Product Review -- Urban Decay Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette

Metallic and shimmery/glittery eyeshadow palettes seem to be all the rage this holiday season.

I'm not really complaining, though I prefer metallic shadows to glittery ones personally.

(I just find that glitter shadows take a little more work to use, but maybe that speaks to my lack of patience more than anything else.)

The Urban Decay Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette was at the top of my must-have list, though, because I loved that it offered both natural tones, which I personally get more use out of, and fun, bright shades, which I like to play with when the mood strikes.

The palette comes in some unique packaging -- it's plastic with purple metallic finish, but instead of having a lid that opens, the palette slides out of the outer housing and there's a mirror in the middle between the two groups of colors.

Urban Decay Heavy Metals Palette

Urban Decay Heavy Metals Palette

Urban Decay Heavy Metals Palette

Now, I'll give Urban Decay credit for the unique packaging, but it seems kind of needlessly bulky, which is often the case with the brand's other limited edition palettes.

I mean, it's nice if you want to set it out on your vanity, but if you're like me and have a ton of palettes, it makes storage kind of a pain -- and using it is kind of awkward too.

But I'm the kind of person who will easily forgive packaging flaws if the product itself worth it.

And the shadows in this palette are worth it in my opinion.

Well, at least if you love a good metallic shadow as much as I do.

The palette contains 20 brand new shadows, all with a metallic finish.

The shades include: Ground, black with iridescent shimmer; Spandex, deep blue with purple shift and blue micro-sparkle; Metalhead, deep purple; Mullet, deep green; Twisted, gold; Aluminium, warm gray taupe with iridescent micro-sparkle; Dive, medium blue; Punk Rock, fuchsia; Amp, bright teal; Glamrock, silver; Bass, bronze; Demo, bronze rose; Afterparty, red; Roadie, burgundy; Scream, mauve; Glory, golden bronze; Starfire, bright copper; Angelfire, pale pink; Maiden, beige; and Acoustic, nude.

Urban Decay Heavy Metals Palette 

Urban Decay Heavy Metals Palette 

The shadows in the palette have a very nice formula. It's smooth and highly blendable, so they're very easy to apply. They're also very pigmented, so you don't need much to get them to show up.

And their finish is just lovely -- highly metallic so they catch the light like nobody's business.

Personally, I typically use metallic shadows on the lid, outer corner, or to line the upper or lower lashline. I don't really love using them in the crease, though I will do that occasionally for a more dramatic look.

So I definitely need to pair metallic shades with some matte or at least satin shadows. Because this palette is all metallic, it doesn't work as a standalone option for me. I've needed to pull out some matte palettes or singles to use with it.

From l. to r.: Ground, Aluminum, Spandex, Dive, Metalhead, Punk Rock, Mullet, Amp

From l. to r.: Twisted and Glamrock

From l. to r.: Bass, Glory, Demo, Starfire, Afterparty, Angelfire, Roadie, Maiden

From l. to r.: Scream and Acoustic

And yet, I still feel like the palette is worth it for me. I absolutely love metallic shadows, so having a palette with 20 options that all have a great formula is a lot of fun.

Angelfire and Maiden have been my new favorite lid shades since I purchased the palette -- so pretty and brightening!

Afterparty and Roadie are other standouts for me, but I've also loved lining my eyes Dive and Amp for a little pop of color.

So I definitely recommend this palette, but with the caveat that it's not for everyone.

If you don't like metallic shadows or don't like them enough to need 20 different shades, you can pass on this one.

If you do love metallic shadows, though, you can pick the palette up for $55 on the Urban Decay website, Sephora, and Ulta.

Have you tried the Urban Decay Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette? Are you a fan?