I love the Urban Decay Naked palettes and I saw that they came out with these two palettes inspired by the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The packaging is covered in his artwork which reminds me of urban, neo-expressionism. His art was first rose to popularity in the 80s in NYC, but his artwork is exhibited all over the world today. Now this collection did face some controversy over how they used as the main model. But I’m not going to go into that for this review, I’m just going to focus on the two palettes: Gold Griot and Tenant. Both palettes cost $39 individually.
The collection also featured a blush palette, several lipsticks and eyeliner but I didn’t think I would use those as much as the eyeshadow palettes to justify the price/purchasing. Just as I don’t have a huge budget and even just purchasing these two palettes were a bit much. But I’m in love with both of these palettes. Each palette have eight shades and come with a brush. I actually use the brush that come with the palettes when I’m applying these eyeshadows. Normally I tend to toss them but for Urban Decay palettes I actually find them to have good quality. The brushes in the two palettes are quite different. The Gold Griot palette has a packing brush on one side and a blending brush on the other. While the Tenant palette has two packing brushes, one larger than the other.
About Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat began drawing and painting at the age of four and never stopped. By the time he was in his teens, his graffiti was a fixture around lower Manhattan. After leaving home at 17, he began selling hand-painted postcards and T-shirts. At 20, he landed his first public exhibition and quickly rose to fame on the ’80s art scene in NYC. His iconic work is still exhibited all over the world.
About Gold Griot Eyeshadow Palette & Swatches
“Part of the UD Jean-Michel Basquiat collection, the Gold Griot Eyeshadow Palette features eight NEW neutral shades inspired by the work of this groundbreaking artist.
We’ve been fans of Basquiat’s art since before the early days of UD; so when his estate approached us about a collaboration based on his artwork, we couldn’t wait to start creating. From the colors and shade names to the packaging, EVERYTHING in this collection evolved from Basquiat’s art. Like Urban Decay, Basquiat was an outsider who challenged the status quo and used color in nontraditional ways. From his informal graffiti work and the way he mixed mediums and colors to the way he spoke out against social injustice, it’s hard to imagine a more perfect fit for our brand.
The Gold Griot Eyeshadow Palette contains eight can’t-live-without neutrals based on Basquiat’s paintings. Every shade features our proprietary Pigment Infusion System™—for rich, velvety, blendable color that lasts. Plus, we equipped the palette with a double-ended brush.
Housed in a mini reproduction of Basquiat’s artwork, Gold Griot Eyeshadow Palette is wrapped all the way around with canvas, so the art printed on top comes to life. There’s even a small cutout on the back for hanging so you can display the palette on your wall and create your own mini Basquiat gallery.
Shades included:
Enigma (neutral pale nude matte)
Levitation (warm pale nude matte)
Not For Sale (medium sienna matte)
Suckerpunch (warm brown shimmer)
Influence (brown satin w/gold shimmer)
BK (gray matte-satin)
Pseudonym (deep navy matte)
Crown (very metallic gold)Fill Weight: 8 x 1.2 g POIDS NET/NET WT. 8 x .04 oz”
About Tenant Eyeshadow Palette & Swatches
“Part of the UD Jean-Michel Basquiat collection, the Tenant Eyeshadow Palette features eight EXCLUSIVE bright shades inspired by the work of this groundbreaking artist.
We’ve been fans of Basquiat’s art since before the early days of UD; so when his estate approached us about a collaboration based on his artwork, we couldn’t wait to start creating. From the colors and shade names to the packaging, EVERYTHING in this collection evolved from Basquiat’s art. Like Urban Decay, Basquiat was an outsider who challenged the status quo and used color in nontraditional ways. From his informal graffiti work and the way he mixed mediums and colors to the way he spoke out against social injustice, it’s hard to imagine a more perfect fit for our brand.
The Tenant Eyeshadow Palette contains eight just-dreamed-up brights based on Basquiat’s paintings. Every shade features our proprietary Pigment Infusion System™—for rich, velvety, blendable color that lasts. Plus, we equipped the palette with a double-ended brush.
Housed in a mini reproduction of Basquiat’s artwork, Tenant Eyeshadow Palette is wrapped all the way around with canvas, so the art printed on top comes to life. There’s even a small cutout on the back for hanging so you can display the palette on your wall and create your own mini Basquiat gallery.
Shades included:
Studio (pale pink matte)
1960 (bright pink matte)
Neo (rich aubergine w/micro-shimmer)
Les (charcoal-black matte-satin)
Graffiti (deep metallic green)
Exu (bright green shimmer)
Boom (bright teal matte)
Untitled (rich deep blue matte)Fill Weight: 8 x 1.2 g POIDS NET/NET WT. 8 x .04 oz”
Overall Thoughts
I have been trying both palettes for several days and I love them! All the shades are very pigmented and blend effortlessly on the lid. And the brushes as I mentioned earlier are actually worth it. They apply the shadows beautifully and make them some to life. The mirrors in the palettes are really nice for applying the eyeshadows on the go and I love that each of the palettes open differently. The Gold Griot palette opens vertically which is a nice change to the usual horizontal palette… which is how they did the Tenant palette. And I totally get why they did that as they open up the same direction as they artwork on the palette. The shadows between the two palettes can be worn individually or mixed together.
