Urban Decay Electric Pressed Pigment Palette

As a self-proclaimed Urban Decay palette addict, you know I had to pick up their latest (and certainly loudest) creation. In March, Urban Decay released the Electric Pressed Pigment Palette, and with Sephora's VIB 15% discount last month, I had even more reason to snatch this baby up. Urban Decay describes it as "a colour addict's ultimate fix: a mind-blowing palette filled with ten of the brightest, most amazing shades you've ever laid eyes on." This palette includes "ultra-smooth mattes to highly dimensional shimmers" that deliver "insane colour payout." They claim that "using pressed pigments was the only way [they] could create heavily saturated brights with the intense pigment load [they] craved." So they developed an "entirely new formula… to make sure each one would apply with a soft and creamy texture and deliver serious colour payout." It is packaged in a plastic rectangular compact with a "vivid, dimensional, multi-layered smoke-screen print reminiscent of the shades inside" with Urban Decay's name, logo, and the palette name printed in white on the lid. Each palette comes with a large mirror encompassing the entire inside of the lid, and a double-ended synthetic-fibre pressed pigment brush. It contains 12 grams of product, and retails for $58.
Top row: Revolt, Gonzo, Slowburn, Savage, and FringeBottom row: Chaos, Jilted, Urban, Freak, and Thrash
Revolt, Gonzo, Slowburn, Savage, and Fringe

Revolt is a light vibrant silver with silver micro-glitter in a metallic finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2013's Anarchy Face Case palette, and is limited edition. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. However, due to the amount of glitter, there can be some fall-out. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more silvered than Urban Decay Zephyr, darker and more pigmented than MAC Forgery, and more silver than MAC Crystal Avalanche.
Gonzo is a medium vibrant cyan blue with subtle silver micro-shimmer in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It brighter and more matte than Urban Decay Peace, similar to MAC Hi-Def Cyan Pigment, and cooler than MAC Electric Eel.
Slowburn is a medium-dark vibrant reddened orange in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter than MAC Red Brick, brighter and more reddened than MAC Rule, and more reddened than Illamasqua Apex. (Note: This shade is not intended for use around the immediate eye area.)
Savage is a medium-dark vibrant magenta pink in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is much brighter and cooler than MAC Tease With Ease Pro Longwear Eyeshadow, slightly lighter and warmer than Sugarpill Dollipop Eyeshadow, and lighter than Make Up For Ever Neon Pink 75 Eyeshadow. (Note: This shade is not intended for use around the immediate eye area.)
Fringe is a medium-dark vibrant teal-blue in a metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and brighter than Urban Decay Deep End, brighter and more teal than Haight, and darker and more teal than Urban Decay Peace.

Top row: Revolt, Gonzo, Slowburn, Savage, and FringeBottom row: Chaos, Jilted, Urban, Freak, and Thrash
Chaos, Jilted, Urban, Freak, and Thrash

Chaos is a medium-dark brightened cobalt blue with subtle silver micro-shimmer in a matte finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2012's Vice Palette. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than MAC Atlantic Blue, darker and brighter than Illamasqua Imagine, and similar to Sugarpill Royal Sugar.
Jilted is a medium-dark vibrant magenta-fuchsia in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter and more pink than Urban Decay Fishnet, cooler and more purple-toned than Urban Decay Woodstock, and brighter than MAC Tease With Ease Pro Longwear Eyeshadow. (Note: This shade is not intended for use around the immediate eye area.)
Urban is a medium-dark vibrant pinked purple in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter and more pinked than Urban Decay Flash, brighter than Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister. (Note: This shade is not intended for use around the immediate eye area.)
Freak is a light-medium vibrant lime green with golden shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and cooler than MAC Lucky Green, lighter than Makeup Greek Appletini, and lighter and brighter than Makeup Geek Shimmermint.
Thrash is a light-medium vibrant yellow-toned chartreuse green in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly darker than MAC Bitter, brighter and more green than NARS Rated R (green shade), and lighter and more yellow than Illamasqua Pivot.

Holy. Crap. This palette is a definite must-have for any bright eyeshadow lovers. Every single shade here executes flawlessly. They're all soft, smooth, pigmented — all the attributes that I have come to expect of Urban Decay's eyeshadows. As Urban Decay has to state that a few of these shades are "not intended for use in the immediate eye area," they have called this a "Pressed Pigment Palette" (similar to many of MAC's brighter or neon pigments, which are also not meant to be used on the eye area) rather than an eyeshadow palette. They put this warning because many pigments haven't been tested or approved by the FDA or Health Canada for use on the eye. Some pigments (like carmine, for instance) have a higher probability of irritation or allergy than others, but I don't generally have problems with them so I still consider these all eyeshadows and use them as such. However, if you find that you have sensitivities to red- or pink-toned eyeshadows, you should heed the warning (the four shades that are not recommended for use in the eye area can be used as bright blush shades instead). In any case, I think this is a truly spectacular palette — a lot of brands don't come out with straight-up bright shades like this housed in a single palette so it's kind of refreshing to see Urban Decay, who re-invented itself with a neutral palette, release one. And one that is so well-executed, too.