Beauty Spotlight - ft. Urban Decay Electric Palette

URBAN DECAY

ELECTRIC
PRESSED PIGMENT PALETTE

"It’s the ultimate fix for color addicts: ten of the brightest, most amazing shades you’ve ever laid eyes on, plus a double-ended brush.

Chaos-inducing color—in ten VELVETY shades. Inspired by Chaos (a brilliant matte blue from The Vice Palette), we created the ultimate fix for color addicts—packed with ten of the brightest, most amazing shades you’ve ever laid eyes on, plus a double-ended brush. In addition to Chaos (yes, it’s back!), this palette marks the return of Revolt (a silver standout from our Anarchy Face Case). All the other shades are NEW!" - urbandecay.com

I KNOW ya'll have been waiting for this post! I've been superdupes excited about it for what feels like forever! I really wanted to do more than just a short little review with one look, so today I'll be presenting you noooooot just swatches, but multiple photos, views AND a bonus section of matching Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil matches (with pics!) AAAAAND...THREE Finale looks! Yep.....THREE. ::winkwink::

So let's get started!....

 (ALL photos can be clicked to be enlarged!)

The packaging is fairly simple, but still with some pop. It's a 10 pan shadow palette, in a sleek black plastic case. Each pan contains 1.2 grams of product. The lid of the case has a mixture of bright, vivid shades swirling in a pattern that reminds me of puffs of smoke or cream being poured into coffee. The lettering on the palette is white on the lid and purple on the bottom (as well as inside), but none of it is raised (such as on the Naked 2 and Naked 3) it's all flat. Inside the palette you have your twelve shades, in two rows of six shades each, a full-length mirror on the inside of the lid, and a groove in between the pigments that holds a double sided eyeshadow brush. 

The eyeshadow brush is black with purple lettering and purple synthetic bristles. One side is a medium length shadow brush, which when I compared to their single brushes sold on their website, is a bit longer than their Smudger Brush, but shorter than their Blending Brush. It's baaarely domed-shaped and fairly densely packed, so you can easily use it to pack on the shadow when applying. It's still fluffy enough to use to lightly blend as well, though. The only side of the dual-brush is a small detail eyeshadow brush that's similar to their Multi-Tasker Brush, but possibly a teensy bit smaller. It's absolutely fantastic for apply shadow into a small area such as the inner or outer corners, along the lash line and under the bottom lashes.

The palette has a strong magnetic closing, no clasp, and I have to say, it's one of the best magnetic closing palettes I've had. Some just feel a bit flimsy, like if they were to ::HORROR:: fall, they would fly open and shadows would burst everywhere, but the Electric palette feels secure and closes...oh...what's the word...confidently. It closes confidently, people!

Now to the part you're waiting for.....

I die. The pretty...it hurts! ::swoon::

As I said, this little baby contains six pressed pigments, two of which are repeats from two previous palettes - Chaos (bright matte blue) from the Vice Eyeshadow Palette, and Revolt (metallic silver shimmer) from the Anarchy Face Case. The other ten shades are completely new!

IMPORTANT TO NOTE - Four of these shades are listed as being not approved for use around the eye area:

"WARNING: Slowburn, Savage, Jilted and Urban are not intended for immediate eye area." - shown on packaging

Now, many people have said they are confused about this, and please know, I am NOT a professional makeup artist, nor do I have professional knowledge in regards to makeup formulas, ingredients, etc., but from what I understand, the reason they are listed as not being approved is because (and I quote Urban Decay) these four shades "...contain a colorant that has not yet been approved for use around the immediate eye area.". This only applies in the U.S., however, and as with most eyeshadows that contain neon or pink/red pigments, you may be able to use them, but it will be at your own discretion and risk. I've used all of the four listed shades as eyeshadows and have had no problems whatsoever, but of course, as I said, everyone must use their best judgement. I will say, I haven't heard of any major issues from anyone who has tried them, aside from slight staining from one of the shades, but no sensitivity or irritation as of yet. 

Now, on to the swatches!....

