As a follow-up to their palette released as a tie-in to the 2010 Alice in Wonderland movie, Urban Decay has launched their Through the Looking Glass collection to go with this year's sequel, which will hit theaters May 27. Like the previous palette, this one features a pop-up design and a vast array of colors. There are also 5 lipsticks sporting the same crazy kaleidoscope design as on the palette's outer case.
Love this quote on the inside.
As for the outer packaging, Urban Decay founder and Chief Creative Officer Wende Zomnir explains, “This was made to look like an acid trip. We took a different approach and decided, ‘Let’s make it really colorful and bright because the shades are like that'…even if you aren’t attached to the film, the butterfly tells the story of what the makeup is all about, which is transformation."
The quote on the side of the palette is also a nod to the transformation theme.
There are 20 colors total (4 more than the previous palette), and 4 are dedicated to each of the 5 main characters from the film: Alice, Mad Hatter, Time, the White Queen and the Red Queen. “We loved the original construction and keeping it in the same vein, but we wanted to tell a different story with the shades and really bring a focus to the shades,” says Zomnir.
Naturally I selected the two boldest colors from the lipstick lineup. The blue lipstick was not an accidental creation – it represents both Alice's coat and also shows that Urban Decay is paying attention to the mainstreaming of what used to be considered outlandish colors. Says Zomnir, “My customer is a very independent thinker. She’s really into self-expression. She loves makeup. While Alice is a very plain character, she’s associated with the blue dress — in this case, it’s a coat — and we were able to pull in that interesting blue with her, and the makeup is rad for all the other characters…Six years ago, Anne Hathaway’s White Queen makeup was a little extreme, but now you see it on the street.”
The little cup I put the lipsticks in here is a souvenir from my Disney trip. 🙂
Objectively speaking I thought this collection was well done. But personally, I'm a bigger fan of the first Alice in Wonderland book/movie so anything to do with that I'm going to like more than items related to Through the Looking Glass. This palette is great but I so enjoyed seeing all the characters in the previous palette (my favorite, if you remember, was the caterpillar).
What do you think? How does this collection compare to Urban Decay's previous Alice-themed palette, and for that matter, other Alice in Wonderland makeup? (See here and here.)
I thought I'd open this post with my absolute favorite Pulp Fiction scene (sorry it's in two parts – I couldn't find a video of the Jack Rabbit Slims scene in its entirety.) So. Many. Great. Lines.
I could sit here and type out every single Pulp Fiction line from memory, but I'll spare you and focus on the glorious Urban Decay collection instead. As you may know, Pulp Fiction is the Curator's all-time favorite movie so I was beyond excited to see this collection devoted to Mia Wallace, just in time for the film's 20-year (!) anniversary. I picked up the palette, lipstick and nail polish. There was also a glitter eye liner and dark red lip liner, but I passed on those, choosing to focus on the most Mia-esque products.
I squealed with delight when I noticed the band-aid on the bottom back of the packaging, an ode to the famous bandage Marcellus Wallace sported on the back of his head (which, incidentally, appeared simply because actor Ving Rhames had a scar there he wanted to cover up – there was no hidden meaning behind it).
I also liked that quotes were included.
Since the collection is based specifically on Mia, I personally would have gone with the following on the back of the palette instead of Jules's speech: "I do believe Marcellus, my husband, your boss, told you to take me out and do whatever I wanted. Now I wanna dance, I wanna win, I want that trophy. So dance good!" And then put different ones on the insides of the lipstick and nail polish boxes, like "I can keep a secret if you can" or "Cooties I can handle." Maybe Urban Decay couldn't get the rights to include any other quotes besides Ezekiel 25:17.
Sadly one of the eye shadows crumbled in transit.
There was a cute little "get the look card" – now anyone can be Mrs. Mia Wallace!
The colors for the lipstick and nail polish are great, but I think it would been cool to have been a little more creative with the names. Both are called Mrs. Mia Wallace…how about working in some quotes of hers? The lipstick could be Two Shakes, as in "Go make yourself a drink and I'll be down in two shakes of a lamb's tail" (especially because there's a close-up of her lips as she's saying it.) And maybe we could call the nail polish Fox Force Five.
Overall, I think the collection was nicely done, although I don't think the colors are exact dupes for the original shades. It's common knowledge that Uma Thurman wore Chanel Vamp nail polish – but then again, why would you a create a collection that consists of essentially the same colors as existing ones? I suppose Urban Decay had to forge their own path.
And now a little bonus that I couldn't resist including in this post: my very spiffy, oh-so-official Pulp Fiction gift guide. If they're not into makeup, you can get the Pulp Fiction addict in your life another little trinket so that they will have happy memories of the 20th anniversary of the movie.
Finally, I must give a shout-out to my dear old dad, the movie buff who took me to see Pulp Fiction in the theater when I was a wee lass of 15. Now, my dad didn't make a habit of taking his young daughter to see films filled with graphic violence, but he had seen it a few weeks prior and loved it, and somehow he just knew I would too. His hunch was spot-on – I was instantly intrigued and to this day, no movie has quite spoken to me the way Pulp Fiction has. And since we both love it so much, one of our many treasured bonds is quoting lines together, as silly as that sounds (and if the husband and I had gone through with the idea of dancing at our wedding, my dad and I were planning to break out the Jack Rabbit Slims moves as our father-daughter dance!) I don't ever think about Pulp Fiction without thinking fondly of my dad, probably one of the other reasons it remains my favorite movie.
So…what do you think of the Urban Decay collection? And are you as rabid a Pulp Fiction fan as I am?
The Oscars are over, but that's not going to stop me from taking another look at movie tie-in beauty products. I first covered these in 2010 so it's high time for a refresher.
Which is your fave? I'm always partial to Stila, but I do love the envelope design on the Lancôme palette – very simple and elegant.
Urban Decay released its third Book of Shadows, this time devoted to New York City. Like the Alice in Wonderland palette, it's a pop-up, but it also lights up.
Details:
Here are the shadows:
With flash:
Overall I think the artwork and lights captured the hustle and bustle, not to mention the hipness and sophistication of the Big Apple, but I wish the company released more details as to who made the illustrations, and why they decided to do a palette dedicated to NYC now.
