Let's address the elephant in the room, I have been slacking out on content lately. Truth be told I haven't really been buying makeup. However, this was about to change when I heard that Urban Decay was collaborating with Gwen Stefani to create an eyeshadow palette! Yes, I was one of those people that were counting down the days until it would be available at the nearest Urban Decay counter. I snatched the palette as soon as it hit the counters in Finland. As such I had some time to play around with it. If you want to find out my thoughts and if it's worth picking up or not, then keep on reading!
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| Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette |
Let's start from the beginning - the packaging. I am pretty sure most of you are familiar with how it looks like, so I won't be spending too much time on it here. The palette comes in a sleek cupboard packaging with a gold and white graphic print. In my opinion the outer packaging is very pleasing to the eye. I heard a lot of people complaining how they expected the actual palette to have the same pattern as the box it comes in. I personally really like the black "polkadot" design, it's sort of mod. The actual palette is pretty sturdy and magnetised.
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| Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette |
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| Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette |
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| Magic's In the Makeup |
It comes with 15 shadows and unlike other Urban Decay palettes (e.g Vice, Naked palettes etc) it doesn't include a brush. I don't really mind it since I have a whole arsenal of eye brushes, but wanted to point that out in case anyone is interested. I thought they did a pretty neat job incorporating a small text on the mirror at the bottom right corner which says Magic's In The Makeup. Together with the palette you also get 4 lipstick samples which I assume will be coming out later as part of the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani collaboration.
Now let's talk about the actual eyeshadows. There are 12 shadows that are exclusive to this palette and 3 shadows that are permanent to the Urban Decay line (Skimp, Stark and Blackout). I actually own Skimp and Stark as they come in the Naked Basics 2 palette, and funnily enough they are the two shades that I almost hit pan on. Below you can see the swatches of all the shades, but please excuse the horrible lighting (it doesn't do them justice). In Finland the sun refuses to come out during this time of the year, so I have to work with what I have.
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| L-R: Blonde, Bathwater, Skimp, Steady, Punk |
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| L-R: Baby, Anaheim, Stark, Zone, Serious |
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| L-R: Pop, Harajuku, Danger, 1987, Blackout |
When it comes to the selection of the shades, it's a pretty neutral palette. You get three pop's of colour but nothing too in your face. I know a lot of people have been saying that it's boring, it's not exciting but for me this is damn exciting! If you look at Gwen's makeup she doesn't wear dramatic, smokey eyes. She prefers to wear a statement lip. And I think this palette resembles her style and choices in makeup very well. At the end of the day she created a palette that she would use daily. This palette has a good mix of shimmers, mattes and even one glittery shade (Pop). I would say that some shimmery shades do look very similar (e.g Steady and Baby). In terms of quality they do not disappoint. These eyeshadows are creamy and blend effortlessly. Some shimmery shades do kick off a lot of powder but that happens with quite many of Urban Decay shadows.
Are these shades unique? Something that hasn't been seen before? Something that can't be duped? No, it's not. However, if you have been thinking of getting Urban Decay Naked palettes but couldn't decide which one to get, I say get this one instead. It's not too warm or cool toned. It's a good middle ground. In terms of price, it's slightly pricier than the Naked palettes, however the packaging is much sturdier and you get 15 shades instead of 12. So, I think it's pretty good value for money.
Should you pick this up? Yes, if you are a lover of neutral shades, if you are a fan of Urban Decay or if you are starting out with makeup. And not to forget this palette would make a great gift for yourself or perhaps a makeup lover in your family.
Hope this review was useful. Let me know what's your trusty all time favourite neutral palette!
Until next time,
Muffy
