THE RISE & FALL OF URBAN DECAY

The rise & fall of Urban Decay

~ S U B S C R I B E ~

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WHAT I’M WEARING:

Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet
Lips: Urban Decay Midnight Cowgirl Lip Gloss
Nails: NCLA Pulling Up In My Pink Caddy
Earrings & Necklace: Ana Luisa

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FAQ:

What is your skin type? Normal to dry
What editing software do you use? Wondershare Filmora
How old are you? 27

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[danisarmi]

Urban decay went from the punk rocker sister to getting a 9 to 5 job in a bank like her older sisters while claiming she's still a rebel. They should bring back those edgy products, that's a niche in the mainstream market that's now unoccupied. Currently, if you want something different, you can't find it at a regular makeup store like sephora. They should reformulate their regular mattes and metallics, and maybe try to use more their moondust formula. I don't think they've had a moondust in a palette outside of the one palette they did full of moondust shades. Bring back the blues and purples in lip colors, maybe some fun highlighters and blushes, maybe get into the euphoria vibe with rhinestones and glitters? Bright liquid eyeliners to compliment their pencils. They're missing from the mainstream market, it's just that they remove their l'oreal naked blinders and reach out!
Why they're trying to be emily in paris instead of euphoria is beyond me.

[lipstickzombie]

I subsisted on instant noodles and canned sardines for months just to buy the OG lipsticks for they cost a pretty penny. Their tagline 'Does pink make you puke?' caught a lot of people's attention. It and Hard Candy were big on the rave scene with their unconventional colors. How they went from booming to boring was disappointing.

[katiwang]

I remember the original vibe of Urban Decay. Edgy and cool. It's definitely not that now. But like you, I still have a love for them. You're nails looked incredible in this video. Like... mesmerizing. The color and shape. Total nail envy.

[singlehandedbeauty]

When I hear a loved brand is acquired by L'Oreal, my heart sinks. I get L'Oreal buying out "mass appealing" companies, but I have never understood why they would purchase brands like Urban Decay and Mugler. They do not fit the L'Oreal aesthetic and end up gutting them to make them more generic and profitable. I'm currently collecting discontinued Mugler fragrances (because their new releases are awful) and haven't purchased anything from Urban Decay in years.

[mommafletch]

I actually cracked open my OLD Naked palette the other day, I wanted a dark blue grey, and nothing was going to work, except Gunmetal, lol! The beauty of that palette was that it had different hues- blue/grey; purple/taupe; gold/olive; and the proper blending and highlighting shades. And, at the time, they were all PERMANENT- if I ran out of Sidecar, I could go buy a single of Sidecar (and I did!). The palette shades were the same weight and formula as the singles, and the palette was such a savings, compared to buying the singles in a collection. I would RUN to the store or website, if they ever re-release it!

[anulydal]

I totally agree that Urban Decays eyeshadow formula is outdated. I got the ultraviolet palette thinking it would be fun to play with, but it just wasn't what I was hoping for. I passed it to my older sister, and she loves it. Her makeup style is a lot more subtle than mine.

[flaviah]

I remember their single “Midnight Cowboy.” They couldn’t keep it in stock at Sephora. I recently had to declutter my original Naked palette because it was so old, but I really miss it

[ccl]

