The Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette | Color Blocked Rainbow Eyes

I’m staring out a window right now, a.k.a. writing, and it’s really dark outside! It’s the late afternoon, it’s cloudy, and it looks like it’s gonna rain. I don’t see any rainbows…yet.

I’m thinking that when I go out to go run some errands, I should probably wear layers, because when you live in California, that’s what you do. You wear layers. You kind of expect it. But with some things, like Urban Decay eyeshadows, I don’t expect to have to wear layers. Their shadows are usually super pigmented. Yeah, there’s a lot of fallout, too, and I expect that. But I also expect potent pigments and a formula that’s easy to blend.

That’s why I like them, and that’s also why I didn’t expect to have to do a lot of layering with the new $55 Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette.

Alas, that was not the case.

I ended up doing lots of layers with this color blocked rainbow eye look — many more than I expected to. Sometimes it took me four or five layers to get really punchy color. With the bright orange spotlight on that one lid, I even ended up having to wet my brush to intensify it.

I got the idea for this look from the bejeweled, sparkly UD logo on the front of the palette, with the colors moving into each other like a gradient. I thought, “Oh, that’s some neat color blocking. Why don’t I try that on my eyes?”

Plus, it’s a rainbow eyeshadow palette. I mean, come on. My first inclination was to use a shimmery olive and put some browns in the crease, but that would have been a missed opportunity, right? I had to taste the rainbow.

Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette
$55, limited edition and available now
21 shades (18 new shades, three exclusives from past palettes)
Includes a dual-ended eyeshadow brush
It’s a followup to 2015’s Urban Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette.

“We organized the shadows by color family, creating a rainbow of ombré trios: pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples, and even a wildcard row that goes from white to black. The end result? A palette that not only looks stunning, but also delivers tons of options. Create dimensional ombré looks by working within the color-coordinated trios or experiment with multiple shade groups at once. With 18 NEW shades, three exclusives from past palettes, and a wide range of finishes, you’ll never run out of options.”

— urbandecay.com

Shades:

Alchemy (deep fuchsia satin)
Gossip (bright metallic pink w/subtle floating pearl)
Paranoia (soft metallic blue-pink)
Warning (deep metallic copper)
Seize (bright metallic coral w/subtle floating pearl)
Jones (metallic orange w/subtle floating pearl)
Midnight Blaze (black matte w/yellow-gold pearl)
Calavera (bright yellow matte w/subtle floating pearl)
Goldmine (metallic yellow-gold)
Hundred (deep metallic forest green)
Hatter (vibrant green w/tonal micro-sparkle)
Mean (bright metallic lime green)
Minx (deep navy matte w/floating tonal pearl)
Blindsided (bright teal blue matte w/floating pearl)
Metamorphosis (vibrant periwinkle blue w/micro-sparkle)
Delirious (deep plum matte w/subtle floating pearl)
Sketch (metallic medium purple)
Faded (lavender w/gold shimmer)
Platonic (black matte w/iridescent glitter)
Iced (oyster silver w/shimmer)
Bump (white matte)

Fill Weight: 21 x 1.2 g POIDS NET/NET WT. 21 x 0.04 oz

You may notice that the purple family is severely underrepresented in this look. I wanted to there to be more purple with the blue eyeshadows, but I had a hard time with the purples in this palette.

Urban Decay is known for their purples, but I feel like these are skippier and patchier than usual. I ended up having to remove my makeup and restart that blue eye a couple of times. Ultimately, I ended up just sticking purple in the outer corner.

One of the colors I do like in this palette is the bright orange color called Seize.

No, not Lil’ Cease from Junior M.A.F.I.A.. 🙂 But Seize. It’s a bright orange with some shimmer in it. I thought, “Hey, this’ll be fun as a spotlight.”

I was going to only use it as a spotlight shade in the center of the lid, but then I also put it into my crease. I think it’s a really lovely transition shade. Next time I feel colorful, I’m going to use it instead of my usual browns.

Rainbows

Where are they? Here in Novato, which is about 30 miles north of San Francisco, there are usually lots of rainbows. I’ve lived in different parts of the Bay Area but never somewhere with quite as many rainbows. I can usually look off my deck on a rainy day and catch a rainbow. Sometimes even a double rainbow.

Not lately, though… It’s weird.

Are there rainbows where you live? I hope there are because rainbows are awesome.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen