Ok, so this might be my most photo-heavy post ever. But seriously, it’s worth it! When I got my hands on Urban Decay’s brand new Vice 4 Palette, I was more than a little excited! It’s my first from the brand, and after hearing how in love everyone was with the Vice 4, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!
Before you even get to the shadows inside (and they’re really, really great) the packaging of the Vice 4 palette is something special. The compact itself comes tucked inside a neoprene sleeve. It’s beg enough to fit my iPad mini, and it’s decorated with a smashed glass pattern. It’s stunning, and I love keeping my Vice 4 in it. It means that if I’m travelling, or storing the palette I don’t need to worry about it breaking. The colours of both the packaging and the shadows inside are based on the idea of an oil-slick, so it’s a lot of beautiful deep jewel tones and reflective textures. In a word, it’s stunning!
For a neutral-lover like me, cracking into the palette was a tad intimidating. Rather than my beloved taupes and greys, there are some seriously punchy colours (think bold magenta, bottle green and deep blues), but it was just too pretty not to fall in love with! And I’m seriously glad I did! The eyeshadows are really something special!
The palette is roughly divided into textures – the first row from the left contains four of the palette’s most neutral tones, three of which are matte. From the top, Bones is a cool toned taupe which has a buttery texture and pearl finish. It’s a beautiful highlighter, and it’s one of my most reached-for shades. Below it is Framed, a ‘light neutral’ matte satin which has warm, almost peachy undertones. It’s a great choice as a base shade, or if you just want to give your eyes a little warmth and definition. Below that is Discreet, a matte shadow that’s a ‘dusty mauve matte.’ I love gentle mauve shades, so this is a very loved shade! The formula os the colour is wonderful, and the colour payoff means you don’t need a tonne of product to see the colour! At the bottom of the row is Bitter, a matter reddish-brown shadow which feels perfect for autumn!
Second row in starts with Grip – a beautifully subtle grey shadow which glitters in the light with a silver sparkle. Underneath is Fast-Ball a warm, metallic pink shadow with a slightly peachy undertone. The colour payoff for this shade is incredible, and I love the subtle gold micro shimmer in the shade. Underneath is Grasshopper, one of the palette’s stand out shades! I’ve never tried anything like this shadow, but it really is incredible! A metallic emerald with green micro-glitter, this really dials-up my regular smoky eye look, and the payoff is pretty much perfect! Last up in this row is Flame which is a super warm coral-orange shadow which is shot through with gold glitter. Since it is one of the glittery-est colour, the shadow’s texture is a touch grittier than the others, but it really isn’t too big of a deal!
The middle row probably contains the most sultry shadows. The top shadow is Deadbeat – a “black satin with iridescent micro-glitter’ which is just the most perfect shadow for using as a liner. I love the little sprinkle of glitter in the formula which lends a little magic to eyes! 1985 is next, and it’s a metallic fuchsia with fuchsia micro-glitter, which is semi-sheer to apply. The texture of the shadow is beautiful, and the colour is stunning! On the lid, it’s not too shimmery, but the colour payoff is great! Underneath is C-Note which is a smoky take on green shadow. On the eye, there is a subtle gleam thanks to the glitter in the formula, and I’m in love with the buttery texture. The bottom of this row is Low, which might be my favourite shade from the entire palette! It’s a brown matte with iridescent micro-glitter, and it’s absolutely gorgeous! The soft, blend able texture means that I can use it both as a shadow and a liner, the glitter is just enough to glimmer, and it’s really stunning. Just be warned – when I opened the palette, this shadow tumbled out, so I did need to find a tube of superglue to fix it back in place.
The second from last row starts off with Beatdown which is a really stunning deep metallic violet with blue micro-glitter. I love this, again, as a means of amping up a regular smoky eye look, and the texture is beautifully blend-able. Underhand is a burgundy-brown satin which a one of those great work-horse shades that can be used for both natural and more dramatic looks. Second from last is Arctic, again, it’s one of the stand out colours from the palette. Urban Decay describe it as a bright teal with tonal sparkle, and I can’t wait to figure out a way to wear it! The bottom shade is Crowbar which looks super gold in the photos. In real life, it looks khaki, although it’s described as black with golden metallic pearl and micro-glitter. I’m in love with this colour!
The last row of shadows is really beautiful. It starts off with Pandemonium on the top. It’s a metallic plum with iridescent micro-glitter, and I do love blackened shadows. On the eye it’s a super flattering liner shade, and the payoff is excellent. Underneath is Harlot, which is described as a metallic lavender. I was surprised at how pigmented the shade is, and it has quite a noticeable shimmer, so it looks really beautiful on the inner corner of the eyes. Underneath is Robbery, a deep metallic brown-gunmetal, which looks like the perfect cool toned taupe on the eye. This is a colour I would wear on an almost daily basis. Lastly is Delete, a deep chestnut brown matte-satin, which I tend to use for adding subtle definition. Unsurprisingly the texture is flawless.
In addition to the 20 shadows, Urban Decay have tucked in a double ended brush. I love that one end it perfect for smudging shadows, whilst the other is a great blender.
As you can probably tell, this is one incredible palette! Have you tried Vice 4?
Urban Decay’s Vice 4 palette is priced at £43.00 and is available here (UK) and here (US)
