Urban Decay Stoned Vibes Palette Swatches & Review
After sharing quick swatches on Instagram, I promised you guys a proper review of the new Urban Decay Stoned Vibes palette, so here it is! It took me longer than expected to finalize my thoughts because I have mixed feelings about this release. Initially, I loved the palette and did everything in my power to make it work. That should have been the first warning sign, because when you need to go the extra mile to make a product work, then it’s probably not a good one.
According to Urban Decay, Soned Vibes is a “vegan eyeshadow palette packed with 12 all-new mood-shifting shimmery shades infused with genuine tourmaline to block bad energy and elevate your look.” See that bolded part? That’s where I did a giant eye roll. Urban Decay has always welcomed alternative trends but in my opinion, this whole crystal-energy-auras-manifesting thing screamed more attention-seeking than genuine.
P.S.: in case you’re wondering, a few pans got shattered during shipping. I didn’t want to make a huge mess with glitter so I left them as they are.
The palette contains a new experimental formula that UD calls “marbleized shimmers”. These new shimmers feel bouncy and creamy to touch, it’s as if the glittery pigments were suspended in a creamy gel base. They are meant to be applied with your fingertips and built up to the desired opacity – for the most intense color payoff, UD recommends using matching Stoned Vibes eye pencils as a base. To diffuse the edges, the brand suggests using the included brush, although, in my experience, fingers worked best. Additionally, the palette also comes with a few standard matte and satin pans to complement the new formula.
Urban Decay Stoned Vibes is a 12-pan palette that contains the following shades:
- Good Karma (ivory matte with sheen)
- Jade (green metallic microglitter)
- Opal Aura (iridescent shimmer)
- Tigers Eye (copper metallic microglitter with pink shift)
- Vibes (rose metallic microglitter)
- Antidote (peach matte)
- Hexed (red-brown matte)
- Bloodstone (deep green with red metallic shift)
- Ojo (royal blue metallic microglitter)
- Raw Energy (sheer violet sparkle)
- Meditate (bronze metallic microglitter)
- Third Eye (deep eggplant matte with sheen)
I don’t have any other products from the Stoned Vibes collection so I can’t comment on how well the marbleized shimmers layer over the eye pencils. They sure don’t layer well over the included mattes though, which is unfortunate, because the new formula looks gorgeous in the pan. They fared slightly better on bare skin and over primer, so they can still work well for someone who likes shimmery looks that aren’t overly complicated. The non-marbleized colors performed best in the crease and as the inner and outer corner accents, so they weren’t completely useless, but the formula was lacking – there’s just no comparison between these and the eyeshadows from the permanent collection.
I was so excited about this palette when I first got it, but after giving it a proper trial run, I am really disappointed. It looks absolutely gorgeous – the color story, the packaging, the cool-looking marble texture… However, the most important part – the formula – turned out to be the palette’s weakest link. And don’t even get me started about the tourmaline moonlight charged pseudoscience thing… To each their own of course, but for me, that was a major turn off.
Urban Decay Stoned Vibes Palette ($54) is available at urbandecay.com, Sephora, and Ulta. If you decide to pick it up after all, remember to use a good primer – better yet, glitter glue – and go easy on blending the pressed powder shades.
