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| Deluxe Shadow Box |
Here are a few
things you may not know about Urban Decay:
- Their Naked eyeshadow palettes are currently the top selling makeup palettes in the US.
- Revlon once created a short-lived knockoff brand called Streetwear (I posted about this line in one of my first blogposts—here's the link.)
A brief
history
The brand was
created in 1996 by a group of visionary entrepreneurs including Sandy
Lerner and the current Executive Creative Director Wende Zomnir. The
mission: to offer edgy, street-inspired shades of nail polish and
lipstick that were not readily available from conventional brands.
The theme of urban decay was played to the hilt. Shade names included
Uzi, ABC Gum and Stray Dog. Eyeshadow singles were encased in silver
manhole-cover shaped tins and lipsticks were bullet-shaped.
Along with the
brand Hard Candy which was introduced a year earlier, UD catered to a
niche market that the big brands had not identified; high-end quality
makeup in youthful, non-traditional shades for the
tween-to-early-twenties market. The brands were not identical—UD
was more grungy and goth (think Winona Ryder and Janeane Garofalo in Reality Bites) and HC was more pink and girly
(think Alicia Silverstone in Clueless.)
I definitely
fit the target market and I eagerly bought shades that simply did
not exist anyplace else. I was especially drawn to two shades of eye
shadow that UD still offers: Asphyxia (a brilliant holographic
purple) and Oil Slick (a glittery black) as well as Gash lipstick (a
shimmery blood red) and a metallic gray nail polish shade called
Gunmetal.
The Early
Years
Having worked
as a Sales Associate at Sephora from 1999-2000, I can attest to the
fact that UD products were red hot and there were always a few
sold-out items on our waitlist. Here's my favorite story from that
time: a woman came in to shop for makeup with her elderly mother.
They were both new to the store and the daughter wanted an SA to show
her the hot brands she had been hearing about such as NARS and Club Monaco. As she was led away she looked over her shoulder at me
and said, "Oh, and can you help my mother find an eyeshadow?".
I turned my
attention to the older woman who was eager to tell her story. She
reached into her purse and pulled out a worn, ancient eyeshadow pan
with only a tiny bit of product left in it. "I want a bright
blue eyeshadow just like this one. I've been to every makeup counter
at the department stores and they have nothing even close." In
an apologetic tone she continued, "Now I know it's out of style,
but I don't care, I've been wearing this shade for 30 years and I
love it. Can you please help me?"
Well she was
in luck, I thought to myself—that shade was so out it was back in.
I immediately led her to UD and showed her a bright, 70's powdery
blue (I only wish I could remember the shade name!) To say she was
thrilled was an understatement. "Why that is just as bright blue
as a robin's egg!" she exclaimed. She walked out of that store a
very happy customer.
The fact that
the brand name and its hard-edged theme were lost on this woman was part of an
important lesson I learned as an SA at Sephora—product was king.
Like other niche brands with a growing cult following, customers were
not so swayed by the uniqueness and cache of UD that they would buy
something they didn't like, or would keep something that had looked
better in the store than in harsh outdoor light. For UD and other up-and-coming brands, there were specific shades and products that we could not
keep on the shelves (hello Midnight Cowboy), while others languished in excess, gathering dust.
Then and Now
UD gets this,
and they have managed to evolve over the years. They admit they have
shaken their grunge roots and outgrown their original name. But their
inventive, creative, out-of-the-box spirit has remained. Their
current initiatives include vegan products and a cruelty-free policy
of no animal testing.
Ownership
History
UD founders
must have made a small fortune when they were bought in 2000 by LVMH
(the French conglomerate which owns Sephora had bought Hard Candy a
year earlier.) The brand was sold two years later to the Falic Group.
Currently the private equity firm Castanea Partners owns a majority
stake. However Wall Street Journal has recently hinted the company may
currently be amenable to a buyout (link).
Long Running
Bestsellers
- Midnight Cowboy eye shadow. Best described as a glittery nude/pink, this one product has been so successful that it's spawned an entire subline of "Midnight" eyeliners, lipstick, lipgloss and similar shades of eye shadow.
- Primer Potion. This shadow primer was another product for which we struggled to keep up with demand while I was at Sephora.
- The Naked palettes. Matte, subdued and neutral shades of eye shadow. These epitomize the new softer side of UD—less edgy, more on trend for a wider demographic. The first palette was such a blockbuster that UD quickly followed it with Naked 2.
My Vintage
Stash
Below are a
few vintage UD pieces from my makeup collection.
Top: Shadow Box eyeshadow palette. I bought this about ten years ago.
Bottom: a well-worn
Stalker in the original design of eyeshadow tin.
Comments
welcome! Feel free to share your UD experiences, favorite products
and memories of the original line of products.
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