Urban Decay Backtalk Palette Review
The is a recent release that I was particularly amped up for. I’m in a pink/mauve/dusty rose mode as of late so this monochromatic selection of shades totally spoke to my desperately seeking spring soul. Urban Decay definitely knows how to do a palette and this particular one intrigued me enough that I would have purchased it myself had it not been sent to me.
I wanted to test drive the for a while before I gave you the deets. I’ve been wearing it the past month and formulating my thoughts. Read on to find out my honest thoughts on this new launch.
The contains 8 eyeshadows, 2 highlighters and 2 blushes, making it a multi-functional color palette for eyes and cheeks. It retails for $46.
The palette was inspired by their best-selling shade of Vice Lipstick, Backtalk. I own that lipstick and I totally love it. It’s a wearable, mid-tone mauve, pictured below. I am really into the monochromatic makeup trend for spring so I really couldn’t wait to try The out.
- 3 Sheets: matte, pinky ivory. I like this for a light, matte lid, brow bone highlighter or for blurring out the top edge of a crease color.
- Bare: very pretty, rose champagne shimmer. This is my favorite lid shade in the palette and the most universally flattering.
- Curve: slightly taupe/purple shimmer. This is a nice lid color for more medium skin tone but I find I don’t reach for it as much because it’s a bit cooler-tone.
- Backtalk: matte mauve, inspired by the Vice Lipstick shade of the same name
- Shade: jewel tone, berry shimmer
- Attitude: coppery, rust shimmer
- WTF: mid-tone, peachy brown matte
- 180: cocoa shimmer
Party Foul: a champagne highlighter that is quite subtle. It was nothing revolutionary but certainly wearable.
Speaking of parties and champagne…
In college, I never liked beer. I tried, and I tried, but I always hated it and still do. So I was the girl who would bring her own bottle of champagne to parties while everyone else drank keg beer like normal college students. Looking back, I was both extra and boujee before those words existed in our vocabulary. Trailblazer.
Low Key: At first glance, this looks like a pretty, shimmery peach blush, but turns out it was nothing more than a low-pigment peach highlighter. I think it’s nice as a blush topper maybe but then why not just use a shimmery peach blush, ya know?
Speaking of low key…
I low key love eavesdropping on stranger’s conversations. It’s so fascinating. I know it’s rude, but I can’t stop. I always learn interesting things. If you follow my Instagram stories, you know I do this all the time at Target.
Double Take: This mauve rose is my ideal shade for blush and a matte texture to boot. It’s not the most amazing blush formula I’ve ever tried, but it works. It just takes more than you think to see payoff.
Speaking of double takes…
I did one the other day when I noticed how full my brows were looking without filling them in a pinch! It’s the castor oil, you guys. It’s working.
Cheap Shot: A plummy, purple blush that would be so lovely on medium to deep skin. I like it but it can have a bit of a bruise effect on my fair, yellow skin.
Speaking of cheap shots…
I don’t do them. I only drink white wine, champagne (yep, still doing that) and tequila.
I’m including some very unprofessionally-shot iPhone selfies of me wearing it too, just because I think you deserve the bestI’m wearing the in the photos above. On my light skin tone, it’s a more monochromatic than the more mid-tone Backtalk lipstick. I love this lipstick. Naked is a real bomb pink for spring.
The color selection is my favorite part. This is a flattering, spring palette of blossom-like shades. There’s a nice array included here to create many soft day looks and slightly smokier eye looks too. However, I rated this category an 8 as it contains no deeper shade than 180 and I would have liked to see a deep plummy matte brown to round out the eye part of the palette.
Cheek color-wise, I find the peachy shade better suited color wise to a blush but formula-wise, it’s definitely a highlighter.
Pigment 5/10
This is the confusing part. The shadows do not feel or behave like Urban Decay shadows. They are hard, low pigment and strange. I can make them work and I can get pretty results from them with the right brushes, but, it doesn’t come easily as with the Urban Decay shadow formulas we are used to.
The cheek colors are ok, but the highlighters feel weak to me.
Formula 6/10
As mentioned above, the eyeshadows feel hard and papery. They blend out ok surprisingly but they just don’t feel like the softer shadows you may be used to from Urban Decay and other brands. Due to their harder texture, there is little to no fallout which is actually quite nice.
The cheek color formula is nothing spectacular and I expected a richer pay-off from them as well.
Wear 8/10
I didn’t really have any major issues with wear as I religiously use the Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden. The shimmer eyeshadow shades seemed to wear away quicker though without an emollient texture to adhere them to the lid.
The cheek color wear was about average.
Packaging 8/10
The packaging is darling, fun and functional. I like the mirror that separates the eye from the cheek products, though I’m not sure if I care that it’s removable.
Value 6/10
At $46, that breaks down $3.83 per pan. That would be an amazing deal if the formula was easy to work with and the pigment was super charged, but it’s not and it’s not.
Overall Score
33/60, 55%
- Color selection
- Range of matte and shimmer finishes
- Packaging
- Minimal eyeshadow fallout
- Shadow and blush formula
- Low pigment
- Hard, dry shadow texture
- Lack of deeper eyeshadow color
Sadly, I cannot. I love the color palette, but the pigment and formula aren’t what I expect from Urban Decay, and that makes me sad.
For the price, I think you can find a palette with formulas that are more user-friendly. I will continue to use mine and I can make it work for me, but I think the average consumer who is not a makeup artist will find it difficult to work with.
Product sent via Urban Decay for possible review purposes. No financial compensation was received in exchange, nor was a positive review encouraged. Post contains affiliate links.
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