Urban Decay Born to Run eyeshadow palette

Do I still need to explain why I am reviewing yet another Urban Decay eyeshadow palette? This time it may be a good idea. Because I wasn’t going to get this. I thought it looked too much like an updated Vice palette to me. That was until I went to the store and was able to swatch this. I thought the shadows felt different from most Urban Decay shadows and so I wanted to try it.

Urban Decay Born to Run eyeshadow palette

The palette is currently sold out in The Netherlands, but it retails for €51. As far as I know, this palette is not limited edition and will be added to Urban Decay’s regular line. That is why I wanted to write a blog post about it anyway, because you may want to put it on a Christmas wishlist or buy it as a gift to yourself.

The Packaging

This is another one of those releases where the packaging did not make me want to run to the store to go out and buy the palette. I don’t like the packaging. It feels sturdy enough and you get a nice, large mirror, but it is also rather heavy. I don’t like the pictures on the front. In fact, I feel it makes the palette seem a bit cheap.

The Palette

What swayed me in the end was the color scheme in the palette, combined with a stellar, smooth formula. The palette is a true mix of everything, meaning the looks you can create with this are endless. There are more warm tones than cool tones, but you can easily mix and match these. In total you get 7 matte shades, 3 satin finish shades and 11 shimmers. That makes this a 21 pan palette which is quite a bit. The pans aren’t super big though, so you don’t get a whole lot of product, but in terms of versatility this is a great palette.

You get a full row of neutrals, a full row of medium toned shades and a full row of darker shades. The layout of the palette makes this very easy to use. The left hand side of the palette is more warm toned with some oranges and berries. The right side of the palette with some greens, greys and a stunning teal. It was that right hand corner that truly swayed me when I first spotted this. I have nothing like that green/ grey shade in the far corner.

The Swatches

I know that nowadays some people question the merit of a finger swatch, but I think it is still a good indicator of what a shade can do. The only shade that felt a little dry and chalky was Hell Ride, which is the matte berry shade. Baja wasn’t great in the swatch, but I find that both can be build up and are still very blendable.

The shimmers are easily the standout shades in the palette. Blaze is especially fun as it has a duochrome finish. Wildheart goes on a bit sheer, but it looks suprisingly stunning on the lid. The best performers are easily the more standard everyday shades such as the bronzes and browns.

The Application

As per usual, I would like to show you how these shadows perform on the eyes. So I created 4 different eye looks using all the shades in the palette between those four eye looks. Let’s dig in.

Look 1
Crease | Baja & Still Shot
Lid | Weekender
Liner | Good as Gone
Lower lash line | Good as Gone & Baja
Inner corner | Stranded

Whenever I create looks with a palette for a review, I don’t only try to use all the shades in the palette to get a real feel for them, I also like seeing what the palette can do in terms of versatility. Can it create a great, everyday basic look? The Urban Decay Born to Run palette most certainly can. These mattes blend easily and I like the end result.

Look 2:
Crease | Hell Ride
Lid | Wildheart
Liner | Jet
Lower lash line | Guilt Trip
Inner corner | Blaze

Of course I had to work in an all berry look. As you can see this look gives a stunning effect. I love how bright these berries pull and they work together very well. With a bit of purple on the lower lash line, this eye look is still very wearable, yet doesn’t incorporate a single neutral brown.

Look 3:
Crease | Riff
Lid | Radio & Big Sky
Lower lash line | Wanderlust
Inner corner | Breakaway

My favorite look I created for this review has to be this one. I love how the blues and greens in the palette work together. They have a lot of shimmer to them which truly makes them pop on the lid. Especially big sky is a nice pop of brightness on the center of the lid. While these shades are all cool toned, Riff, which is a warm brown, still works well with these in the crease as well.

Look 4:
Crease | Smog
Outer V | Double Life
Lid | Ignite
Lower lash line | Drift
Inner corner | Blaze

More evidence of how warm and cool tones can work together nicely is by putting one tone on the lid and another on the lower lash line. I saved the boring bronzes and browns for last as they inspired me the least. These are the type of shades that everyone has in their collection a million times over, but they are really nice shades that work well and I am sure many people will love them.

The Conclusion

I think this is one of the most well-rounded eyeshadow palettes on the market today. So I get why Urban Decay would market the Born to Run eyeshadow palette as a travel palette. However, due to its size, I wouldn’t recommend this for travel. What I would recommend it for is for those people who are looking for a good all-rounder that can do it all and that has really nice quality to boot.

What do you think of Urban Decay’s Born to Run eyeshadow palette?