PALETTE FEVER | URBAN DECAY GWEN STEFANI EYESHADOW PALETTE

I must admit I've been on a makeup palette high this year. Before this I could never justify buying them as I always tended to use palettes that had at most four or five products in them. More would overwhelm me with too many choices. However, there's been a lot of gorgeous palettes released recently that even I couldn't resist them. I'm pretty sure I've more than enough made up for the lost time here! LOL. Urban Decay is known for their eye shadow palettes in the blogosphere, I have a couple of them (Naked 1 and 3) which to be honest I picked up to see what the hype was all about. However, I never find myself using Naked 1. Naked 3 is a bit more different in my collection due to the rose gold hues, so I have used that a few times, but still not as often as I should. The texture and finishes (particularly those with sheen/shimmer) are not as refined as I'd like personally. Also, I'm not a fan of the tin packaging. /:-\

When UD released their Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette - again with a lot of hype - I tried to resist it. Until...I saw that one blue eye shadow that's in it. >_< Oh, golly, gosh...wot, wot?! *_* I immediately snatched it up at Selfridges who were also having free express international shipping at the time with a minimum 50GBP purchase. :D #win

About the Palette

The palette is the product of a close collaboration with Gwen Stefani - from the shades and most of their names (based on her songs) to the packaging. It contains a range of neutrals with a few jewel tones to jazz things up and is overall a reflection of all the shades that help create Gwen's most iconic looks. There are 15 of her must-have eyeshadow shades - 12 of which are brand new and 3 are from the UD shadow collection. The palette case itself is unlike any of the other UD palettes - no tin!!! Yesss! This baby is very hefty and luxurious in comparison. The design shows Gwen's love of black and white graphic prints and antique gold accents.

I even love the polka dot print on the inside of the box the palette was packaged in!

Below, the product description label on the bottom of the palette.

Below is a photo of the palette's huge mirror that has the words "Magic's in the Makeup" etched onto it - it's a nod to the No Doubt song. And, I think it's a great little reminder of what makeup means to me - a fun, transformative tool that aids self-expression, creativity, boosts my confidence and most of all, enlightens my spirit. *sigh* ^_^ #gettingdeep. Let me know what makeup means to you in a comment below!

Below are the shades themselves - aren't they beautiful? :) The shade name appears above each eye shadow in the palette, which is useful.

Colours, Finishes, Texture, Pigmentation & Application

Below are the shade descriptions as provided by Urban Decay:

Top row (L - R):

// Blonde: pale beige w/pink iridescent shift

// Bathwater: pale beige with gold pearl

// Skimp: pale nude satin

// Steady: medium rose w/metallic gold shift

// Punk: reddish brown matte

Middle row (L - R):

// Baby: cool metallic rose

// Anaheim: light taupe-brown matte

// Stark: nude-pink matte

// Zone: medium brown matte

// Serious: smoky grey with iridescent floating pearl

Bottom row (L - R):

// Pop: pale coral with iridescent sparkle

// Harajuku: metallic blue-pink with iridescent micro-shimmer

// Danger: deep metallic royal blue with blue micro-sparkle

// 1987: bright metallic yellow-gold

// Blackout: blackest black matte.

Most of the shades in the palette would probably be most flattering on pale complexions similar to Gwen's. As you can see there are a lot of pale and light to medium neutral shades. Fortunately, the shade, Zone (which I am very impressed with coz it blends so beautifully!) is there to provide a fantastic everyday crease and transition colour for those with medium to tan skin tones like mine. The right-most shades are great for more depth: Punk, Serious and Black Out (an eye liner too). Punk surprisingly appears more neutral on my skin tone than it appears in the pan so I could wear pair this with anything and makes up for the lack of a darker brown shade in the palette. Harajuku is more wearable than I expected. Stark is great for all-over-the-lid base shade on me. Danger speaks for itself and unlike a lot of blue eyeshadows, appears on the eye lid as bright and vibrant as it does in the pan even without a primer or base or having to dampen the brush first! Believe me, this is hard to come by with blue eye shadow! It did not disappoint and I'm so happy I purchased this palette even if it was only for this gorgeous colour. *grin* 1987 and Danger paired together is somewhat reminiscent of the Nars Rated R eyeshadow duo, but not as neon bright. 1987 is probably the least wearable shade for me, but if I wear it, I would use it as a pop of colour on the lower lash line, or on the inner corners of the eyes. Pop is essentially all white/silver relatively chunky glitter and no sign of any coral coming through so I would just use this as a sparkly topper on the middle of the lid using a clean finger - just dabbing it gently.

I found most of the shades to have decent to excellent pigmentation. Serious is much softer and sheerer than I'd hoped when applied on the lids with a dry brush. Harajuku is a touch drier in texture and not as intense as Danger, but still not bad.

I love how lightweight, soft, silky and finely milled the texture of the matte eye shadows are. They feel very refined indeed and so apply evenly and blend amazingly well. :) However, I recommend doing your eye shadows first before applying all other makeup like foundation so you can clean up any fall out.

Swatches

For reference, I've swatched them (with a dry finger and without primer) on my current summer complexion - medium to tan (~NC30-35), olive skin tone and were photographed indoors using a strobe except for those shot in low-light mode to capture iridescence.

Swatches of top row in palette from left to right: