Urban Decay • Book of Shadows Vol. IV • Palettes
(43 reviews)
| Average Rating. | 4.1 |
| Would buy this product again. | 72% |
| Package Quality | 2.9 |
| Price | 3.8 |
| Ingredients | |
UbiquityEssence on 3/10/2013 1:39:00 AM more reviews by UbiquityEssence
Age: 19-24 Skin: Acne-prone, Medium Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Love the shadows! Only complaint is the package not very travel friendly.
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cherrryyyx on 2/8/2013 10:03:00 AM more reviews by cherrryyyx
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Very Dry, Fair, Cool Hair: Blond Eyes: Green
Urban Decay palettes are amazing value for money, and this one is no exception. The shadows are all beautiful - although I don't use them all, but let's face it everyone has their favourites colours in a palette and neglects the others. Sin is a beautiful colour that reminds me a little of all that glitters by mac. It can be used for just all over the lid for an everyday look, or can be dressed up with a darker colour in the crease and outer corner and some eyeliner. Zephyr is a great colour for the inner corner, it brightens the eyes but it's still suitable for the day, it's a white-ish colour but the slight gold in it doesn't make it look scary on the eyes. Skimp could also be used as an inner corner colour, it's a peachy toned colour although I find the texture of this very chalky. Crystal is also a really nice inner corner colour for the summer, it's nice for just a touch of blue for colour. Gravity is a purple that I absolutely adore! I love Midnight Rodeo and Bust too. All the colours are beautiful but those would be my honourable mentions.
Moving on to the packaging, which is this product's downfall. ITS SO BULKY AND IMPRACTICAL. This was a Christmas gift, so when I first opened it and seen the pretty butterflies, the mirror and all the gimmicky thingsI thought WOW what a great gift, then as time went on I started to hate the impracticality of it. I also really don't get the thing you plug your ipod in to, it's not that great. I wasn't a fan of the tutorials, I would much rather just stick to Tanya Burr and Pixiwoo, thanks. In other news I like the mascara it comes with, as well as the primer potion. The eyeliner is decent too.
As much as I love the colours in this palette, I wouldn't repurchase because of the size, I'd rather try out another UD palette.
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*TOP REVIEWER* SHeust on 2/3/2013 2:20:00 PM more reviews by SHeust
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Green
I received this as a gift and was thrilled to get it. I'm usually too broke for Urban Decay, so it is a real treat whenever I get my hands on some of their great eye shadows (I use the Naked 1 palette religiously).
The formula of the shadows is consistent with all UD shadows (in my experience): the shimmery ones are beautiful and well pigmented, the glittery ones have big chunky specs of glitter that show up more than the pigment does, and the matte ones are decently pigmented but sort of chalky in texture. Depending on what sort of looks you like to do, this set provides a lot of options. I usually go more for neutrals/bronze shades or purples, but I've grown to love Lost (medium grayish with a hint of purple), Bust (subtle silver) and Missionary (light silver purple). It is not easy to find gray-toned shadows that are flattering on my warm, pale complexion, but these actually are. Baked, Bender and Cobra are all quite pretty as well. The more glittery shades - the Midnight shades, etc. - are not my favorites because there is a lot of confetti glitter fallout. To be honest, I haven't tried the other shades yet because they are not really in my wheelhouse.
Onto the other things: the curling mascara is not great (I have a separate review for that you can check out for more details), and the liner is good - if you like waterproof (ditto review for that). I don't use primer, but it is the standard UD primer everyone seems to love, but I'm sure it's great (I gave it to a friend who swear by the stuff).
The box is my biggest complaint about this set. It's freakin' huge, and inconvenient and you either have to leave it out, cluttering up your stuff, or put it away in a drawer and forget it's there because it's not with your other makeup. It's got a speaker and earphones and all of this other technological crap included, for watching their tutorials I guess, but all that really just bulks up the whole package and I'd rather just have the shadows in a sleek palette.
