If you’ve been following me on Instagram you probably would’ve seen a photo of my recent haul from Sephora! 😉

I’m so excited to be sharing this with you guys today – swatches and initial thoughts on the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette! I’ve also done comparison swatches to similar shades that can be found in other Urban Decay palettes (e.g. Naked palettes, Vice 1 palette, etc.) so you’ll have an idea how the shades compare to other existing Urban Decay shades.

I gotta say, this is my favorite limited edition Urban Decay palette so far (the least being the Oz Glinda palette which I ultimately gave away) although the texture isn’t as excellent as the Naked palettes.

There’s a wide range of colors (including 20 brand new, never-before seen shades!), and the best thing is, this palette can be used on its own because it’s got plenty of matte neutrals that could be used as transition shades. With their other palettes, we’d usually have to use other eyeshadows to aid in transitioning the shades.

So, without further ado… here it is!

 

Packaging

First of all, I gotta say, the packaging is certainly the best one so far. It’s so space-efficient, being thinner than the other Vice palettes. I also love that it comes with a gorgeous zipper pouch.

 

It also comes with a dual-sided brush – one side with a flat (but fluffy) eyeshadow brush, and a blending brush on the other. They’re both very soft!

 

Shades

Here I’ve compared some of the shades of this palette to other shades in existing Urban Decay palettes that I own (unfortunately I don’t have the Vice 2).

Shade descriptions are based on the Urban Decay official website.

Truth

Shade Description: Pale pink-nude matte

Thoughts: Very pigmented but too powdery for my liking. When applied light-handedly it shouldn’t be a problem though. This will be perfect as a brow highlight shade or as an all-over lid base color.

Similar Shades: UD Naked 3 “Strange”, UD Vice 1 “Anonymous”, UD Smoked “Kinky”.

Undone

Shade Description: Pink-beige matte-satin.

Thoughts: At first I though it was a matte shade, but it did have tiny bits of shimmer in it although it’s not visible from afar. So this can still be used as a transition shade on the crease.

Similar Shades: UD Naked “Naked”, UD Vice 1 “Laced”, UD Smoked “Freestyle”.

Downfall

Shade Description: Warm, light-brown matte

Thoughts: One of the creamiest and plushest shades in the whole palette. So soft and finely milled, it’s one of the least powdery shades, which is perfect because it’ll make the perfect crease/transition shade.

Similar Shades: UD Naked “Buck” is a bit darker.

Dragon

Shade Description: Bright, metallic green shimmer

Thoughts: This is a very unique shade, never had a UD shade like this. It’s a very grass-like green with great color payoff at one swatch. It’s not 100% opaque though, so a few layers would be needed to achieve a completely opaque look. Not sure if this would show up well on the lids without primer or a base.

DTF

Shade Description: Matte taupe with subtle floating pearl.

Thoughts: This is a neutral-toned taupe, which makes it perfect for any skin tone. It was powdery but when packed on did have great color payoff.

Similar Shades: UD Naked 2 “Tease”.

Similar Shades: UD NYC “Mildew” is a satin moss green

Freeze

Shade Description: Metallic medium blue with multidimensional micro-glitter.

Thoughts: This was powdery and when picked up with a finger felt very stiff and not at all plush/creamy, but when blended out the color was gorgeous and had good pigmentation.

Similar Shades: UD Vice 1 “Unhinged” is brighter, UD NYC “Haight”.

Heroine

Shade Description: Deep navy blue with subtle floating tonal pearl.

Thoughts: I have no idea where the pearl-ness of this is, it looks completely matte to me. There are tiny specks of blue and silver glitter but it’s not at all visible at a distance, only up close. This was a bit difficult to work into the skin since it was very powdery. I don’t think it’d be a good idea to apply this after you’ve done your face makeup. Better apply this before all your base work because there will be fallouts.

Similar Shades: UD Smoked & 15th Anniversary Palette “Evidence” is a satin version of this shade.

Brokedown

Shade Description: Metallic golden brown shimmer with gold micro glitter.

Thoughts: It felt very dry and stiff on the pan, not at all buttery, and it was a bit powdery. The pigmentation is excellent though.

Similar Shades: UD Naked “Smog”, UD Naked 2 “Snakebite” is cooler toned.

Vanity

Shade Description: Multidimensional metallic plum/eggplant-purple with tiny glitters

Thoughts: A bit powdery, and the glitters are so tiny I don’t think they’d be too obvious from afar. Only visible under certain lighting and from up close.

Similar Shades: UD Smoked “Rockstar”, UD Vice 1 “Vice”.

Lucky

Shade Description: Metallic bronze.

Thoughts: Felt a bit stiff on the pan but once swatched, it’s one of the most pigmented with just one swipe. It was so buttery, plush and soft when swiped on to the skin with a finger. I love this formula. And the shade – it’s such a lovely warm, coppery bronze shade. Definitely more orange than Vice 1’s “Penny Lane”. Definitely one of my top favorites from this palette!

Similar Shades: UD Vice 1 “Penny Lane” is a bit more golden, UD Naked 2 “Chopper” is a bit pinker, UD Naked 3 “Trick” is redder.

Reign

Shade Description: Rich brown satin.

