Urban Decay Vice 4

Time for another ‘discontinued’ palette. I already wrote about the Vice 3 a few weeks ago and now it is time for its follow up. I say ‘discontinued’, because this palette is still available from the Dutch official Urban Decay website. So if you were desperate to get your hands on this, then you still can! 

Urban Decay Vice 4 eyeshadow palette

That’s right! This palette is still listed in their ‘Last Chance’ section and retails for €54. That will give you an Urban Decay palette that has easily one of the prettiest outer cases in the history of makeup. Inspired by an oilslick, each palette is designed to look unique. The webbed detail is intricate and it is a good reflection of the shades inside.

The Packaging

Apart from pretty, this palette is also practical. It is quite big, but it is much slimmer than the other Vice palettes as it doesn’t have any embossed letters across the front. There is a good sized mirror in the lid and as is custom with many Urban Decay palettes, this comes with a double ended brush. I personally never really use these brushes, but they are quite workable indeed. I keep a few handy in my travel stash and the little flat side is great for packing shadow onto the lid.

The Palette

There are a few similarities here between this one and the other Vice palettes. I feel you can tell, that by this time Urban Decay started getting less inspiration for these palettes. Still there are a few stunning shades in this palette. It is less cohesive than Vice 3 and thus need some more work to plan out looks. It also contains some of those chunky glittery shades that Urban Decay is notorious for doing. I personally don’t mind them. With Fix+ or a finger, they apply well enough.

As with Vice 3, you get a full column of matte neutrals on the left side of the palette. Sadly these are all quite warm toned and most of the colors in this palette are cool toned. There is Delete on the far bottom right corner to blend in that is more cool, but I do not feel the color scheme is entirely comprehensive. Standout shades in the palette? Grasshopper, Arctic, Flame and 1985.

The Swatches

I did these swachtes per column coming down. While stunning swatches, some of these shadows can be a tad difficult to work with. It was a challenge to come up with looks and with this, I tend to reach for the same few shades all the time as you can see in the looks below. The quality of the shadows is great, but as mentioned these may take some getting used to. This palette is fun if you like a challenge and do not care too much about putting matte neutrals in the crease.

The Application

Look 1
Lid | Arctic
Inner corner | Harlot
Crease | Delete
Liner | Low
Brow bone | Discreet

One of the reasons I still grab for this palette from time to time is Arctic. It is a shade that didn’t appeal to me straight away but one day threw it on and liked how it looked. It is a stunning muted turqoise and a very fun shade to wear in the spring/ summer time. Other than that, this look is quite simple. I don’t feel too many of the other shades go with this and I wanted to showcase a colorful look that is still very wearable.

Look 2
Lid | Flame
Crease | Bitter
Lower lash line | Crowbar
Inner corner | Framed

For the second look, I opted for a more warm toned look. That is still possible with this palette. I love Flame. It is a very unique shade. The palette also includes Fastball, which is very close to an Urban Decay cult classic: fireball. They make for some nice peachy golds/ oranges that are great for creating warm toned looks. Again something quite neutral as I feel not many of the other shades went with this.

Look 3
Lid | Grasshopper
Inner corner | Harlot
Lower lash line | Underhand & 1985
Crease | Delete

The final look is also the most fun one. I decided to challenge myself and stick mostly to color. I like the clash between the green and purple and this is a look I like doing quite a bit. So much so in fact that I did something similar with another Urban Decay LE palette, but this time I went for nothing but color.

The Conclusion

Urban Decay Vice 4 is a great eyeshadow palette if you like shimmery jewel tones. If that is not your cup of tea, this won’t be for you. This is definitely an easy to work with, comprehensible palette. Rather, it is a bit confusing at times and it takes some time to put looks together. However, the palette has some unique and interesting shades that I have nowhere else in my collection, which is why I keep it around, but it is not a must have.

Which of the Urban Decay Vice palettes is your favorite: 1, 2, 3 or 4?