The bottom line is if you're into doing lots of dramatic looks with different colors and you love tutorials and all that, this is probably a great set you'll love. If not, you can probably skip this one.
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belovedhope on 1/26/2013 9:00:00 PM more reviews by belovedhope
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Olive, Warm Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
I got this for $29 off HauteLook, so I'm basing my review off this price point. Totally worth it!! Love the color selection, love the mascara (SuperCurl), and of course, can't go wrong with the travel-size UDPP. Yes, the packaging is awkward and comes with too much fluff (e.g. the pop-up butterflies/the keychain), but I think everything that's in the packaging is quality. My favorite colors are Lost (dark matte brown), Cobra (they say it's matte black with gold micro-glitter, but I see it as a shimmery olive-black), and Sin (pinky-champagne). Oh, and you also get a full-size 24/7 Liquid Eyeliner in Perversion, which might be my most-used item out of everything in this box.
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missbrightside08 on 11/29/2012 10:44:00 PM more reviews by missbrightside08
Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
I really like this palette overall. Great variety of colours, and since I only wear neutrals, I only use a few of them and stay away from the bolder colours. Of course like all the UD shadows, they are very pigmented and smooth, and stay for a very long time. The only bad thing about this is the bulky and awkward packaging. Its really hard to pull out the shadows palette from the box and it gets stuck a lot. The whole box is a bit too large and bulky for me. I love how it comes with the eyeliner, primer, and mascara (which is great!). The price very reasonable too! Got it as a gift, but I looked online and they are selling for $30
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Ktraven on 10/2/2012 5:56:00 PM more reviews by Ktraven
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Medium Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
This was one of my first high end purchases, so it really impressed me. I love the packaging, I love every one of the colors, and I love that it comes with an eyeliner, mascara, primer, and even a speaker, too. Of course, I paid the $29 when it was on sale, so I got a better price than most others.
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makeupchameleon on 9/22/2012 9:27:00 PM more reviews by makeupchameleon
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Acne-prone, Medium Hair: Blond Eyes: Hazel
LOVE LOVE LOVE this palette! Purchased it in early September and have been using it nonstop every day! Would defiantly recommend this to anyone!
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bedazzeledberet on 8/20/2012 9:54:00 AM more reviews by bedazzeledberet
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Brunette Eyes: Hazel
I do enjoy experimenting with this pallete as it has both natural and wild colours to mess about with, but some shadows were very disappointing.
Blue Bus looks very vibrant in the pan but on the eye, it looks very washed out.
Gunmetal is a very beautiful and pigmented colour that works well in any smokey eye or in the lower lash line.
Cobra is a very dark green colour with subtle sparkles, but again I was expecting a bit more of a vibrant green undertone.
Baked is, again, a very pigmented coper/gold colour that unfortunately doesn't get enough use from me.
Bender is a dark green but I don't like something about it, I don't know what though.
Gravity is a purple with a bit of a greyish undertone in my palette, whether this is just a dud, I cant be sure.
Lost is definitely one of my most used colour as it works so well in the crease and "outer v" if I want a lot of dark and dramatic definition.
Hijack is also one of my most unused colours as it never looks right on my eyes.
Midnight Cowgirl is a very girly colour and could possibly be worn everyday if used appropriately but the only downfall is the fallout.
Sin is one of my most used colours as it works so well as a base colour which I use pretty much every time I work with this pallette.
Midnight Rodeo is a good colour for the crease and "outer v" if I don't want my eyes to be too dramatic.
Crystal was definitely a very disappointing colour as it is very hard to get a lot of pigment on my eyes.
Bust is a very gentle brown which I usually use as a wash of colour on my lower lid.
Missionary is probably my most used wash of colour over my eyes as its so shimmery and just beautiful.
Skimp is a very sheer but shimmery colour and I also use it as a wash of colour.
