Visiting Urban Decay Shop

Last week I visited London to see the Urban Decay shop, it was a lot more elegant than I expected and really welcoming. The exterior of the shop made it stand out a mile compared to the others on the road with it's bright purple signature colour and the name in a mirrored effect.

The inside of the shop didn't disappoint bringing the same theme inside keeping that elegance and sophistication but still showing the quirky side of Urban Decay.

The etching on the mirror gave that effect of still being urban and the city appeal. The interior was bright and didn't have awful shopping centre lighting that makes the worst foundation look good on you. There were seats dotted around that made you feel you could just sit down and have a good chat. One wall was full of purple sequins! (This happened to be my favourite part)

Down to their brush belts and black uniform you can tell Urban Decay are really becoming a high end brand with class and quality.

While I saw there one of the lovely ladies Danielle gave a demo on a perfect cut crease a daring look that you wouldn't see Chanel or Dior giving. She also mentioned how all of Urban Decay's products aren't just made for one particular use they are all multi use and be used as more than one thing to create the bright colour you want. For example the pink eyebrows, she did this with a lip liner and a pink eyeshadow out the electric palette.

After the demo I managed to interview Danielle and really get the answers to the questions I have been wondering about.

Do the nail varnish sets release in the UK?
They have released in the Uk before but it was within House of Fraser. When they were brought out though they didn't sell to well over here. So they tend not to release the limited edition sets now they just have the permanent lines. 
Do you have to be a Makeup Artist to work at Urban Decay?
No unfortunately. When I first started Urban Decay were more Sale Driven and about selling as much a possible as they were a small brand they needed to get their name out there. Normally within one day I would sell a lipstick and a mascara and that would be good. Now Urban Decay are a big brand it is more about the makeup and application. 
What would you say is Urban Decays signature look?
There are three looks and it's funny because us sale girls always fall into at least one of them. There is the fun look, bright crazy colours just like the electric palette. Then there is feminine which would be the Naked collections glow to the skin with glossy lips, the no makeup makeup look. Then last is dangerous sharp eyebrows smokey eye shadow. Which one do you think i'm in? The dangerous category?  Yeah defiantly I love my drag queen makeup, there is no right or wrong with how you want your makeup but those are always the signature looks for Urban Decay. 
What products do you think should be a staple in every makeup bag?
All 3 of the naked palettes are a must. They last so long I've had my naked 2 palette for 2 years now and have only just hit pan on one colour they are so pigmented you don't need a lot of shadow. Another thing I can never see myself not using and think everyone should have is the Eye primer it's just amazing it makes the colours pop and really holds them in place. The setting sprays as well another amazing product which everyone should have. 
If you were a creative director for Urban Decay what products would you want to release? 
Well we have a big release happening soon for our summer collection but I can't say much about it just that it will change the brand in a whole new way. It will be lips and cheeks so take from that what you think! But if i was deciding I would bring out a whole wide range of matte eyeshadows we have a couple now but i'm talking from the dark colours all the way through neutrals to the bright colours. 
Out of all of the products which one is the most versatile? 
The naked basic palettes there isn't one day I don't use it great for brows, eyeshadow, eyeliner, contouring, highlight it's just amazing. 

After visiting the shop and really getting to play with the products the more I learn about Urban Decay the more I love everything about them.
For my final pictures I want to give them the beautiful look but still a light quirkiness of Urban Decay. As their tag line says beauty with an edge.

Urban Decay Price Range

For me Urban Decay are a middle brand, they aren't as cheap as high street brands like Rimmel and Max Factor but not as extreme as Chanel and Dior. For me UD are in the same price bracket as Benefit. They are an up and coming brand with a client age of late teens to early 30's. Urban decay offer fanatics sizes of the product for the money.

However a mac eyeshadow is 1.5g and is only £13 where as Urban Decay is the same gram but its a pound more being £14. In my opinion i think Ud eyeshadows are better than mac so worth the extra pound.


Some products for Urban decay are fantastic prices where as some I feel they are taking the mickey.

Urban Decay Models

One model that is featured a lot within their advertisements is Barbara Fialho she featured in their fall 2013 collection. She is very petite but has an interesting look about her I think it's her eyes. They normally pull the hair off her face when doing a shoot to really show the sharp features of her face.

I tried emailing Urban Decay to find out the other models but they said they were too busy to respond so I will ask counter staff. 

Update: The Counter staff didn't know who the models were. 

Spring Summer 2015

One look that really stood out for me that I think would be a huge influence on Urban Decay would have been Versace's makeup done my Pat McGrath.

McGrath said Versace wanted a rock and roll edge that is in all of the collections but still that element of sexiness to shine through. She wanted the eyes to be the main focal point of the makeup look at what you are drawn in to. This look is edge and pushes boundaries just like Urban Decay try to do it wouldn't surprise me if they do a campagain with a diffdrent shaped eye liner.



Hair in a lot of shows this spring had featured messy hair or natural hair. Just like in Versace again and also shown in Chanel with messy plaits with flowers in the hair. Urban decay would be all for this as they love the idea of leaving stuff natural and see what happens with it like the decaying city we live in. I think this kind of hair style would suit a shoot for the day time makeup look representing effortless beauty.