Urban Decay Wired eyeshadow palette review

I am happy to say that I will be reviewing another Urban Decay eyeshadow palette. Today we are in for a bright number as we are looking at the Wired palette. This is the updated version, or supposedly so, for the by now discontinued Electric palette. The Electric is a palette I don’t own. The reason why is because it had three blues that looked identical and there was only one shade in the entire palette that intrigued me at the time (which was a teal called Fringe in case you’re wondering). This updated version has fewer blues and so I figured I could give it a go.

Review: Urban Decay Wired eyeshadow palette

As far as Urban Decay palettes go, the Wired palette is a bit cheaper than the Naked ones. This retails for €46 which is nearly €10 less than most Urban Decay palettes. You do only get 10 shades though so maybe that is why, but it made me think that maybe this palette may simply affordable because it was cheaper to make. Or because the Naked palettes are just hiked up too much in price. That could be the case as well. In any case, you get a smallish, 10 pan palette for in some stunningly bright shades.

What does this palette have to offer?

First up we need to establish that the Wired palette is a pressed pigment palette. Some of these shades are not allowed to be called eyeshadow as they contain pigments that are not considered eye safe in the US. Those shadows are split up in a separate part of the pan. The palette was compared by lots of people to the original Electric which I don’t own, and many people felt this was less good. I cannot attest to that as I don’t own the original but there were definitely a few shades in here that I felt were less good.

What is the color story like?

In total you get 10 shades that are so vibrant that my camera can’t pick it up. So these look very washed out. You will be able to see these shades better in the looks and swatches below. Out of these shades I was left a bit wanting by Fluorescent. That mint shade drew me in when I spotted the pictures of this online, but the shade was very chalky and difficult to build up. The shades that performed best were the shades in the ‘pigment side’ of the palette. Props to the bright blue called Chaos though: I own another rendition of this shade in one of my Vice palettes (which is OLD!!) but I swatched them side by side and this is definitely better than the one in the Vice palette.

What do these shades swatch like?

As you can see finger swatches also don’t look a-mah-zing with this palette. There are a lot of mattes and you know how I love my shimmers. So it is a bit of a shame to me that there are only two real shimmers. The white has shimmer too but that is barely noticeable in a swatch. Luckily, I was able to build up most of these to a nice intensity and I feel they blend well. But do I have better colorful palettes? Most certainly! If you are after these shades than I can recommend you trying the September Rose Slush palette, which is also more affordable than this.

3 Looks, 1 Palette

I always include as many looks as it takes me to use every single shade in a palette. So here we go! I did three looks in total and between these three I used all the shades in the palette. I did a more warm toned look, a purple blue look and a green look.

Look no. 1 was also the most successful of the three. The orange, pink and that stunning electric red called Slowburn all went on easily. These blended nicely and they are a great smattering of more neon tones that are quite unique to what’s already in my collection. However, those three shades were also in the original Electric palette, so if you still own that, this palette would not be worth getting just for those three shades.

This is another look that I like, but that I don’t think is very unique. Yes it is stunning, but I have other shades in my makeup collection that can help me create the exact say look in a far easier manner. I appreciate how Chaos has seen an improvement as that makes for a stunning crease shade.

For my third and final look I was most excited as I was looking forward to trying the matte mint called Fluorescent. Sadly, it’s the most lackluster shade in the palette. It is in the crease here. I like the other two greens, but that green shimmer I found a little disappointing too. Such a shame, because a mint like this, especially if it is border line neon, makes for a great shade in any palette in my book. However since this barely builds up and just fluffs into nothing, it is a bit of a downer.

My final thoughts

This eyeshadow palette has its moments for sure. However do I agree that the Urban Decay Wired palette could have been better? For sure. There are some stunning shades in here but for a palette this expensive you just expect more consistency. That’s what really makes me dislike this palette on some fronts. There are a few stunning bright shades that I think are very unique and those also perform the best. So this doesn’t mean I think this palette is a total dud, but it is definitely not one of my favorites.

Would I recommend the Urban Decay Wired palette?

Only if you are after these very particular shades would I say: go out and buy it. However, I already mentioned that I feel this isn’t that unique as a palette overall and I would never recommend buying a palette for just one or two shades. Get singles by Colourpop if you have to (they do some stunning brights!) but don’t buy this palette if all you want is that matte pink. I will keep it around for the three shades I like and because it is Urban Decay. I don’t think this is a musthave bright palette though and that is a shame, because that is what I wanted it to be.

What bright palettes have you tried?