APPLICATION AND SWATCHES

TOP ROW

• Revolt - bright metallic silver shimmer with silver glitter
• Gonzo - bright turquoise matte with floating tonal pearl
• Slowburn - bright red-orange matte with floating pearl*
• Savage - bright hot pink matte*
• Fringe - bright metallic teal

*Listed as not safe for use around immediate eye area

Just to note, all swatches are done WITHOUT primer and are about two to three swipes each. How GORGEOUS are these colors?! I mean, the pigmentation is OUT of this world. 

Revolt is nice and dense for a shimmer with glitter, it's very, very buildable and looks gorgeous as an inner corner highlight, underneath the bottom lashes, patted over a shadow on the lid for some shine or really as an all-over lid color as well! So versatile! 

Gonzo is a teensy bit dry, but still very workable. I did not have any major issues with it streaking or looking chalky while wearing it. 

Slowburn is CRAZY pigmented for a matte. This is one of the pigments that's listed as not safe. If you're very uncomfortable wearing this around your eyes, or cannot because of a sensitivity to red/pink/orange shadows, then this can easily be worn as a blush as well. It's very blendable! I recommend simply lightly swirling your blush brush in it, knocking off as much excess product as you can, then VERY gently blend it onto the cheek. Because it's so pigmented, it'd be better to blend it out with a CLEAN brush, rather than continue to use the same one that you dipped into the product. 

Savage is....ugh....gorgeous. Again, same as Slowburn, richly pigmented for a matte, very, very easily blendable, listed as not safe for use around eyes, and can be used as a blush. I'm really just amazed at how non-chalky and smooth these mattes are!

Fringe. Now, this is my baby. I am SUCH a teal girl. This color is probably my absolute favorite of the bunch, it's just stunning. The texture is like butter, silky smooth, creamy and again, super blendable. 

BOTTOM ROW

• Chaos - bright blue matte with floating tonal pearl
• Jilted - bright metallic fuschia with blue shift*
• Urban - bright metallic purple*
• Freak - bright green with gold shift
• Thrash - bright lime green matte with floating gold pearl

While the top row had some stunning mattes and super vivid shades, this row just catches my eye with COLOR. 

Chaos is probably my least favorite of the bunch in regards to formula, but the color is absolutely crazy gorgeous. It's the driest of the lot, and a bit chalky looking, it definitely needs a primer to amp it up to it's full potential, but it's still very workable and is by no means a bad shadow. In the Fall of 2012 I was obsessed with wearing Urban Decay's Chaos 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil because I had been seeing that cobalt blue eyeliner trend all over the runway, and even though it's been over a year, I STILL absolutely love it. This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but I'm super stoked that they chose Chaos (the pigment) to add to this palette from the original Vice Palette, because I never got a chance to purchase it and it's one of those palettes that I grieve over for not having! Haha! Chaos was really the whole reason I wanted it so badly! Electric palette, you complete me ::hug::

Jilted is simply breathtaking. It too is another one of the four warning shadows, and again, I would recommend trying as a blush (very, very lightly). The texture is super smooth, oh so blendable (you tired of hearing that yet? ::giggles::) and the subtle blue shift is lovely. Also worth noting, Urban Decay currently has a Revolution lipstick in the shade Jilted, that's very similar is coloring....it's almost like they planned that! Crazy! (Teehee)

Ok...I said Fringe is my absolute favorite shadow of the bunch but I may have fibbed ::gasp! shock! I really think Urban may be one of my most favorite shadows EVER. Like...EVER. My most favoritest, bestest, prettiest color in the whole wide world! I just want to take it and squeeze it and love it. ::sigh:: Ok, back to being a grown up now. My apologies. This shade is the final of the four warning pigments and believe it or not, it really does look gorgeous as a blush as well! I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Because it has a bit of red undertone, once blended out, it's very wearable, even on multiple skin tones. The formula is soft, very buildable and becomes a very rich, vibrant purple the more you add. 

