Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette Lipsticks & Lip Pencils, Review, Swatches & FOTD

Happy hump day! The weekend comes closer each day. Currently we are having some problems in the flat because our neighbors down have a water leakage. It was supposed to come from our place but they recently found out it was not the case. Day & night we are trying to avoid that they have to break the tiles in our kitchen. That might be so annoying. Today they knocked mad early in the morning for a stupid reason and told us they have to break the tiles, *sigh*, wish us luck. 

On the bright side of things, Urban Decay Gwen Stefani cooperation had more children. I had fallen in love with the eye palette back in November (review here) so when I saw the sneak peeks of the Blush Palette, I got so excited. Of course I was very curious about the lipsticks too since the focal point of Gwen's make-up is the lips. I have previously written, I was grown up hearing No Doubt and Gwen and I think she is one of the artists who really created her individual style in fashion, makeup and music alike. Today I am thrilled to share my thoughts about the Blush Palette, some of the Lipsticks and Lip Pencils with you. 




Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette & Lipsticks



Before we starts, can you tell the difference in photography. It is all in the lights peeps, I tell you, camera is overrated. I am loving how much less work I have to do during editing and how much more quality I get. Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani was the first collection I photographed under the new lights because I wanted the moment to be special. I must be sounding like an idiot, think about me getting all excited by just looking at the lights. During the session, mom called with camera and was confused to see my face all lit up so asked me "The sun didn't set there yet?". No I told her, sun never sets here!

Now let's take a moment and appreciate the design of the packaging. The palettes are all drool worthy with the circles. These are also very stable, sturdy and functional with magnetic closure. It might all sound to be nothing special but nowadays it is very hard to find a good design which is functional. I think Urban Decay nailed it with this collection. I like the gold and black stripy caps of the lipsticks too but I have to admit that I like Urban Decay's usual lipstick cases a little more because these lack a bit of weight for me. But that didn't keep me from ordering the other shades, but more about that soon when I write about the formula. All in all these look so gorgeous together. I love the fact that blush and eye shadow palettes have different colors so in the morning I know when I reach for the white one, it is going to give me healthy cheeks. 





Packaging: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette, Lipsticks & Lip Pencils


Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette, I am obsessed about this one and I have good reasons for it. The first one is the packaging but we talked about that. The second reason is how well these layer. You can put layer over layer and it never looks too powdery. This is how you can get all kinds of shades and in-between shades by mixing and matching. Is Cherry too cool for you, add a bit of OC on it. Do you need more glow, just go over it with Hush or Angel. Not enough color, add a tad of Easy in the mix. With this palette you can do almost everything from clown to subtle glowy cheeks to a tad of bronze or highlight. Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette is very versatile. 




Close-up: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette,

Here is a closer look at the shades: 

Cherry: A light to medium cool pink with satin finish. I love this for waking up and brighten my face.

Easy: A medium pink with satin finish and subtle golden shimmer. This is the most pigmented shade in the palette for an over-blush effect if you are after it. I usually take some of it at the back of my hand and apply the rest. 

Angel: A very light natural golden highlighter for the glow you need. I apply this on the top of my cheeks to enhance the cheek bones.

Lo-Fi: A very subtle peachy bronzer with medium pigmentation and matte finish. I like dusting a little bit of this under the cheek bones and around the face to warm the complexion up. 

Hush: The name makes me sing "Don't Speak" out loud!  This is a gorgeous peachy pink with shimmery finish. You can use it as a highlighter or add on top of your blush to spice things up a bit.

OC: It is a light peach base with a pink shimmer which gives it a duo-chrome effect. OC is really very unique. I don't own anything even close. I also don't call seeing something like this one. It looks so orange in the pan but don't be afraid, you will love it to give some warmth on any other close in the palette.


To sum it up, I think a palette should be something which makes sense all together rather than being a collection of individual shades. Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette definitely manages to offer highlighters and blushes which can be combined as your heart wished.



Swatch: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette

Which part of Gwen's make-up is more striking? Lips! I am not surprised to see many shades of red in the collection because Gwen wears them so well. In total there are eight Lipsticks and six 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils are released. I have five of each to show you today. After trying these out, I ordered some more so probably you will be seeing these soon in some of my upcoming FOTDs.


Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipsticks

A red for everyone but these are especially good on blondes or cooler tones. You can see that none of the shades pull really warm, which is great if you want your teeth to look white. 

Rocksteady: One of my favorites of the collection which interesting enough happens to be the warmest of the reds I have and also the darkest. It pulls much warmer on my lips for a reason I don't know but I am loving the look.

Wonderland: Most summery red among all, it is vibrant and it has enough pink in it. I will love it more in summer.

Spiderweb: I want to sing "Ooooh Spiderwebs, leave me a message and I will call back". This is a very dense lively red with almost matte cream finish.

714: My other favorite red from the collection. I love how vibrant yet wearable it is. The matte texture makes it easier to pull off so it doesn't look too much but gives you the red lip vibes. Big love!

Ex-Girlfriend: A medium nude which has enough pink in there to make it easier to pull off. This shade is the sheerest of them all but if you wear it with the matching lipliner, it lasts so well. 



Swatch: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipsticks Rocksteady, Wonderland, Spiderweb, 714, Ex-Girlfriend

There are two more shades I ordered, Firebird, a drop-dead-gorgeous fuchsia which I needed to have and Phone Call which is a great casual natural pink for everyday. I will go back for the liner of Phone Call because I have seen how much of a difference it makes between wearing a liner and not wearing a liner. The shade looks much better and it lasts longer. Luckily I have the liner of Firebird. 


