Urban Decay never fail to impress with their new collections and the Gwen Stefani collaboration is insanely good. The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette* (£40.00) was released at the end of last year and it has been my go to palette for everyday makeup or a smokey eye for the past few weeks/months. Since the collection was recently expanded with a blush palette, lipsticks and more, I decided to finally review the eyeshadow palette. I mentioned it in my gift guide and in my recent favourites, but it deserves it's own blog post.
Starting with the packaging, I personally think it is stunning! The combination of black, white and gold makes it look very luxurious and the heavy case and metal plaque with a logo add an extra special feel to it. The design was inspired by Gwen's love of black-and-white graphic prints and antique gold accents.
The limited edition palette was created by working closely with Gwen on every single detail. We all know, that celebrities launch makeup lines without caring about the actual product, so it's great to know that Gwen was very involved in the creative process.
The palette contains 15 shades, all handpicked by Gwen, who wanted to create a selection she always wished she had in her collection. 12 of the shades are new and three are from the existing UD shadow collection. The eyeshadows are mostly neutral with added pops of colour and some dark liner shades. With most names inspired by Gwen's songs, this palette is definitely special for her fans.
And if you like No Doubt, you might have noticed a little tribute to the band on the big mirror inside the palette with the song title: “Magic’s in the Makeup”. Nice touch!
All of the eyeshadows feature UD’s Pigment Infusion System and the formula is dreamy as usual! The texture is almost buttery with amazing pigmentation and great lasting power. Also very easy to blend and with minimal fallout.
The only shade I found quite 'messy' in terms of application is Pop (far right on the photo above), as it does have a lot of fallout. I find patting it on with my finger the best way to apply it. You can also use a wet brush. The rest of the shades are a dream to work with, with any brush, a little sponge applicator or even your fingers.
And here are all of the shades and swatches:
Blonde (pale beige w/pink iridescent shift)
Bathwater (pale beige w/gold pearl)
Skimp (pale nude satin)
Steady (medium rose w/metallic gold shift)
Punk (reddish brown matte)
Baby (cool metallic rose)
Anaheim (light taupe-brown matte)
Stark (nude-pink matte)
Zone (medium brown matte)
Serious (smoky gray w/iridescent floating pearl)
Pop (pale coral w/iridescent sparkle)
Harajuku (metallic blue-pink w/iridescent micro-shimmer)
Danger (deep metallic royal blue w/blue micro-sparkle)
1987 (bright metallic yellow-gold)
Blackout (blackest black matte).
I adore the Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette by Urban Decay. The colour selection is perfect, as I am a big fan of neutrals, but also love a bit of colour. Some of the shades look very similar, but I love having more than one option of lighter colours and matte browns. Nice mixture of metallic, sparkle, matte and satin finishes as well, which is always something I look for in a palette.
You can buy the palette from www.urbandecay.co.uk, Debenhams, Selfridges and other stockists.
*PR sample