Urban Decay x Basquiat Gold Griot Palette

Monday, June 26, 2017

When I swatched this palette instore earlier this year at Ulta, I liked it. I didn't full-price-love it, but promised myself that if I ever saw this marked down at HauteLook, Nordstrom Rack or the like, I'd immediately snatch it up. I guessed that it would take about a year to reach discount status, but was happy that it happened a lot sooner.

It didn't even take half a year for a pretty sizable reduction in price to hit this collection. Many retailers including Sephora, Macy's, and Ulta had a 30% off hit the collection in the same week, so I took the opportunity to buy Gold Griot. The packaging features Basquiat's work, is made from a very textured feeling, extra heavy duty kind of cardboard.

The colors are well rounded, and include a russet-y matte shade that has been a reoccurring theme in every palette I've purchased the last few years (NARS Loaded, Viseart Warm Neutrals, Viseart Neutral Mattes, Charlotte Tilbury The Dolce Vita, Kat Von D Monarch).

Can't get enough of it, I love warm creases so much.

Top row: Suckerpunch, Not For Sale, Levitation, Enigma
Bottom: Influence, BK, Pseudonym, Crown

Over primer.

It was Pseudonym that really attracted my attention. I like inky navy-indigo shades, particularly mattes. There's only ever been one such shadow that exceeded my expectations (thanks Rae for Annabelle B Ray!), this one was pretty decent in that it didn't blend entirely out to black once on the eyelid.

Overall the shadows are pretty good, not exceptional. I think Viseart and NARS have really raised the bar for me this year regarding matte and shimmery shadows, respectively. In comparison, this Urban Decay palette is just aight. I'm glad I stuck to my guns and waited for the price of this palette to drop. The pigmentation is good, though Crown tends to really lose its perceived yellow-ness once on the skin, maybe that's just with my coloring. Most of the shimmer in Suckerpunch seems to drop out once you start blending.

The double headed synthetic brush that I don't particularly care for. They kick up a lot of dust. Can't store with standing up with the rest of my brushes, so I leave it in the palette. It constantly falls out when I'm using Gold Griot (which isn't exactly its fault), I have a tendency to twirl and move about as I'm applying shadows.

Here's some of the looks I've done with just this palette's shadows.

Crown on the lid, Pseudonym in the outer V. Enigma under the brow.

Enigma, Levitation under the brow. Not For Sale is the warm transition. Suckerpunch and a bit of Pseudonym used to darken. Influence all over the lid.

BK as liner. Pseudonym to darken, Crown in the inner corner and under lower lashes.

Matte smokey look using Pseudonym and BK near the lashline, Not For Sale in the transition. Crown in the inner corner and Levitation as well as Enigma under the brow.

Other products used in these four looks:

Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder in Granite

Eyes:
Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless Eye Primer, false lashes, Opera Volume Control Mascara, Innisfree Powerproof Brush Liner

If you see this palette heavily discounted, there's a fair chance that you might really like it. The colors make for a few different types of looks, and although they are not exactly unique, the shades in this palette are quite nice. I would maybe wait until it was at least 50% off before picking it up.

Is there anything that you've picked up at a discount that you were glad you didn't buy at full price?

Product featured was purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to Disclosure Policy. Post contains affiliate links.