Swatch: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Lip Pencils

It was the first time I tried 24/7 Lip Pencils. I really like the texture, they are very pigmented but they blend well and didn't dry out my lips. The shades are nicely matching to the lipsticks. There is no liner of Spiderweb but the liner from 714 or Rocksteady works with it. For the FOTDs below, I lined my lips with the liner but left the middle empty so that you can see an area with only lipstick too although since these match so well, you can't really see the transition. The lip colors last almost twice longer once combined with Lip Pencils so if you are eyeing a certain shade, I recommend you get the liner too. You can see the swatches of Rocksteady, Wonderland, Firebird, 714 and Ex-Girlfriend below.


Swatch: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipsticks & Lip Pencils

Here goes the FOTDs... First one is with Easy, Cherry and Hush mixed on the cheeks combined with Ex-Girlfriend liner and lipstick on the lips. This combination on the lips is a great nude for me. Some nudes wash me out badly but I am loving this one. Ex-girlfriend Lipstick is rather sheer but combined with liner it lasted me even after a full meal. A note before FOTDs, Until now I haven't tried a single bad lipstick from Urban Decay and I am happy to tell you that these are no exception. They are very pigmented, creamy, easy to apply, not drying and long lasting. At 20 bucks per bullet, it is a very good deal.



FOTD: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette, Ex-Girlfriend Lipstick & Lip Pencil

I look so ghostly on this photo, the new foundation must be the one to blame. I love this one, 714 on the lips, big love. It is casual and glam once. I can definitely wear this on a daily basis without feeling too much over done. What do you think?




FOTD: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette, 714 Lipstick & Lip Pencil

Reds with lots of pink, Wonderland reminds me of strawberries, yum! It definitely gets more attention than 714. I can see myself enjoying this one once the weather gets warmer.





FOTD: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette, Wonderland Lipstick & Lip Pencil

Another favorite here, I wore Rocksteady today. I love the name, love the shade, love love. I still wished there would be one really dark lippie in this collection, something deeper and vampier. Maybe there is more coming up? I would be all over!


FOTD: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette, Rocksteady Lipstick & Lip Pencil

Final thoughts: I love the blush palette because the shades layer so well to suit your needs. I think what makes a palette is the combination possibilities rather than individual shades and Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette nails it. Lipsticks have great pigmentation and non-drying long lasting formula, especially when combined with the matching Lip Pencils. My favorites are Rocksteady, 714, and Phone Call. I have to yet try Firebird because my order just arrived today. I can't get enough of these lipsticks with their matchy matchy packaging to the palettes. All thumbs up from me for this inspirational cooperation. Why not getting Gwen as creative director of some sort?

Availability and Price: Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Collection is now available online as well as in stores. Two of the lipstick shades, Phonecall and Plaid are exclusive to online boutique of Urban Decay (not affiliated). The price of the Blush Palette is around 46€ and each of the lipstick and lipliners are 20€.


Do you like wearing red lipsticks? Which shade of red do you like on you most? 












Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided free of charge for my consideration. 
I am not paid for this review. All opinions are honest and my own.


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10 comments

  1. Wow, your pictures look great! The different shades really pop.


    That's a good point about palettes. I've always thought more about the individual colors and less about combining them.



    Everything looks great. Of course, I'm still going to *try* to not buy any of these, LOL!

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  2. Your photo images look great Sara! Do you mind sharing what lights you purchased? I found your blog through Linda at Silverkiss World! Great review and swatches!

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  3. Beautiful lighting, Sara - I am jealous! I hadn't even thought about looking at this palette but now, predictably, I want it. The lipsticks look very lovely too. Susan, London

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  4. Excellent lighting and photos, Sara! I can totally tell all the undertone differences of the lipsticks and I know that's a tough feat! Amazing!

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  5. I love lipsticks! They can change a look in an instant. I used to be afraid of reds, but once I tried it, I couldn't stop. I'm naturally drawn to moodier reds but I'm lucky that most reds look OK on me. I'm not sure if these are in stores yet, but exciting news. Sephora will be opening in my town in March!!

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  6. These look gorgeous on you, girl! I've admired Gwen's signature red lips for years, so I'm ultra excited about these! I'm pretty sure I need Spiderwebs and Rock Steady in my life :)

    www.vibrantbeautyblog.com

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  7. Everything looks so amazing! I can't wait to get my hands on this palette and at least one lipstick, love your swatches! ;) xx
    Gyudy @ Gyudy's Notes Of Beauty

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  8. Every single thing looks gorgeous on you. Love the new lighting. Here's a tough question for you. Which blush is more of a must-have? Sunrise Ribbon or Gwen?

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  9. So many shades of Red and all suit you ! Though my heart belongs to Firebird from the very beginning! I am also excited this time for the blush palette! To tell you the truth i wasn't wowed by the eyeshadow palette! I loved the buttery textures and the beautiful packaging but the shades showed all the same on my skintone so i didn't purchased it! But now with the blush there are many combinations and looks that you can create with those so i definitely will buy it! Nice pictures ! Great work Sara :*

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  10. Clifford M. MartinezMarch 14, 2017 at 2:32 AM

    GS blush looking color on the voice, march 13,2017. What's the color?

    ReplyDelete

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