Don’t miss – Urban Decay Stardust eyeshadows
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase.
We know these have been out for awhile now. What we don’t know is how we’ve existed up to this point without talking about them…
Star*dust (n.) A cluster of stars too distant to be seen individually, resembling a dimly luminous cloud of dust.
When I first saw my Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadows in their cases, they appeared super-shimmery and highly pigmented. Awesome colors for, say Ziggy Stardust, yet perhaps hard to wear for those among us who live a more subdued, less Gaga lifestyle. Even their names imply a disco dancehall decadence: 54 (as in Studio) and Moon Spoon (as in the famous Studio 54 “Man in the Moon” centerpiece and guess what else). But with my first application, these eyeshadows seemed less the Ziggy-type of stardust and more the ethereal, interplanetary-type.
Applying these shadows with an ordinary shadow brush, I saw sheer color and the above mentioned dimly luminous cloud of dust. The glitter is a finely milled variety, galaxies from sci-fi and Glam Rock glitter, and much closer to fantasy and fairy princess diamante. And this Stardust didn’t fall about my cheeks and nose, but stayed firmly planted on my lids, exactly where I placed it (perhaps my UD Eden Primer played a part in this miracle).
A trip to Urban Decay’s website told me that that Stardust Eyeshadows contain 40% more glitter than their most sparkly shadows. The glitter is actually “a pricey ingredient called ‘reflex’,” designed to stay on your eyes and “glisten like wet snow.” As said above, it works.
But now for the big surprise: Stardust is like two shadows in one! I was perfectly happy with the surprisingly soft fairy princess-look. I was happy to have my sheer, dimly luminous cloud of dust that I could wear every day and every night. But, for twenty bucks a pop, I may want more. Then I read the tips on Urban Decay’s website, and more I got. The folks at UD suggest applying Stardust with an eyeshadow brush for a sheer color wash, but they also suggest applying the Stardust—wet or dry—with your fingers for a more vibrant color (wet application will give the most sparkle-tastic, intense color of all). Apparently, with Stardust it’s all about the power of the finger.
Yes, I discovered the finger is key to the vibrant application. Even using a wet brush does not give you the same saturation as rubbing the color onto your lid with that most inexpensive cosmetic tool of all, the finger. Now I see the purple-icious intensity of 54, the silvery foil glam of Moon Spoon. And, while I don’t do Diva every day, it is nice to know that the same uptown shadow can switch tracks and go clubbing downtown every now and again.
Stardust comes in nine iridescent, sparkly shades. Besides the light purple 54 and the silver-gray Moon Spoon that wht sampled, there is also a brown Diamond Dog, a dark purple Retrograde, a green Griffith, a beige Space Cowboy (no doubt the super-shimmery counterpart of my favorite UD standby shadow, Midnight Cowboy), a white Bobby Dazzle, and a black Void.
What’s in a name? You decide. Whether your definition of Stardust is more David Bowie’s “he took it all too far,” or more Frank Sinatra’s dreamy “purple dusk of twilight time,” Urban Decay is thinking of you.
Testers, do you think Stardust’s melody is the memory of love’s refrain?
Sherri is co-author of What Would You Do With This Room?
Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. It also contains an affiliate link, a link that gives us a small commission if you purchase the item. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.
Ooh, @sherrishera, you’ve made me take a serious look at a product I’d glanced over at first, assuming it would be too glittery for my non-clubbing lifestyle. Great to know these shadows are so versatile!
I’m a sucker for silver-gray shadow, and you have me seriously considering a Stardust purchase!
Oooo, sparkly… I love Urban Decay because their products then to be JUST on this side of funky so you can still rock them in the daytime without inspiring water-cooler talk about your crazy makeup. These sound great!
I received Moon Spoon to try and I really, really love it! With one quick swipe of the brush I have a beautiful almost translucent shimmer. A little building and its a gorgeous sliver that can really make a statement, but @sherrishera is right- a wet finger and you have a rocking gunmetal look for night. It almost looks wet in that glam runway sort of way. Also, the size of the pan is pretty big and you don’t need much to get a great look. It’s a lotta bang for your buck!
