Review: Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette (with Naked Basics Palette)

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette

Urban Decay finally went back to their roots after all of the Nakedness and came out with the Electric Pressed Pigment Palette. This palette is filled with vivid shades that are otherworldly compared to the Naked palettes. Although I have a very real fear of looking like a rainbow puked on my face, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this. Basically, it’s like that first set of watercolors that you get when you’re in kindergarten. It’s so pretty and you can’t wait to dip into it. But honestly, how is this practical for someone who just turned 30? I knew it wouldn’t be, but I talked myself into anyway. That’s when I decided to throw my Naked Basics Palette into the mix. This review will cover both of these palettes.

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette

The Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette is available at Sephora and Ulta for $49.00 and comes in a sturdy, printed, black plastic case with a huge mirror, a double-ended brush with neon purple bristles, and 10 vibrantly colored PIGMENTS. Why are they referred to as pigments instead of eye shadow? Loopholes. There are four shades (Slowburn, Savage, Jilted, and Urban) that have not been FDA approved in the United States to be used on the immediate eye area (but you can use them as blush, for example). I think we all know what everyone is using them for despite the warning, though.

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette Swatches

Revolt-A shimmery, glittery, metallic silver. This is probably my least favorite out of the whole palette because it is very gritty and crumbly.

Gonzo-A bright, turquoise blue with a hint of glitter.

Slowburn-A bright, reddish-orange matte.

Savage-A bright, hot pink matte.

Fringe-A frosty teal. One of my favorites out of the whole palette.

Chaos-A bright blue matte. This one was very chalky.

Jilted-A frosty fuscia.

Urban-A deep, frosty purple.

Freak-A bright, shimmery green.

Thrash-A yellow-leaning chartreuse with a hint of shimmer. Another favorite.

I have a love/hate relationship with this palette. Some shades flattered my complexion perfectly while others looked downright horrible. It took a lot of trial and error for me to find combinations between these shades and the shades in the Naked Basics palette that worked. Some days I pulled it off brilliantly, some days I wanted to hide under my bed because I looked like I was prepping for a unicorn hunt. The good news is that working with such a challenging palette really gave me a much better idea of which colors work best with my skin tone.

Overall, the color payoff was pretty incredible for these pigments. I like that there is a decent blend of finishes so that there aren’t too many shimmers or too many mattes. The Naked palettes seemed to go overboard on the shimmers and glitters, which left me feeling like a trashy ice princess at times. The majority of them are soft and blendable, with the exception of Revolt, which was very gritty and crumbly. I also found Chaos to be very chalky and some powder transferred over to whichever direction I was blending, so I always had to wipe a layer of blue dust off of my cheek or nose when I used it. My absolute favorites were the more green-leaning colors like Fringe, Freak, and Thrash because they complimented the peachy-pink tones in my skin and they were all very easy to work with. Still, I feel this palette is incomplete without some sort of neutral like black or white, which is why I incorporated the Naked Basics palette. I would never be able to use this alone, but it will be fun to pick a few shades from it if I’m looking to add an extra punch to my look every now and then.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

The Naked Basics Palette is exactly what it sounds like-A basic eye shadow palette filled with a nice little spectrum of neutrals from white to beige to brown to black. I picked it up ages ago, but never touched it because all but one of the shades are matte and I tend to gravitate toward more shimmery neutrals for simple, natural looks. Still, I figured I’d find a use for it at some point. This was one of those moments.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

This palette comes in a compact little case with a mirror and consists of six shades, one shimmer and five mattes. The case is surprisingly tiny for housing as many full-size eye shadows as it does, making it very portable and easy to throw in your purse if necessary. The palette is available at Sephora and Ulta and retails for $29.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette Swatches

Venus-A shimmery white. One of my favorites to use as a highlight.

Foxy-A matte, yellowy beige.

W.O.S. (Walk of Shame)-A matte, light, pinky-peach beige. 

Naked 2-A matte, light taupe.

Faint-A matte, medium-dark brown

Crave-A matte black.

I’m actually really blown away by this palette despite it looking like the least exciting palette I own. The quality and the texture of these is incredible. They are all very soft and blend beautifully. I find myself using it regularly to give random single eye shadows I own a more finished look. Venus is probably my favorite shadow to use as a highlight, Foxy and W.O.S. consistently help set the stage for other colors I plan to use, and Naked 2, Faint, and Crave help with dimension and contrast. Overall, this is an amazing palette and a must-have, especially if you are a fan of neutrals. I will probably run out, and I will probably buy it again when it does.

If you’ve made it this far, I bet you’re ready to see some Electric/Basics combos. Here you go:

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Thrash, Revolt, Venus, Foxy, Naked 2, Faint

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Slowburn, Venus, Foxy, Naked 2, Faint

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Slowburn, Urban, Venus, Foxy, Naked 2, Faint

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Jilted, Venus, Foxy, Naked 2, Crave

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Gonzo, Fringe, Venus, Foxy, Crave

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Fringe, Venus, Foxy, Naked 2, Faint

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Freak, Thrash, Venus, W.O.S., Naked 2, Faint

Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette and Naked Basics Palette: Chaos, Thrash, Venus, W.O.S., Naked 2, Faint