Review: Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette

Today I'm reviewing the Urban Decay Vice 2 palette that was released this past holiday season (2013 holiday). It was available nationwide at Sephora, Ulta, Macy's, Urban Decay's website & counters, and pretty much anywhere that sold Urban Decay. It's very hard to get your hands on now unless you go to the actual Urban Decay website. - Above is the packaging/box that the palette comes in.

One good tip for people out there- Check your Sephora inside JcPenney's! When all of my Sephora's around me were sold out and Sephora online was sold out, I found it at Sephora inside JcPenney! This tip has helped me more than once! I know this option is not available for everyone. When I lived in Tennessee there were no Sephora's inside any JcPenney round me, but if you do happen to have 1 check them out! I have found exceptional service from them, better than some actual Sephora locations.

The back of the package lists all of the colors and names that come in the palette so you can see before you buy, but almost every place I went had the palette on display for you to test and try. The ingredients are listed on the very bottom. On the top, the package reads:

If eyeshadow is your vice, here's the ultimate fix: 20 BRAND-NEW shades, plus a double-ended Good Karma Brush. Experiment with insanely cool brights, not-your-average neutrals and sexy hits of smoke, all in our decadent, revamped formula. Even the presentation is luxe, with the touch of a button, the jewel-inlaid case opens slowly, seductively, to unveil all that gorgeous eye candy. Ah, sweet addiction. 

Urban Decay made a beautiful purple marble case and put a 3D crystal-like logo in the center -you can't help but be impressed! The case is made of plastic and as you can see it is on the thick side. The large size of the palette and the thickness makes it heavy, which a lot of you might not like, but the dimensions also make it very sturdy. Personally, I like palettes that are on the thicker side, because of the durability. To me, durable palettes means less of a chance for damage of the actual product inside, especially when traveling. I do travel quite a bit and especially when I fly, go long distances in a car, and are away from home for quite some time then I find that damage in some way will be done and the best protection are cases that are hardy. Alas, I know most people out there do not like toting around heavy beauty products and for everyday use I can see that, but for real traveling it's not one's best friend. 

As for the button, which is the black rectangle you see in the middle of the bottom; I wouldn't say that it's "slow" opening, but it doesn't spring open either. 

Here's what the inside of the palette looks like. Beautiful shades and all nicely displayed. -This was before it was touched. 

I'm not a fan of double-ended brushes, but you take what you get and I do think Urban Decay's brushes are well made, durable, and apply nicely. This brush is no exception!

Now for the swatches! I did my best to capture the true color with my camera, but I personally feel it's never 100%. All swatches are with no primer on my bare skin.

Top Row / Left to Right (On the palette this is from the bottom left and going to the right and up.)

• Dupe: A pink nude shade with shimmer. I find myself using this a lot has a highlight color and in the inner corner of my eye. Not the most notable shade, as I feel there are similar colors out there from UD and other companies, but still a nice one.
• Toxic: A pink bronze color with shimmer. Very nice, but again very similar to what it out on the market right now, especially with this Rose Gold trend. Performs nicely though.
• Habit: I did my absolute best to try to capture this color! Depending on the screen you have, you may not even be able to see it, but it almost blends right into my skin. I actually layered this one several times, but could not get it to show up. I use this has an all over color and a blending color. One of my favorites.
• Ambush: This is a brown shimmer. Nice color, but nothing too unique.
• Rewind: A matte brown. Another color I use a lot for shading and blending. It's very smooth and applies beautifully!
• Radar: This is a dark brown shimmer. This has a lot of glitter/sparkle to it. If you're not a fan of glitter then I would ignore this color.
• Damaged: A dark green shimmer color. This has a black base with a dark green shimmer tint. I like this color and it's pretty unique. This was 1 of the colors that originally made me want the palette.
• Voodoo: A deep purple glittery color. Again, this has a lot of sparkle to it, so if you don't like sparkle you won't like this color. I think it's pretty neat and has flecks of bright purple in it.
• Betrayal: An iridescent purple. I love this color! Another color that made me want to buy the palette. 
• Derailed: A cool-toned brown with shimmer. It has the typical smooth, easy application from a UD shadow, but nothing too unique.

Bottom Row / Left to Right (On the palette this is continuing from on up from the bottom, going left to the right and then up.)

• Prank: This is a deep, dark blue with iridescent sparkle. I feel in love with this color first when I tested out the display at the Urban Decay counter. If you don't like sparkle this is another shade you won't like, but I do love this! 
• Madness: This looks a lot different in the palette then when it is applied. It actually doesn't even look the same in the picture as it does in real life. This is a blue-grey color with green and iridescent sparkle that applies a bit darker then you'd think. This is the 2nd color I fell in love with and was my deciding factor in buying this palette. I've used this quite a bit. Very unique to me.
• Strike: This is a light gold shimmer that really shimmers in the light. I like it a lot.
• Stash: A brown gold shimmer with sparkle. I don't find myself using this color, but it is kind of unique to me compared to what is out on the market now.
• Poison: A charcoal color with a lot sparkle. I think this is nice for a night out, but definitely not for those who are anti-glitter/sparkle.
• Smokeout: Deep brown shimmer. This is 1 color that is a little bit more difficult to blend then most of the colors. It's not horrible, but just isn't as smooth as most of the shades in this palette.
• Lovesick: Black with a lot of glitter. This color is really not that different from Poison. It's a bit darker, but layer on Poison a bit and you have Lovesick. I personally feel that both of these colors were not necessary to put in the same palette, so you can't help but be disappointed by 1 of them. Poison is a little more on the powdery side. Lovesick applies a little lighter at first. So if you're looking for more glitter and less color, I'd go with Lovesick. If you're look for equal amounts of color and glitter I'd go with Poison.
• Shellshock: This is a silver shimmer and is very opaque. This is the smoothest and creamiest powder shadow I own! Very nice and applies like a dream! Great for those special occasions!
• Coax: Dark pink with shimmer. I use this color a lot too. Very pretty and also goes with the Rose Gold trend.
• X-Rate: Another color I use a lot. This is a matte pink. A little on the powdery side, but nothing that one can't work with.

