Exclusive! Urban Decay Resurrects Iconic Vintage Colors For the Best Vault Yet
The '90s were an interesting — and some might say dark — time period for beauty. Pouts appeared icier than a 7-Eleven Slurpee. Strands were scrunched into oblivion. But most notably, everyone looked the same. Other than Hard Candy's selections, nail polish really only came in red, pink, and beige (all with frosty finishes, natch). Edgy lipstick shades were relegated to Halloween or the underground club scene.
Enter Urban Decay. When it launched in 1996, the beauty brand asked gals, "Does pink make you puke?" Cofounder and Chief Creative Officer Wende Zomnir started her range of products with only 10 lipsticks and 12 nail polishes, focusing on gritty, grungy colors with names inspired by sex and drugs.
What seemed like a risky brand concept then is now one of the biggest beauty powerhouses in the world. It produces plenty of on-trend items, like baked highlighters and color-correcting highlighters. But in honor of Urban Decay's 20th anniversary, Wende and her team are kicking it old school. UD XX: 20 Years of Beauty With an Edge Vintage Vault revives the brand's original lip, nail, and eye colors in an enormous, collector-worthy set.
"Back in the '90s, people looked at me like I was crazy when I wore blue lipstick every day," Wende told POPSUGAR. "Now, women (and men!) are more open to experimenting with their makeup and having fun with it. We've been wanting to bring back some of our vintage shades for a while now and instead of just picking a few, we decided to launch the entire original lineup! These shades are more of-the-moment and relevant now than ever."
The $295 assortment consists of 10 lipsticks, 12 nail lacquers, and 19 shadows in highly coveted colors, many of them discontinued. Even cooler, certain shades are available in all three formulas, so you can rock glimmering midnight-blue Frostbite or burgundy-brown Roach on lids, lips, and tips. We're particularly fond of metallic blood-red Gash lipstick (partially because it's a noted favorite of Urban Decay fan Gwen Stefani) and Roadstripe, an iridescent white that flashes blue and looks stunning as a brow-bone highlight.
While you'll have to wait until later this Fall to snap up your own set, in the meantime, get excited for the upcoming release by clicking through every single one of the Vault's shades and swatches.