I Am Bourgeois

I’m not one to do reviews on a product without testing it extensively, but I’m too freaking excited to share my pictures of the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows. I ordered it on the website the very hour it was released, knowing very well that Urban Decay only made 200 of these babies. While I had no problems getting my hands on one, I encountered a bit of trouble actually purchasing the product. I thought I could slide past Urban Decay’s no international orders policy by using a US shipping address, but it turns out that they don’t accept non-US credit cards or Paypal accounts! This pissed me off to no end, but I’ve always been a very persistent and resourceful person who finds ways to bend the rules. :P It eventually occurred to me to ask a US-based friend to make the purchase if they have a Paypal account and five minutes of free time. Helga’s boyfriend agreed to help me out, and I sent him the money on Paypal so he can make the purchase at work. Two weeks later, the palette arrived in Manila via Johnny Air! Shipping only cost me P419 because Liz, Mara, and Rhiz ordered their own makeup from Urban Decay and shared the shipping with me. I’m giddy that I got my Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows for a lot cheaper than the P3,500 enterprising others are charging for it.

Anyway, on to the palette! As you can see, the focal point of the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows is the pop-out scene of Alice entering the mushroom garden. It’s just way too pretty to not take a crapload of pictures of.

I love how the Book of Shadows looks like an actual book!

Click for more photos, eyeshadow swatches, and my review.

Swatches of the shadows ahead! I took these under natural light, and they’re a lot less shimmery than in real life. (I need to learn how to make the shinyness pop out in my swatch photos.)

Left to right: Underland, Alice, Oraculum, Queen

Left to right: Chessur, White Rabbit, Wonderland, Curiouser

Left to right: Muchness, Mushroom, Midnight Tea Party, Vorpal

Left to right: Absolem, Drink Me Eat Me, Mad Hatter, Jabberwocky

Most of the shadows have the same soft, satiny texture Urban Decay eyeshadow is famous for. Alice and Oraculum are intensely pigmented; all you need is a single dab of your brush. Midnight Tea Party is insanely glittery – save this for clubbing or avant-garde photoshoots. Underland and Mad Hatter are on the chalky side; these two are my least favorite shadows.

Now for the part that I don’t like. I was aware that the shadows in the Alice in Wonderland BoS were all reissued colors; there’s not a single exclusive shadow in this palette. What I didn’t realize is that I already had about seven of them in my Eyeshadow Ammo palette. This wouldn’t have stopped me from buying it, but I would have been a lot happier if it had more shadows I didn’t already have. Below are the Eyeshadow Ammo shadows swatched with their Alice doppelgangers.

Chopper and Chessur

Sin and Eat Me, Drink Me

Polyester Bride and White Rabbit

Maui Wowie and Wonderland

Grifter and Curiouser

Last Call and Queen

Oil Slick and Jabberwocky

I’m also told that the other shadows can be found in previous editions of the Book of Shadows. For this reason, I actually wouldn’t recommend the Alice palette if you already have the Book of Shadows Vol II and the Eyeshadow Ammo. I suppose you can get the Alice palette for collection purposes and use the identical colors as back-ups, but I’m not one to buy a pretty package if I already have what it has inside. On the other hand, if you’ve never owned a single Urban Decay eyeshadow, the Alice palette is a great place to start! Not only does it have seven of their best-selling shadows; you also get two eyeliners and the cult favorite Primer Potion all in one neat, limited-edition package. Not a bad deal for $52!

That being said, I’m glad that I don’t have the older Book of Shadows because the Alice in Wonderland palette is way too pretty to resist. I’m glad I bought it, I’m glad that I was persistent enough to find ways to buy it, and now I’m going to find time from my busy schedule to come up with interesting looks using my new shadows. As of this writing the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows is sold out, but I have a feeling that Urban Decay will reissue a few more in the future.