I only have two complaints about this shadow- the fallout is brutal and the actual shadow flakes in the pan. For the fallout I just need to keep some scotch tape by my mirror to pick it up so it’s not too bad but it is pretty annoying. The shadow flaking in the pan is more annoying- it’s as if the powder is chipping and the chunks don’t seem to be willing to spread out so they can’t be used. It’s not too bad but it does seem a little wasteful and I don’t want to waste any of this beautiful shadow!
Overall I give UD Stardust shadows a solid 4. Seriously folks, you won’t be disappointed!
I was a little intimidated by the intensity of this shadow. I received Moon Spoon and it is very dark on me! But I might try UD’s suggestion to lighten it up a bit. I think it would be great for someone who can pull off a bold look. Especially for nights on the town!
I didn’t test one of these shadows, but @sherrishera‘s review has me wishing I did. She also made me start playing some Ziggy era Bowie as I type.
Love the fingertip application tip too – our testers always seem to find all sorts of helpful tips and duel uses for products!
.-= Tyna Werner´s last blog ..The Five for $5 event at BeautyTicket.com =-.
I got to try Retrograde (the dark purple with iridescent sparkle)I was so excited when I pulled it out. I think I even ooooo’d and ahhhhh’d. The dark purple and shimmer was captivating.
I couldn’t figure out how to ope the lid though, then felt silly when I read the words “squeeze” on the sides. With one slight squeeze the lid just pops up!
On to the color. I have to admit, with this being so dark and sparkly in the container I was thinking I would look like an 80’s glam rocker, so I saved it to wear for a night out dancing. But when I put it on it was just like @sherrishera said,”I saw sheer color and the above mentioned dimly luminous cloud of dust.” The cloud of dust is awesome! Retrograde is a light purple with tons of sparkle. I kept putting it on to get a much darker purple, and finally like others, got my finger wet and got the desired look.
Once I knew the color wasn’t going to make me look like I was in a glam rock band, I wore it to work and received a many compliment of how pretty my eyes looked.
Later that same night, I was tucking my 6 year old nephew in and reading him a book. He looks over at me and says “Cori, your eyes look beautiful.” After that compliment, I’m completely sold on the eyeshadow. 5 Stars!
WOW, is this shadow sparkly! I got to test out Moon Spoon, which is a deep, glittery grey shade. I’ve applied it without my UD primer potion, and that was disasterous–glitter EVERYWHERE. I applied this on top of primer potion and it helped the situation a little bit, but there was still some rogue glitter under my eyes. THEN, I applied this on top of primer potion and using a wet finger and BAM, perfect. No traveling glitter. I like how the color can be a sheer wash of shimmery color, or a deep, foiled look–very versatile. I have to say, as I’m in the over 30 set, I probably can’t pull this off as an everyday look, but I think this would be sassy for a night out on the town. Now I just have to convince the hubby to actually take me out on the town so I have an excuse to wear this beauty :)
I do have one confession: I almost resorted to smashing the little container with a rock to open it, much like an enraged chimpanzee would do, because I couldn’t figure out how to open it immediately—however, I didn’t feel so bad about myself when I saw some lady about to use a nail file to try to open the tester at Ulta…I felt so cool when I showed her how to squeeze the sides to make the lid pop open :)
I also tested Retrograde and I fell head over heels for this shadow. I’m a sucker for all things glam so this was right up my ally.
I actually used the finger application method the very first time I tried this not knowing that there would be different results with finger vs brush. I was dazzled by the intense glitter! When I go for the full glitter during the day I use it almost more as a liner so it adds a fun touch to my day look without going over the top.
It’s pretty both ways though (sheerer vs intense) and is definitely my go to shadow when I want a knock your socks off night time look.
@cori and @krista, LOL, I did the EXACT same thing when I was trying to figure out how to open it. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who had trouble figuring it out! The squeeze function is pretty cool though (now that I get it. Heh).
