Sugarpill Bulletproof is not a Blackout

So, the day before yesterday I raved about Sugarpill's matte, pigmented shadows. Today, I am here to show you that Bulletproof can't really hold a candle to Urban Decay's Blackout. (No really, it would be pointless, in a good way.)

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I kept hearing that Bulletproof was the black shadow to end all black shadows. I'm a fan of dark shades and use a lot of black shadow - as liner, as a setting powder for liquid liner, as a smoking-out shade for lighter colors, as a blending color to deepen bright shades, and so on. Given the great experience I had with Burning Heart and Sweetheart, I took this rumor at face-value and bought a single of Bulletproof when I picked up Cold Chemistry and Heartbreaker. I've got to say, I'm disappointed.

First up, the packaging is cute and sleek, which is nice. It seems durable and the shadow in the package gave me hope - you can't even see the black design on the clear lid because the shadow is dark behind it.

So, like any over-zealous package-opener, I swatched it on the back of my hand. Whomp-whomp. I knew immediately that Urban Decay's Blackout would be darker - so I grabbed it and threw it on the back of my hand next to Bulletproof. See:

Okay, maybe it just needs some primer or something to hold it on a little better - I mean, after all, those red and pink shades from Sugarpill have a little bit of a fallout issue, right? So I dragged out all of my black shadows still currently in service and put down a layer of Urban Decay's Primer Potion (if you remember my foundation swatches, you know my skin is lighter than it appears here. I love Primer Potion but don't let anyone tell you its colorless.)  Here are the results of that:

1. Sephora Collection Black Lace (matte, single, 2013)

2. Sugarpill Bulletproof (matte, single, 2014)

3. Kat Von D Lucifer (matte, Sinner palette, 2011)

4. Urban Decay Blackout (matte, Naked 2 palette, 2013)
5. Urban Decay Crave (matte, Naked Basics palette, 2013)

As you can see, some colors that claim to be matte come out more satin (Crave) or have shimmer in them (Lucifer.) Bulletproof definitely out ranks three of the five shades but Urban Decay is the clear winner here on pigmentation and even application.

I'm sure I'll have a use for it, so I'm not upset that I spent the money but I officially refute any "it's the blackest" claims out there. When I brought this up on a makeup chat forum I participate on, someone suggested that Makeup Geek's Corrupt was blacker than Blackout. A challenger has appeared. (Clearly, to be continued.)