Freak is a another already seen shade in the Urban Decay color line-up, however, not as a shadow, but as one of their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils! Same name, and the exact same color! The formula is a beautiful soft shimmer, very smooth, easy buildable as well as blendable.

Thrash is a surprise love of mine. It blew me away more than any of the other shades! I had no idea I was going to adore a lime green so much! It's probably the most easily pigmented of the bunch, it just FEELS the smoothest. I mean, I can build it up without trying AT ALL. In fact, I have to work SLOW with it and with just small bits at a time, the color can just KAPOW! jump at you and take over so fast! 

URBAN DECAY MATCHES

ELECTRIC PALETTE AND 24/7 GLIDE-ON EYE PENCILS

And now for a fun bonus section! I'm positively obsessed with their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils, so when I started swatching this palette, I immediate started digging through my Eye Pencil stash to find matches!

Having these matches are great for multiple things. You can use them UNDER the shadows as a strong base to seriously make the colors POP, as matching color for the waterline, along with the shadows for a pigmented line while the shadow is blended out, the list is endless! Here are the matches I found...

REVOLT AND CUFF

• Pigment: Revolt - bright metallic silver shimmer with silver glitter
• Eye Pencil: Cuff - metallic silver shimmer with silver micro-sparkle

Pretty much an exact match! The only way to tell the difference between the two is by seeing the shimmer fade out on the edges of the pigment! Other than that, twinsies!

 

GONZO AND ELECTRIC

•  Pigment: Gonzo - bright turquoise matte with floating tonal pearl
• Eye Pencil: Electric - bright aquamarine metallic with micro-sparkle

Figures that the "Electric" Eye Pencil goes with a shade in the "Electric" palette! I'm really surprised that they didn't go ahead and just NAME one of the shades Electric to match the Electric Eye Pencil. The two aren't exact matches, as Cuff and Revolt are, Gonzo is matte, while Electric (pencil) is metallic, but the color matches well and they look beautiful together! None of the other Urban Decay blue shades are quite light enough with that bright aquamarine tone.

SAVAGE AND WOODSTOCK

• Pigment: Savage - bright hot pink matte
• Eye Pencil: Woodstock - sparkly hot pink with silver micro-glitter

Same as Electric (pencil) and Gonzo, these two have different finishes (matte for pigment and shimmery for pencil) but I do believe Woodstock is the only pink UD Eye Pencil! Gotta love some hot pink.

FRINGE AND DEEP END

• Pigment: Fringe - bright metallic teal
• Eye Pencil: Deep End - bright metallic peacock shimmer

   

There is just baaarely a coloration difference between these two and I mean baaarely. Fringe has a bit more green while Deep End has a bit more blue but honestly when swatched side by side and if you don't stare meticulously at it, they look exactly the same! If you are familiar with or currently have any of Urban Decay's Vintage 24/7 Eye Pencils, Flipside is also a decent match for Fringe. I do have Flipside as well (sorry for not swatching it! Deep End just matched it too perfectly!) but it's not quite as rich as Deep End is and Flipside has a teensy bit more blue.

     

CHAOS AND CHAOS

• Pigment: Chaos - bright blue matte with floating tonal pearl
• Eye Pencil: Chaos - vibrant cobalt blue matte with slight floating pearl

Well, I'd say these two shades match ::giggles::. They even have the same name, by jove! Both matte, both cobalt blue and both with floating pearl. 'Nuff said.

JILTED AND ASPHYXIA

• Pigment: Jilted - bright metallic fuchsia with blue shift
• Eye Pencil: Asphyxia - vibrant pink/purple duotone with tonal and blue microsparkle

Jilted was a teensy bit trickier to match up, but I went with Asphyxia because they both have a beautiful fuchsia undertone and blue shift. Worn along with or underneath, Asphyxia matches Jilted perfectly! I also tried lightly swiping Asphyxia OVER Jilted and it gave it this amazing gorgeous shimmer! Ugh! So nice.

