A Year in Palettes (Part 1)

So last year was pretty interesting in terms of my purchasing habits. I still purchased the palettes and make up that I really liked, but this time with a key difference - I didn't use them, only swatched or applied in-store (or used on clients). Crazy I know. But before you start giving me the side eye, I was inspired by r/PanPorn to use up more of my current collection before moving onto the next big thing, reducing my wastage. I also believe that the build up of these palettes made me choose more carefully when I came to parting with me money.

Okay so maybe it didn't, but I'm pretty sure there'd be a lot more palettes here if it wasn't for the mounting guilt. It has kind of curbed my FOMO when it comes to eyeshadows and I think I'm finally on board with the majority of the community when it comes to a new launch. I think to make me buy in 2019 it's got to be something pretty special and unique and nothing like I already have.

I've tried to do this as close to the launch dates as possible, however it might not be as exact as I had hoped, some of these were purchased for me as gifts as well. However this is my weird therapy session, so let's all look at what I have stashed away and how I feel about it now.

So way back in Jan/Feb time Urban Decay did their first influencer collaboration with the lovely youtube star Kristen Leanne who I have been a fan of since she appeared in the nip on the cover of Bizarre magazine in June 2011.

The collection for me was an excellent way to start the year with a combination of soft floral inspired mattes, absolutely in your face brights with mind blowing pigment and a gorgeous highlighter. I even treated myself to the lipstick in Bun Bun because who doesn't love a good nude shade? The big winner for me in this purchase had to be  'Leo+Brixton' shifter shades that I plan to rag, and a surpirse shade love which is 'TRM', hands down ones of the best blue shadows I have ever used.

Funnily enough some of the collection is still available due to the dying trend of make up FOMO that I'd previously mentioned, the Daydream Palette and Beauty Beam Palette are both still available on the UK site

The Total Cost: £91.50

How Do I Feel Now?

I still personally love this collection, it has a little bit of everything I could possibly need to create something a little more funky or chilled out when I'm in a rush. The brushes provided within the palettes created a new standard for brushes in palettes which Urban Decay have always been the best at. I'm going to get a lot of use out of those Daydream mattes, using them to soften up my Venus XL palette.

The collection was heavily discounted several times last year and I do regret purchasing straight away, however the Kaleidescope was in short supply and proved to be the most popular item from the collection followed by the Bun Bun lipstick. I genuinely believe this collection was fantastic in it's old school UD design and overall formula and performance.

Next we have the Distortion Palette, following the trend that was shifter shades. The entire top row is very similar to the Kat Von D Alchemist palette which was so incredibly popular they decided to make it permanent (a smart choice).

The top row definitely sold this palette to me and I think I used bleach so often as an inner corner highlight my clients were being driven mad by the fact they couldn't get it separately. However one major issue found with that shade was that it was incredibly soft and was easily damaged in transit. The other shades on that row did not perform as well as the bleach shade, they were a lot more solid and required foiling to get anywhere near the wow power of Bleach.

'First Offense' and 'Hot Box' are still my favourites from this palette in terms of the more classic eyeshadow shades. The others do just look a lot more lacklustre in comparison, this palette really does need another palette to help it create a full look which is fine if you're an addict like myself but not exactly cost effective for those on a budget.

Total Cost: £39.50

How Do I Feel Now?

The shades I love in this palette I would lay down my life for, which in reality is three or four colours, so ultimately this palette is a little bit of a waste in terms of colours that don't really butter my croissant. The matte black was not needed, especially after the kaleidoscope palette killed it with their shade '13', the darkest black ever known that they need to release as a single. The shade 'Shag' is just not the same as the classic and 'Velvet' is just very meh. If they did this palette again they would be better splitting into 5 sets of three shades.

I do like how the lines in between the shades do encourage you to switch up what shades to use, however I think I'll probably pan the top row along with 'First Offense' and 'Hot Box' before calling it a day. If this palette tickles your pickle you can still purchase it from the Urban Decay website.

This palette was purchased for me as a birthday gift from my lovely friend and work colleague. This one did make me feel giddy to open from my freaky time capsule, and the shades really do excite me. If you've been here before then you know that a few years ago I was swindled on eBay when purchasing the matte counterpart of this palette, it's all detailed in my top posts and to be honest where the majority of my traffic comes from. In the end I got the real deal from Sephora, but I do feel like I wish I'd used the matte version more, however I feel like this palette will reinvigorate me to finish up the original.

The textures are quite varied in this palette, I was expecting a full array of glitter however there are a lot of pearl and satin shades overall making this more of a handy go-to palette than I would have originally thought. It contains three glimmer shades with a similar formula as the Saint and Sinner palette that was released Holiday 2017.

