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| Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Review + 5 Looks |
Urban Decay has yet again collaborated with Disney in order to release another Alice In Wonderland fantasy themed eyeshadow palette. It is a sequel which comes six years after the release of the original Alice book of shadows and the imaginative Tim Burton film, Alice In Wonderland.
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No doubt, the Alice in Wonderland palette was an iconic product at the time of creation. It was however a palette with no original shades, just shadows which already existed and renamed to fit the Disney theme. Quite frankly, I have mixed feelings on the sequel palette, Alice Through The Looking Glass. I love everything about Urban Decay and part of me loves this palette because it's Disney, and ah, hello... it's make-up! Despite the palette making it into my July favourites, I have had more playtime with it and I am a little disheartened with the pay-off from some of the shades. I feel that Urban Decay didn't try as hard to create an excellent quality product as they usually do. Cora from Vintage Or Tacky plainly states that when companies do these collaborations which involve copyrighted and trademarked materials, a huge portion of the budget will go towards the merchandising and packaging, subsequently impacting upon product quality in a negative manner.
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I really had no intention in buying it as I wasn't that interested with the original but then my Gran gave me money for graduating from university and I went into town with the sole intention of buying a magnificent, expensive eyeshadow palette. And here we are! So even if I don't get much use out of it (because, let's be honest, I have several limited edition Urban Decay palettes just sitting prettily for display purposes), my beautiful Gran bought me it and I will always associate it with her.
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Firstly, the packaging is beautiful, albeit unnecessarily large. The outer packaging displays the eyeshadows in columns according to characters of the film where you can create inspired looks. They are Alice (Looking Glass, Reflection, Dormouse, Metamorphosis), Mad Hatter (Hatter, Gone Mad, Paradox, Cake), Mirana (Lily, Duchess, Kingdom, Chessboard), Iracebeth (Heads Will Roll, Bandersnatch, Salazen Grum, Royal Flush), and Time (Time, Dream On, Chronosphere, Mirror). Of course, you can mix and match the shades depending on the look you wish to create.
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The palette itself is a splendid kaleidoscopic display of colours, flowers and butterflies, designed in such a way that captures the atmosphere of the film. The added details of the Alice In Wonderland quotes and the hidden doors and drawers are a kitsch addition for avid make-up collectors, who, like myself, also love this particular Disney franchise. Flip open the lid and there is a gold framed mirror with the inscription, "We're all mad here." Just below the mirror are double doors with the quote, "I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy. My reality is just different from yours." When you open these doors, a blue butterfly springs up - a superfluous element that could have been executed better. The base of the palette contains a drawer which pulls out entirely, separating it from the remaining packaging - a quality that many reviewers have requested since many previous similarly designed limited edition palettes did not have this feature - and Urban Decay obliged. The drawer quotes, "I knew who I was when I got up this morning but I must have changed several times since then." Peculiar and aesthetically pleasing details like this make for an exceptional collector's item.
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The palette contains twenty new shades, but overall, the shadows are hit and miss. Out of the twenty I truly love twelve of them and this is for colour alone, not for pigmentation. Out of those twelve, two are poorly pigmented and one moved around so much it was creasing within five minutes despite being primed with a greasepaint (FYI, I prime my lids with either cream shadows or greasepaint and rarely experience such creasing as I did on this occasion). The palette also comes with a double-ended brush - one end for packing on colour and one for blending. The brush is a little splayed but a good addition to an expensive palette.
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Looking Glass - pale pink demi-matte. Good highlight shade.
Hatter - vibrant lime green with green micro-shimmer. Performs more as a matte when applied to the skin. Poor pigmentation. Difficult to blend.
Lily - shimmering pearl with pale pink duochrome. Great pigmentation. A favourite shade of mine, particularly for an inner corner highlight.
Heads Will Roll - tiffany blue with gold micro-shimmer. Good pigmentation. Pack the colour on and blend with the colour still on the brush to get it to work evenly.
Time - shimmering black-navy. Great pigmentation.
Reflection - matte pale peach. Good pigmentation. Great as a transition shade. One of my favourites.
Gone Mad - aubergine with red micro-shimmer. Performs more as a matte when applied to the skin. Poor pigmentation. Difficult to blend.
Duchess - shimmering pink-orange duochrome. Great pigmentation. Especially beautiful as a contrasting inner corner highlight when paired with the cooler shades. A favourite.
Bandersnatch - matte deep ocean blue. Good pigmentation. Difficult to blend.
Dream On - silver-lilac glitter. Poor pigmentation which is a shame as it is one of my favourite colours. The only way I got it to work was by applying a cream eyeshadow underneath Mirror and applying Dream On wet to get the duochrome and glitter to show up on the lids.
Dormouse - warm rusted mid-tone brown with gold micro-shimmer. Great pigmentation. Great to deepen the crease. Performs as a matte when applied to the skin. One of my favourites.
Kingdom - shimmering copper-bronze. Great pigmentation. One of my favourites.
Paradox - traffic cone orange with gold shimmer. Great pigmentation.
Salazen Grum - shimmering crimson. Creased after a few minutes of wear. One of my favourites despite the creasing.
Chronosphere - shimmering bronze. Great pigmentation. One of my favourites.
Metamorphosis - vibrant shimmering blue, a cross between blue ribbon and true periwinkle. Good pigmentation.
Cake - cool magenta pink with silver shimmer. Poor pigmentation. Difficult to blend out.
Chessboard - matte warm cinnamon brown. Great pigmentation. One of my favourites.
Royal Flush - shimmering pale ivory. Great pigmentation. Perfect highlight shade for inner corners and brows.
Mirror - shimmering taupe. Great pigmentation. One of my favourites.
