Urban Decay Vice 2: Swatches & First Impressions

On Monday I finally got my hands on the beautiful Vice 2 palette from Urban Decay. I stupidly did not order the first Vice palette when it came out last year, so I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice!

It's no secret that I have issues with Sephora, so I unsurprisingly did not order this from their website. The Urban Decay site was having their annual friends & family sale, and although they don't ship to Canada, my friend Emily had it shipped to a relative of hers in Florida who then brought it back for me. Throughout this entire process, I saved $25 on this palette. Instead of paying around $78 Canadian, it cost me $53. I just can't get over how much we're ripped off here in Canada! Sephora hikes up their prices so much, it drives me nuts. Even though it's sometimes unavoidable, I try my best not to give Sephora my business.

Now that I've ranted, let's get on to the palette itself. The packaging is absolutely stunning. I really love the design on the front of the palette, and while I'm usually not crazy about bedazzled makeup products, I think it works nicely here. On the inside, there is a huge mirror on top which is very practical, and on the bottom you have your shadows.

For some reason X-Rated got really washed out in this photograph - it's actually a matte baby pink (see swatch below)

I think this is a really awesome array of shades. I love the mix of colorful and neutral shadows - it makes this a very versatile palette. The only thing I wish is that there were more matte colors, like that  super electric blue from the first Vice palette. The only matte color we get in Vice 2 is "X-Rated", a slightly underwhelming matte baby pink.

Early standouts for me are Shellshock, Damaged, Voodoo, Betrayal, Ambush and Rewind, my favorite definitely being Damaged. Urban Decay makes a killer emerald green. Betrayal is this amazing blue-purple duochrome, reminiscent of Mac's Stars 'N' Rockets, only more pigmented and smoother.

Some disappointments are Madness, Strike, Stash and Habit - all have very minimal pigmentation. Strike is like the sad version of Half Baked, while Habit is so chalky it barely shows up on the skin. Another slightly annoying thing about this palette is that there are three versions of a black-based shadow with blue glitter/shimmer (Lovesick, Prank and Poison). I'm not sure this was entirely necessary.

Overall I think this palette will be great for occasions. I foresee navy smokey eyes, green and purple accents, rose gold lids... There possibilites are endless!

What do you think about Vice 2? Liking the look so far?

PS. Abundance of Erica now offers advertising! For more info click HERE :)