Urban Decay Vice 2 Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

I will be honest with you. I was initially hesitating to buy the new Urban Decay Vice 2 palette because from all the swatches I saw online, they didn't quite look that exciting but as my birthday came, I thought it would be nice to buy myself something nice (makeup wise) and more substantial. It was then that I started looking at the Vice 2 palette again and on a whim, decided to just purchase it.

Boy, wasn't that my best decision ever!

The thing about this Vice 2 palette is, you just have to see it in person! No amount of online swatches or words can even begin to describe the gorgeousness of the ultra rich colors. If you missed out on the first Vice palette launched last year (and if you have been kicking yourself since then), well, let me tell you, the Vice 2 is even BETTER, as in SO MUCH better. And if I had to choose between last year's Vice and the Vice 2? I'd choose the Vice 2 any day. The typical buttery texture of Urban Decay shadows is somehow even more buttery in this palette. It was such a pleasure doing the swatches on my arm (as you are about to see down below) but the feeling of putting these colors on the actual eyelid is beyond comprehension. How can anything be this buttery soft? I didn't know it was possible! The better part? You are getting a total of 20 brand new, exclusive, never before seen shades for merely the price of 3 full-sized singles. :)

OK, enough rambling. Let's get on with the actual photos and more in-depth review.

The dark purple palette is slim and is made of ultra lightweight hard plastic. It feels sturdy in the hand. According to Urban Decay, the lovely abstract orchid design of the whole palette was applied with a “special process” so no 2 palettes are alike. How awesome is that? It's almost like getting your own custom design! :) In the center is the jeweled UD logo much like the first Vice palette. The overall look of the palette is pretty glam yet slightly edgy. The lid slowly opens with just a touch of a button to reveal all 20 gorgeous colors. Also on the inside is the mega-sized mirror that spans across the entire lid and a Good Karma dual-headed brush – one for shading, the other for blending/crease. Urban Decay's eyeshadows and brushes are both cruelty-free. The palette was launched earlier this month as part of the 2013 Fall/Holiday Collection and is limited edition (meaning, once it's gone, it's gone, so act fast!).

The palette contains eyeshadows in several finishes – metallic, matte, satin, and shimmery; and shades – smokey, dramatic, jewel, and neutral. Basically, you can create a countless combination of eye looks using this one palette, be it everyday wear, daytime office, formal event, date night, or party night. There is bound to be a shade and finish that you will love. This is actually one of the most versatile eyeshadow palettes I've ever owned.

Urban Decay has been known for their superb eyeshadow quality and every single color in this palette is just that, superb. They are the most buttery soft, most velvety and ridiculously pigmented. They are also extremely long-wearing and easy to blend with very minimal fallout (surprise surprise?!) even the ones that are full of glitters.

Now, let's move on to the actual swatches! (Finally, I know I know…)

(Note: shade described by Urban Decay)

Row 1 L-R:

• Smokeout – dark taupey-black satin
• Lovesick – black matte with iridescent micro glitter
• Shellshock – bright metallic silver
• Coax – medium metallic pink with gold iridescent micro sparkle
• X-rated – baby pink satin

Row 2 L-R:

• Prank – deep navy matte with turquoise floating pearl
• Madness – bright metallic blue shimmer with blue micro glitter
• Strike – antique gold shimmer with silver micro glitter
• Stash – deep olive green shimmer with iridescent micro sparkle
• Poison – charcoal satin with iridescent micro sparkle

Row 3 L-R:

• Radar – metallic brown shimmer with iridescent micro glitter
• Damaged – bright metallic emerald shimmer
• Voodoo – metallic purple shimmer with iridescent purple micro glitter
• Betrayal – bright purple satin with blue shift
• Derailed – medium metallic taupey-brown shimmer

Row 4 L-R:

• Dope – warm champagne satin
• Toxic – metallic copper-pink shimmer with tonal micro glitter
• Habit – light nude matte
• Ambush – metallic brown satin
• Rewind – medium brown matte

All shades are true-to-pan, meaning what you see in the pan will be the exact color on the skin. Row 1-3 are definitely for dramatic/smokey eye looks while row 4 is for everyday neutrals. As you can see, you get a ton of vivid colors in this palette. If vibrant eye makeup is your thing, this is definitely a palette for you. If you are just starting with makeup, it's still a great palette since it contains some basic gorgeous neutrals to get you started. Then when you feel like branching out to the bolder looks, just look up to the higher rows, the fun colors are at your ready!

It seems to me that the color combination in this palette was very well thought of, I mean, who would have thought to put neutrals with bright colors?! You go, Urban Decay. Total thumbs up from me. I personally like row 3 the most since it has some jewel tones that I'm always drawn to. Just look at the emerald Damaged and purple Voodoo. SO. GORGEOUS. I also find the bright purple-blue Betrayal very fun and sexy! Derailed is also my favorite since it's such a perfect taupey-brown that would go with most looks. The most surprising shade is the silver Shellshock, I mean I've never seen anything this ridiculous! The silver is so insanely pigmented and yet so very buttery soft. The fourth row is no doubt will be used the most on a daily basis and I'm already liking the combination of the metallic brown Ambush and the brown matte Rewind a lot. The nude matte Habit is a great transition color while the warm champagne Dope is a perfect shade of highlighter. The two colors that didn't quite perform as well as I would have liked are the black matte Lovesick and the navy matte Prank as they are a little dry and slightly powdery.

Smokeout

Lovesick

Shellshock

Coax

X-rated

Prank

Madness

Strike

Stash

Poison

Radar

Damaged

Voodoo

Betrayal

Derailed

Dope

Toxic

Habit

Ambush

Rewind

Overall, I am utterly impressed with the Vice 2 palette. If you are hesitating whether to purchase, don't be. Buy it and thank me later. If you already bought it, high five! Seriously, a versatile palette that includes great quality eyeshadow shades for both work and play and at a fraction of the cost (if you were to buy singles)? To me, the Vice 2 can very well be the best palette for the 2013 Holiday collections. Urban Decay has just set the bar so high it's going to be hard for other brands to compete. It's a limited edition and it's going to sell out without a doubt so really, what are you waiting for? :)

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