Beauty: Urban Decay XX Vice LTD Reloaded review and four looks

Hi babes! I hope you're enjoying your weekend. I went out to eat some amazing Lebanese at Tarbouch Antwerp with my girls last night after work, and tomorrow I'm attending a performance of Swan Lake with my sis, which is bound to be mesmerizing. But of course there's work to be done, albeit pleasant work: a thorough review of the Urban Decay XX Vice LTD Reloaded palette!

Urban Decay is celebrating its 20th birthday this year, and this palette is its party gift to its customers: a stunning range of 20 shades, combining new colours with existing classics and a couple discontinued eyeshadows that have been reworked and revamped to deliver at the level of UD's current best. I snapped some pretty pictures, swatched some swatches and put together four looks demonstrating the versatility of the palette. Enjoy!

The packaging itself is a mixed bag for me: I LOVE the faux gemstone inlay because it reminds me of one of those 80s My Little Pony that had ruby eyes or something. It just really looks kind of magical, kind of tacky, but in the best way possible. I also adore how the package "springs" open if you push the button at the front. However, I don't love the matte black plastic, though, it becomes dingy super fast because it shows all your fingerprints. But whatevs.

As I said, the palette contains 20 shades: a good mix of neutrals and slightly muted brights. Only one typical UD glitterbomb shadow (Oil Slick), the rest of them are matte, satin or metallic. It also contains a dual sided synthetic fiber brush, with one regular eyeshadow brush end, and one blending brush.

But let's get down to business: close ups and swatches!

It's clear as day that these eyeshadows are top notch. Some of em are even better than others, but all of these require no work at all to create gorgeous makeup looks, and all of them remain vibrant throughout the day, barely fading or creasing. The pictures don't do all of them justice: Roadstripe, for example, is stunning in real life even though it barely shows up in this picture. Roadstripe is a white/pale blue duochrome which is AMAZING for layering over the other eyeshadows to create a duochrome highlight. It's hard to pick favourites but Roadstripe, Gash, 501, Hot Pants, Moonflower and Twice Baked are all complete stunners. The collection of colours is quite diverse, allowing a true smorgasbord of different combinations, and I put together four different looks to illustrate its versatility.

For this look, I blended Laced along the crease, then I applied Acid Rain in the middle of the top and bottom eyelid, surrounded by Asphyxia, with just a bit of Freakshow in the outer corners. I finished the look with a dab of Roadstripe in the inner eye corner.
Also wearing Revlon Colorstay foundation in Ivory mixed with Urban Decay One & Done in Medium Light, & Other Stories blush in Canvas Taupe, Urban Decay Afterglow highlighter in Sin, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in Ash Brown, Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama mascara and LA Splash liquid lipstick in Lovestruck. 

Ah, so blue! For this look I applied Shallow from the inner corner up to the middle of the eyelid. I used UVB and 501 in the outer corner and under the outer-lower lashline. On the inner-lower lashline, I applied Hot Pants, and again I finished with Roadstripe on the inner eyecorner.

Also wearing Revlon Colorstay foundation in Ivory mixed with Urban Decay One & Done in Medium Light, & Other Stories blush in Canvas Taupe, Urban Decay Afterglow highlighter in Sin, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in Ash Brown, Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama mascara and Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Cool Brown.

 This warm, red toned look I created to show you how well the eyeshadows layer to create an even wider range of colours. I mixed Moonflower with a bit of Gash on the brush and applied it all over the lid. Then I went and applied Hot Pants combined with Road Stripe to the inner eye corners, and layered some more of Gash in the outer corners to intensify and smoke out the look.

Also wearing Revlon Colorstay foundation in Ivory mixed with Urban Decay One & Done in Medium Light, & Other Stories blush in Canvas Taupe, Urban Decay Afterglow highlighter in Sin, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in Ash Brown, Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama mascara and Biguine matte lipstick in Brun Tomette. 

Finally, this soft, sage green look. I just used Acid Rain all over the lid and Mildew in the outer corners.

Also wearing: Revlon Colorstay foundation in Ivory mixed with Urban Decay One & Done in Medium Light, Urban Decay blush in Hush from the Gwen Stefani blush palette, Essence Soo Glow cream to powder highlighter, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in Ash Brown, Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama mascara and Rimmel x Kate Moss in 08. 

And there you go! I think the Urban Decay XX LTD Reloaded palette is top notch quality and offers a completely stunning range of eyeshadows to choose from.  It's available at Ici Paris XL for €53.