Wednesday 6 January 2016

URBAN DECAY GWEN STEFANI EYESHADOW PALETTE


Happy New Year! This is the first post of the year and it comes with a brand new blog name and domain. I have several New Year’s resolutions this year, and improving and growing my blog is very high up on the list so I felt it was time to start fresh with a new name.

This beautiful eyeshadow palette is the limited edition Urban Decay Gwen Stefani palette. I had wanted this as soon as the promo images were released and was lucky enough to get it for Christmas. My very kind and very sweet boyfriend got it for me, and I was good enough to resist the temptation to open it up and have a peak despite knowing exactly where it was in the cupboard for a whole month. Yay me! I have long been a big fan of Urban Decay eyeshadows and have owned many palettes from them over the years. I’ve never been disappointed in their palettes and I doubt I ever will be. When you throw Gwen Stefani into the mix, one of the coolest people ever and whose make up is always flawlessly on point; I knew it was going to be a winner. What especially appealed to me is the large number of neutrals which is what I typically use for my everyday make up. There are a few colours too which are always nice to have in a palette. And there’s a great mix of different formulas; shimmers and frosts which I usually use on the lid, and some neutral matte shades that are perfect for in the crease. Plus I have to say the packaging is gorgeous, it’s a stylish gold, white and black case. I’ve used most of the shadows already and created some super pretty looks with them. There are a couple of shades that aren’t as great as the others, but overall I’m in love with this palette.


There are 15 shades in total, 12 of which are brand new and the other 3 are repromotes –

• Blonde- pale beige with pink iridescent shift and a frosted finish. It’s a nice ivory colour which I personally find very versatile and has an amazing formula.
• Bathwater- pale beige with gold pearl and a frosted finish. I’d describe it as being more of a warm toned pale golden beige with a soft and smooth consistency and excellent pigmentation.
• Skimp- pale nude satin. This is probably my favourite shadow in the palette as it has a slight pink tone to it which is the kind of nude I prefer. It’s also very high quality and has a nice texture. I find it great to work with although it does have some sheerness to it but is buildable.
• Steady- medium rose with metallic gold shift. I love this colour, it’s such a gorgeous shade of rosy copper and the gold shift is subtle but gives a nice metallic finish. It has a very smooth and dense texture so applies like a dream.
• Punk- reddish brown matte. I’d say this is actually more of a dark, warm toned plum shade. I love the colour but it’s a poorer quality than the other shadows in the palette. It was powdery and took a lot of work to blend well.
• Baby- cool metallic rose. Another favourite for me, a beautiful soft metallic rose shade. Its formula isn’t as smooth or blendable as Steady as it has more sparkle, but it’s still nice and easy to use and work with.
• Anaheim- light taupe brown matte. This is my favourite matte in the palette as a crease colour; it provides a really nice contour without being too over powering. It has an excellent formula with plenty of pigmentation and blends perfectly.
• Stark- nude pink matte. A lovely subtle matte nude shade which works great all over the lid or as a soft crease or transition colour.
• Zone- medium brown matte. Another great matte shade for the crease. It’s a very versatile medium shade of brown, lovely pigmentation and blends really well.
• Serious- smoky grey with iridescent floating pearl. Quite a taupe grey with good colour pay off and a soft texture.
• Pop- pale coral with iridescent sparkle. This was the only real disappointment for me. There just was hardly any colour pay off, it was just sparkle and had a lot of fall out.
• Harajuku- metallic blue-pink with iridescent micro-shimmer. The prettiest shade of pink with beautiful gold iridescence and a frosted sheen. The pigmentation is only semi-opaque so it requires me to use a denser brush and to pack it on to the lid more. But it’s totally worth the extra effort.
• Danger- deep metallic royal blue with blue micro-sparkle. A classic medium-dark navy blue with rich colour and a really nice sheen. It has a brilliant texture, soft and buttery with amazing colour payoff.
• 1987-bright metallic yellow-gold. A true gold, warm toned with a frosted sheen. This is a great gold eyeshadow with excellent pay off and another fantastic formula. I actually didn’t think I was going to be that keen on this shade but I actually love it. It did me well over Christmas.
• Blackout- blackest black matte. You always get a black in palettes like this, but this seems like a good one, although it isn’t a shadow I’ll get much use out of. I tend to stay away from blacks and very dark colours as they tend to wash me out too much because I’m so pale. I haven’t used it on the eye, but from swatching it seemed reasonably blendable, especially for a black matte, and it had strong pigmentation. It definitely has lasting power too as I struggled to remove the swatch.

All the shadows I’ve used have lasted very well. I use Nars Smudge Proof eyeshadow primer under my eye make up, so I’ve only used them on top of that, but all have lasted until I’ve removed my eye make up at night. It seems like quite a well thought out palette and is definitely true to Gwen’s make up style. For those that don’t love nudes and neutrals, this palette is probably not for you, although the few colours included are all amazing. I also love the little added detail of the quote ‘Magic’s in the Makeup’ written on the mirror in the bottom corner; a fitting reference to the No Doubt song.

I’m so grateful for this palette and have used it almost every day since I got it. I absolutely love it and definitely recommend it if you like the look of the colours. It is limited edition and costs £40. It’s out of stock on Urban Decay’s site, but you can still buy it on Debenhams, Feel Unique, Selfridges, and any other stockists of Urban Decay.

Katie xx
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