i think what pissed me off most about this palette is how i payed $60 for it...when shortly after it was released, it was going for nearly half that. my bad, i guess. but i don't think this palette did as well as UD was anticipating. so i marked the price as high, even though you can probable find this palette on hautelook or nordstrom rack for an incredibly reasonable price.


for an actual review: first...packaging SUCKS. i know they're called 'BOOK of shadows...but this thing is the size of a bible. it is just impractical to carry around in my kit. i think if a client saw me pull out this huge palette they'd laugh. but i don't have the heart to depot it..so i guess i'll just deal with it :P the shadows are great, as usual with UD. i'm glad they finally steered away from making their shades intense glitter bombs.


this palette comes with a travel primer (in the new squeeze tube which is SO much better than the genie bottle) as well as a full sized liquid liner & a travel sized mascara. it also comes with a speaker for your phone & some other dumb shit that i forgot about as soon as i got the palette. cool idea, i guess...but i don't need to use my makeup to watch videos..?


eeeeither way. if you can score this palette for cheap, then definitely do it.

Let me start off by saying, I bought this product at Nordstrom Rack for $29, which was a very good deal to me. I've seen this product at 2 other Nordstrom Racks, so obviously, I encourage you to go out and buy it at the discounted price! (Sorry, non-US residents?)
I believe it retails for $60 something, and currently, it's on Amazon for $50-something. Which doesn't seem too bad, but, as a poor student who seldom wears makeup, I certainly would not shell out that kind of money.

Another caveat: I am like a total makeup n00b. However, I figured I needed to learn to how to apply this stuff, and after a failed, desultory foray into the world of [cough drugstore] makeup a few years ago, I decided to focus on more high-end products this time. A lot of bloggers/youtubers seem to be in the throes of some fervid love affair with the famous Naked palette, which admittedly appealed to me, but was considerably more than I wanted to pay...Fortunately, there are several colors in here that, to my eyes, look quite close to the Naked colors. At least two are the same (gunmetal, sin), and another very similar (baked vs half baked). Other colors that look Naked-ish to me: cobra, lost, midnight cowgirl/rodeo, skimp, bust, missionary. [Obviously, as there are many better--and cheaper--Naked dupes out there, I do not recommend purchasing the Book of Shadows _merely_ as a Naked substitute...]
There were a few different 'books' available at the store; I think Vol 3, but I liked the eye shadow colors in Vol 4 the best.
Among the shades I really liked (for reference, I am Asian with medium, olive-ish skin tone, and I think these colors are pretty suitable for me): cobra, baked, bender, lost, midnight cowgirl/rodeo, zephyr. Some colors I'm less fond of: blue bus, crystal, bust. I haven't tried all of them yet, but most of the ones I have tried are nicely pigmented and easy to apply.

There's also a 3.7mL sample of UD's famous primer potion, in Original (a kind of light shade, I think?). I can't compare it to other primers, as I've never used any...but I am very satisfied with this one; my eyelids do tend to get a bit greasy during the day, but the primer potion held up well even during these sweaty summer days. If only the sample was larger T__T
I haven't used the liquid liner (1.7mL) or mascara (5.4mL) much, but I don't have any complaints about those either.

Negatives:
I hate the stupid, ersatz, bulky packaging. Oh my god...who designed that stupid, gimmicky thing?? I hope they're not charging extra money for all the cardboard they wasted...It's like 2.5 inches thick for no apparent reason. It's unwieldy and the drawer is hard to take out. And what is up with the stupid butterflies? I ripped those things off...argh And why did they include a speaker?? I read a review that claimed Vol 4 is more expensive than Vol 3 because of all the extra 'goodies'...you've got to be kidding me...

I was on the fence about this palette from the start. I got an amazing deal so I decided to get it.

1st Impression - I saw the cheap plastic butterfly detailing on the inside and I was like what the heck is this? I really was not happy about it. Plus its really thick and bulky. The palette is a real pain to store.

Then when I swatched the e/s initally they all felt a little dry to the touch. These are the new reformulated e/s. The same formula is in the Roller Girl Palette and the 15th Anniversary Palette (this one is a bit of a mess - totally different story).


