Hi babes! Time for another beauty review. A little late, because this palette is a holiday release by Urban Decay, but things have been crazy busy and I have seen this palette still on sale everywhere so I bet someone will find this useful!
The Heavy Metal palette is quintessential Urban Decay: the shimmers, the brights and the statement packaging. But is it a must have for you? Let's find out.
The Heavy Metal palette sets itself from competition in a number of ways
- the atypical packaging that sandwiches a mirror between two rows of eyeshadow, sliding out of a gorgeous rippled metallic purple case
- its combination of neutrals and brights
- this palette consisting of exclusively metallic shades
- and, as Urban Decay claims, those shades are extra metallic to give you a foiled finish without having to use a wet brush
Obviously, all of these characteristics make the Heavy Metal a perfect holiday release because it's contains everything you need for party makeup, as well as having that wow-factor to make the perfect gift you don't really need but want very much.
But how does it perform? Let's look at the neutrals first.
The range of neutrals is pretty, but I feel like there could be more diversity here: why no olive green? Why no deep brown? Why no rich copper? The shades that are there are beautiful but quite close to each other.
I swatched from Scream to Bass (top row) and then from Acoustic to Glory (bottom row). When swatched, I also feel slightly underwhelmed. Some of the shades look more like a satin than a true bright metallic/foil, and there is a lot of inconsistency between the shades. Angelfire for example is more like a sheer base of colour with plenty of shimmer thrown in, while Glory is the type of bright, foiled metallic I expected based on the description of the palette. These are simple, one layer finger swatches btw. Plenty of these perform better on the lid than swatched on my arm, but I did expect more.
Now for the more colourful, daring half of this palette. I swatched from Aluminum to Glamrock (top row) and then from Ground to Twisted (bottom row). Again, I feel like there could be more diversity here. Why two blues that are so close to each other? Why two similar purples? Why two silvers? I would have loved to see a rose gold/pink, a bright orange. Just more variety really.
When it comes to pigmentation and metallic finish, the brights do perform better swatched than the neutrals. Glamrock and Aluminum, the two silvers, are especially beautiful and definitely foiled without using a wet brush. The blues also perform well, and i really like the semi duochrome effect of the purples. But still, inconsistency from shade to shade when it comes to the performance.
Let's see how these perform on the lid.
For this look I used only shades from the Heavy Metal palette: Aluminum all over the lid, Ground in the outer corner and Angelfire in the inner corner. I don't dislike this look, but I feel like these metallics would pop a lot brighter if they were offset against some mattes, which is how I prefer putting together a look. This depends completely on how you prefer to do your makeup though, if you prefer metallics or using one shade all over the lid, this won't bother you as much.
For the second look I decided to pair the metallics with some mattes from ABH's Modern Renaissance palette. The shimmers I used for this look are Afterparty, Roadie and Scream. I really like this look, it's something I would wear to work but it's still intense enough to make a statement. And I totally feel like the shimmers look a lot better when offset by mattes.
This third look is probably my favourite out of the bunch. I used the matte yellows from ABH's Subculture palette, and Bass, Starfire and Angelfire from Heavy Metal. What can I say, I'm really into these dirty/bronze/yellow/green looks these days, but I still wish the Heavy Metal shadows would "pop" a bit more. Using these over a cream base would probably work but I prefer seeing how these perform on their own.
For the next look I used Ground in the outer corner, Mullet all over the lid and Angelfire in the inner corner. I felt like Mullet applied a bit patchy, so this one would definitely benefit from a creamy base, but the colour is lovely.
Finally, a look that shows how well this palette can perform when you see its true foiled potential. I used Glamrock all over the lid, with some of the cool, light mattes from ABH Modern Renaissance along the crease. Glamrock is absolutely stunning, giving a bright foiled finish and great pigmentation. The colour almost seems to light up. If all of the shades in this palette were as stellar, this would be a winner.
However, the shadows are inconsistent - some are amazing, some require some more work, and for a high end palette like this I expect more. I personally prefer Urban Decay's Moondust for a shimmery makeup look, since those look equally stunning if you wear them sheer, or layered over another shadow, or if you pack them on to get full pigmentation. Also, the shade selection is more diverse. However, it all comes down to your personal priorities: the packaging is gorgeous, and the palette is a lot of fun if the colour selection speaks
to you. Just be sure to use a cream base (or yes, a wet brush) to get the full potential out of these shadows. Considering you get twenty shadow in this palette, I wouldn't say it's expensive for what you get. All in all, a nuanced picture, but I hope my review helps you decide whether this palette would make you happy!
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