The palette comes in a purple velvet display case. I'm really swayed by packaging so I thought this was a lovely touch. As you take the patterned lid off to reveal the shadows, you find that the other side is mirrored. This again, is different to previous palettes where the lid is not detachable. You'll also notice to the bottom right corner of the eyeshadow palette has a notch in it. This is because once you've finished with the eye shadows you can remove the try and use the box as a lovely little keep sake!
There's been a lot of people saying they miss having the primer and the pencil but I think this box really is lovely enough. Urban Decay really is famous for it's cutting edge colours and so I think it's appropriate to celebrate the history of it's eye popping shadows by focusing on the eye shadows alone.
Unlike previous palettes all the eye shadows are totally exclusive and will not be re-released.
Tainted, Junkshow, Omen, Evidence, Deep End
Deeper, M.I.A, Ace, Blackout, Half Truth
I've been a collector of the palettes since their box of shadows 2 and like to think I know a lot of the shades. This being said, I had my doubt about the palette, as I thought some of the colours were recycled from old palettes. I gathered my collection to compare as it seemed I was not the only person who noticed similarities.
This image shows AC/DC (From box of shadows 2), Half truth (From the 15th anniversary palette) and Rockstar (From box of shadows 3 NYC). My picture doesn't really do the shadows justice. AC/DC and Half truth look extremely similar here but they really aren't. AC/DC is a lot lighter than Half truth and has more violet tones. Rockstar is obviously totally different too!
This really made me laugh. I read somewhere that Gunmetal and Ace were exactly the same which could not be further from the truth! Ace is a lot more smoky and leans more to black.
I myself thought Ace was more similar to Barracuda (From the Black palette) but Ace has a different finish to it. Where as Barracuda has fine glitter, Ace has a shimmery finish.
Another possible similarity between the Black palette and the 15th anniversary palette. This came again from a blogger, who suggested that Sabbath and Evidence were identical - does this person even have the palette I wonder!?
I had also read that Flipside and Deep End were extremely similar. I disagreed at first and thought Deep End resembled Haight a lot more. As you can tell from the picture the shades are all different.
All this does seem a bit 'nit picky' I know. I just wanted to give an honest review and see if the rumors were justified. This review has certainly made me look at some beauty reviewers in a different light. Some of the claims were totally untrue. As a massive fan I didn't want to be bias so thought best to compare after all the talk of recycled shades.
Overall I love this palette. I'd recommend it to any Urban Decay fan or anyone who adores eye shadows. This is certainly a luxe buy. Although you are saving money because to buy 15 separate Urban Decay eyeshadows would be a lot more than 40! For anyone wanting to try Urban Decay out first I'd say try a smaller palette (They've recently bought out 3; Fun,feminine and Dangerous). That way you get to try the eyeshadow, primer and eyeliner!
One thing I must add; This is a one stock. Unlike the American's we don't get a second chance and once it's gone this bad boy is gone! Although if you have missed this little gem then feast your eyes upon the Urban Decay Box of shadows 4!
Love J.