Lookbook: Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume III

The highly anticipated Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume III is finally here, and it is a complete stunner from head to toe! Inspired by the world’s most famous city, the Big Apple, it has a pop-up, light-up display when you open it up, complete with gorgeous artwork of the city’s landmarks. Inside, are sixteen beautiful eyeshadows, two 24/7 glide-on eye pencils, and a travel-size eyeshadow primer potion. To see more photographs and swatches of this unique, fun palette,

The artwork on the outside of the palette

The artwork on the outside of the palette is beautiful itself. It has a raised design that says “UD NYC” with a heart. The lettering and design is all slightly raised, and the palette itself feels very New York City. As someone who spent most of her life in New Jersey and New York City, this palette brings home back to my heart.

The pop-up display

The pop up display is gorgeous. It is literally a work of art, featuring New York City landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the classic yellow taxi cab. The entire display reminds me exactly of NYC, and the various facets of the culture there. The display lights up, on both sides, illuminating artwork of skyscraper buildings. When you open it, the first thing you say is “Wow!”

The light-up display and mirror

The lights in the light-up display go off after a short while so as to save energy. It’s a really cool effect that you will find yourself wanting to show people who come over to your house. For me as a beauty consumer, packaging is really important to me. Urban Decay really outdid themselves on this one, and I feel like this one was extra special to me, because it reminds me of “home,” where I grew up. Being over seven hundred miles away from it all, it makes me smile to remember the fond memories of growing up there.

Once you open the bottom drawer of the palette, you will notice sixteen beautiful shades of eyeshadow, two 24/7 liner pencils (in “Zero,” and “Ransom”), and a travel size eyeshadow primer potion. Seven of the sixteen shades in this palette are brand new, introduced only in this palette, and you will find a wide array of colors and finishes inside. You will find glitter, shimmer, and matte eyeshadow inside this palette, giving every beauty lover a taste of something different.

As always, the eyeshadow inside this palette is incredibly pigmented and rich, and soft as silk. Urban Decay does eyeshadow beautifully almost always, with the exception of some of their glitters. This palette contains “Midnight Cowboy Rides Again,” which is a very pretty glitter beige, but always creates massive glittery fall-out underneath your eye. I felt the other two glitters in this palette, “Uzi,” and “Snatch” did a much better job at holding up without providing messy, glittery fall-out.

Ready for swatches? I know you are! Every swatch is labeled in order of row the eyeshadow appears in, starting with the top four shades, and working down. The first photograph will be labeled with the eyeshadow shade names, and the second photograph will be bare. First photographs are with camera flash, and second photographs are without camera flash.

First Row

Perversion is a matte black, Uzi is a metallic white with chunky silver glitter, Loaded is a sparkly emerald green, and Kush is a green metallic with silver glitter.

Second Row

Midnight Cowboy Rides Again is a golden beige with glitter, Last Call is a pink with a purple frost/shift, Rockstar is a deep-red purple with a metallic base, and Money is a metallic light green.

Third Row

Haight is a deep teal, Maui Wowie is a shimmering metallic beige, Smog is a deep coppery bronze, and Bordello is a pale pink-purple with a shift.

Fourth (last) Row

Radium is a bright blue, Snatch is a pale peach with golden sparkle, Suspect is a sheer sparkly beige, and Psychedelic Sister is a vibrant purple.

All sixteen eyeshadow shades

The swatches truly do not do these eyeshadows their full justice in beauty. The biggest winners in this palette? It is honestly hard to choose, since so many of them are so breathtaking when used. I personally love Loaded, Kush, Money, Maui Wowie, Radium, Snatch, and Psychedelic Sister the most, but all of them bring something to the table. You can see in the above swatches the mix of finishes, from glitter to shimmer to matte. The swatches all had Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion on underneath them, which this palette contains a travel-size version of. The addition of the 24/7 liner pencils in “Zero,” a classic black, and “Ransom,” a bright purple, are a great addition for adding to your eye looks.

The only perceivable downside to this palette, and the only thing that I can fault it for is portability. This palette is thicker in dimension than the other Urban Decay Book of Shadow’s because of the pop-up artwork and display. Therefore, if you are looking for something really thin or portable for travel, this is not going to be the greatest option. For myself as a beauty lover, I’d stash this in my suitcase in a heartbeat, because it’s simply gorgeous, and it’s extremely fun to show off to people in terms of aesthetic beauty.

The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume III is limited edition for Holiday 2010, and retails for $54. You can find this palette at Sephora stores nationwide, but be forewarned: these palettes are selling like hotcakes! Urban Decay Online has been sold out consistently, and right now, it is only available from Sephora online. To purchase this palette online, simply click the photograph and link below. Remember, these are going fast!