Urban Decay Vice3 Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

To me, Holidays isn't until December, but in makeup world, it's already here! Reviewing today is the new eyeshadow palette from Urban Decay Holiday 2014 collection called Vice3!

The Vice3 palette (limited edition) spots a brighter design than its predecessor Vice and Vice2. Urban Decay ditched the purple theme this time and went with a metallic silver and antifreeze green instead — quite a refreshing change in my opinion! On the front lid is the faceted gemstone-like Vice logo in a matching green situated over a striped background that reminds me of beautiful sunset. :)

Compared to the older Vice palettes, Vice3 is considerably sleeker, thinner, and more travel-friendly. The palette does not come with the signature push-to-open button like the Vice and Vice2, though, unfortunately. It manually opens up to a huge mirror inside. Luckily the lid props up and stays open at a good angle making it convenient to use on the go.

Included with the palette is a flat zipper-top bag in a matching design with the brand's logo in the bottom right corner. A double-ended brush is supplied with the palette; an eye shader on one end and a blender/crease on the other. The bristles are synthetic and feel soft on the skin but they tend to create fallout during application.

Vice3 features 20 brand new and exclusive eyeshadow shades aligned strategically into 5 columns. The first column is neutrals, the second, third, and fourth are jewel-toned colors, and the fifth is mostly smokey shades. I find Vice3 more versatile and cater to a wider audience than the Vice and Vice2 due to the addition of more neutrals and taupes. Each column is supposedly a stand alone quad in a way meaning you can create an entire look using the colors from that column alone, although I wouldn't count the first column as a quad because they are mostly base and/or transition colors.

In terms of finishes, we have a nice combination of matte (and I mean, “Urban Decay matte”, which isn't a true matte because they have a soft mix of shimmer throughout), satin, shimmery, glittery, and metallic. Most of the shades show up really well on my skin tone and stay put when worn over eye primer.  They have excellent texture typical of Urban Decay shadows — soft, velvety, and buttery smooth, but they also produce fallout — something Urban Decay shadows are also known for.

In my opinion, the stars of the palettes are the jewel-toned colors with metallic finish; they are the easiest to work with and their color payoff is insanely rich and intense. The mattes are my least favorite as they produce quite a bit of fallout but they don't perform too terribly or anything. They just tend to get kicked up easily even with the softest touch so you have to be extra careful during application to avoid excessive powder falling all over your face.

Whole palette swatches

Shade breakdown

• Truth – pale pink; matte finish
  Super soft and smooth texture but very powdery. Best applied all over the lid as a base color or highlighter.
• Dragon – bright green; metallic finish
  My favorite shade! Such a fun color to play with. Richly pigmented, great color payoff, and super blendable.
• Vanity – eggplant purple; satin finish
  Color payoff is not as rich as I thought when applied on the skin. Soft texture but feels a bit dry.
• Alien – medium pink with gold shimmer; shimmery/metallic finish
  Decent pigmentation but slightly dry. Buildable but the more you build, only the gold shimmer becomes more apparent. The pink base isn't very buildable on me.
• Last Sin – peachy champagne; glittery/metallic finish
  Texture is extremely soft so it tends to crumble easily. Such a beautiful champagne shade, though.

• Undone – pink beige; matte finish
  Looks shimmery in the pan but appears matte on the skin. Slightly powdery but otherwise creamy and fairly pigmented.
• Freeze – frost blue; glittery/metallic finish
  Consistency is considerably thinner than the rest but color payoff is excellent. Another fun color of this palette.
• Lucky – orange coppery bronze; metallic finish
  Best texture. Richly pigmented, creamy, and smooth. Applies and blends beautifully.
• Alchemy – berry fuchsia; satin finish
  Feels a bit dry upon touch. Color builds easily. Texture is thin but still soft and blends nicely.
• Angle – light silvery gray taupe; shimmery/metallic finish
  A beautiful taupe in the pan but doesn't show up very well on my skin. Consistency is very soft and velvety. Blends easily.

• Downfall – medium brown; matte finish
  My favorite crease shade of the palette. Very soft and smooth with excellent blendability. Quite powdery, though.
• Heroine – deep navy blue with blue sparkles; satin finish
  Appears rich and intense in the pan but applies thin and dry on the skin. Produces major fallout. Dilutes too easily during blending. Pat on to get a better color payoff.
• Reign – rich brown; satin finish
  Very soft and velvety. Good all-round brown for many purposes. Excellent pigmentation and blendability.
• Bondage – blackened burgundy; satin/metallic finish
  Richly pigmented, smooth, but slightly dry in consistency. Applies slightly unevenly so start with a thin layer and blend thoroughly before adding more color.
• Defy – medium gray taupe; satin finish
  Excellent matte texture. Good color payoff. Soft, creamy, and blends beautifully.

• DTF – light purple taupe; matte finish
  Shimmer seen in the pan is actually noticeable once applied on the skin, too. Fairly pigmented. Texture, while soft, is rather thin and powdery.
• Brokedown – golden olive brown; satin/metallic finish
  I wish it was more olive and less golden. Beautiful texture and color payoff, though. Soft, smooth, but produces some fallout.
• Bobby Dazzle – brightened off-white; glittery/metallic finish
  Super pigmented but has high glitter content. Feels dry and gritty upon touch. Blends out easily, though.
• Sonic – reddish copper; metallic finish
  What a gorgeous and unique shade! Texture is velvety, too. Pigment is rich and blends nicely. Such a pleasant color to work with.
• Revolver – dark charcoal black; satin finish
  Soft, smooth, but a bit thin and dry in consistency. Decent color payoff. Buildable and blends easily.

The eye look

I used mainly the second column for this look! The inner third is Dragon then I blended it into Freeze and finished with Heroine in the outer third. I topped Heroine with Revolver to create a little more depth. Along the lower lash line is Vanity. Brown bone is Alien and the inner corner is Bobby Dazzle.

The eye liner used on the outer lower lash is Charlotte Tilbury Rock ‘n’ Kohl Iconic Liquid Eye Pencil in Marlene Midnight. :)

In my opinion, I think Vice3 has the most interesting color options compared to the Vice and Vice2. I am a big fan of neutral as well as metallic jewel-toned shadows so this palette is love for me. I also think it is reasonably priced; you get 20 Urban Decay shadows for about the price of 3 singles, not to mention the included dual-ended brush and zipper bag that you can double as a makeup bag, too. I think it's a pretty awesome deal if you ask me! :)

Well, that should be it for my picture-heavy and lengthily review of the palette! ^_^” What do you think of the Vice3? Are you a fan of big eyeshadow palettes?

Purchase