@Kari @Cori @Krista – OMG, confession time- Me too! I was flipping the case around, looking for tape or something that might be holding the lid shut and even asked my husband to try and open it before I saw the “Squeeze.” Yep, I felt like a moron, LOL!
@Cori, don’t feel bad. I had some trouble opening the eyeshadow too. After several minutes of wrestling, I finally noticed the “squeeze here” instructions. lol.
I got to try out the dark purple in Retrograde. I loved it. I applied it with a dry brush so I didn’t get the rock-n-roll intensity of using a finger or a wet brush, but I still did get a dark shimmery eye that made me feel both emo and sexy. It lasted for several hours without creasing and the shimmer wasn’t chunky or childish.
I really generally love UD eyeshadows. They have fantastic pigment intensity and unique color choices. I have not tried the Stardust shadows yet. They look great to me. But I know that some people feel that they get a lot of fall out. I was happy to see such positive reviews here for Stardust. Maybe I will give them the old college try!
I am so glad, after reading all of these reviews, that I was not alone in my initial concerns over this product! I received Moon Spoon for review and when I saw it I totally fell in love. I am a sucker for deep silver shades and this is a stunner in the pan.
But much like others, I had issues with how to open this sucker! Thank goodness I finally realized how easily it pops open when you just take the time to read the directions. Doh! You give it a squeeze on either side and Presto! It immediately flips open with no issues.
Second, I too experienced fallout city when I applied this with a brush. I had microglitter *everywhere* and it made me so bummed because I really wanted to love this product (I adore every UD shadow I have ever owned).
But thank goodness for @sherrishera because, were it not for her review, I probably would have never taken the time to investigate and try the wet finger application. OMG it made a world of difference! No fallout, and WOW what a gorgeous, foil-like swipe of color! Now I only wish I had some big important nightclub event to attend. :)
A solid 4 stars from me.
I hear everyone on the fallout but I didn’t have much of an issue on this front. I DO credit the primer from UD for this since it really is like a magnet for stray Stardust, and I did not try this without it (maybe these two products should be marketed together?!). As most of you all figured out, the finger method (UD’s preferred method) really does yield best results. I think that if you are using a brush beware of supersaturating the brush with shadow. Instead, opt from more layers, less on the brush.
I also hear you all on opening the container since I also had trouble figuring this one out. Maybe UD should consider a new twist the old screw top subway token design of their standard collection?
I did like (a lot) the versatility of this product. Diamond Dog and Space Cowboy will soon be in my collection for sure.
I’m glad to know that i’m in good company! After I figured out the squeeze method, I liked the pop up lid. My lids usually break off because I open them to forcefully, they crack, or I drop them. The rubber like edge is good for me and the spring loaded lid helps me not to force it open.
I tried Retrograde too, and it really is a lovely color! I had reservations at first too but like @Cori and @sherrishera I was pleasantly surprised to find it went on more sheer than I would suspect… and with layering you can maximize the color. The squeeze lid is totally handy, Cori I’m always cracking my lids too! This is a great dual kind of shadow, as you can get some serious shade difference depending on how you layer. I gave it 4 stars and not 5 only because of the price. I think if it were even 15 bucks I would buy a couple more shades, but at 20, I may just get one.
Great product though from a company I’ve always loved! :)
This stuff sounds great! I’ve only tried on UD eyeshadow in my life, and loved the quality. If I wasn’t a drugstore beauty person, I would probably go out and buy this.
I’m not sure if I’d go for these.. I like a little shimmer but no super intense shinyness or anything. I’ll have to test them out in person.
.-= Kelsey´s last blog ..Taylor Momsen: Grunge & Chic =-.
I tried the dark purple and loved it!
Is it really lame to admit that my favorite part may have been the packaging…?
I love that these sparkles are nowhere near as gigantic as they look and that you can really layer the color on to vary the intensity.
My only issue with this is that the little sparklies do tend to migrate to beneath my eyes by the end of the day, but it’s still subtle.