Oh god.
I knew from the minute I laid eyes on this, it was for me. Literally, it was love at the first sight. I've been thinking about getting one of Urban Decay's Books of Shadows for a while now, but was debating over which one to get, and whether I could justify the price. And then this appeared and it could have come with hallelujah's, seriously.
Look at that stuff! I am glad I waited cause it suddenly puts all their old packaging to shame. It looks good and classy and well-made and practical - and it is. I always WANTED to like the Books of Shadows/Shadow Boxes with their drawers and the pop-up characters and the chainmail packaging and all that... but they never really looked sturdy or practical. And this is the opposite.
It looks black in the picture, but it's a deep brown velvet box with a magnetic closure lid, and a mirror that isn't obscured by any pop-up stuff. Basically, the packaging is gorgeous. You don't need me to tell you that, but I have spent a paragraph doing so.
Here it is in full. It comes with a mini primer potion and a double ended eyeliner, with colours Zero (jet black) and Whiskey (reddish brown). I do love their 24/7 eyeliners, but am frightful of their melting ability. I have my reservations about the primer potion, but that's for another post. Generally, if you like the little 'freebies' so to speak, you're getting a good deal for £27.
Now the price. This is where I need to discuss why I never bought one before. I always assume that you're getting ripped off with these things. Which is why this is my first!
If you think about it, a normal Urban Decay eyeshadow is £12-14, depending on where you buy it. You're getting 12 in this box, and I think they're about the same size as the ones you normally get in these kind of boxes/sets. I do get through eyeshadows at quite a rate, especially neutrals, but I think you'd have to be determined to use up all the shadow, to get through it.
Phew.
Now.
On to what you really want to see!
L-R: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half-Baked.
Virgin is an odd, but lovely one. It looks like a pinkish white in the box, but when swatched, has an interesting blue/purple duochrome. I kind of love it.
Sin reminds me of a MAC Starflash colour - possibly ego? - but with grey undertones. It's a pretty, unusual colour. Sidecar is similar, a brownish-pink with multicoloured glitter, I can see blueish glitter.
Half-Baked is the one I already own, but I adore it so much! It's a shimmery true-bronze, in my eyes. Very gorgeous swept all over the lid on it's own with lots of mascara and eyeliner.
L-R: Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal.
Toasted is strange. I don't understand the name, for one, but I like it. The correct name may be 'mauve'. Or I could say pinkish-purple with blue-brown undertones. We'll still with mauve. Hustle is very gorgeous. It's a deep purple-brown, that leans a little bit grey in some lights. Potential love affair with these two, too. Oh well.
Creep and Gunmetal I didn't really expect to be so blue! I love them. Creep is an almost-too-dark blue with flecks of shimmer, and Gunmetal is a steel blue with similar shimmer. Swatched together they're gorgeous.
I will tell you what I have woefully just done, though. I just went to move it and jammed my fingernail into Half-Baked. These eyeshadows are so soft. So soft. I cannot tell you HOW SOFT THEY ARE. So be careful, kids. The fact they are so soft means they blend beautifully, but if you catch it with your nail, expect it to crumple undertouch. Just, you've been warned.
I would say they are coparable to MAC's Starflash formula. Beautiful at blending, especially the satin ones.
I think a great plus to this product is the fact you can have so many different combinations in one box, so here are some that I've found already, and love:
Sin > Toasted > Hustle
Naked > Buck
Half Baked > Smog > Darkhorse
Gunmetal > Creep
Sidecar > Darkhorse
Someone told me its the only neutral palette you'll ever need - but I know what I'm like, and there will ALWAYS be another neutral palette. Until then, this will satisfy all my cravings! I think this will be PERFECT for when I travel, now! No more lugging MAC palette's up and down the country. Wonderful stuff. Especially with the little eyeliner in there.
Price: 4/5
Packaging: 5/5
Product: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Would I buy this product again? No, unless i somehow used them all up! But I would highly recommend them to anyone!
Packaging: 5/5
Product: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Would I buy this product again? No, unless i somehow used them all up! But I would highly recommend them to anyone!
I hope this review was useful! For those asking where to purchase, you can get it at all House of Fraser's currently, and on their website, and then in stores everywhere else soon, I think! I do hope these pictures were okay, I took them on my iPhone but had to edit in PaintShopPro so I couldn't get the colours completely accurate.