Urban Decay Vice 4 Eye Shadow Palette Review & Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder

Since featuring the Vice 3 palette by Urban Decay I've been enjoying all the gorgeous hues and creating a range of my own signature looks so when the sequel launched I just had to have it too. The electric, eye catching packaging coincides with the brand's iconic, edgy style and the pigments are simply stunning!

Although there are 20 highly addictive “never before seen shades” the vibe is quite similar to the previous palette with dazzling jewel tones and knock-your-pants-off shimmer! Some of the pigments even remind me of past faves, like the rich emerald green and soft mattes.

You may look at these shades and think WOW that’s a lot of glitz and you’d be right but there is also deep purple, gunmetal silver, shimmery black with gold flecks and a fabulous selection of unique, trendsetting hues that appear to be a combination of several shades rolled into one. The shimmer and undertone of each shadow creates gorgeous multi-dimensional layers that are anything but flat and boring! There are so many great shades in this palette it’s hard to decide which ones to use and the bold, vibrant hues really amp up your looks and inspire you to think outside of the box.

The variety of finishes also allows you to play around with texture so you can go from smokey to glam and mix and match to create interesting effects. I love the range of buttery smooth mattes, radiant shimmer and intense micro-glitter and the formula is designed for consistent application with little fall-out so you won’t have it plastered all over your face but you may experience a few stray sparkly flecks here and there.

Here are swatches of a few of my favorite shades!

The velvety suede-like smoothness is highly blendable and like most UD shadows the pigmentation is outstanding! The colors apply full coverage and vibrant with or without a base although the Urban Decay Primer Potion is a must for all of my creations.

If you are looking for the perfect surprise for the makeup junkies on your list this limited edition palette will definitely make you a gift giving hero! You can pick it up at Sephora for $70.00.

Since we are talking about shimmer let’s take a look at the new Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder for Face & Body.

With the strobbing craze taking the beauty world by storm glowing skin is definitely on trend...although you may not want to shine brighter than your Christmas lights.

This beautiful baked powder is embedded with soft bronze mico-shimmer and golden sparkle to give you that sexy luster and boost dull complexions. The smooth, lightweight texture and light reflecting glitter particles creates the perfect luminous finish on the cheekbones, nose collarbone and beyond so you look positively radiant! The powder comes with a brush and retails for $35.00.