Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV

Swatches:

Blue Bus, Gunmetal, Cobra, Baked (No Primer)

Bender, Gravity, Lost, Hijack (No Primer)

Midnight Cowgirl, Sin, Midnight Rodeo, Crystal (No Primer)

Bust, Missionary, Skimp, Zephyr (No Primer)

24/7 Waterproof Eyeliner

I bought this from BuyaPowa on Sunday, for the amazing price of £27.50, which is £18.50 off RRP! Such a bargain! I know recently, that loads of people have had doubts about BuyaPowa, due to the whole 'fake' MAC items they've been selling, and I would be a liar if I hadn't been a bit weary of it because of this. But I bought my Naked 2 palette from them, and that's authentic and great, I use it all the time with no problems, so I thought I would be alright with this, and I was right. 

I have two other Urban Decay Book of Shadows, and to be perfectly honest, I rarely get round to using them. But if I'm to have plenty of eyeshadow choice, it has to be Urban Decay hands down. This is the fourth Book of Shadows, and the most recent. Saying that, this has been out for quite some time, and is known for being quite gimmicky. When I say gimmicky, I mean all the little add ons they've tried to force in to it. 

This is the first Book of Shadows, actually I think probably the only make up palette that comes with a speaker. Yes, that's right a speaker. It has two leads, one to plug into your pc/laptop, and another that can go into an mp3 player/iPhone. The idea of this, is to plug into your outlet of choice, and watch the tutorials that Urban Decay have supplied within the box. They come on a piece of card, with a QR scan code that you scan with using your phone. For me, when I tried, it wouldn't focus or pick up the code for some reason. But basically, they've added a little holder for your phone, and you place it inside the lid of the palette, plug in the speaker, watch the tutorials and join in yourself! Obviously I haven't tried this yet, seeing as though I can't get the tutorials up! I tried the speaker with my iPhone, and it's not too bad. It comes with a keyring chain, so you can take it with you if you fancy.

It also comes with a mini eyeshadow primer, as standard. But in the new squeezy tube, which I have yet to try. A mini mascara, and a waterproof eyeliner. Because the eyeliner is so long, I thought it was a pen liner, but unfortunately it's a really thin brush. Which is probably to most peoples liking, but I find you need to have a really steady hand for them. Even though I have mastered applying eyeliner over the years, I still find myself making silly little mistakes, and for this reason prefer using pen liners or a thick brush with my gel liner. But I'll give this a try! When I was swatching it yesterday, I really scrubbed it and found it hard to get it to move, even when I licked my finger and dragged it across it didn't smudge or budge, definately waterproof!

When I finally got the palette and looked at the shadows, I was excited about Blue Bus, Bust and Crystal, but unfortunately these were the 3 lacking pigmentation! I had to swipe them numerous times, but still nothing :( Maybe if I try a primer they will improve, but I'm not getting my hopes up about that. Other than those 3 shades, the others all pack a punch! Check the swatches to see what I mean. It's what Urban Decay is known for, and they don't disappoint (unlike the 3 that do!)

At the end of the day, I will always choose Urban Decays eyeshadows over MAC and other similar brands. They're always so much more pigmented and longer lasting. If you somehow have missed out on trying one of their palettes I urge you to! They've also just released their own 'Build Your Own Palette' to rival brands like MAC and Fashionista, but the price has put me off so far. I do know that they have reformulated their shadows and released shadows that were only available in their palettes, to buy seperately (hello, mushroom!) I think I will cave and end up creating my own, so look out for that!

Do you own any UD Book of Shadows or palettes? Do you think they're better than other brands? Are they worth the money? And have you purchased their new Build Your Own Palette yet? If so, show me! I want ideas for shades to look at! :)

xo