Swatches + Comparison: Urban Decay Sephora Inside JCPenney Stores Exclusive Eyeshadows

From Top Left: Naked ~ Buck ~ Faint ~ Secret Service

From Bottom Left: Heartless ~ Sidecar ~ Snare

From Top Left: Buck ~ Faint 

From Bottom Left: Naked ~ Secret service

Naked is a beige brown with a matte finish. When swatched, it looks like it would be a nice transition color or a blending shade, but it's actually too dark for that purpose and too light as a crease color for my NC30/35 skin tone. Kid, Wedge, Cork and Soft Brown work much better as a transition color for me even though they all look darker than Naked because the formula of the MAC eyeshadows are more stiff and they don't pack on as much color when used with a fluffy brush, such as the MAC 217. Moreover, they don't crumble in the pan and I don't experience any fallouts during application. They are also very versatile because when I use a dense crease brush, such as the Inglot 80HP, they provide excellent color payoff. 

(Indoor Natural Lighting)

(Outdoor Natural Lighting on a Sunny Day)

(Outdoor Natural Lighting in the shade)

Buck is a medium beige brown with a matte finish. It's similar to Naked, but just darker. It's too light as an outer v shade, but it's excellent as a crease color.

Faint is a medium brown with a matte finish. Urban Decay describes it as a "warm, dusty brown matte," but it looks more neutral on my eyes. It's a tad bit darker than Buck, but they both look very similar to one another when used as a crease color. 

Secret Service is a dark cool-toned greyish brown with a matte finish. It defines the eyes and works well as an outer v shade. Embark is more intense and more red, while Brown Down is more brown. 

The Urban Decay matte eyeshadows are much softer than the MAC matte eyeshadows; therefore, they get messy in the pan easily and I experience fallouts during application. However, because the formula is softer, they also apply more smoothly, pack on more color even with a fluffy brush and blend like a dream. Also, they last at least 10 hours without fading when used with a primer.

(Direct Sunlight)

(Outdoor Natural Lighting in the shade)

From Top Clockwise: Sidecar ~ Snare ~ Heartless 

Heartless is a pale pink with a satin finish. I find it to be too chalky and light on my skin tone. Moreover, the pigmentation is not as great as SWF, which has a more frosty finish.

Snare is an olive green with gold micro-glitters. When I swatched it by itself, it looked more like a bluish grey shade, but when swatched next to a more blue shade (Gunmetal), I can definitely see the green undertones. Also, it looks more green when applied onto the eyes. However, it's not as pigmented as other urban decay eyeshadows and it fades a bit when blended.

(Outdoor Natural Lighting in the shade)

(Outdoor Natural Lighting on a Sunny Day)

(Indoor Natural Lighting)

From Top Clockwise: Heartless ~ Sidecar ~ Snare

Sidecar is a medium warm brown with a bronzey sheen and silver micro-glitters. Blaze, Suspect and Chase are all lighter and more suitable for my skin tone. I find Sidecar to be a little bit  too dark as a lid color and too light as a crease color. The texture doesn't feel as buttery smooth as other UD eyeshadows, but it doesn't feel gritty either. I did experience some fallouts during application. So, I recommend using a cream base and tapping off the excess before applying the eyeshadow with a dense brush, such as the MAC 239.

(Indoor Natural Lighting)

(Indoor Natural Lighting on a Sunny Day)

(Outdoor Natural Lighting in the shade)

Bottom Line: Each Urban Decay eyeshadow is different in terms of color, finish and formulation. Most are hits, while some are misses. Definitely DON'T dismiss all Urban Decay eyeshadows if you found one that did not work out for you.

Note: Naked, Buck and Secret Service each contain 1.5g and are available for purchase at Nordstrom, Beauty.com, Ulta and Sephora for $18 each. Faint, Heartless, Sidecar and Snare each contain 1.5g and are sold exclusively at  Urban Decay's online store and Sephora Inside JCPenney Stores for $18 each. MAC Wedge, Cork, Soft Brown, Espresso, Corduroy, Embark and Greensmoke each contain 1.5g, while Kid and Brown Down each contain 1.35g. All 9 MAC eyeshadows are permanent and are available at MAC and Nordstrom for $15 (pot) and $12 (refill pan). 

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