Most of the time when people say that something is shifty…it’s not usually a good thing, but when you’re talking about the new Urban Decay Distortion Eyeshadow Palette ($49), being shifty is great.
Five “shifty” duo chrome shadows
New limited edition Distortion just landed at Urban Decay, and the kicker is that top row of pale pastel-looking eyeshadows — one, two, three, four, five.
They look pale pastel in the pans, but they’re actually duo chromes that change color in the light. They’re designed to be layered on top of the other 10 eyeshadows in the palette, the ones in the middle and bottom rows.
You can definitely also wear them on top of any other eyeshadows in your collection, too, because there’s no exclusive high-tech stuff happening here, LOL! (But wouldn’t it be kinda cool and sci-fi if there were, though?)
If you’re an artsy-fartsy type who likes to get all mad scientist on your eyeshadows, like, by whipping up your own color concoctions on a Tuesday morning just ’cause, this palette should be a lot of fun.
The REAL magic happens when you layer more than two
That’s when I think the fun really starts — when you layer two or more of the shifty shades on top of the other shadows. That’s when things get interesting!
Like Shifty, which is a duo chrome green, and Space, which is a duo chrome light blue. When you put those two on top of forest green Hotbox? Oh, my gosh. The ensuing greenish, teal-ish, deep ocean blue mermaid scale creation is breathtaking, and when you layer that same trio of eyeshadows on top of a dark matte eyeshadow like Blackout? Game freakin’ over! The black darkens and deepens everything, turning it into something a sad mermaid would wear after a bad breakup.
Shag, and Velvet. Blackout is the only re-promote; everything else is new!
Shimmer (LOTS of it)
Almost all of the shadows (except for matte black Blackout) shine to some degree, but there’s no glitter, though.
If you want EVEN MOAR BLING, which is totally understandable, you’ll need to pat a glitter on top of your lids, and for that I like the UD Moondusts, because they aren’t too messy.
It’s time to cleanup, cleanup!
Speaking of messy, the shadows in this palette need more cleaning up than the shadows in UD’s last few LE palettes (the Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette and the Gold Griot and Tenant Eyeshadow Palettes from Basquiat).
It caught me off guard, because there I was, thinking I was living in this brave new world where UD eyeshadows don’t have any fallout anymore, ever, so it was fortuitous that I had my favorite makeup wipes on standby to whisk away the stray bits and bobs that landed on my cheeks and underneath my eyes.
There wasn’t too much to clean, though. It was totally handle-able.
A good value for creative peeps
I think this is an excellent palette for uber-creative types and the girls and guys who strive to do the kind of looks that nobody else ever dreams of.
If you’re all about cooking up your own colors and creations, you should know that even with the minor fallout, you’re getting a really good deal here. You get 15 eyeshadows total for $49, which breaks down to $3.27 per 0.06-oz. pan.
To put that in perspective, EACH of Urban Decay’s eyeshadow singles, which are also a tad smaller than the pans in this palette, normally go for $19. Each!
Obviously, though, if you’re more straightforward about your eye makeup, and you’re like, OK, I like one shadow on my crease, one shadow on my lid, and that’s it, Distortion probably won’t be a good fit for you.
Distortion is out there now waiting for someone to love. It’s available at Ulta, Sephora and the UD website.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
