Gwen Stefani and Urban Decay.... Yay!!

Birthday gifts galore!

She's got some wicked style. Yes, she does. I've been a fan of No Doubt and Gwen Stefani since I was a teen.  Tragic Kingdom was our high school anthem.  I'm a So Cal girl myself, just about seven miles west of Anaheim.  But, I am no doubt, not nearly as cool or as stylish, as Gwen. Now, with her collaboration with Urban Decay, women everywhere can try to be at least half as chic and fashionable as Gwen.  




I'm "in love" with the new Urban Decay Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette. I hinted to my husband that I would love to get this for my birthday. Guess what?  He came through with this surprise and a few others!!!

I love the colors. They're more on the neutral side. Some of the colors look the same in the palette, but when applied they are distinctly different.  Many reviewers don't like this. From what I understand, they thought she didn't go bold, vibrant or varied enough with color. She's known more for her vibrant, bright lip, muted eyeshadow,thick liner and lashes, not for crazy eyeshadow colors. 

There are fifteen colors in the palette, three of which are Urban Decay relaunches. The Urban Decay website describes the colors as:

Top row:
Blonde:  Pale beige with pink shimmer
Bathwater: pale beige with gold shimmer
Skimp:  Pale nude satin
Steady: Medium rose with metallic gold
Punk: Reddish brown matte

Top Row

Middle Row:
Baby:  Cool metallic rose
Anaheim:  Light taupe-brown matte
Stark:  Nude-pink matte
Zone:  medium brown matte
Serious:  Smokey grey with iridescent pearl

Middle Row

Bottom Row:
Pop:  Pale coral with sparkle
Harajuku: Metallic blue-pink with iridescent sparkle
Danger:  Deep metallic royal blue with blue sparkle
1987:  Bright metallic yellow-gold
Blackout:  Blackest black matte

Bottom Row

My absolute favorite color in the line is 1987. I haven't be drawn to golds in the past because I'm more cool toned, but as I get older, I notice that my formally dark brown eyes are lightening up to a hazel hue and the golds look good on me.  I've already used 1987 and many of the colors in the palette.  The only colors I haven't used yet are Harajuku, Danger and Blackout.  I may use Harajuku and Danger tonight, New Year's Eve 2015.  It is the night to go bold and daring with makeup, right?

The colors go on like butter.  They're so creamy.  I've heard that Pop and Harajuku have a lot of fallout. I've heard the best way to use those two colors is with a wet brush.  

Adorable box

OK palette case

The packaging is just cute.  I thought the box it came in is nicer than the actual palette case. The only issue I have, and this is with ALL eyeshadow palettes, is the shadow that gets on the case. It's hard to clean. I love the large mirror that comes with the palette. The little the message, "Magic's in the Makeup"  happens to be my favorite song from Return to Saturn (I find myself singing it in the shower a lot).  So that was a nice added touch. It doesn't come with any brushes, which is fine because most brushes that come with eyeshadow palettes are cheap and suck. 

I can't wait to continue to play "dress up" and "paint my face" in 2016, especially with the launch of the new line of lipsticks Gwen is collaborating on with Urban Decay. Did I mention that this palette comes with a few samples.  I may have lost those, I'm not sure, but I know I can't find them right now (sad panda, I know, but I don't really like lipstick samples).

"I think women should wear whatever makeup they want for themselves. Makeup should be fun." Thank you Emma Stone for that, thank you!

The Urban Decay + Gwen Stefani Collaboration gets 5 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies.  

Beautify yourself tonight and enjoy ringing in the new year! I can't wait to kiss my handsome husband at midnight. We've been celebrating New Year's together since 2005. Cheers to a fabulously beautiful 2016!!

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick

Bauhau5, Bachelorette, Lovesick

Okay, I really, really tried my hardest to like this liquid lipstick. I've read a ton of reviews and watched a ton of YouTube beauty videos praising it.  Who knows, maybe I did something wrong.  I only put the lipstick on clean, exfoliated, moisturized lips. What more could I have possibly done for a better application?

I asked my husband for the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bauhau5 (pronounced Bow (rhymes with wow) House), a deep raspberry, for my birthday. I just recently bought Bachelorette, in a bright reddish fuchsia, and Lovesick, a mauve nude.

Bauhau5 is a good lipstick, the color is pretty nice and creamy. It does dry matte and is extremely drying.  Now, Bachelorette and Lovesick. These two colors are horrible.  When I swatched them on my hand in Sephora, the colors were entirely different from what I came home with. The lighting maybe? For the first couple of uses, the colors stayed on for a long time.  It doesn't specify how "everlasting" these lipsticks are.  They did start to break apart after I ate and drank.  The Sephora site says that they dry down to a smooth matte finish.  Not on me! They were dry on my lips, settled into any fine lines or dry patches I may have had on my lips, and were very flaky on my lips (repetition for effect).

Lovesick, yes, sick in the lines on my lips!

I couldn't apply another coat, even to build up the color, because the second coat would never dry.  My lips were sticky all day long and the color would transfer all over the place. If I wore Bacelorette, the smear on my face made me look like Ronald McDonald. It's horribly embarrassing! Oh and while I'm at it, why don't people please let me know that my lipstick has smeared.  I won't be upset, honest. These colors don't even last if I lick my lips.  I heard the only way to remove the color is with oil. Well, last I checked my saliva wasn't oil based! Nope, just regular saliva. Even the application was awkward.  They didn't last at all when I lined my lips with a lip liner.