Zephyr is one of my favourite inner corner and brow bone highlighters as it is so shimmery and very flattering on my eyes.
I always use UDPP on my eyes for maximum pigmentation and use a flat shadder brush for the best control of the shadow.
This pallette also comes with a speaker and cables to connect it with your phone, so you can scan the code on the code card and watch the tutorials provided to create looks using the pallette. There is also a pocket and mirror so you can watch the tutorial and use the mirror instead of stuggling to carry a mobile, a pallette pocket and mirror at once. Your are also provided with a mini UDPP, a curling mascara which is AMAZING, and liquid eyeliner which I really did not like.
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MakeupLover321 on 7/15/2012 3:16:00 PM more reviews by MakeupLover321
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
I am quite dissapointed I payed like 50 pounds which is quite a lot for a palette. I bought it online and I was super excited. But the colours are kind of the same as the other palettes so i am not really happy. If you dont have the other palettes then i recommend it however if you do it's not worth it.
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STlCKY on 7/6/2012 1:47:00 PM more reviews by STlCKY
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Tan, Warm Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Found it at Nordstrom Rack for 28 dollars! Half the price! Looking at the shadows, I owned both Naked palettes, so the netural shadows seemed a bit redundant, but I couldn't pass up the price markdown for more Urban Decay shadows.
I hate the packaging on their Book of Shadows line, it's cute but definitely unnecessary. The bottom drawer that holds the makeup was hard to pull out at first, but I loosened it up after a couple tries.
The shadows are buttery as always, although the only one that disappointed me was Blue Bus. I wanted it to be vibrant as it was in the pan, but it didn't really work for me, with or without primer.
The small sample of the mascara and the primer potion are wonderful! The primer potion is amazing, but I don't really like the mascara since it's a wet formula and weighs my lashes down, clumping them.
The full sized liquid eyeliner was my first try at Urban Decay's liquid eyeliners. The pen shaped packaging led me to believe that it was a felt tip eyeliner, which I would liked, but sadly I was mistaken. It's still very pigmented and dries quickly, with no smudging. The only thing is that when I remove it, it comes off in clumps and flecks of it still cover my eye.
All in all, I'd definitely purchase this again but not at the $60 price tag that it had when it was first released.
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*TOP REVIEWER* reenerneener on 7/5/2012 3:54:00 AM more reviews by reenerneener
Age: 25-29 Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Neutral Hair: Red, Straight, Medium Eyes: Green
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.
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adipose on 7/4/2012 11:49:00 PM more reviews by adipose
Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Medium Hair: Black, Straight, Medium Eyes: Brown
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...
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*TOP REVIEWER* anastacy on 6/30/2012 12:31:00 PM more reviews by anastacy
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Medium Brown Hair: Black, Relaxed, Medium Eyes: Brown
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.
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dsweet730 on 6/12/2012 11:32:00 PM more reviews by dsweet730
Age: 19-24 Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm Hair: Black, Straight, Fine Eyes: Black
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.
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kimmiecheeks on 4/30/2012 2:05:00 PM more reviews by kimmiecheeks
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Medium, Neutral Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
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.
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lovebuzz on 4/13/2012 11:22:00 AM more reviews by lovebuzz
Age: 25-29 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
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
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hMFdeeezy on 4/6/2012 7:51:00 PM more reviews by hMFdeeezy
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Medium, Neutral Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium Eyes: Brown
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
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*TOP REVIEWER* admilly101 on 4/2/2012 10:40:00 AM more reviews by admilly101
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Warm Hair: Blond, Straight Eyes: Blue
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!
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MadameChic on 4/2/2012 9:57:00 AM more reviews by MadameChic
Age: 19-24 Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Neutral Hair: Blond, Kinky, Coarse Eyes: Green
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.
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EternalMyrtle on 3/23/2012 11:40:00 AM more reviews by EternalMyrtle
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Olive Hair: Brown Eyes: Green
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.