Urban Decay Velvetizer Review

This post is way, way over due, I purchased this back in September 2017 on trip with my friend Lora down to London for a blog event. I dragged Lora to more than one Urban Decay location to try and hunt the Urban Decay Velvetizer and as we was about to get the train home the Urban Decay shop in Kings Cross delivered and they had it. 

I had so, so many part started powders that it’s taken me (other than the odd try here and there) almost a whole year to get around to trying this. At the time, this was surrounded by pretty much positive reviews everywhere, and I was intrigued to try out this powder. As the reviews I’d seen showed me that it was more than your average powder.

Where this differs is that it’s a mixing medium designed to be mixed in with cream foundations to do two things; change the consistency and that in turn can increase a foundations coverage. I was intrigued for this because it would mean that I could change the consistency and performance of any foundations in my collection that I potentially didn’t like, as well as giving me some flexibility within my collection by changing a foundations coverage as and when I felt would be needed.

The Urban Decay Velvetizer packaging is simply, gorgeous. This colour purple is what all their old products used to come in, and the velvet touch details on the box and the product itself is a opulent touch. It’s a little bit impractical, a bit like the original Naked Palette, but given powders stick around in my collection for a lot shorter time than an eyeshadow palette I can forgive the few finger print marks that this has managed to pick up in a year it’s been rolling around my drawer.

In the following months after this launch this powder ended up causing a little bit of controversy, as peeling back the purple velvet ribbon which stuck around the pot revealed that this was “reused” packaging, as it says the “Naked” powder underneath. Urban Decay confirmed that they were making use of excess stock, and that the formulas were different, they hadn’t renamed an old product under a new pseudonym and the ingredients list seemed to confirm this was the case. I never had the old powder to confirm a different performance, but I’ll presume that as this did have a different effect on the skin.

The tub itself is quite a heavy acrylic and is adorned with a gunmetal chrome effect plastic lid. Once unscrewed there is a sifter featuring a “UD” design. This was where my first disappointment was with the product as it’s really not that easy to get the product out at all, given this is a powder designed to be mixed with liquids as well as a setting powder, I think they could have come up with something more innovative. I find myself having to tap the jar into the lid of a product and then lift the product out to mix, or put my setting powder brush into the lid to grab the product, it doesn’t have that many holes in the lid and I found it a real faff to get out enough product, I ended up dismantling it all and using the inner bit as a shaker.

The texture this product has is something else, from my first try of it in the shop I don’t think I’ve felt a silkier feeling powder. It’s so soft that the name of “velvet” is entirely appropriate. The powder has a soft cream shade but it translates to translucent on the skin.

As a setting powder, I have to say I don’t really like this product. I find I need so much of it that on an expensive product like this it’s not worth it. I also find that it doesn’t really help control oils in the skin. I feel like when I use it as a powder it doesn’t quite mesh with the foundations that sit underneath it and it feels like a veil over my face.

I’ve trialled it as a mixing medium with several foundations now, there are some that I like it with, others that I really don’t. I find I don’t love it with foundations that are already quite dense and creamy, it works much better with ones which are more fluid. The thicker the foundation, the cakier this has a tendancy to look on the skin.

I decided to put this to the test properly with the Stila Aqua Glow Serum foundation – it’s one I’ve had pending in my ‘review’ pile and have not yet got round to, I’m not sure at this point I will either, so spoiler alert. I don’t like that foundation on my skin at all. It’s a light to medium coverage and whilst it looks very dewy on the skin I find the fact it doesn’t do a good job at all at hiding imperfections a turn off for me at the best of times, but I’m going through a “bad phase” with my skin at the moment, and this foundation is definitely not friendly with it. 

Below the left hand side of my face is two layers of foundation to build up enough coverage, using two pumps per layer (4 total). The right hand side is also two pumps, mixed with the powder, you’ll see that the the effect is more matte, and the coverage was better too needing only half as much product to give a better level of coverage.

I’ve had moderate success of testing this method with other powders, not all powders work and the finer milled they are the better they seem to perform. Some drier feeling powders do not seem to mix well as they just become really cakey looking and feeling. 

I’ve enjoyed using the Urban Decay Velvetizer, but I can’t see it being one I repurchase. I’ve used it to finish up some foundations I’ve not been keen on the finish of on my oily complexion. But as a setting powder for my favourite foundations – I don’t like it any more or less than others, and the packaging issues with this are alone enough to put me off getting it for that reason.

Have you tried the Urban Decay Velvetizer or found other products that work well as a mixing medium?

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