THROWBACK THURSDAY - What Was Your First Higher-End Palette?

My first eyeshadow palette was the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction palette. I had purchased it for $16 from Nordstrom Rack. I had seen them on display a few times at the store but never bothered to pick it up. I wasn't a die hard Pulp Fiction fan nor did I love seemingly "boring" shades. Most of my eyeshadows were from the drugstore and I had a few UD eyeshadow singles but I wasn't very interested in acquiring more higher end makeup for myself...yet!

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

I hadn't been bitten by the neutral eye makeup bug yet, so aside from the cool-looking packaging, I wasn't all that interested in the shades in this palette. Out of curiosity, I looked up some swatches of the palette when I got home and lots of beauty bloggers had raved about the pigmentation and blendability of it. I decided on a whim that I'd pick it up the next time I saw it.

At this time, I was still pretty dense when it came to skin undertones, so I was very pleasantly surprised when these colors looked so harmonious on my face. I read some more about the palette and learned that it leaned warm, thanks to this post by Christine at Temptalia. It was a nice pairing with my light neutral-warm-yellow-olive skin. Up to this point, I was all about colorful eyeshadows but it's hard to find shades in the drugstore that didn't clash with my skin tone when I could finally get them to show up. 

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

The real game-changer for me is the shade Tyranny. In the pan, it wasn't the most gorgeous shade I had ever seen so I had very low expectations for it. Because it's such a warm shade of brown, it actually perked up my face. I later on realized that a lot of brown shades I owned were emphasizing my undereye circles and were clashing with my coloring and made me look dull. That's no good!

I thought that the little dual-ended brush was so cute and I love the bold red wand. It's actually very useful since the bristles are densely packed and makes this palette very travel-friendly. The flap is magnetic but it isn't the most secure thing in the world. I'm usually very careful with my makeup anyway so I wasn't worried about being rough with it.

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette. Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Righteous, Tyranny, Vengeance, Furious/Anger.

This little gem of a palette changed my perception of neutrals. It wasn't that neutrals aren't beautiful, it was because I wasn't choosing the right colors for my own face! This palette is perfect to tie into an office-appropriate look. It's compact enough to throw into your purse. And if you're going out after work, you can add a little more of Furious to your lash line for a more dramatic nighttime look. I actually wish I picked this up sooner!

What was your first higher-end eyeshadow palette? Let me know in the comments below!