Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani | Blush Palette

Some collaborations are almost preordained to happen, such as this Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani collection. One of the most anticipated pieces of this series, is the limited edition Blush Palette (CAN $60.00) which features 6 shades (blush, highlighter, bronzer/contour) all housed in one convenient package. The best part? All the colour input is by the songstress herself, filled with hues that she has always wanted to see in a palette. Happily, we can all now partake in that Gwen magic …

Details – they get me every time: the gold & black graphic print on the exterior packaging also displays a clear depiction of all the shades listed on the back. The palette compact has a grid work of white polka dots (apparently Gwen loves these cute little circles) surrounded by a gold frame (as opposed to the eyeshadow compact that has black polka dots) and a signature riveted faux-bronze at one corner. There’s also a full sized mirror on the inner lid with a silkscreened message at the bottom right corner (a cute touch). The three blush shades (Cherry, Easy & Hush) and two highlighters (Angel and OC) all display shimmer – some of it multi-tonal even, while the bronzer/contour shade, Lo-Fi, is shimmer-free but not 100% matte; there’s enough of a sheen to keep the colour from appearing flat. All shades are in the brand’s Afterglow formula and meant to give 8 hours of wear time.

Individual swatches of the shades are shown heavily applied (at left) and blended out (at right).

Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani | Blush Palette swatches (direct sunlight)

Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani | Blush Palette (alternate light)

Cherry – a cool toned pink shade with a surprisingly strong pigmentation, but that also blends out easily as well. Layerable, this makes for an interesting combination when worn over a [matte] warmer hued blush, and can make for a unique highlighter shade against darker complexions (sounds odd, but my gut tells me it will look amazing).

Easy – a shimmering berry hue with golden and prismatic ultra fine sparkle. I was unprepared for how saturated this shade would turn out to be; think NARS’s iconic Orgasm but on steroids. Will give a stunning flush of colour to cheeks, but needs to be blended out well (because we don’t want to look slapped, now do we?). Workable on all skin tones across the board.

Angel – a warm champagne highlighter hue, insane pigmentation and filled with such finely milled shimmer to give that ‘celebrity’ glow – and all without emphasizing pores. Applied over foundation, the wear time is impressive, staying true until removed, possibly looking even better as the product fuses with your skin’s warmth and natural oils.

Lo-Fi – a soft and warm-leaning bronzer hue with tan and caramel undertones. The powder is really finely milled and blends beautifully along the skin. Probably more suited for those with light to light-medium skin tones, as I suspect it will simply not show up on darker complexions. Used as a bronzer, this colour will give that sun-kissed glow to skin but I can’t really see it being applied as a realistic contouring shade, as I suspect it’s much too warm for that (contouring is meant to mimic shadows which are usually very-based, therefore cooler-toned hues are much better suited for the job).

Hush – a strongly pigmented warm oyster hue with peachy undertones and finely milled prismatic shimmer. This is the chameleon shade of the group, as it can be made to work as a blusher (there’s just enough pigment to keep it interesting when applied to the cheeks), layered over a matching hue for depth, or simply worn as a highlighter – but in a more diffused way (with the use of a fan brush). This hue also makes a lovely highlighting shade for those with darker complexions.

OC – I don’t know about you, but I did NOT expect this shade to swatch as it did; what appears to be a Cremesicle-orange hue in the pan, turns out to be a peachy-pink shade with fine iridescent shimmer once applied to the skin. What sorcery is this? I can totally see this working as a lovely flush against lightly tanned skin, or better still, as a unique highlighter along the high points of the face (I’m also thinking this will make a gorgeous eyeshadow hue).

Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani | Blush Palette

Ready-made palettes fall into one of 2 categories for me: hit or miss. This, my lovelies, is most definitely a HIT. The shades are beautiful, the quality of each is so very easy to work with (no fallout and excellent staying power – when applied over foundation), and generously-sized so that there’s no risk of cross-contamination when swirling brushes across any of them. As if the colour selection weren’t enough, there’s the price: CAD $60.00 for 6 shades? I call that a steal.

Who’ll be picking this up? Let me know your thoughts!

The Urban Decay X Gwen Stefani Blush Palette is available through Sephora & sephora.com and select Shopper’s Drug Mart/Pharmaprix stores across Canada. Find more information via www.urbandecay.ca