When I heard that Gwen Stefani of No Doubt fame was teaming up with Urban Decay and designing a limited edition eyeshadow palette, I instantly knew I 'needed' it. As a fan from the early days, I've always found Gwen to have bold, unique style, which is a bit of a match made in heaven for Urban Decay as a brand. Needless to say, I was reasonably excited when the Gwen Stefani Palette showed up this week (or unreasonably so - there might have been a squeak of joy or two!). Keep reading for a breakdown of the shades included in the post below!
The Gwen Stefani for Urban Decay Palette was actually designed by Gwen, including the shade selection, which is always nice to hear. So often we see celebrity collections released by brands where the name is just endorsed or slapped on a product, but there is no actual collaboration there. The palette itself was designed using Gwen's inspirations in mind, and infusing her love of black and white graphics with gold detailing. I instantly noticed how it had a nice weighted feel to it, and the metal plate on the front had a nice rustic feel to it - something a makeup lover or music maven would love to collect.
On the inside of the palette are fifteen gorgeous eyeshadows, twelve of which are NEW; The three from the existing line were favourites of Gwen's. The inside of the palette also has a nice full sized mirror that has the quote "Magic's in the Makeup" in the bottom right hand corner - a nod to the No Doubt song of the same name.
As I mentioned, twelve of the shadows are new shades which Gwen had a hand in naming herself. Here's a breakdown of all 15 shadows, and if you want some amazing swatches head over to Temptalia.com.
Blonde - (to represent Gwen's iconic bottle blond locks) is a pale beige with pink iridescent shift.
Bathwater - (a No Doubt song) is a pale beige with gold pearl.
Skimp - (a favourite from the UD line) is a pale nude satin.
Steady - (after the No Doubt song "Rock Steady") is a metallic rose with gold shift.
Punk - (the music genre that started it all for Gwen) is a reddish brown matte.
Baby - (an homage to her fashion line L.A.M.B.) is a cool metallic rose.
Anaheim - (where Gwen grew up) is a light taupe-brown matte.
Stark - (another favourite from the UD line) is a nude pink matte.
Zone - (after the song "Danger Zone") is a medium brown matte.
Serious - ( another of Gwen's songs) is a smoky grey with iridescent pearl.
Pop - (Gwen's current music genre) is a pale coral with iridescent sparkle.
Harajuku - (one of her biggest style influences) is a metallic blue pink with micro shimmer.
Danger - (because Gwen likes a little danger!) is a deep metallic royal blue with micro-sparkle.
1987 - (the year No Doubt formed) is a bright metallic yellow gold)
Blackout - (Gwen's favourite black shade and staple in the UD line) is blackest black matte.
This palette is limited edition, so if the colours look up your alley don't hesitate to grab it when it is released! As per Urban Decay standards, the formula of the shadows are excellent, with great colour payoff and smooth buttery feel (including the mattes). It's so darn pretty I almost don't want to use it.... almost... Oh, and just in case eyeshadows aren't your thing, Urban Decay will also be releasing some Gwen Stefani lipsticks in the future...
The Gwen Stefani Palette for Urban Decay is available online at Urban Decay, and will be live on Sephora.com December 1st! Until then, I'll leave you with some No Doubt to tap your toes to:
