Some Bits From The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Collection

So when I heard that Gwen Stefani was collaborating with Urban Decay to bring out a whole collection of products, I got a little giddy. I have a whole review on the Eyeshadow Palette from the collection here and while I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it just looking at the shades, it’s landed straight in my favourites list. So here’s my thought on the rest of the bits I picked up from the collection.

The Gwen Stefani Lipsticks were just one of those things that I had to have. There wasn’t a singe shade in the lineup that I wasn’t interested in so narrowing it down to a non-outrageous number was difficult and after trying the two I picked up I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back for more. In the end I picked up shades “714” (the Mega-Matte red) and “Firebird” (the vibrant blue toned pink). I love both of the shades and they’re colours I’ll get a lot of wear out of.

Out of the two I’d say the “Firebird” is my favourite, the texture is really comfortable with it being a creamy finish and the micro-shimmer is really pretty without being OTT or at all garish. I love the shade of “714” and the mega-matte finish is lovely and long-lasting but the comfort factor lets it down a little bit. I really like both though and I think I need to go back for “Rock Steady” and “Wonderland” in particular. The other stand-out quality to these is the packaging. While it can feel a little bit flimsy as it’s just plastic, the black and gold graphic print is really lovely.

When I picked up my first pieces from the collection I didn’t think I needed the Gwen Stefani 24.7 Glide On Lip Pencils and that I’d have stuff in my collection that would work. For some of the shades in the collection that’s definitely the case but there some do seem to be a bit more unique. I have MAC’s Lip Pencil in “Redd” and that’s a near dead-on match for “714” but “Firebird” is a bit more unique and I'm considering picking up the matching lip liner. The packaging is beautiful. You can really tell that Gwen had an input into every aspect of these products.

Finally we have the Gwen Stefani Blush Palette. XSparkage’s review on this piece sparked my interest in this (no pun intended - honest). The rest of collection came out in America before it hit the UK so when she said it was perfect for pale skin tones I figured I needed to at least give it a go and it IS pretty. After having actually used it, I’m not sure it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The matte-bronzer shade is really warm so it’s no good for contouring, you’d need a separate contouring product. Then there's a shimmery bronze-y shade that’s really pretty to add a sun-lit glow. The highlight shade is really lovely too, a very intense highlight that’s great for pale-ys, and the 3 blush shades are really great but you need to be so carful with them because they’re really pigmented. Really I just wanted to see something that would work as a contour in here, that’s the thing that really lets it down because for me it’s not an “all you need for cheeks” palette without one. That being said, if you’re pale and not fussed with contouring, I can imagine you’d think this was pretty perfect.

January Favourites

First month of 2016 is over and I've never been so glad to see the back of a month in my life. January this year brought me some big challenges but there's been some great product discoveries this month that have helped me along the way. We've also got one rediscovery in here too that I'm equally excited about. So let get into it.

My rediscovery this month was the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. I absolutely love this. The shade match it great, the formula is comfortable and it lasts well on the skin and the packaging is practical for travel. For a high-end foundation it's not too up there in price £32.50 for 30ml (although it was definitely more around the £26 mark when I first started wearing it so the price has crept up over the years). I use shade "03" and the shade range is really impressive. The lightest shade is white and the darkest is very dark, and the shade selection caters to everyone from the fairest of the fair to those with the absolute deepest of skin tones which is great.

I finally picked up one of the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, these have to be one of the most hyped lip product ever and for good reason. I have shade "02" which is a natural pink and theres a really nice amount of shine to these. They're a relatively sheer lipgloss/balm hybrid product that are super comfortable on the lips without being sticky at all. Also - the scent/taste on these, they're lovely and sweet without being overpowering at all. Best of all? They've just introduced a berry shade into the line and I will definitely picking it up shortly.

This one won't come as a surprise to those who read my review/rave on the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (here - spoiler, it's a positive one). The packaging is amazing, the selection of shades is the perfect balance between wearable and fun colours and it really caters to my "fairest of them all" skin tone. My favourite shades have been "Punk", "Zone", "Steady" and "Danger". The formulas are amazing and most of these are shades I can see myself reaching for a lot. I've picked up a few more bits from the collection so check back on Friday this week to hear more about that.

So the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel has finally been knocked off the top spot. I have a review on the whole set coming up soon but the Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser has just jumped to the top spot in my skincare stash this month. The citrus-y scent is nice and refreshing for an AM cleanse and the formula is creamy and cooling on the skin. I saw a noticeable difference in my skin after using this cleanser which always puts a product on my radar. Obviously I take pretty good care of my skin so when something makes a really visible difference for me it's always impressive.

My last pick is also a skincare product and again it's one that been featured in a post recently: the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. I only have the travel size for now and I'm rationing it until payday when I can go and treat myself to a full size. This is just such a lovely day cream, super moisturising, makes a nice base for makeup, smells amazing. What's not to love?

The Friday Review: The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette

I've been eyeing this product up for a while but I wasn't sure whether I could commit to the purchase because, to be honest, it didn't look all that unique to me. After spending weeks wandering into Debenhams to just look at it and swatch it, I decided I needed to just bite the bullet and make the purchase, so I figured I'd post a review to help you if you're another one who's been sat on the fence with this one.

So firstly, the packaging is amazing. Apparently, Gwen helped design every part of this product, from the packaging to the box it comes in and the shades included, and the packaging for the palette is beautiful. Gold casing and a dimensional monochrome circle design, the metal plate with "UD Gwen Stefani" is a lovely touch too. The weighting to the product is lovely and there's a nice big mirror inside the lid when you open it with "Magic's in the makeup" written on it in the corner. It's a generally nicely though out casing.

As for the shades, I'm in love. In the couple of weeks I've had this, I've used it a lot and I really believe that for a fairer skin-tone, this palette is such a winner. A lot of reviews around this have said the palette was designed "By Gwen, for Gwen" and I 100%. It's full of light to mid-tone neutrals, and the few pops of colour that are included are very well suited to a fair skin-tone.

For an Urban Decay palette, the number of mattes in this one is amazing, 5 mattes, 3 satin-type finishes and 7 shimmers. As for the individual shades on the top row we have "Blonde" which is a satin finish, very light, cool-toned cream. "Bathwater" is a shimmery light, yellow-y cream, "Skimp" is a satin finish light beige. "Steady" is a mid-tone rose-gold shimmer and "Punk" is a dark reddish-brown matte.

On the second row of the palette we have "Baby", a shimmery pinkish taupe and "Anaheim" a cool, mid-tone brown matte. "Stark" is a mid-tone beige matte and "Zone" is a mid-tone warm brown matte. Finally on the second row we have "Serious" which is a charcoal grey satin.

The third row of the palette brings us out of the neutral zone. On this row we have "Pop" a shimmery peachy-coral and "Harajuku" a medium cool-toned blue shimmer. "Danger" is one of my favourite shades, a lot of people have called this a navy but to me it's more of a deep electric-blue shimmer. "1987" is a yellow-gold shimmer and finally we have "Blackout", a matte black.

And just in case that wasn't enough to reel you in, while a lot of Urban Decay palettes seem to come with some sort of sample of the Urban Decay Primer Potion, this comes with four testers of the soon-to-be-released Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipsticks. The back of the packaging for these seems to indicate that there will be eight shades with the release. I'm not sure if all of the palettes came with the same sample shades but mine had "Rock Steady" a cream finish red, "714" a mega matte mid-tone pink, "Ex-Girlfriend" a sheer nude and "Firebird" a cream pinky purple shade.