Overall, I truly like this palette. I give it 5/5 rating and I think they did an outstanding job on presentation and performance of the product. If you don't like sparkle or glitter, stay away though. Most of these shades are heavy in the sparkle or shimmer at least.

Hope you enjoyed this review! Leave any questions or comments below. If you have your review or looks with this palette leave links to your blog!

A Christmas Tale: "A Girl and A Few of Her Favorite Things"

In the spirit of the holidays, I would like to share a story about a girl and her quest to get her hands on "A Few of My Favorite Things".

With all of the holiday palettes, sets, and limited edition items that cosmetic companies come out with this time of the year it can be hard to choose what to get and what you'll pass on. -At least for me it is.

I narrowed down what I wanted pretty fast and when I finally decided exactly what I was going to get with the money my mom gave me to specifically spend on a treat for myself (thanks, Mom), I found that Sephora was sold out online with the Too Faced limited edition palette entitled "A Few of My Favorite Things", which is an exclusive to Sephora only. Bummed out for days, I finally decided that I would go to Sephora after work, last Friday. While I was sitting on break I thought to myself- What if they don't have it and you waste that time going there? And since there were multiple Sephora locations around, I could end up driving all over just to try to find it. Then that genius-part of me finally came through and said, "Kaitie, call the stores to see if they have it in stock." So, I called the Sephora location closest to me and not only did they say they had it, but they would hold it for me! (Apparently, this holding thing is common at Sephora, but I had no idea they would do that.) So, now you can imagine how excited I was for the rest of the day!

After work, I drove down to the mall and walked into Sephora. I walked up to the counter and when the girl asked what I wanted, I told her that they were holding a Too Faced palette entitled "A Few of My Favorite Things" and she started looking for it. 

She couldn't find it. -Trying not to get worried.

A second girl approaches and the first girl explains what she's looking for, and then they're both looking and cannot find it. -I'm worried now.

They ask me if I came to the correct location, which I knew I did, and even asked to see the # on my phone to confirm it is their store, which it was. -Ladies, please! I know who I called!

They get a third girl involved now and she can't find it either! -Now I'm just upset. Feeling like I wasted time and I'd been standing there for a good 15 minutes or so and no progress is being made.

Finally, a fourth girl comes over and they all explain what is going on and this new girl says, "Are you sure you have the right palette, because we've been sold out of it since last week." -Now, I'm raging inside, because I feel like I've wasted 20+ minutes and I called ahead, and all my happy feeling was being stabbed and shredded.

So, the first girl then says she will call other Sephoras to see if they have it. -I do not want to drive all over after this nonsense. 

She calls the Sephora inside JcPenney at the same mall they are located in and they assure her they have it and will hold it for me with my name on it. So, I dash out of that Sephora and make my way down to JcPenney.

As soon as I arrive inside JcPenney they ask me if they can help me. (Of course they can!) I tell them I am here to pick up the Too Faced palette on hold for me. The girl goes into this big draw where all of these products with names on them are in AND........she can't find it. -WHAT?!

She looks in another draw with items on hold. Can't find it. -ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

She double checks both draws and takes everything out, and cannot find it. -OMG! WHY ME?!

And then she looks around the register and cannot find it there. -Heart sinking.

She looks in the draw where all the back stock of Too Faced is kept. It's not there. -They're sold out too.

She then asks me if I'm at the right location. -Not this again.

A manager came over and asked what was going on, and after explaining everything she walked over to the registers, pulled up some papers and said she had left it there. -RELIEF!

I not only walked out of the store with the palette, but also with a goodie bag that the girl put together for me. I don't know if she just felt sorry for me or what, but I'll take it! The bag was just one of those reusable bags that you usually buy for groceries, but it is a little better made than most (the ones I have gotten from the Disney Store & Bath and Bodyworks are not near as sturdy as this one).

The Sephora bag came with a Snowglobe from Disney that features Mickey Mouse with "2013" printed on it; Lorac's "TANtalizer" sample; and a plastic pouch of goodies.

Most of the samples in the pouch were repeats. I received foundation, primer, and perfume samples. I'm not complaining. It was all free and I'll take what I get.

The packaging features a very eye-catching chevron print and as you can see in the background- it comes with a make-up bag that holds everything, including the palette; a deluxe size of their "Better Than Sex" mascara; and their Lip Injection Color Bomb in "Bee Sting", which is an exclusive color to Sephora.

The set contains 20 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, and 2 bronzers, along with what I already mentioned.

And when you open it up, you are just simply taken with it! Even though it took me about an hour to get my hands on it, it was well worth it. I will be posting looks that I do with this palette soon enough, as I plan to use it on some upcoming events I am attending. If you would like swatches I suggest checking out these blogs:

• xsparkage
• Dulce Candy
• Makeup Geek

With all these blogs out there who have already swatched these, I feel like there's really no need for me to do so. The 3 blogs I listed did a great job and swatching and explaining the colors, and there are many more out there!

I hope you enjoyed my story and if you're still trying to get your hands on one then I suggest trying the Sephora inside of a JcPenney's if you're lucky enough to live near one. I know when I was living in Tennessee there was no Sephora inside any JcPenney around me, so it's not an option for everyone else. Otherwise, your only choice is Amazon or eBay where these babies are going for an average of $100, which the initial price is $56. 

***Don't forget: If you're a Sephora Insider you have $15 to use by SUNDAY. They expire after that!