Total Cost: My Love (Gift)

How Do I feel Now

Despite my usual aversion to nude palettes I feel pretty excited about this one, as someone who no longer owns their original naked palettes (they've gone to pan heaven) it's nice to have a selection of shades they take from the original 3 best sellers. I don't know how this palette did overall, as it is now on sale on the Debenhams website currently with 33% off. I highly recommend this palette if you haven't already got the Urban Decay Naked range, this one does offer a little bit more pigmentation and glamour than the Naked babies, however once again it does need some mattes to supplement it. It really was not the year for mattes in 2018.

Next we have the Troublemaker Palette, a palette created to help push the new mascara from Urban Decay which I rate as 'pretty okay'. The mini mascara included was a nice bonus to have with the palette as it's always handy to have miniatures in your hand bag or to gift to a friend who wants to try a product, however I'm just not about that waterproof mascara life. I suffer with pissy eyes at the best of times, I'm not adding to the watery burn.

This palette is not one that filled me with much joy to dig out, and it's more likely because I spent a good portion of 2018 applying it to the majority of my makeovers. So in a way this is a very useful palette to have to hand, 'Relish' is a fantastic deep matte red and I do have some rather sultry smoky plans for 'Afterhours' that none of my prom appointments really went for.

The quality of the eyeshadow in this palette is fabulous, I cannot stress that enough. I think what drew me into this purchase was how similar it was to the Pulp Fiction palette which I most definitely feel was the one that got away. I still have the tester saved at work to remind me of my failure.

Total Cost: £30

How Do I Feel Now?

I can't lie when I say that I feel bored of this palette now, and it is pretty much because I used it on clients so much last year. It's a great palette to have in your collection, even a good one to start playing with colour but I don't think I'll be leaping to reach for it too soon. It's still available on the Urban Decay website for those who do like the look of this one, but as for me; sadly, I'm over it.

This was a random purchase and technically another gift. It was an exchange for a different palette that I already owned and fortunately the receipt was kept. My wonderful friend who worked for the KVD events team at the time treated me to a makeover session with this palette seeing as I was struggling to make my mind up.

Looking at all the other shades I have purchased this is probably the most unique palette, boasting more cool toned shades as well as a lime green to die for. The trend throughout the year had pretty much had a huge focus on pinks, red and oranges so this was something a little more eye catching in that sense. The whole palette was inspired by the Drag Queen Divine and one of her most iconic looks, and while I don't see myself doing anything as extreme as Divine's look, it is a cheeky little piece to own with wonderful details to the shade names and mirror decal.

Total Cost: More Love (Gift)

How Do I Feel Now?

I won't lie when I say this palette is going to challenge me greatly, however I do feel it is actually a good thing when everyone and their dog is wearing warm shades. I will be looking at Louise's Instagram (my lovely friend who applied the palette to my chops) in order to get the inspiration I need for more out there looks when it comes to these shades, she can make any shade look chic so I recommend giving her a follow.

So this last year marked the 10 year anniversary for Kat Von D Beauty, and to say that I had been waiting on that gorgeous train case like a man wandering the desert for water doesn't come close. I managed to get my hands on the train case after waking up several times in the night to refresh the Debenhams page, and if memory serves me correctly it actually launched later than the rest of the collection. Fortunately there was an offer on meaning I saved 10% on my purchase but for the sake of this post I'll keep everything at full price.

The palette itself has a nice range of colours, rather than a plethora of red and oranges, the greens and blues are actually pretty cute. It works really nicely in quads which I think adds to the appeal. It didn't blow me away when I reopened the palette and I can't quite figure out why; it's nicely organised and there's a good flow in the colour story (something that has been complained about before), it works as a solo palette with mattes and shimmers and there's a good range of colours. They probably could have done with being a little bit brighter? The teal shade is very tempting so I can easily imagine that one being used first.

A wonderful fact about the palette is that each shade is named after one of Kat's muses, which I think is a lovely thing to do.

The highlighter in 'Gold Skool' had to be mentioned despite not being a palette as it literally the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. My friend Louise has worn it several times and I always ask her what she's wearing, low and behold it is this bad boy which I cannot wait to smear on my cheeks.

Total Cost: £167 (inc. train case)

How Do I Feel Now?

While I'm feeling a little indifferent to the palette I doubt it will take much for me to change my mind as all of the shades are very wearable for my needs, and I can easily see myself using every shade so it definitely won't go to waste. However I think I will be wary about purchases like this in future as there was most certainly a pressure to get more than just one item from the collection, and that FOMO demon was chewing my brain. I thought at the time that I would regret buying the highlighter but I'm actually so thrilled that I did, I'm hoping it comes out as a permanent shade but as things currently are it's still on the Debenhams website.

The train case is one of those big purchases that will either haunt you or you'll never know how you coped without it. I use mine as a display piece as well as my time capsule, keeping my everyday bits in the drawers on the top and the palette tomb below (which now needs a new use). I doubt I would ever use it for a job as it does weight a tonne on it's own, but never say never! Overall for how limited a piece it is I'm actually very proud to own it, and it goes with the decor of my room perfectly.

Part 2 of this post is coming soon!