I was in college in the late 80s early 90s. The aesthetic was very much neutral or blue eyeshadow and poop brown or raisin colored lipstick. Pink and red lips were considered uncool by the time the 90s rolled around. I was absolutely a grunge girl. Way too much eyeliner and lipgloss and that was it. I remember when urban decay and hard candy launched and I loved it. I started with the weird nail polish colors and then by the early 2000s was starting to make palettes. I still have the first palette urban decay ever made. It was what inspired me to start using eyeshadow. It was in a purple velvet case with a kind of foil “chain mail” type look in the center and was all shimmers and super bright. I immediately fell in love with the pretty sparkles. I still have it because I’ve never been able to find a dupe for the bright green or the hot bright pinky/purple that was in there. The only mattes to deepen a look or put in the crease was not a consideration for us. We didn’t care. We put shimmers wherever the hell we felt like it. I still do to be honest. I think the lack of matte crease/deepening shades in the palettes that everyone complains about now is a reflection of the time that urban decay comes from. Most of us early urban decay uses were not trying to look prettier. We were having fun painting our faces with bright colors and expressing ourselves artistically. We didn’t care about or follow makeup application “rules” like only mattes in the crease or to deepen a look. Urban decay definitely was not corporate office worker or beauty pageant makeup to maximize your features or make you look pretty and it wasn’t meant to be In this way I think they did stay true to their original vision. I think that the brand like many of us ahem women of a certain age have slowed down and toned things down a bit as we have gotten older and I think they have absolutely lost their edge. I know mine is definitely more round than sharp at this point. 😂

[miabellkl]

Something interesting to note about Urban Decay - they have recently shuttered their online website for France and are completely pulling out of the market (it will no longer be sold at Sephora etc.) Obviously the brand is really struggling

[saulemaroussault]

I’m really glad to see makeup content that’s not about buying new things. Really cool series :)

[starbyheart]

I think Urban Decay has been out of the loop for a while. I think the last time I was excited for one of their launches was for the Born To Run palette that I still like today. But nothing else has caught my eye in years. I hope they do come back and surprise us all.

[kkouz]

When Urban Decay launched as that cool grunge company with its anti-Bobbi Brown aesthetic, you didn’t have to be part of that scene to enjoy its take on makeup. The brand felt and looked different from its color stories to promotional materials. Now smaller indie brands occupy the space once held by UD for edgy makeup lovers; I don’t see them wanting to reclaim it, if they even could.

[Katirin]

Here in northern europe Urban decay has withdrawn from the market. Suddenly, there was a huge sale at the end of december in every store that sold Urban decay. And now it's totally gone, I heard it's the case with whole northern europe. I would be curious to know what happened. They were quite popular in here.

[nixier]

I’d Love to see you do one of these on HARD CANDY, I remember when it was sold next to urban decay in ulta! Love these videos so much, doll

[scottycaplan]

Hey Kelly ! A little info from France: Urban Decay France is closing. We wont find it in Sephora anymore and the french website is closing too...

[Miriam]

As a 90s chick, I used UD all the time. It got me away from trying to find something fun at the Chanel counter -- LOL! All time favorite color from UD: Gash.

[sunshinet]

urban decay was the first "high end" brand i ever bought. i got their eyeshadow primer and it opened the door to everything else, because i wanted to find eyeshadows that were worth the use of this expensive eye primer. i couldn't afford them very often but there's still a lot of nostalgia attached to the brand for me

[addienieto]

Good morning Kelly! I agree, UD has had a few “what is this?” kind of launches. They’ll always have a special place in my heart however, because my first ever high end eyeshadow palette that my brother gave me for Christmas. I was in my junior or senior year in hs & I wore every color until it was gone! I wish I’d kept it for memories (since it’s been long discontinued) but I won’t ever forget it so it’s okay🤗

[cool_toned_woman]

If Urban Decay would bring back the Naked one and the Naked two, i'd buy them!

I miss them so much.... no orange, no pinks, no glitters or extreme bright colours.... just good and solid eyeshadowoalettes for real people....

In the city i live here in Germany, i've NEVER seen peoples with orange, red or yellow eyelooks... but a lot of brown and other minimalistic neutral looks...

[kellya]

You didn't mention the Book of Shadows palettes!!! That is how I originally heard of UD. Those colors and ideas more were definitely more true to their origins. They had a full size primer potion, and 2 eyeliners. I ended up with both Alice palettes, and Book of Shadows 2, 3, and 4. Their original shadow formula was actually really good. I still have those books, and the formula is so nice. If they still had those formulas, they would be more competitive.