Urban Decay Electric Palette - First Look with Swatches

The beauty world is one again a tizzy and once again, Urban Decay are the source of all the chatter. The new Electric Palette is as far from the Naked collection as one could possibly get and I'm about to show you why. I was thrilled to be one of the first to be sent this riot of colour before its release on April 1st and in the name of transparency, there's not a single filter on the following pics. 

Shade Up!

When the first pictures of Electric leaked several weeks ago there were cries of 'Sleek Ultra Matte' and, to be fair, on initial inspection of press pics, the palettes are similar. See Sleek here. It's not until you crack open the lid of this eye-wideningly bright offering that you see just how different they are. Ready for some swatches? 

One touch - ONE

& Again ONE TOUCH

The pigmentation of these colours is genuinely like nothing I've seen before. You know I'll wax lyrical about buttery UD formulas and yammer on about pigmentation but we were talking about taupe - THIS is a rainbow!

Top row: 

Revolt: A densely packed, high shine silver. Soft to the touch but Tin Man, show stopping silver metallic. 

Gonzo: Again soft but high octane, electric blue with a bajillion silver/blue mocro glitter particles - do NOT expect to wash this puppy off with just one swish. 

Slowburn: Drier to the touch but no less pigmented, Ai Chi Wah Wah orange with silver microglitter. 

Savage: Dry, almost chalk formulation but the matte hot neon pink is a beaut on the skin. Again, this won't go without some serious scrubbage - Brilliant news for editorial and digital MUA work. 

Fringe: Stunningly bright metallic teal that's buttery soft to the touch. This is on my eyeballs as you read this, I guarantee it. Can see it being a liner staple for Summer months. 

Bottom Row: 

Chaos: Deep Royal Blue with silver microglitter. These bright blues always remind me of holidays, Chaos will we a liner of choice too. 

Jilted: Perhaps my favourite of the palette, Jilted is a radiant orchid (HELLO, Pantone 2014) with a blue duochrome finish. Crushed velvet soft and second take, stunning on the skin, I can see myself using this as a lip tint over Cicaplast balm and as a flush of blush in the hotter months. 

Urban: Satin finish metallic purple, possibly the most wearable for everyday looks after Fringe. Urban will turn heads as a purple smokey eye. 

Freak: Metallic pale lime green, this is high sheen and would make a beautiful wash of colour for Spring looks. Almost the most tame of the lot, that's saying something for a LIME GREEN. 

Thrash: This chartreuse yellow/green was one of my favourite colours for clothes in 2013. The microglitter in this high shine shadow will make for a bright liner that will bring life to any subtle eye look. 

As well as the sturdy, metallic closing case, the Electric palette gives us the perfect double ended brush for laying these colours onto the skin as that's what you'll need to do. The softer of the shades will blend easily I'd imagine, with the brighter pops needing a little assistance from a neutral shade. 

Bonus Kitteh Helper pic - Look how tiny her pupils are - THAT'S how bright Electric is. 

The thing to remember with this UD offering is that it's not just an eyeshadow palette, the shades are multi functional and designed to be used on the skin as well as the eyelids so have fun with it. I think that's what might endear me to this palette, the reminder that make up is about having fun, dressing up and feeling good about it. 

With Summer festivals being announced left right and centre, my advice is to get thee to a UD counter and swatch this palette like there's no tomorrow once it hits on April 1st for €45, be warned though, bring some wipes as these shades have SERIOUS staying power. 

Will you be dashing out come April 1st? To the comments!