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The Alice Through The Looking Glass palette retails for £43 on Urban Decay UK and $60 on Urban Decay US. The palette contains 0.8oz of product and when converted gives each shadow a little over 2g.
Despite some quality inconsistencies in the eyeshadows, I do adore this palette and I have it proudly displayed as it has sentimental value and that is something which cannot be reviewed! You should absolutely pick this up for the Disney theme if your are a make-up collector.
For make-up inspiration when using this palette, check out the video I created, 5 Looks, 1 Palette.
Look 1: Two Tone
Shades used: Reflection, Chessboard, Heads Will Roll, Metamorphosis, Paradox, Duchess.
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Rest of Eyes:
- Imagic 12 flash colour case - Turquoise, Coral
- Avon Arabian glow pencil - Intense Copper
- Make-Up Revolution awesome liquid metal eyeshadow - Magnificent Copper
- Jordana cat eye liquid eyeliner - Caribbean
- W7 absolute lashes mascara - Blackest Black
- Ebay false lashes
Skin:
- W7 HD foundation - Buff
- Seventeen phwoarr paint under eye concealer - Fair
- Lunatick Cosmetic Labs mystifying mattifying pressed powder
- Physician's Formula cashmere bronzer - Light
- MAC Cosmetics blusher - Next To Skin
- Too Faced love blush wardrobe - I Will Always Love You
- Sleek Make-Up midas touch highlighting palette - Tanzanite, Cubic Zirconia
Brows:
- Tanya Burr Cosmetics perfect brows palette - Hot Cocoa
Lips:
- MAC Cosmetics lip pencil - Spice
- Lime Crime velvetines - Cashmere, Buffy
- Tanya Burr Cosmetics lip gloss - Champagne Toast
Look 2: Colourful Darkness
Shades used: Hatter, Dormouse, Gone Mad, Cake, Lily, Looking Glass.
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Rest of Eyes:
- MAC Cosmetics greasestick - Slick Black
- Sugarpill addicted to pretty sweetheart eyeshadow palette - Dollipop, Tako
- P.S Beauty brightening white eyeliner pencil
- Avon supershock gel eyeliner pencil - Blackberry
- Lorac pro mascara - Black
- Ebay false lashes
Skin:
- P.S Beauty foundation sticks - Ivory, Porcelain
- Seventeen phwoarr paint under eye concealer - Fair
- Lunatick Cosmetic Labs mystifying mattifying pressed powder
- Lunatick Cosmetic Labs contour book - Medium Cool, Brown, Beige Pink, Pink
- Make-Up Revolution vivid baked highlighter - Pink Lights
- Sleek blusher - Antique
Brows:
- Freedom Make-Up brow pomade - Ash Brown
Lips:
- Barry M lip pencil - Mulberry
- Lime Crime velvetine - Fetish
- Make-Up Revolution salvation velvet lip lacquer - Black Heart
Look 3: Smokey Greys
Shades used: Chessboard, Mirror, Reflection, Dream On, Lily, Duchess, Royal Flush, Gone Mad.
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Rest of Eyes:
- Milani blusher - Tea Rose
- Maybelline 24 hour colour tattoo - Lavish Lavender
- W7 the fixer make-up setting spray (used with Dream On eyeshadow)
- Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on pencil - Rockstar
- Lorac pro mascara - Black
- Ebay false lashes
Skin:
- MAC Cosmetics face & body foundation - C1
- Seventeen phwoarr paint under eye concealer - Fair
- Lunatick Cosmetic Labs mystifying mattifying pressed powder
- MAC Cosmetics cream colour bases - Take Root, Shell
- MAC Cosmetics pressed pigment - Light Touch
- Milani blusher - Tea Rose
Brows:
- Make-Up Revolution arch & shape - Medium
Lips:
MAC Cosmetics lip pencil - Entertain Me
Lime Crime velvetines - Squash, Polly
Tanya Burr Cosmetics lip gloss - Smile, Dream, Sparkle
Look 4: Grunge Glam
Shades used: Salazen Grum, Dormouse, Paradox, Duchess, looking Glass, Royal Flush.
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Rest of Eyes:
- Imagic 12 flash neutral colour case - Rosewood
- Urban Decay 24/7 velvet glide-on pencil - Lush
- Sleek eau la la eyeliner pencil - Melba
- W7 absolute lashes mascara - Blackest Black
- Ebay false lashes
Skin:
- Face Atelier pro ultra foundation - Porcelain
- Seventeen phwoarr paint under eye concealer - Fair
- Lunatick Cosmetic Labs mystifying mattifying pressed powder
- Too Faced coca contour medium-deep palette - Medium Cocoa
- Maybelline master hi-light highlighting blush - Mauve
- MAC Cosmetics mineralize skinfinish - Perfect Topping
Brows:
- Illamasqua eyebrow gel - Stare
Lips:
- Barry M lip pencil - Mulberry
- Sleek lipstick - Liqueur
Look 5: Metallic Mixture
Shades used: Kingdom, Dormouse, Chessboard, Royal Flush.
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Rest of Eyes:
- Maybelline 24 hour colour tattoo - Bad To The Bronze
- Jordana cat eye liquid eyeliner - Future
- Barry M eyeliner kohl pencil - Bronze
- Sleek eau la la eyeliner pencil - White Noise
- W7 absolute lashes mascara - Blackest Black
Skin:
- L'Oreal Paris true match lumi cushion foundation - N2
- W7 make-up & glow bronzing base
- Sleek blush by 3 Californ.I.A - Newport Peach
- MAC Cosmetics cream colour base - Shell
Brows:
- W7 kabrow brow thickener - Meduim Brown (Hazel Blonde)
Lips:
- MAC Cosmetics lip pencil - Cherry
- MAC Cosmetics lipstick - Lady Danger
You can watch my 5 Looks, 1 palette here.
