concluded that it should be my name. So unoriginal but yeah. Hahaha.

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?

NX-2000 for product shoots and NX-mini for outdoors.

28. How often do you clean your house?

I sweep the floor everyday because my dog sheds a lot! I clean and scrub my bathroom perhaps once every two months.

29. What’s your favorite color?

Pink, definitely!

30. Do you swear?

Nope, because I feel that uttering vulgarities depreciates my self-worth. I’m not as liberal as the youth these days. I just can’t bring myself to swear. But admittedly I do swear when I’m extremely pissed off. Hahaha.

31. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

I’m just going to have cupcakes from Five One Degrees and torture myself with a bowl of spicy Korean instant noodles for dinner. 😀

… and that’s all I have for this tag!

I’m supposed to tag a few people to do this questionnaire but I really have nobody in mind. So I’m tagging all of you to do this! Let me know in the comments below if you’ve done it and I’ll hop over to your blog and take a look at your response! Whee, it’s gonna be so much fun!

Thanks for reading lovelies! 🙂