The Perfect Un-Birthday Present: Urban Decay Meets Alice In Wonderland For A Very Special Collection

As a kid I can remember celebrating many of my un-birthdays in honour of the Mad Hatter; when your actual birthday is Christmas Eve, any excuse to transfer that notable date to another is a welcome one. Alice In Wonderland always had a big impact on my life, so much so that I properly dressed up as her for a ballet competition and came out with a trophy in hand. (I really need to dig out those photos!) The timeless tale of a young girl who loses her way seems to capture the imagination of us all, no matter our age, just in the way that makeup can. Urban Decay are well known for being a brand that pushes boundaries, celebrates the obscure and encourages you to experiment, so there's nothing more logical than an UD and Alice collaboration - and never more of a perfect time than just before the new Alice Through The Looking Glass hits cinema screens at the end of May. (Cough cough. I've seen the trailer though and it does look incredible.) This unexpected collaboration was announced only recently and my social media feeds went into mild hysteria after only seeing a few teasers; suffice to say this is going to be a big seller for Urban Decay and undoubtedly become a collectors item for years to come. So what of this little collection and how beautiful is it in real life? Quick answer: very.

The undeniable centre piece of the collection is this stunning twenty-piece eyeshadow palette that features an array of wearable nudes mixed with bolder shades and metallic tones. Utterly beautiful, the outer box opens to reveal a theatrical door which showcases a butterfly mid-flight under the lid; a draw beneath reveals the eyeshadows in the usual Urban Decay style, with even a specially designed floral brush to meticulously apply them with. What I love about Urban Decay and their collaborations is the incredible attention to detail: even the edge of the palette has a gold embossed quote from the film. They've definitely perfected the art of creating limited edition eyshadow palettes that are incredibly covetable, even to those of us that have twenty different ones at our disposal already. As usual, the eyeshadows themselves are beautifully smooth and incredibly pigmented, helping you to create effortless professional looks without any fuss. With names like Hatter, Looking Glass, Heads Will Roll, Time, Gone Mad, Kingdom and Cake, there's a sprinkling of fun mixed in with genuinely useable shades - even the greens, blues and reds are well suited to summer.

The eyeshadow palette may be incredibly wearable, but the five lipsticks are a little bit mad (intentional or otherwise!) Alice's signature shade is a nude with a touch of shimmer, which can be worn alone for an understated look or over other shades for a 90's finish; Iracebeth is a beautiful red that channels the timeless lipsticks Urban Decay have become so well known for; Mad Hatter is a shimmering purple that will no doubt make you look like you've been out in the cold too long, while Time is an even more crazy shade of blue. Finally, the deep purple berry tone of Mirana is surprisingly wearable - even if not until Autumn. The formulas are enriched with pigment and a hydrating base, meaning they're long-lasting and comfortable simultaneously. However, the jury is still out on whether you could actually pull off two out of the five outside of the halloween season! Although I can't see the lipsticks being that popular amongst those of us over the age of 19, the eyeshadow palette will no doubt be a sell out as soon as it launches. The good news is for the next two weeks you can get your hands on the Alice In Wonderland collection exclusively via Selfridges, so if you just can't wait to get your hands on it you can order online right now!

Will you be stepping through the looking glass on this one, or staying safe in the comfort of your own reality?

TheUrban Decay 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' palette is priced £43.00 and available now exclusively via Selfridges, rolling out to the rest of the UK mid-May. The five lipsticks are priced £16.00 each.
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