But like all the UD e/s palettes that I was on the fence about, I ended up really happy about the purchase. The e/s are very pimented. The only shades that were repeats for me were Sin, Gunmetal and Midnight Rodeo.

I heard mixed reviews about Blue Bus, but its a very vibrant yet buildable periwinkle shade. I like Cobra as well - its is an anitique golden black. NYX e/s in "Smokie Mountain" 145A is an EXACT dupe! No lie. Lol.

Stand out shades for me were Baked and suprisingly Crystal. Crystal was one of the shades that had me on the fence about this palette in the first place. I thought it was going be an obnoxious sky blue. But its is like nothing I've ever seen. It is a shimmery silver blue with some sort of brown/plummy undertone. The pics on websites dont do this color any justice.

Shades I could do without are - Midnight Rodeo (L'Oreal Infallible e/s in Bronzed Taupe is an EXACT dupe of this). Bust and Missionary are bit on the cool side for my skintone but are still usuable.

All the other shades not metioned are great as well.

I have not tried the Mascara as yet, the UDPP need no mention and the Perversion liquid eyeliner is a hit. It is user friendly with a skinny brush that is capable of making the darkest yet thinnest lines. The speaker is neither here nor there for me.

Overall, this palettes is a hit because its being sold at a discounted price and it features a good range of bright to neutral shades. If you are considering The Naked 2 Palette or the 15th Anniversary palette, I say get the BOS IV because you can get the best of both worlds without breaking the bank.

I fell in love with the packaging when I first saw it. This is my very first palette! I got it at a very cheap price for the number of shadows in the box: Only $27 after tax on Hautelook.com.

The shadows are highly pigmented, and each shadow is unique. Some have a metallic finish, some have a sparkle finish (although I would prefer not such big chunks of glitter), etc. This palette can be used for any occasion (I normally do light smokey eyes for daytime, darker shadows for night. This palette caters to all my needs!). I love mixing the colors.

It came with the 24/7 liquid eyeliner (not a big fan. Gave it 2 lippys) and mascara (I don't normally wear mascara, so I can't be much of a judge for it). It also came with my ultimate favorite primer.

The only thing I wish was different was that I could take the shadows with me in my bag. Can't carry one such a giant box! That being said, the mirror is a little unnecessary since you would probably be around a clearer, better mirror at the time of this palette's usage.

This "book" is definitely a steal if you're able to catch a sale.

I bought this palette recently on a flash sale site. It only cost me $24 dollars (i think!) Really nice, the shadows of course are of GREAT quality and I did get quite the bargain. The eyeliner included is nice, and will try to use it more when I am out of my current liquid eyeliner. The mascara I won't be using anymore, it is a very wet formula and doesn't help with my very straight lashes. The primer potion included is always nice to have as backup, and the speaker included I have used to play music on my smartphone, though I think my smartphone is almost as loud as the speaker itself! My favorite eyeshadows in this palette so far are Hijack, Skimp and Bust. Hijack is just a beautiful teal, skimp is a great highlight color and Bust is a great blending color on my skintone. I wouldn't repurchase however, because I don't think I would need to, there's just so much product on here. Plus, it was limited edition.

WHAT TYPE OF SKIN I HAVE: Fairish Medium skin, I do spray tan and use a lot of bronzer

I PAID: Got this product on Sale at my Nordstrom Rack, they DO have this product on Sale right now at the urban decay website, for 29 bucks. I got it for 30 bucks

PROS: *contains 3 highlight colors great for the inner corners of eyes to brighten!

*comes with the primer potion- great product, and its in a squeezie tube



CONS: *The glittery shadows leave you with a ton of fall out

*comes with a lot of neutral shadows but almost all of them are glittery :( therefore, you cant really use them on your lid AND crease or youll look like a xmas ornament

*the urban decay liquid liner is too hard to use, because it's too thin. Drawing a straight line is meerly impossibly with it

*Has a few obnoxious green and bright blue shades (5 shadows to be exact) I personally dont wear blue and green eyeshadows so those wont ever be used
*comes with a mini speaker you can plug into your cell phone for instance, not gonna lie, its a piece of junk with no bass- but it DOES work

*Comes with the UD mini mascara- this mascara is nothing great. its simply dark, wet mascara. doesnt add length

BOTTOM LINE: I have the UD naked palette, and it's a 100x better then this. I do like to use this for a few inbetween neutral greys, topes, and highlight colors, but to be honest it's nothing THAT great. Good thing I got it on sale

So I just purchased this last weekend at my local Nordstrom Rack and stumbled upon this. The shadows are very pigmented and personally, I'd never think to get out of my normal neutral colors but since I bought this I experiment and it just looks gorgeous ! For the price, who could pass it up!