Bauhau5, Bachelorette, Lovesick

Bachelorette absolutely does not look fuchsia on me, at all! Reddish orange (as in the Ronald McDonald red), yes.  I can see the fuchsia when I first apply the lipstick, but when it dries to its flaky, matte finish, I'm only seeing orange. Lovesick reminds me of NARS Audacious Anna, until it dries. Then it reminds me of death or uncooked liver.

After I got Bauhau5, and before I wore Bacelorette and Lovesick, I wanted to purchase Nasferatu (like the Vampire), a blood red, and Mother, a dusty mauve pink. They are always sold out in Sephora, but I've decided I'm going to pass on those colors. I wasn't impressed with the shades I already own. Besides, I love the Too Faced Melted Ruby, a blood red. Those lipsticks weren't as drying as these.

If these lipsticks do work for you, great, there are 29 shades, sold exclusively at Sephora and retail for $20. You can also pick them up on the Kat Von D website.


Because so many positive things have been said about the lipsticks, it might just be me. Maybe they just don't match with the skin on my lips.  Overall I'm glad that I tried them and I will continue to use the colors that I already own, but this probably isn't going to be a repurchase for me and I'm not going to try anymore colors. My lips are all tuckered out. 

I love this quote from Marilyn Monroe, "Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world."

Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick gets 2 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies. 

Too Faced Melted Lipstick

I'm sitting on my couch watching Can't Hardy Wait, candles lit and Christmas lights on.  My house feels cozy and warm.  I've been holding back on some makeup reviews for a while because I didn't have all the shades I wanted to review.

Too Faced Melted Lipstick

Right now I'm a little obsessed with the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick. I know they've been around for a while now, but they're new to me. I love the colors, I love the pigment. The Too Faced site states that they have the "staying power of a stain with the intense color of a liquid lipstick". Well, they definitely don't have the staying power of a stain or liquid lipstick, but I'll talk about that later. If I'm not mistaking, I heard somewhere that they were created with the idea of melted tube lipsticks in mind, hence the name. I can't even tell you how many lipsticks I've ruined just because I left them in my hot car to "melt".

Melted Candy, Melted Fuchsia and Melted Jelly Donut

There are 18 colors in the regular line of Melted Lipsticks and there are two new lines, Melted Metals and Melted Chocolate.  Of the regular melted line I have five, Melted Marshmallow, a candy pink, Melted Fuchsia, a bright fuchsia, Melted Candy, a bright fuchsia pink, Melted Jelly Donut, dragon fruit pink and Melted Ruby, a blood red. I still want to get Melted Chihuahua, a dusty mauve and Melted Berry, a berry red.  I may pass on the Melted Chihuahua though. Melted Candy and Melted Fuchsia look similar, but there is a slight difference in the color.  Melted Candy is a bit darker than the Melted Fuchsia. You probably don't need both. Sephora has a Melted Rainbow (magenta) that is a VIB Rouge exclusive.

Melted Ruby, my FAVORITE color.

Of the colors I have, Melted Ruby has to be my favorite.  I'm very fair skinned and this color makes my lips really pop. It looks great for the Holidays.

The lipsticks go on as a liquid and do tend to dry, but not as a matte.  There is quite a bit of transfer, but after a few hours the lipsticks tend to stain my lips. They aren't like a long lasting liquid lipstick, where if you reapply, your lips get dry and flaky. You can reapply and they'll be all right.  I noticed that Marshmallow has a much creamier texture than the other colors that I own.

They're labeled as a "liquified long lasting lipstick", however, they aren't that long lasting. These colors do feather and get into the fine lines. That I don't like. They do come off after eating, drinking, and just plain old kissing my husband. So, there's A Lot of transfer, at least for me.

They have a slight fragrance. I can't seem to place it, but it's warm and comforting. The packaging is cute and easy to carry in my mini makeup bag for my purse. The applicator is just ok. Start off slow and build up the product. Be careful, it can get messy! I recommend using a liner with all of the colors, even the lighter lipsticks. I have a few lip liners to match the darker/brighter shades, other than that I use a clear wax liner. I heard they work even better with a lip primer, but I've never tried it so I can't comment from experience.

I don't care for the Melted Metals, they don't seem to be as pigmented at the Melted Lipsticks.  I have no experience whatsoever with the Melted Chocolate line. I'm a little curious about the Melted Honey and Melted Cherries, but I haven't seen them in any stores to swatch. I've only seen them on the Sephora website and there isn't much of a color description, or any description for that matter. I know that three of the six colors are like the Melted Metal line. I'll pass on those!

At $21 a piece they're bright and fun and I feel like you totally get a lot of product for the price. These aren't as great at the NARS Audacious Lipsticks (but they are cheaper), because those are my absolute favorite lipsticks of all time!

Melted Marshmallow, Melted Ruby, Melted Jelly Donut, Melted Candy, Melted Fuchsia

You can't see the difference in the Melted Candy and Melted Fuchsia in this photo, but you can see the slight difference in color in the photo above.  The Fuchsia is a bit brighter.  In this photo you can also see the different consistency of the Melted Marshmallow compared to the other colors.

Happy Movie Monday!

To quote Melrose Place actress Heather Locklear, "You can't keep changing men, so you settle for changing your lipstick."

Too Faced Melted Lipsticks get 4 out of 5 Gerber Daisies because the wide range of colors are vibrant and fun, but there's a lot of transfer and I don't care for the Metals (that's just my preference).