Here's a sneak peek and swatches of the new Gwen Stefani Lipsticks that will be released this Spring 2016! A sample pack was included when I purchased the amazing the Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (swatched and reviewed in this previous post) and it contains four of her must-have shades. I'm sure Gwen Stefani fans will be excited for these as Gwen's iconic look is really all about the bold lip!
For some reason the lipstick samples were placed upside down in the cardboard packaging when I received it, so the names appear in the opposite direction to the shades! Thankfully the correct names were printed on the inside of the samples themselves as well as on the bottom/back of the packaging (see image below). The correct names of each shade are also in the swatches down below.
I love the look of the lipstick case though with its vintage gold and black stripes. :)
There are 8 lipstick shades available in the Gwen Stefani Collection as shown below (with correct names!). They come in different textures and finishes.
// Rock Steady (Cream) - swatched below.
// Spiderweb (Cream)
// 714 (Mega Matte) - swatched below.
// Wonderland (Cream)
// Ex-girlfriend (Sheer) - swatched below.
// Firebird (Cream) - swatched below.
// Phone Call (Cream) - exclusive to urbandecay.com and their freestanding stores.
// Plain (Sheer) - exclusive to urbandecay.com and their freestanding stores.
Swatches
From left to right we have:
// Rocksteady (Cream) - very dark, cool-toned red. Being very dark you have to be careful when applying it especially since it's a cream texture (it's easy to go outside of your natural lip line by accident!), but it does mean the creamy sheen gives dimension to your lips and prevents it from looking outdated and mean-looking if you have thin lips compared to a matte finish.
// 714 (Mega Matte) - bright, cool-toned red. The depth of colour in this one will vary depending on your natural lip pigmentation. This is definitely *mega* matte, but feels very lightweight especially when applied with a lip brush.
// Ex-Girlfriend (Sheer) - light to medium rose brown nude. The best MLBB shade with a texture and finish that makes my lips look fuller, healthy and just lush! I need this in my life.
// Firebird (Cream) - bright, cool-toned pink orchid with violet micro-shimmers that appear more like a subtle bluish sheen on the lips. This looked quite dramatic with the flecks of violet in the packaging, but is actually more wearable when applied. The cream textures are very comfortable on the lips and feels and looks nourishing. Love! Needless to say this is my colour.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Swatches (L - R) above: Rocksteady, 714, Ex-girlfriend and Firebird. |
For reference, I currently have medium to tan, olive (~NC30-35) skin tone. All pictures were photographed indoors using a strobe.
On My Lips...
My lips are naturally blue-toned and pigmented, particularly around the outline of my lips, but I found all four shades - even the sheer Ex-girlfriend shade - to give enough coverage to cover them and give a fairly even layer of colour. I applied all the shades with a lip brush.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Firebird |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Ex-girlfriend |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| 714 |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Rock steady |
Overall
I'm really excited for these lipsticks. This is my first time to try any Urban Decay lipsticks and I'm quite pleased with the samples I tried. All four shades and textures were beautiful and I can see them being universally flattering. The reds (as beautiful as they are - especially 714!) are probably not as unique, but Firebird is definitely unique in my collection (I have lots of shades in the same family because pink orchid is my favourite lip colour of all time(!), but nothing exactly like this one ;-) ). The nude shade surprised me as nudes are always hard to wear for me and difficult to get a good match and formula in, but Ex-girlfriend is just perfect! The texture is superb - I mean just look at my lips in the photo! It just looks and feels so lush. >_< Probably the best "my-lips-but-better" lipstick I've come across in a long time. :D So, I'd say Firebird and Ex-girlfriend are definitely must-haves for me and I'll be trying to get a hold of the full-size of these as soon as they are released. *Fingers crossed* I don't miss out. I'm even very tempted to get two of each if they're limited edition as I can see I would get a LOT of use out of both! I would love to try more in the range! If you have any recommendations from the UD permanent lipstick range do share them in a comment below (thank you!).
Hope this was helpful. :)
Excited for 2016?! >_< Keep safe and hope you've had a wonderful festive season.
What shades are you eyeing on from this collection?