Urban Decay Heavy Metals Palette
The palette: Urban Decay Heavy Metals.
Purchased with points at Ulta. I probably would not have paid cash money for this palette because it looked beautiful but also annoying. I am tired of depotting awkward palettes. For free, what the heck? Note that I'm probably judging a free palette less harshly than I'd just a palette I paid cash for.
I'm not going to post swatches. I think there are plenty of swatches already out there if you just want to see the shades outside the palette. I'm going to post some of the first looks I got from playing around. General thoughts on the palette will be at the end. We begin with a full work week of looks, dumb expressions and all. I'm not a model. I mean, obviously. Just playing around with makeup here.
Look 1: Transition/crease shades are Buon Fresco and Venetian Red from ABH Modern Renaissance. From Heavy Metals, I used Punk Rock all over the lids, Glamrock on the inner corners, and Afterparty on the lower lashline. I'm not satisfied with the inner corners. Glamrock turned out to be more intense than expected, and my eyeliner didn't want to go over it. I don't know if that's from trying to put eyeliner over a metallic shadow (it's difficult sometimes), or if I was just having a bad eyeliner day. Possibly both.
I do like the interesting purpley-pink Glamrock, and I love Afterparty. I predict that is the only shade from the neutrals side I'll hit pan on.
I started out my day with black lips (Ofra liquid lipstick in The Bronx) but it was making a mess, so I switched to Dose of Colors bullet lipstick in the shade Ditto. It's a nude, obviously.
Look 2: Some random transition shade from Naked Ultimate Basics. A blue from UD Spectrum in the "crease" and on the lower lashline (over UD pencil in...uh, some blue).
From Heavy Metals, I used Starfire all over the lids and also in the inner corners. Yes, I did Ravenclaw blue and (kind of) bronze. Yes. Yes, I did.
I did not do my usual winged liner with gel. I halfassed it with UD Zero pencil. I did not like how Starfire looked chunky in my inner corners. That happened in the previous look as well. I think I am done trying to use this palette in my inner corners.
Lips are Sugarpill Pumpkin Spice. I wasn't feeling this look at all and wasn't going to post it but I got two separate compliments on it so here you are. I think I want to love orange, but I don't actually. It's really not my best color.
Purchased with points at Ulta. I probably would not have paid cash money for this palette because it looked beautiful but also annoying. I am tired of depotting awkward palettes. For free, what the heck? Note that I'm probably judging a free palette less harshly than I'd just a palette I paid cash for.
I'm not going to post swatches. I think there are plenty of swatches already out there if you just want to see the shades outside the palette. I'm going to post some of the first looks I got from playing around. General thoughts on the palette will be at the end. We begin with a full work week of looks, dumb expressions and all. I'm not a model. I mean, obviously. Just playing around with makeup here.
Look 1: Transition/crease shades are Buon Fresco and Venetian Red from ABH Modern Renaissance. From Heavy Metals, I used Punk Rock all over the lids, Glamrock on the inner corners, and Afterparty on the lower lashline. I'm not satisfied with the inner corners. Glamrock turned out to be more intense than expected, and my eyeliner didn't want to go over it. I don't know if that's from trying to put eyeliner over a metallic shadow (it's difficult sometimes), or if I was just having a bad eyeliner day. Possibly both.
I do like the interesting purpley-pink Glamrock, and I love Afterparty. I predict that is the only shade from the neutrals side I'll hit pan on.
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| How to show makeup on hooded lids: Raise your brows and look perpetually surprised. |
I started out my day with black lips (Ofra liquid lipstick in The Bronx) but it was making a mess, so I switched to Dose of Colors bullet lipstick in the shade Ditto. It's a nude, obviously.
Look 2: Some random transition shade from Naked Ultimate Basics. A blue from UD Spectrum in the "crease" and on the lower lashline (over UD pencil in...uh, some blue).
From Heavy Metals, I used Starfire all over the lids and also in the inner corners. Yes, I did Ravenclaw blue and (kind of) bronze. Yes. Yes, I did.
I did not do my usual winged liner with gel. I halfassed it with UD Zero pencil. I did not like how Starfire looked chunky in my inner corners. That happened in the previous look as well. I think I am done trying to use this palette in my inner corners.
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Look 3: Again with Buon Fresco and Venetian Red in the "crease", along with some UD Blackout at the outer Vs. The shades used from Heavy Metals are Spandex and Metalhead. I wasn't satisfied with how this turned out but I'm throwing it in because WTF.
Lips are Ofra liquid lipstick in Napa Valley.
Lips are Ofra liquid lipstick in Napa Valley.
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| My handmade shawl is really the star of this show. Socially acceptable blanket-wearing FTW. Not sure why I look concerned. Don't over think it. |
I wasn't feeling this look, but also my eyes were really irritated. I used glitter primer for all these looks but on this day, it seemed like maybe I had some glitter fallout -- nothing I could see, but what's going on with my eyes? To be fair, it could be one of my numerous plant allergies and have nothing to do with makeup at all. Just noting it.
Look 4: This look uses mattes from Naked Heat, with Roadie from Heavy Metals on the lids. Using browns goes outside my comfort zone, but I actually really liked how it turned out.
