AHH. The long awaited post is FINALLY here. I know I've put it off for WEEKS but, here it is finally!
This collection is a sequel to UD's Book of Shadows 1, which was a huge hit to consumers and became SUPER hard to find anywhere (believe me, I've tried!). This set comes with 16 shadows, including 8 exclusive shadows found
only in this collection. It also comes with 2 of their famous 24/7 glide on pencils and a mini, super cute bottle of their well-known primer potion. All yours for $48 dollars! I think that this is a decent price for 16 shadows since their eyeshadows are priced at $16 individually and this set has a large variety, plus the eyeliner & primer.
The top (white) portion of the box opens up to reveal a
mirror and a "lookbook", but I was a bit disappointed with the lookbook. It would've been a great idea if it was a bunch of looks that you could achieve with the book of shadows, but the looks used other UD products not just from the BOS (book of shadows).
I was a little disappointed with UD's packaging, it wasn't exactly the greatest. See that little purple pull tag at the bottom? You pull it and the "drawer" of eyeshadows pulls out. It was actually quite difficult pulling the drawer out the first time, I thought it would get easier after we got it out once, but I was wrong! Eventually that tab broke off, and I decided between returning it for a new one, or just super gluing it back together. I went with the latter choice, and now it's good as new! So if you plan on purchasing this, proceed with caution and be gentle!
Here are some closer up shots of the shadows:
and here are the swatches:
Perversion is a matte black, I'm glad that they've decided to add a matte color because in my opinion, UD is all about the shimmery/glitter colors. Plus, a matte black shadow is a must-have in every girl's makeup collection! It is also one of the exclusive shades.
Gunmetal is a metallic gray with glitter in it
Ecstasy (OOPS spelled it wrong) is one of gorgeous colors in the box. It is a pretty purple with a slight light pink undertone. One of my favorites for a purple smokey eye.
ac/dc is another one of those exclusive shades, and although the site describes it as a "deep eggplant shimmer" I'll have to disagree and say that its just a purple shimmer, definitely a deeper purple than ecstasy though.
The next row has more neutral shades, i find myself going to these colors for more of my everyday school looks.
nylon is a sparkly champagne color and one of the "special" shades included in this set. I'm a bit neutral on this color, it's not my fave, but I don't hate it.
sellout is a pinky champagne, and it reminds me of stila's Kitten. UD describes it as "Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, w/o glitter!" but sellout looks more pink to me and MCRA seems a little darker. This color is perfect for an all over eye color!
mushroom is a shimmery taupe color that I really like to pair with sellout & nylon. This is also one of the exclusive shades that come only in this set.
sphynx is one of my
favorite shades in this collection (i love pink!) I'm sad that it doesn't show up very well on my swatch though. It is a petal pink with glitter in it, a bit on the frosty side, and quite sheer. I usually use it as an all over color with something else, or when I really want it to show, I gotta pack it on and layerr it so it POPs. :) also an exclusive.
Moving on, the 3rd row is DEFINITELY an all neutral shade family.
half baked is a shimmery gold that makes an appearance in UDs 'Ammo' palette. I don't see myself reaching for this color much, maybe I'll have to come up with a look that utilizes this color.
twice baked is a dark corky brown with small gold glitter. I guess half baked and twice baked would go well together... time to try!
midnight cowboy rides again is i think is one of my least favorite shades in this collection because it is just
so darn glittery! it's a gold with gold,bronze & silver giltter. Dang, glitter overkill much? I guess it'll be handy though when I feel like being glammed up. I guess you cant really tell from the swatch (sorry guys!) the glitter doesn't show up very well without flash. but believe me, its glittery!
ydk (does that stand for 'you don't know?') is a shimmery bronzey brown. I can't say that I have a lot say on this color. Maybe thats why its YDK, cos i really dont know what to say. haha!
YAY finally colors that I actually want to talk about (sorry UD).
jinx is a B-E-A-utiful bright, shimmery mermaid blue. I wished this set gave me more colors that I could use to pair up with jinx. This color definitely deserves to be called
exclusive.
flipside... i dont really even know how to describe this color... its definitely frosty and goes on lighter than it looks in the pan. In the pan it looks tealy, greenish. But on my finger and in the swatch, it looks almost sky blue. Is this the flipsidee that they're talking about? Still pretty color though!
homegrown (LOL what is up with all these weed names UD?) is a shimmery leaf green, which i assume is what they're going for with this name. Also an exclusive shade.
misdemeanor is the last shade of the bunch, and SUPER interesting (and exclusive)... it has shimmer in it and in the pan it looks like a taupey gray. But UDs website describes it as a deep teal with shimmer. Teal isn't exactly what I would call it, but I guess its like a dark, near black navy with shimmer.
MOVING ON... (whew this is quite the post!) to the eyeliners!
I've heard a LOT about UD's 24/7 liners, and before I thought that maybe it was all hype, or over exaggerating, but OH MY GOD when I used them, I became a convert. This set comes with two colors, Zero (black) and Bourbon (dark brown). I was never a fan of pencil liners cos they hurt my eyelid when I use them but these applied SO SMOOTHLY, I was shocked! They were so creamy, but they stayed put!
I kept running my fingers over these heart-swatches that I did, and they did not budge or smear or smudge (smear + budge = smudge?). They're still on my hand now, and although they
are lighter, they are still there. I've read many reviews that these work on the waterline, but sadly they don't work for me, maybe mine are extra watery. When I'm removing my makeup at the end of the day, I still see remnants of it AT my waterline, not like a hot mess in my lower eye area, so I'll give UD props for contributing to the raccoon look.
LAST but not least is the famous UDPP (urban decay primer potion). They give you a baby bottle of it (so cute!). I've read/seen a lot of this and it's rival too faced shadow insurance, and I think that it works pretty well. My colors seem to show up more with the primer than without it. I can't say that NO creasing happens, but the creasing tends to happen at the end of the day when my lids get pretty oily. When I apply it to my lids, it feels kinda greasy and I don't like it, but luckily it goes away. It also dries "clear" which is both a good and a bad thing. I've been using MACs paint pots as bases for awhile now (yay bare study!) and I've grown fond of the light shimmer that it gives me. I suppose UDPP would be good for matte looks where I don't want to use Bare Study.
OVERVIEW:
Urban Decay's Book of Shadows Vol. 2 is BOUND to be a bestseller. I definitely think its a good bang for your buck (16 shadows, 2 eyeliners & 1 primer!). Urban decay's shadows are known for their pigmentation and smooth, creamy application. Although I felt like they should have added more extravagant colors (cos I feel like UD is known for that) and less neutral ones, I'm sure many neutral/UD fans would disagree with me. Ranging from neutral champagnes and browns to electric blues and purples, UD's Book of Shadows 2 is good as an introduction to the brand (to try out their products) and would be a great addition to any girl's makeup collection.
Grade: A
*EXHALE* wow. done with the post! Sorry if it was long, boring, or excessive. Feedback is VERY welcomed. I hope post was helpful, and if not, at least entertaining! More to come, hopefully!
xoxo,
T