URBAN AND PSYCHADELIC SISTER/RANSOM

• Pigment: Urban - bright metallic purple
• Eye Pencil: Psychedelic Sister - bright purple cream
• Eye Pencil: Ransom - iridescent purple with blue tones and reddish-purple undertone

This was the only pigmented that I decided to show two liners with because I think they both matched it well in their own way. Psychedelic Sister matched that rich, deep purple hue so well and worn with it, the purple is just WOOOOOOOO, hello gorgeous! Ransom, which is another Vintage shade, matches with the reddish-purple undertone and blue slightly iridescent overtone. Really if you mixed Psychedelic Sister and Ransom together, you'd get Urban. Hey! Urban Decay, is that how you came up with that color!.....I think I just figured it out. I'm having a brilliant moment here.

FREAK AND FREAK

• Pigment: Freak - bright green with gold shift
• Eye Pencil: Freak - bright green shimmer

As mentioned above! Freak and Freak! Both perfectly matched with color, finish and...well...everything! 

 

BONUS!

GREAT PRIMER: 
24/7 GLIDE-ON EYE PENCIL IN YEYO

 Eye Pencil: Yeyo - metallic white

Slowburn and Thrash were the only two shades that I couldn't find a good enough match for (hint hint, Urban Decay, I'd love a match for them!) but I stumbled upon an awesome discovery! When using Yeyo underneath as a primer, the pigments become vivid, with a beautiful finish and last forever! Under the matte shades, the color becomes absolutely solid and when under the more satin or shimmery shades, there's a slightly frosty that can look a bit iridescent on some shades. It gives fantastic longevity, after taking these photos, I used a makeup wipe to clean off the shadows and after two swipes, I had wiped off the unprimed edged completely off, but I still had the two squares of pigment over Yeyo with over half the product still remaining!

 

LONGEVITY AND WEAR:

These pressed pigments last FOREVER. I put it through the ringer, too. I went to an early beauty even at Sephora a month ago, which meant getting up super early (something I'm lucky enough to not have to do on a day to day basis, I'm really quite terrible at it), applying makeup while exhausted (three hours of sleep, yippie!), hours of walking around and yawning, which makes my eyes water very quickly, then going home and taking a nap. After all that, I was terrified that my shadow was going to be wiped off and smeared all over my face...but...you ready for this? It looked absolutely perfect! I was like...::jawdrop::...no way. I do use these shadows along with a primer AND a setting spray, but even after forgetting to use my setting spray once, the color stayed vibrant, pigmented and fresh looking all day! 

One thing to mention in regards to longevity and certain shades, a couple of them, especially within the four colors with the warning, have been noted to have staining issues. I PERSONALLY did not have any problems with this. Urban is commented on being the worst. I've heard this from both friends as well as bloggers. Majority of them have said that they use primers before applying, and still had staining. The primers that I've used along with this palette is Urban Decay's Primer Potion is Original and NYX's Jumbo Pencil in Milk over that, then the pigments. I then used Urban Decay's De-Slick Setting Spray to finish. I did have very, VERY minimal staining with Savage (just in the center of the eyelid) when worn pigmented and not blended out, but by the next morning after washing my face (washed it the night before as well) the color was completely gone. I certainly wouldn't say that this palette has staining issues and I don't think that's something that should be negatively associated with it. Of course, staining issues could change depending on what primers you use. If you'd feel more comfortable, I'd recommend trying on the shades over primers on your hand first (let them sit for a couple of hours) when you're not going out, then see which leave the least amount of staining!

 

PURCHASE

Are you CONVINCED you need this palette yet? It retails for $49, and on Urban Decay's website, it comes with bonus samples of Urban Decay's Primer Potions in a quad booklet. Check out these links for puchase!:

Urban Decay's Website - Electric Palette

Sephora's Website - Electric Palette

Ulta's Website - Electric Palette


     

  

FINALE

As I promised! I have THREE Finale looks for you! Really, I haven't stopped using this palette, it's just ridiculously fun, vibrant and full Spring/Summer awesomeness!

