Swatches: Urban Decay Eyeshadows Part 1

I've been eyeing on a couple of Urban Decay eyeshadows for a while now, but haven't made the purchase because I just couldn't justify buying them at full price for $17.00 each. Sephora was recently having a 20% off sale and I took full advantage of that. =)

These swatches do not do the Urban Decay eyeshadows any justice. They look much prettier in person because the flash washes out the color. Also, when comparing them to Mac eyeshadows side to side, the latter looks dull in the pictures because of my stupid camera.

Urban Decay Maui Wowie looks like a shimmery silver color when swatched; however, when you apply it onto your lids, it's a very gorgeous and unique color, especially when paired with other colors, such as Mac Humid because it really brings out the sandy-olive gold iridescence in Maui Wowie. The only problem is that the eyeshadow has little specks of glitter that will get all over your face. I don't mind because I can wipe it off after I'm done with my eye makeup. Also, I recommend applying your foundation after you do your eye makeup.

Also, please keep in mind that they are not chunky bits of glitter. The eyeshadow actually applies very smoothly and blends effortlessly.

I thought Coastal Scents S10 would be similar to Maui Wowie, but S10 is darker and has an olive green iridescence. It's very pretty when you apply it onto your lids with a light hand. I usually apply Mac Humid on the crease to really bring out the olive in S10.

I found Mac's discontinued eyeshadow called Warming Trend at a CCO. I thought that it would be very similar to Mac Patina, but it's actually pretty different and I prefer Warming Trend over Patina.

Warming Trend is a light taupe color with a gold sheen. Patina is a light taupe brown with a golden shimmer that's less shimmery.

Urban Decay Urb is very sheer, but it is workable and you can see the true color by keep layering it and applying the eyeshadow with a heavy hand. Once you do that, it's a light greenish olive with golden shimmer. When swatched, it has a less olive color and looks more like a light green with golden shimmer.

Urb also has specks of glitter like Maui Wowie, but it's easy to clean if you haven't put your foundation on yet.

Urban Decay Mildew is lighter and a little bit more shimmery than Mac Humid. The shimmer is really nice and not hard to blend at all. Mildew has a hint of an olive and golden undertone, while Humid is a forest green.

When you apply Maui Wowie, S10, Warming Trend, Patina or Urb on the lids alone, it either looks very plain or not workable, but when you pair it with a dark green on the crease, it really makes a difference and enhances the lid color.

 With Flash

 Natural Lighting

Urban Decay Chopper is a peachy orange, but I found that the orange diminishes when I apply it on the lid and then pair it with Mac Humid in the crease. It’s a nice eyeshadow depending on which colors you pair it with, but it may be too orange to work with for other people. It also has little specks of glitter like alot of the other Urban Decay eyeshadows that I have mentioned above.

Mac All That Glitters is a lighter peach with a pink undertone. I thought they would look similar, but I was wrong.

I’ve heard that Urban Decay Toasted is a dupe for Mac Sable. When swatched, they look completely different as Toasted looks like a light taupe with a brown undertone and Sable looks like a darker bronzy brown. When I apply it on my eyes, Toasted looks like a light bronzy copperish brown and the taupe does not show, while Sable looks like a darker bronzy brown with a stronger copperish undertone. Toasted is too light for my crease, while Sable is too dark for my lids.

The color of Toasted doesn’t attract me that much. It looks prettier when swatched than when I actually apply it onto my lids. I would skip this eyeshadow.

Urban Decay Blunt is one of the most pigmented eyeshadows that I have seen. Other light color eyeshadows are usually either too sheer or not pigmented enough. Blunt is a light glowy gold with a hint of yellow. Do not let my ugly description scare you away from trying this eyeshadow out. The yellow tint is not that strong. It looks beautiful when I wear it either all over the lid or just my inner eyelid and pair it with browns or greens.

I don’t use it as a highlight under my brows because it’s too shimmery and a little bit too dark for that purpose.

Urban Decay Half Baked is a light true gold color without being too yellow or orange. Half Baked is definitely a staple in my makeup palette.

Urban Decay Baked is a bronzy orange with golden shimmer. I hate it because it’s too orange when I apply it on my lids. What a disappointment. I am going to return it.

Woodwinked is a better alternative, but it looks dead orange in the picture because of the camera flash. The picture without the flash shows its true color and it’s actually a lovely gold color with a hint of brown; however, it does turn orange when you blend it. I solve that issue by applying Mac Tempting and Mac Brown Down on the crease to cover the hideous orange.

The formula of Urban Decay eyeshadows is different than Mac, with the exception of some Mac eyeshadows. Urban Decay eyeshadows are much smoother and buttery, and the shimmery eyeshadows look much prettier than the Mac shimmery eyeshadows. Also, the Urban Decay eyeshadows that I have reviewed might be a little bit frosty for some people, but I find them to be really easy to work with and to blend. Another thing worth mentioning is that I do get some fallouts when I apply certain Urban Decay eyeshadows (the ones with the microglitters), but I don't get as much fallouts as I do with my SMH & CS eyeshadows.

Overall, I highly recommend Urban Decay eyeshadows, but the price might be expensive when compared to the cost of other brands. You should either wait for a sale or purchase from other comparable brands like Mac.

Note: Urban Decay Eyeshadows cost $17.00 for 1.5 grams at Nordstrom, Beauty.com, and Sephora. Mac Eyeshadows in pan form cost $11.00 for 1.5 grams (some of the eyeshadows have 1.3 grams) and cost $16 in pots. Coastal Scents (CS) eyeshadows cost $1.95 for 1.5 grams.

Do you prefer Urban Decay over Mac eyeshadows?

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