The return of Urban Decay's Face Case

I was quite excited when I visited Urban Decay's US website and saw that the Face Case has been reincarnated in a new purple guise.

The Urban Decay Face Case is a product close to my heart. The Pin Up/First Date Face Case circa 2001 was my first ever Urban Decay purchase, and I went on to collect several more of the old-version silver compacts. I was a student then and had minimal disposable income, so spending £20 on a palette felt wildly extravagant and as a result, very exciting.

The old Face Cases were wonderful palettes, with 4 eyeshadows, 4 lip products and a blush all packed neatly into a robust grey embossed compact. There was a large sturdy mirror, along with a handy well for tools. (They did come with foam applicators, but I guess nobody is perfect.) Here are a couple of examples from my collection.




Time passed, and the old Face Cases stopped being sold in around 2004. There was a brief re-appearance for the Face Case in the mid '00s, when it was resurrected as a rather girly cardboard packaged effort, in just one neutral-ish colourway. It was an OK palette but it didn't even come close to the original. I bought it, but I can't lie to you - I never loved it like I shoulda.

The new one looks more promising. It's plastic rather than cardboard, with the same hinged, clasped lid as its predecessors and decent looking mirror covering the whole inside of the lid. The colours aren't totally blowing me away at first glance, and the eyeshadows (always my first point of reference) aren't especially strong. There's Grifter, a nice enough lilac that's tragically infested with a ton of glitter, Twice Baked, a nice deep brown shimmer, and that darned infuriating glittery Midnight bloody Cowboy (Rides Again version this time), which apparently we're to be plagued with forever more if we want to buy UD palettes.

 Looking up though, there's a brand new limited edition blush in "Hookup", which appears as a very generous sized pan with embossed surface. There are also three good-sized wells containing XXX-shine lipglosses in Naked, Love Junkie and the beautiful Carney. There's also a double-ended brush that looks like it's made with actual proper fibres - definitely an improvement on the sponge-tips of yore.

No idea when or if we'll see this in the UK, but it's one to look out for on eBay. The US RRP is a very reasonable $14.00, and it can be purchased here.