Look #1 - Fluttering Flutterby

This was the look I wore to the Sephora event and this photo was taken FIVE HOURS after I applied it. NO touchups! I was running late that morning to the event so I knew I couldn't take photos after all, but when I got back home and saw that my makeup was still looking fabulous, I was like...well heck...where's my camera!?

For this look I used Urban Decay's Primer Potion (original), then NYX's Jumbo Pencil in Milk all over the lid. I blended Fringe in the crease, winging it out slightly, Urban on the outer 1/2 of the eyelid and Savage on the inner half. I wanted the shadows to blend into each other very similarly to a butterfly wing, making it hard to see where one color ends and another begins, but each with it's vibrant areas. I used a black liquid eyeliner for a simple wing, and very lightly lined my bottom lashes with it to balance the richness of the lids. I used whatever was left on my brushes of Fringe and Urban below my bottom lashes to soften the eye and frame it. I also used Savage as my blush, blending it well out for just the softest hue of pink. I finished the look with a few coats of mascara! I was stopped SO many times while walking around in the mall with people asking me where I got my eyeshadows! Gotta love a statement eye ::winkwink, flutterflutter::

Look #2 - Pop of Perkiness

Now this was a work favorite at my job! For those of you that don't know, I am the head office manager at a ballet studio, as well as an instructor, and even though the majority of my job is desk work, I am...well...I'll just say it...I'm KNOWN for coming in with different crazy looks every day (seriously, it's a thing, the students wonder what color I'm going to be wearing next, hahaha!). I'm crazy and artsy, and I own it, baby! Where was I...oh yeah, drat those tangents....

  
so I received SO many compliments on this look at work! Everyone wanted to know what I had used, how I had done it and how hard was it! Really, this look was the absolute simplest, and it's a great way to get into some vibrant shadows on your eyes without going full fledged, all-out, all-over color.

  

I started with Urban Decay's Primer Potion (original), as well as my NYX's Milk for my primers, then I used Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette shade Strange below my eyebrow and on my lid, and Limit in my crease just to keep the eye from looking flat and give my crease some color. I then used their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Yeyo for a cat-eye shape wing on my eyelid. Using the detail brush that came in the Electric palette, I gently patted on Thrash on the inner 1/3 of Yeyo on the lid, Freak on the center, Fringe on the outer 1/3 of the lid, then Gonzo on the outer wing. I had one mom ask me if it was color that was iridescent and picked up different hues in the light! That's how crazy awesome these pigments blend into each other! Seamless and flawless.

Look #3 - Hot Tamale

  

I wanted to amp it up a bit with the final look, and create a look that would be great for a daring day look or a sexy, hot night look. Whew, hot mama!

      

Again, I began with Urban Decay's Primer Potion and NYX's Milk as my primers, then I applied Slowburn all over the lid, except for RIGHT above the lashes, I left a very small gap. In that gap I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Woodstock for a cat-eye wing, then patted on Savage over it for subtle but still bright contrast against Slowburn. I then patted on Revolt in the inner corners of my eyes for highlight, just using my fingertip.

  

To finish the eyes I used a felt eyeliner to outline the outside Woodstock/Savage wing, stopping it at the corner of my eyes at where my crease begins, then I lightly blended some of Savage below my bottom lashes and applied two coats of mascara both on the top and bottom lashes. I finished the look by using Savage as my blush and wearing a hot pink lipstick to match the eyes. I know, I'm all matchy, matchy, but sometimes you gotta go bold or go home!



Well, whew! That's it for my review on the Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette, I hope you enjoyed, I know ya'll have been asking me to put this up soon! I was really hoping I could get my YouTube channel up and running, but alas, the get-Cookie-a-good-camera fund is still not finished ::giggles:: I hear you, though! I know ya'll have been asking to see tutorials, so that will be one of my main features once I start my channel!

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know in the comments below what you think of the palette, if you're thinking of getting it yourself, or maybe you already have it, tell me what YOU think of it! Which look out of the three was your fav?

Happy Bright Makeuping! Go bold or...heck, go ELECTRIC!