Tuesday, 24 May 2016

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS EYESHADOW PALETTE

It would be an understatement to say that when I heard that Urban Decay were once again collaborating with Disney to release a limited edition collection, including a new eyeshadow palette and five lipsticks, I was excited. For years, I have been purchasing most of the eyeshadow palettes released by Urban Decay, but one of the palettes I really wanted to buy but never got was the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows palette that was released in 2010. So I knew that at the beginning of May, when the Alice Through the Looking Glass palette was released I was going to buy it straight away. This palette is inspired by the new Disney film of Alice Through the Looking Glass, which is being released on the 27th May.



Firstly, can we mention how beautiful this palette is; it seems that every time Urban Decay release a palette, especially when it is limited edition, they put so much detail into the design and theme of the palette. They have really managed to encapsulate the feel of Alice in Wonderland into this collection and it is such a statement piece that will definitely be going on my dressing table, as it is so beautiful to be kept in a drawer. This palette features a bright and colourful kaleidoscopic artwork which features flowers and butterflies, as well as including some of the most iconic quotes from the film. I love the fact that it looks a lot more modern than the previous Alice in Wonderland palette, and it just looks incredible on a dressing table. When you lift the lid and open up the doors inside, there is a 3D butterfly that springs up. There is a reasonably sized mirror as well; although I personally would have preferred for it to be slightly larger so it was more usable as there is a lot of wasted space around the mirror. To access the palette itself, you have to just pull open the palette's drawer to reveal the eyeshadows, which are arranged by character in columns. My only criticism is that the palette is quite larger and would not really be practical to take away on holiday with you, but for all the detail that has gone into and the fact you get 20 eyeshadows, you would expect it to be slightly larger. The palette, like most of the larger palettes, comes with a double-ended brush. I prefer to use my own brushes but I will probably use this brush every now and again, and it feels really soft and would be good for applying the shadows.




Urban Decay have created 20 all-new shades for this palette, all with Alice in Wonderland themed names; like 'looking glass,' 'heads will roll,' and 'chessboard.' I was fairly sceptical when I first saw the press photos, as I thought it would be too bright for me; whereas I am more into the neutral eyeshadow palettes instead. However, I went into Debenhams to actually look at the palette before i bought it, and I noticed that although there are quite a few bright shades, there are a lot of neutral shades and there are some beautiful shades to create a smokey eye for a night out. The only bright shades are the fuchsia pink, the bright blue and the two bright greens. Therefore, I decided to buy it because I thought I would be able to wear it for nights out by creating a smokey eye and that I would be able to create a daytime look by using the matte neutral eyeshadows, like 'Dormouse' and 'Chessboard.' I would say that this is a fairly versatile palette and you can create so many looks with this palette.


The selection of eyeshadows that have been created for this palette, are inspired by the five main characters from the film; Alice, Mad Hatter, Mirana (the white queen), Iracebeth (the red queen) and Time (a creature who is part human and part clock). The shadows are arranged by character, and each column has four eyeshadows. Therefore, you can match up the columns to create the same look of the characters or you can mix up the shades to create your own look. I just love the fact that this palette has some more softer shades inspired by Alice's look in the film and then there are the bold, bright shades like those seen on the Mad Hatter. There really is something for everyone in this palette. There is also a great variety of matte and shimmer eyeshadows, which I really like, as I prefer wearing matte shadows during the day and shimmer during the evening.


Urban Decay is best known for their eyeshadow palettes and even when I was not into makeup, I knew of the Naked palettes and always wanted them in my collection. I have never had a palette from them that has been below standard and the shadows are always highly pigmented and are so blendable. Each shadow has a velvet texture, is rich in colour, lasts a long time and blends so easily, which is what I love about Urban Decay eyeshadows. I am just in love with this palette and I like the fact that you can create a more subtle look, or you can make it more dramatic by building up the colour, because some eyeshadows are more pigmented than other. Therefore, before trying the palette out for the first time I would recommend swatching each shadow first just to see which ones are more pigmented than the others. 
    
There are five shadows in this palette that are my absolute favourites, and are the ones that I have been wearing the most over the last few weeks. These are:

LOOKING GLASS -
a beautiful pink shade, which has a slight shimmer in it, and is perfect for a daytime or night-time look.
DORMOUSE -
this is my absolute favourite shade in the palette, and is perfect for a daytime look as it is a gorgeous matte caramel shade.
SALAZEN GRUM -
this is simply stunning, and would be perfect for a night out, as it is a coppery red shade which just stands out so much when you wear it.
TIME -
a smokey dark grey-blue shade with a shimmer finish, and is extremely pigmented and would be perfect for a smokey eye.
CHRONOSPHERE -
a perfect chocolate/bronze shade for nights out.

In the limited edition collection, there are five lipsticks which correspond to each of the five main characters from the film; a nude shade (Alice), a purple shade (Mad Hatter), a blue shade (Time), a berry red shade (Mirana) and a red shade (Iracebeth). From the press photos and from other reviews of the products, they look stunning on, but I decided not to buy any of them. I made that decision because there are a couple of other lipsticks that I want to buy from Mac and YSL, and also I was not sure that the shades in this collection were really me, especially the nude, purple and blue lipstick. I felt like the only shades I would wear are Mirana and Iracebeth and I already own so many red lipsticks that I thought it would be pointless buying anymore. I have bought lipsticks from Urban Decay before, and will be buying more in the future as I do love the formulation and they look amazing on, but I just was not keen on the shades that they chose for this collection; although it fits the theme of Alice in Wonderland perfectly. I think if they had released a more rosy pink shade I would have definitely bought one. 

Overall, I am absolutely in love with this palette, and I think it is just beautiful. It is a must-have in every makeup collectors' collection as you can create such versatile looks with it; from brighter eyeshadow looks, smokey eyes or a neutral daytime look. I would say that if you are more into neutral eyeshadow palettes, then this is probably not the palette for you, as there are quite a few bright eyeshadows. However, there are quite a few neutral eyeshadows in the palette as well but it would be a very expensive palette to just use a few of the shades. Urban Decay have really outdone themselves with this palette as I think there are so many looks you can create with this palette, and will be perfect for any night out and you can also create a beautiful daytime look with some of the more neutral matte shades. I am so glad I got this palette as it is absolutely stunning and I have already used it quite a bit recently and only had it for a few weeks.

The palette is £43 and the lipsticks are £16 each. The collection is limited edition and can be bought from the Urban Decay Website here ...

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