The only downside imo is the bulkiness but no big deal. I just put it under my makeup case lol

I LOVE THIS PALETTE!
Pros:
-The shadows are very pigmented
-It has a very nice range of shades
-I got it for cheaper than it would usually be on hautelook (I guess thats only a pro for me! XD)
Cons:
-Not a fan of the big, bulky, unnecessary packaging.
Price: $30 on hautelook
Would I buy again? No, because I dont think I would need to!

My first BOS. Let me just start by saying the amount you get for your money is impressive, if you were to count individual products you'd be amazed at what you can save.

I didn't get into shadow until very recently. I'm glad I made this purchase because I now have a variety of colours I can now play with - brights and neutrals.

What else was great about this product is that it comes with two minitures, the super curl mascara, primer and a full size 24/7 liner pen. This gave me the chance to try out Urban Decay products that I wouldn't have purchased soley on their own. And you know what? I absolutely LOVE all three additional products. So not only have I got wonderful, pigmented shadows I also have a new mascara, primer and liquid liner to add to my growing collection.

The packaging is where the let down is, however. it's not practical for travelling and the drawer where the makeup is contained gets jammed. When it arrived I could not open the drawer and tried to use tweezers to run down the sides and make it less 'sticky'. In doing this I damaged one of the my shadows - Zephyr. And although I have now repressed it, there was white shimmer all over the joint until I cleaned it up.

Other than that the products themselves are great. It's what's inside that matters.

I do not really care for the huge butterfly packaging - although it was cool to look at, at first.

The speaker and videos are good for beginners.

When I first got this, I was really impressed. Now I am downgrading slightly to 4 lippies mostly because I only really like and wear a small selection of the colors. Some of the colors would be great if only they didn't have so much darn glitter (please make midnight cowgirl without glitter!). Sadly, I am too old for glitter.

I use this palette almost every day, usually with "Sin" as a base, "Lost" as a crease color and a light wash of "Baked" in the middle of the lid. I then use a chocolate brown liner and some black mascara. This is my go to look and it compliments my medium olive complexion very well.

"Lost" is a standout color. It is a bronze/taupe color so smooth, so silky, so beautiful. It can be cool or warm: I know that sounds strange but it gives off a different effect depending on what other colors you combine it with. It is so versatile. I would buy this whole pallet for that one shadow. UD recently made a single of this shadow though so you don't have to (lucky you!). When I bought this palette, there was no single of that color. Unfortunately, I do find that some of the shadows will crease after several hours, even with primer.

There are some other good ones in here, too (Bender, Bust, Zephyr, Missionary, Sin and Skimp come to mind), and others I haven't tried yet and probably never will. Bust is almost as spectacular as lost. There are a few I don't like. Most of the shadows are great quality--smooth and highly pigmented with an amazing sheen.

I got a good price on this because there is a promotion going on so I really cannot complain: you get 16 shadows, a small mascara, an eyeliner and primer potion for $29 ($35 with shipping). The eyeliner is great but hard to remove. For everyday use, I still use my ELF cream eyeliner which I like almost as much. The UD liquid liner allows you to get a really fine, precise line which I prefer but taking it off is too difficult for everyday use. The mascara is great, love the wand. I haven't tried the primer because I prefer the packaging of the NYX primer I use. I just reach for it first.

I haven't used the multimedia stuff yet. I wish this were a sleeker palette that I could take with me. It is pretty bulky. It would make a great gift though since it feels really exciting to open the package. It almost seems weird NOT to give it away as a gift because the packaging is so over the top. In fact, when I first saw it, I almost decided to send it to my sister as a gift.

All in all, I love this palette and am really happy that I took the plunge and bought it.