Thoughts: To be usable, all palettes should probably have this kind of shade. Hehe. This brown shade has a frosty, satin finish and would look great when paired with any of the shadows in this palette. It’s such a usable color and is great in color payoff, texture (one of the most buttery and plush ones), and blendability. It also isn’t as powdery as most of the other shades.

Similar Shades: UD Smoked “Barlust”.

Bobby Dazzle

Shade Description: Metallic white with pale gold micro-glitter.

Thoughts: Such an icy shade! It has a metallic sheen and the micro-glitters look lovely although it isn’t completely visible. The texture is very dry and powdery though, but the pigmentation was great.

Similar Shades: UD Naked “Virgin” is pinker and has a more frosty, satin finish.

Alien

Shade Description: Pink peach with golden shift

Thoughts: Pigmentation is nice although the shade is pretty light. Texture is thin and is a bit powdery. Better to be applied with fingers rather than a brush.

Similar Shades: UD Vice 1 “Freebird”

Alchemy

Shade Description: Deep fuschia satin.

Thoughts: Warm, berry pink shade with a slightly pearlescent finish. It’s very pigmented, although not at one swipe, but certainly easy and smooth to blend out and build up. This shade is very unique which makes this one of my favorite shades of the bunch, although the formula isn’t as buttery as I’d like it to be.

Similar Shades: UD NYC “Last Call”

Bondage

Shade Description: Deep, smoky burgundy shimmer.

Thoughts: This can look a bit brownish under certain lighting, but is actually a very dark purple, burgundy shade with a metallic finish. One of the shades with a better texture and pigmentation.

Similar Shades: UD Naked 3 “Blackheart” is darker.

Sonic

Shade Description: Metallic red copper.

Thoughts: This is my favorite shade out of the bunch! It’s a burned, medium-dark, orange/red with a frosty, metallic sheen – such a unique and beautiful shade! It is also one of the creamiest and smoothest in texture, just like the shade “Lucky”. Perfect pigmentation, perfect texture, perfect color.

Similar Shades: UD Electric “Slowburn” is matte and brighter.

Last Sin

Shade Description: Champagne shimmer with silver micro-glitter.

Thoughts: This shade would serve as a great inner corner highlighter. It’s very warm toned and when I picked up too much of this shade it was very powdery – pigments literally flew all over the place.

Similar Shades: UD Naked “Sin” is pinker, UD Naked 3 “Burnout” is a frostier and pinker, UD 15th Anniversary Palette “Flow” is a lighter champagne shade.

Angel

Shade Description: Light taupe with silver micro-glitter.

Thoughts: The glitters in this shade is much more visible than in other shades in the palette. It has such a beautiful metallic sheen although its texture isn’t the creamiest. But thankfully it was easy to blend and the color payoff is also good and buildable.

Similar Shades: UD Naked 2 “Pistol”, UD Smoked “Mushroom”, UD Vice 1 “Nevermind” is warmer.

Defy

Shade Description: Smoky taupe satin.

Thoughts: One of the most powdery matte/satin shades, and sadly one of the least pigmented ones. I had to layer it up to make it 100% opaque and blending it wasn’t easy at all, it was uneven and splotchy, since it was very powdery and the shade is pretty dark, so fallouts could be very damaging if you have your face makeup done already.

Similar Shades: UD Naked “Creep” is darker, UD Vice 1 “Desperation” is cooler toned and darker.

Revolver

Shade Description: Soft black satin with subtle floating iridescent pearl.

Thoughts: This shade seems a bit similar to “Heroine”, except this has less hues of blue and has a satin, pearlescent finish. It’s a charcoal gray with cool undertones and has a pretty good color payoff. Texture wasn’t that bad compared to the other powdery ones in this palette. It’s only a smidgen powdery and is easy to blend.

Similar Shades: UD 15 “Ace”, UD Smoked “Asphalt”

 

Overall

Rating: 4/5

Although this was just a review based on swatches, I can already tell that I love the palette in terms of its variety of shades and finishes, some of the shades being very unique and one of a kind, but I know I’m going to have a hard time with how powdery and flaky most of these shades are.

My favorite in terms of texture is definitely “Lucky” and “Sonic” because it feels just like Urban Decay’s highly coveted original formulas, like with the Naked palette where all of the shades are buttery, plush and smooth. Unfortunately, only a few shades had this butteriness.

My favorite shade is definitely “Alchemy” and “Sonic” because they’re certainly one of a kind. I would love to pair them with Dragon and some other neutral shades for Christmas!

So, obviously my favorite shade overall would have to be “Sonic”.  Shade – awesome. Texture – fantasically smooth, buttery and creamy. Payoff – 100% opaque at first swipe. Finish – a beautiful metallic sheen. What more can I ask for from an eyeshadow?

I just wish the other shades in this powder would have the well-roundedness that the shade “Sonic” has.

 

 

I’m due for c-section in 4 days! So I don’t think I’d have the time to intensely test this product out. Maybe in a few weeks’ time, but I hope you guys enjoyed my first impressions review on this.

Do let me know what you think of this palette and whether you’d be buying it or not!

AVAILABLE FROM: This is unfortunately a limited edition palette and is no longer available.