Even as a more natural makeup lover, when I first saw Urban Decay’s new Holographic Disco Stick, I was very excited to try it out. From the outer holo packaging to the silver-blue glitter stick housed within – and also coming from such a high-quality brand as Urban Decay – I expected it to go straight into my ‘special occasion’ makeup pile for those days when I felt like embracing my ethereal alter-ego. 😛 But did this ‘holographic’ stick hold up to my high hopes? Keep reading to find out..
Urban Decay Holographic Disco Stick
As described on Urban Decay’s website, their Holographic Disco Stick is designed to create ‘an iridescent, multidimensional sheen’. It also claims to be buildable, from subtle shimmer, to an ‘intensely holographic highlight’.
For starters, both the name and description are a bit misleading. The highlight is not exactly holographic – if anything it’s duochrome. Surprisingly, the silvery-blue-lilac base doesn’t play any role in the overall effect – it’s completely sheer once applied to the skin. The highlight is produced entirely from loads of blue and pink micro-glitter, which at some angles looks silver, and at others, a cool icy violet.
Above you can see the entire length of the stick. While the amount of product you get may look a bit disappointing at first, on the plus side, the stick is so densely packed with pigment that I’d expect it to last quite a while – my estimate would be at least 5-6 months (assuming that you’re using it once or twice a week for parties/special occasions/etc).
Urban Decay Disco Stick Review
In terms of coverage, the Urban Decay Disco Stick requires a few passes to get an even layer of glitter (which, by the way, is anything but ‘subtle’ as UD describes and definitely not work-friendly or everyday wearable). In my opinion, if you’re going to pull this out, you might as well go all out and build it up to full-coverage, for a super glittery, quite literally disco ball-like strobe effect.
The one big downside to all the glitter (and also having talc as the formula’s main ingredient) is that the formula feels incredibly dry, and even a bit scratchy and irritating for those of us with more sensitive skin. Because of this, blending can be a bit of a pain. My preferred method? When applying to the cheeks, I’ll lightly rub the stick over my cheekbones 2-3x, then I’ll use my fingertips to spread around the shimmer, moving in small circles in a C-shape around my eyes, until I get an evenly dispersed layer like you see below. The final effect, albeit super glittery, is actually very pretty. This one makes a statement at all angles too.
Urban Decay Disco Stick applied on bare skin, 2 swipes blended in (natural lighting)
All-in-all, while I love experimenting with makeup that breaks away from my norm of more minimal, classic makeup looks, this highlighter was just too over-the-top for my taste. I personally prefer Rituel de Fille’s Rare Light Luminizers, which create equally beautiful iridescent effects. The difference is, they use super fine micro-shimmer in a creamier base, so you get a much more glowy, truly ethereal-looking sheen.
On the other hand, if you’re a fan of glitter and want something that really pops to wear out to say, festivals or clubs, then this is definitely a highlighter worth trying out.
Available at Sephora & JCPenney
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