Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection

Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection

As soon as I saw the sneak peek photos of the new Urban Decay Alice collection I knew I had to have it. I missed out on getting the original Alice collection because at the time I was a student and had no money to spend on makeup (not that I have the money now either). The first thing I did was contact my local Urban Decay counter, and put my name down on the waiting list for the palette, and was delighted to find that there weren't that many people on the list ahead of me. Then however I found out that the college which I did my makeup course with, DFMA, were running an exclusive event with Urban Decay in Convent Garden, and this meant that I would be able to get my hands on the palette a full week before it's proper release! Of course I jumped at the chance...

So last Thursday I made the trip up to London in the late afternoon, and ended up arriving in Covent garden about 30 minutes before the event was due to start, so I decided to head right over the Urban Decay and see if I could pick up what I wanted straight away. Normally at the events we have a makeup demo, and then we have shopping time afterwards. I didn't even want to have the tiniest risk of not being able to get what I wanted! Originally I had planned to buy the palette (of course) and three of the lipsticks (Time, Mirana, and Mad Hatter). On the train up I was talking to my sister who asked me if I could also pick up the Iracebeth lipstick for her. Then when I actually got to Urban Decay I had a look at the lipsticks and I decided that I really liked the Iracebeth lipstick too. The only lipstick shade I wasn't sold on was Alice, as in all the pictures I had seen it seemed a little orangey. During the event they created an 'Alice' look using the eyeshadows and also the lipstick, and I fell in love with the way it looked on the model, so I thought to myself if I was going to buy 4/5 lipsticks then I might as well get all five and have the full collection, right? So now I own the full Alice Through the Looking Glass collection, and I'm not even mad about it!

Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette

First up let's talk about this palette, everyone is going insane for this palette, and honestly, I don't blame them. It is absolutely stunning. The entire palette is covered in these really awesome psychedelic patterns that are super colourful, unlike any makeup packaging I have ever seen. Then when you lift up the lid you are treated to the sight of a beautiful mirror, and a quote from Alice Through the Looking Glass which reads, 'I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours'. Opening up these doors you find a beautiful blue butterfly sitting on yet another crazy and colourful pattern. Finally you just pull the little tab at the bottom (almost like a drawer) to reveal the eyeshadow shades. The palette also comes with a double ended eyeshadow brush with a blended side and a flat shadow brush side, the brush is covered in brightly coloured roses, matching with the packaging for the lipsticks which you will see below. What I like about these shades is that there are still some really wearable ones, as well as the crazy colours you would expect to find in an Alice In Wonderland palette.

Alice Through the Looking Glass Eyeshadow Shades

Above you can see a close up of what the shades look like, so you can see there is a mixture of matte, shimmer, and glitter shades in the palette, meaning you can create a great range of eye looks. The thing that I think is really cool about this palette is that the shades are based upon five characters from the film, and are aligned within the palette to show this. Each of the characters has four shades and they flow from the top to the bottom of the palette, going from Alice, to the Hatter, to The White Queen, to the Red Queen and finally ending up at the new character, Time. So to reflect this I decided to do the swatches character by character, so that you could really get a feel for a look you may be able to create, relating to that specific character.

The Alice Shades

Let's start off with the main girl herself, Alice. Her shades are some of the most wearable in the entire palette, other than the final blue shade, but where would Alice be without her signature blue, am I right? The first shade is called Looking Glass and is a very pale pinky/white shade that is perfect for an all over base, or for highlighting the brow bone. Then you have Reflection which is a matte peach shade which would make a great transition shade for paler people like myself. Dormouse is a matte brown shade with a hint of glitter running through it, which could be used on the outer corner with the previous two shades to make a nice day time look. Finally you have Metamorphosis which is a stunning sky blue colour, I would personally use this as a liner for either the bottom or top lash line to add a pop of colour.

The Mad Hatter Shades

Now onto my personal favourite character, played by one of my favourite actors, The Mad Hatter. These are probably the four least wearable shades (as a mini collection) in the entire palette, but they are also probably the most fun. Hatter is a vibrant matte green shade with a slight glitter going through it, and really reminds me of Spring. Gone Mad is a really deep plum shade again with a slight glitter running through it, this colour is great for darkening the outer corner. Paradox is a bright shimmery orange/peach shade, and is probably the most wearable of these four, I can see this being the perfect centre of the lid shade if you were trying to create a spotlight eye look. The final Mad Hatter shade is called Cake and is a bright Barbie pink shimmer colour, I won't lie, this is the kind of shade I would normally avoid like the plague, but alongside these other three it somehow just works.

The White Queen Shades

The White Queen's shades are probably the most wearable as one whole look in the entire collection, I can see this being an effortless everyday look for just about anyone. The first shade is Lily, and is a pale white shimmer shade which has a pink iridescence running through it. Similar to the Alice shade Looking Glass, this would make the perfect base colour or brow highlight colour. Next up is Duchess, a peachy champagne kind of colour which I would find myself using all over the lid. Kingdom, is a brown shimmer shade that I could see working really well if used in the crease alongside Duchess on the eyelid. Finally we have Chessboard, which is simply a matte brown shade, almost like Dormouse but without the glitter running through it, this would be a great outer corner colour to finish off this look.

