Urban Decay Range Review

Who are they? Formed in 1996, when co-founder Sandy Lerner just could not find a purple nail varnish (good grief, I don't know how I could live in a world without purple nail varnish - a little extreme, but purple nail varnish is just the best thing ever!), amidst the many shades of pink! 

The company, led by Creative Director Wende Zomnir quickly became the leader of "alternative" cosmetics in the United States, with a strong sense of uniqueness provided by the inspired naming of shades, including that all-important purple shade that Lerner had craved, that was named "Does Pink Make You Puke?" (yes, actually it does!!). Other names have included "Oil Slick", "Yeyo" and "Smog".

What do they do? Urban Decay are mostly known for the incredible eye shadows and eyeliners that they offer in some beautiful colours, but they offer pretty much every kind of cosmetic that you might want including nail varnish, foundation, blush, lip gloss, lip stick and concealer.

Whilst Urban Decay is most famously known for it's colour palettes, weirdly, the company's top selling product is not an eyeshadow or an eyeliner. It isn't even a lip gloss. The company's top seller is actually their Primer Potion for the eyes, which comes in a slinky and curvy potion-style bottle, and primes the eyelids in preparation for eyeshadow. 

Why are they so brilliant? I have always had issues with eye liners. They're either so hard that they feel like theyre going to rip my skin off from around my eyes. Or, they won't blend the way that you want them to. Or they run so that you look like a wannabe Panda, which is not really a good look, no matter what some people might think. But Urban Decay's eyeliners are so soft, that they go on so nicely and they're nicely blendable, which is exactly what I would want out of an eye liner.

I only own one of their eyeshadow pallettes, but the colours are so vibrant and amazing that if I had the money, I would definitely buy more. Initially, you don't think that the colours will go together, but somehow they do. There is such a variety of intriguing colours across their entire range of products, colours that most other companies probably wouldn't even touch.

Urban Decay are also brilliant at producing those little things that help us make up lovers, from their Potion Primers to their various make up setting sprays. 

Why are they not so brilliant? Ironically, since the company is very much like America's version of our Barry M, my issues with the brand are pretty much the same, although on a greater scale. I have come across very few shops that actually sell Urban Decay products, whilst Barry M is available in most Superdrugs, Urban Decay is limited to only larger branches of Boots, Debenhams and House of Fraser, and I've only actually found the products whilst travelling quite a long way from home, so other than buying the products online (or on my occassional trips on P&O Ferries), they're not very accessible to people like myself, who don't live in big cities.

Urban Decay products are also incredibly expensive. I thought Barry M was pricey, but Urban Decay is over twice as expensive. Don't get me wrong, the products are worth it, but when money is tight, which for a freelance writer, it most definitely is, then they're reserved for special occasions only!

I wish they had more offers, but unfortunately, they never seem to!