First Look| Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette

Many will have polarizing opinions on the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette ($60), which was released in September and now available at Ulta and Sephora, as well as the Urban Decay website. 

For me, it's an absolute dream and beats the first and second palettes by a long shot because it has lots of wearable neutrals. True Urban Decay fans may be disappointed in the lack of wacky colors and crazy pigments. 

But I mean, look at Freeze and Dragon. I can't imagine using those shades for anything other than "a pop of color". This makes the Vice 3 infinitely more likeable to me: the fact that I can use every single shade except two. UD has organized the Vice 3 to have each column stand alone as a look, so even the beginners can create simple looks: browns, brights, jewel tones, warm burgundies, and taupes. 

There's an included dual ended brush with one side to blend and one side to pack color. It's actually a pretty decent brush but I don't like keeping it in the slot provided. You also get a cute little makeup bag (which I've used for my car registration and insurance papers.)

My favorites? Downfall, Brokedown, Lucky, Sonic, and Last Sin.

The casing itself is metallic, grabs fingerprints and dust like a dream, and is a tad slender than its predecessors with no clasp...only a magnetic trust system. I actually prefer it slender so that I can store it with ease.

Below are swatches with one pass and zero primer. 

Pros: 

• Pigmented. 
• Even the mattes and taupes are very true to color and show up well on me.
• I don't have to use a packing motion for maximum color payoff. It just happens.
• Blendable. 
• Only one or two of the taupe shades are on the drier side. Everything else is very buttery smooth. 
• Great value. 
• You're getting a deal of $3 per shadow. 
• Did I mention the cute makeup bag and dual ended brush?
• Wearable and versatile. 
• If you're the average woman who doesn't venture too far out of the neutrals box, you'll love this. 
• It's also a great holiday gift for anyone new to makeup; you're giving them a giant palette of options to play with.
• Uh, have you seen those burgundy and plums shades or should Vice 3 walk by again?

Cons:

• Glitter! Fall out! In pan dust! 
• No matter how gentle you are, you'll make a mess in the palette itself within seconds. 
• There's no color fall out on the lids, but be careful about the glitter when working on the lower lashline. 
• No true mattes. 
• There's maybe one shade where I can't see shimmer. However, the intensity of shimmer varies with each color and the left column shadows can be used to blend color into the crease. 
• The shimmer particles in these mattes are undetectable on the lids.
• Hideous packaging. 
• For some reason I keep thinking Miami Vice because of the cover...something to do with those flashy holographics and the bright yellow. 
• And a contestable point: too neutral. 
• Vice palettes are notoriously crazy and bright, but this one looks like a nunnery in comparison. If you have neutrals and don't want to collect more....why bother with this one?

Have you added this to your holiday wishlist cart? Already purchased? On the fence?

For me, this is a great "neutral but not boring" palette. The jewel tones are flattering to almost any skintone and there's more mattes and neutrals than ever before for blending work. I would recommend it for anyone who is patient enough to work through potential fallout problems. 

xo Be