The Red Queen Shades

The Red Queen's shades are also really fun, but probably slightly unwearable for day to day looks, and these are probably the least cohesive shades in the entire palette. Heads Will Roll is one of my favourite shades in the palette and is a teal/green shade with silver glitter running through it, this is another great colour for Spring. Next up is Bandersnatch, a gorgeous navy blue matte shade, which compliments Heads Will Roll perfectly, I know I would personally love to see these two in a look together. Then there is Salazen Grum, which is an amazing red/bronze shimmer shade which would make the perfect lid colour, just maybe not with these other shades! Finally there is Royal Flush a silver/champagne shimmer shade which would be great for inner corner and brown bone highlight.

Time's Shades

Last but by no means least we have Time's shades. These four combined would make a really great dark smokey/night time look. The first shade is named after the character himself, Time. It's a deep navy shimmer shade which would be the perfect outer corner colour for this look. Next up is Dream On and these is probably my least favourite shadow from the entire palette, it's a purple shade with lots and lots of silver glitter, in fact it is a good 90% glitter, which is probably why I don't like it. Next up is Chronosphere a stunning brown shimmer shade, darker than Kingdom, which would look amazing both on the lid, or through the crease. The final shade in the palette is mirror a steel grey shimmer shade which would look amazing smoked out all over the lid on pretty much anyone!

All of the eyeshadow swatches

So there you have all of the swatches from the palette side by side, split into the different characters. All of these swatches were taken in direct sunlight in front of a window, so the colours should be fairly true to life. All in all I'm very impressed with the colours I know some people thought that the shades weren't all that pigmented, but I think they are great, I'm a big fan or Urban Decay's shadows and I think these are all as good as palettes that they have put out in the past. Let me know in the comments below which 'character quad' of shadows is your favourite!

Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection

Now onto the lipsticks, there were five shades in total released for this collection, and they come in a range of finishes and colours. As mentioned above, I wasn't planning to buy all five, but when in Rome, or so they say! The packaging for these lipsticks is so beautiful, it's this psychedelic rose pattern in all of these beautiful colours, and really screams Wonderland to me. Pictured above from left to right we have Alice, Iracebeth, Mirana, Hatter and Time. All of the below swatches were done directly on my lips with no primer, or lip liner, and is only applied using the shape of the lipstick.

Alice Lipstick

Alice was the shade that I was least excited about and is definitely the shade I am most disappointed with. Alice is described as a Sheer Shimmer finish, and now I understand why that is. When I saw it on the model at Urban Decay in Covent Garden it looked like a more opaque nude shimmer, although in hindsight I now know that was probably down to the nude lip liner that the makeup artist used on the models lips first. Don't get me wrong this is still a beautiful shade, it does have a hint of nude colour, but has a pink iridescence to it, which is stunning. I think with the right shade of liner/lipstick underneath it this lipstick can really shine (literally), but on it's own, it's a bit of a let down.

Iracebeth Lipstick

Iracebeth is the shade I was supposed to pick up for my sister, but fell in love with myself (don't worry I still bought one for my sister), and is described on the box as a 'comfort matte' finish, whatever that is. We all know on this blog that I am a sucker for matte shades, so I had to have it! Iracebeth is a beautiful cherry red shade, if you are the kind of girl that loves to wear red every day then this is for you! I would definitely suggest wearing this with a lip liner, but that goes without saying for red shades.

Mad Hatter Lipstick

Mad Hatter was the first lipstick that I got super excited about when I saw the reveal of the collection, I am a magpie for purple lip products! Mad Hatter is a gorgeous grape shade and is described as a 'Metallized' shade. I wouldn't call it metallic, but it certainly isn't far off, it also carries some flecks of glitter through it, making it extra glamorous. I would say this is definitely another shade that would benefit from having a base product underneath it to really help the colour come through, but it definitely makes me look mad as a hatter when I'm wearing it!

Mirana Lipstick

Mirana was another shade that I was really excited for when I first saw the lipsticks, as with purples I have a thing for really dark red/wine lip colours, they just really grab my attention. This is another 'Metallized' shade although it's definitely the least metallic of the three in this finish. This has a red glitter running through it which is certainly unusual for a lipstick of this shade. This is also one of the least opaque colours in the collection (besides Alice which is barely opaque), so again would really benefit from being put onto a base of a similar shade. Despite this, Mirana is definitely one of my favourites.

Time Lipstick

Time is probably the least wearable, but also most favourite shade from the collection, It's a deep green/blue colour and makes me feel like an alien princess! This is the final of the 'Metallized' shades, so it also has some glitter running through it, in this case, silver. This is very similar to Mad Hatter in finish and application, so again would really benefit from a base colour underneath to really bring out the metallic nature of the shade.

The Entire Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection

So there you have all five of the lipsticks in this collection, overall I'm really happy with the shades, and I can't wait to start incorporating them into my everyday looks. Let me know which of these is your favourite!

That just about concludes this mammoth post dedicated to the brand new, and absolutely stunning Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass collection! I believe the collection has already been released with Selfridges, so you may be able to snap it up now. However as far as I am aware the official release with Urban Decay is the 5th of May! I wish anyone who is trying to get their hands on it the best of luck in purchasing it, and please do let me know in the comments which of the items/shades is your favourite...