Review: Urban Decay Book of Shadows Eye Shadow Palette

As of late, the Urban Decay Book of Shadows eye shadow palette has gotten a lot of buzz from the media. I have seen lots of hyped reviews about the eye shadow palette over the internet and I've noticed one thing: the reviews are over-hyped because they want to make affiliate sales. Well, as an owner of the palette for over 5 months (thank you eBay!), I'm here to give you an honest review. I'll tell you the good, bad and the ugly, because I have absolutely nothing to gain from lying to you. Well, here goes, an honest review of the Urban Decay Book of Shadows eye shadow palette.

Packaging

The packaging certainly demands lots of attention. In my opinion, the packaging is excessively feminine. When you first flip open the eye shadow palette box, you are bombarded with vividly colored pop out butterflies and flowers and centered on the top flap, there's a mirror. The pop up flowers and butterflies startled me the first time I opened the box. The packaging is perfect for a nine year old girl, but it's not something that a grown woman would get too excited about. The eye shadows, makeup brushes and primer potion are concealed in a little drawer. It's difficult to pull out the drawer containing the goods because the pop up are so heavy, that they weigh down the top of the drawer. I got a little crafty and started to use my comb to pull out the drawer. It's not a major defect, but I could have done without the extra work.

Packaging Rating: 2 stars - I rate the packaging 2 stars because I would have traded the excessive packaging for ease of use. Since the palette is priced at $45, I should have received better quality.

Eye Shadows

The eye shadow palette contains 16 eye shadows, all of which are extremely shimmery. If you tend to wear understated matte eye shadows, this is not the eye shadow palette for you. The eye shadows are all highly pigmented and are comparable to the popular MAC eye shadows. Aside from the black eye shadow, the entire eye shadow palette has staying power. I constantly wear this palette when I'm going out for a night on the town or to a dinner and it lasts the entire night. Sometimes when I forget to take my makeup off before I go to bed, I woke up with my makeup looking exactly as it did before I went to bed (aside from the smeared mascara).

Eye Shadow Rating: 5 stars- I rate the eye shadows 5 stars because they are intensely pigmented and have staying power.

Accessories

The eyeshadow palette includes a travel sized bottle of Urban Decay Primer Potion and two premium eye shadow brushes. The Urban Decay Primer Potion retails for $13 and I couldn't find a retail price for the eye shadow brushes, they seem to be exclusive to the palette. The eye shadow brushes are of great quality and are very durable (I've washed mine in heavy duty cleansers). They are far better than the cheap-o sponge tip applicator brushes that are paired with drug store brand eye shadow palettes. Over all, the accessories are a great deal and if they didn't come paired with the palette, I would buy them myself.

Accessories Rating: 5 stars- I rate the accessories 5 stars because I couldn't have asked for much more.