Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection Review and Comparisons - The Darks

Here is the last of the swatches from the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection, which I refer to as "the darks".  Again, you've almost got a mini Naked palette, this time featuring darker browns, a gray, a matte black, and a muted purple thrown in for good measure.

Deeper, M.I.A., Ace, Blackout, Half Truth (shade)

All of the darks swatched well and applied easily with no patchiness.  Especially impressive was Blackout, as matte shades can be troublesome.  I had no problems getting an opaque black that was not chalky.

Deeper, M.I.A., Ace, Blackout, Half Truth (sun)

First up is Deeper, a medium golden bronze.  Next is M.I.A., a deeper bronze with a more reddish tone.  Next is Ace, a dark gray with shimmer.  Next is M.I.A., a true matte black.  Last is Half Truth, a lovely muted purple with a blue cast.

I've got a few comparisons from the Naked 1 and Rollergirl palettes.   Here is M.I.A. vs. Smog, which is from Naked 1.  M.I.A. looks more brown and Smog more bronze.

Next up is M.I.A. vs. Darkhorse from the Rollergirl palette.  M.I.A. looks darker and with more red tones than Darkhorse.  However, Deeper looks pretty similar to Darkhorse in this picture.  In real life, Deeper has slightly more copper tones in it and is more shimmery.

Next up is Gunmetal from Naked 1 and Ace.   Gunmetal has silver micro glitter in it and is lighter and more shiny than Ace.

Then I swatched Creep from Naked 1 and Blackout.  Creep is black with silver shimmer and was hard to get opaque - it applies more sheer.  Blackout was easily opaque in a few swipes and is a matte black.

I'm glad I got the 15th Anniversary eyeshadow collection - I think I'll get lots of use from it!  The reformulated shadows are indeed quite smooth and buttery with the exception of Vanilla, which I still like.  Most applied well, with Tainted being the exception in this case.  Overall, a lovely palette.

Did you pick one up?  What do you think of it?

Disclaimer:  I purchased all of the products mentioned in this review.

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection Brights Review and Comparison

The middle column of the 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection is composed of 5 shades that I refer to as "the brights".

From top to bottom:  Tainted is a pinky lilac with gold duochrome.  It swatched nicely, but I had difficulty getting it to show up on my eyes.  Junkshow is a vivid blue based fuschia and a little goes a long way.  Just tapping your brush on it will pick up plenty.  Omen is a light violet with a pink cast and applies nicely.  Evidence is a shimmery navy, and the one color from this column that applied a bit patchy.  I swiped this several times but can still see skin beneath.  Deep End is a vivid teal and a color that I rarely, if ever, wear.  It's beautiful but I don't know what to do with it.

The photo below, taken in direct sunlight, shows the duochrome effect a bit more in Tainted, Junkshow, and Omen. 

The only comparison I have for this column is Junkshow vs. Woodstock, which is from the UD Rollergirl palette.  They look similar in the pan, but once applied you can see the difference.  Junkshow is more blue based, whereas Woodstock leans more coral.

Junkshow vs. Woodstock

I tend to look better in coral pinks than blue based, which make me look tired.  Or maybe I am tired, I don't know.   I can say, after having taken umpteen pictures, that cool based pinks do not work with my complexion.  At all.  I tried though.

I used Tainted on the inner corners and on lower lash line, Junkshow in the middle and blended, and Omen in the crease and along the upper lash line.  I layered Evidence on top of Omen on the upper lash line and then used UD's 24/7 eye pencil in Ransom to line my lash line.  I used Every Day Minerals in Taj Mahal, a shimmery pink highlight shade, on brow bone and inner eye corner.

Disclaimer:  I purchased all products mentioned in this review.

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Collection Neutrals Review and Comparisons

Starting at the top, here are swatches of Midnight Rodeo,  Midnight 15, Vanilla, Flow and Chase. All of the colors in the 15th Anniversary Collection are new, but I was interested to see how similar they might be to some of the UD colors I already own, so I did some side by side swatch comparisons.  First up is Chase vs. Suspect.  Suspect is from the Rollergirl palette, which I previously reviewed here.  

Chase is a shimmery medium bronze.  Suspect looks slightly more brown to my eye. 

Chase vs. Suspect

Here is Midnight 15 vs. Verve, also from the Rollergirl palette.  Verve is just a smidgen lighter, but they are very close.  Midnight 15 has a small amount of micro glitter, but it is very fine and quite subtle.  You can make out some of the glitter along the edges of the swatch. 

Midnight 15 vs. Verve

The formula on the 15th Anniversary colors shown here are indeed smooth and buttery, with the exception of Vanilla, which was more coarse and grainy.  Strangely, however, I've been using Vanilla a lot, as it makes for a lovely highlight shade when using more gold or yellow toned colors.  

The column of beige, fawn, and cream shadows in the 15th Anniversary Collection, which I refer to as "the neutrals", is almost like having a mini Naked palette. 

 

The first five swatches are the first column from the 15th Anniversary collection and the last five are from Naked 1.  No dupes to speak of, and a nice addition to my collection of neutral shadows. 

Next up, I'll look at the second column of colors, which I refer to as "the brights".

Disclaimer:  I purchased all of the products mentioned.

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection Preview

15th Anniversary palette

I have to admit that all the hoopla around Urban Decay's recent eyeshadow reformulation created a bit of a lemming in me.  Should I invest in the build your own palette option?  Do I want to invest $108 in six shadows?  I've decided so far that no, I don't.

However, it did motivate me to look more closely at the existing palettes that do have the new shadow formula.  Since that is currently restricted to the 15th Anniversary palette and Naked 2, I opted for the first.  I've got Naked 1 and honestly, it doesn't get a ton of use from me.  It helped that Sephora recently restocked 15th Anniversary. 

I've got to say, I'm  happy with my choice!  For the bargain price of $55 you've got 15 shadows, including neutrals, brights, and darks, all in one palette.  That's $3.66 per shadow!  The metallic casing feels sturdy and looks lovely.  Yes, fingerprints show all over the place, but I like the look and design. I'll be reviewing the 15th Anniversary palette in multiple posts, starting with the first column of neutrals and comparing them to some of the shades in the Naked 1 palette.  So stay tuned!