I used Now's the Time highlighter from UD's Basquiat blush palette as my inner corner highlight, and it didn't go on chunky. Using face highlighter as your inner corner highlight makes it very easy to tie your whole look together. I used Now's the Time on the high points of my cheekbones as well. Lips are Kat Von D Studded Kiss in Piaf.
Look 4: This look uses mattes from Naked Heat, with Roadie from Heavy Metals on the lids. Using browns goes outside my comfort zone, but I actually really liked how it turned out.
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Look 5: I was obviously not going to get through a full week without using black. This look involves a base of Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Black Bean, with Ground from Heavy Metals over it on the lids. It's blended out with the gray from Naked Ultimate Basics, and Buon Fresco from ABH Modern Renaissance. I got some mascara on my hood. I guess I'll go on with my life though.
I used the silver highlighter from ABH Moonchild Glow Kit on the inner corners, and just a UD Zero pencil for liner. Lips are Moondancer from the ColourPop x My Little Pony collection.
My review after a week of using the palette:
I fully expected to hate the packaging but I don't hate it at all. I like it! It's pretty, and it's not irritating to work with. I don't have a problem holding it, and I am 4'11" with proportionately small hands. The coke mirror is even unexpectedly functional (I don't do coke though). I can't see jack shit without my glasses on, so I'm not placing my palette on a surface and working that way. Hell no. I've got it held practically in my actual eye. The flat mirror works! One thing that would have improved it would have been some type of indent or thumb hole or something in the back, just to improve grip. If you're the type of person who has good vision and likes to place your palette on a flat surface to use the mirror, you're going to want to pass on this.
You're going to get the best results using a glitter primer. I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion (ran out of Shadow Insurance halfway through) and Nyx Glitter Primer, layered. (I will not get longevity out of my makeup if I try to use the glitter primer alone.)
I struggled to make any of these shades work in my inner corners. They're too pigmented for the looks I was going for (this isn't really a complaint though), and also I'm not a young person with perfect baby skin. I have some little creasing going on in my inner corners, and these shadows bring it out. They sit in the creases and make my eyes look crumbly. ABH metallics don't do that to me, so it's worth a mention.
It's big and therefore not particularly travel-friendly. Does every palette need to be travel-friendly? How many palettes can you possibly pack? I have travel-friendly makeup and I don't actually travel that much so it's not a big issue. Storage is an actual issue for me, but this is not too large to fit in the drawers I keep my palettes in. It doesn't lay perfectly flat because of the crinkled metal, but my Vice palettes don't lay flat either and I still love them.
You will need some mattes to work with this palette, so it might not be the best for a beginner with no hoard. (I have a hoard. I'm set.) On the other hand, this and Naked Ultimate Basics would be a nice starter kit.
My review after a week of using the palette:
I fully expected to hate the packaging but I don't hate it at all. I like it! It's pretty, and it's not irritating to work with. I don't have a problem holding it, and I am 4'11" with proportionately small hands. The coke mirror is even unexpectedly functional (I don't do coke though). I can't see jack shit without my glasses on, so I'm not placing my palette on a surface and working that way. Hell no. I've got it held practically in my actual eye. The flat mirror works! One thing that would have improved it would have been some type of indent or thumb hole or something in the back, just to improve grip. If you're the type of person who has good vision and likes to place your palette on a flat surface to use the mirror, you're going to want to pass on this.
You're going to get the best results using a glitter primer. I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion (ran out of Shadow Insurance halfway through) and Nyx Glitter Primer, layered. (I will not get longevity out of my makeup if I try to use the glitter primer alone.)
I struggled to make any of these shades work in my inner corners. They're too pigmented for the looks I was going for (this isn't really a complaint though), and also I'm not a young person with perfect baby skin. I have some little creasing going on in my inner corners, and these shadows bring it out. They sit in the creases and make my eyes look crumbly. ABH metallics don't do that to me, so it's worth a mention.
It's big and therefore not particularly travel-friendly. Does every palette need to be travel-friendly? How many palettes can you possibly pack? I have travel-friendly makeup and I don't actually travel that much so it's not a big issue. Storage is an actual issue for me, but this is not too large to fit in the drawers I keep my palettes in. It doesn't lay perfectly flat because of the crinkled metal, but my Vice palettes don't lay flat either and I still love them.
You will need some mattes to work with this palette, so it might not be the best for a beginner with no hoard. (I have a hoard. I'm set.) On the other hand, this and Naked Ultimate Basics would be a nice starter kit.
Heavy
Metals ingredients (copied from urbandecay.com): Oryza Sativa Extract / Rice
Extract, Talc, Zinc Stearate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Calcium Aluminum
Borosilicate, Silica, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, Tin
Oxide, Alumina, Stearic Acid. [+/- (All Shades May Contain /Toutes les couleurs
peuvent contenir): Mica, CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide, CI 77491, CI 77499 / Iron
Oxides, CI 77000 / Aluminum Powder, CI 77400 / Bronze Powder, CI 77400 / Copper
Powder, CI 77510 / Ferric Ferrocyanide, CI 77288 / Chromium Oxide Greens, CI
42090 / Blue 1 Lake, CI 75470 / Carmine, CI 77163 / Bismuth Oxychloride
Contains Carmine.
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