Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks - Review and Swatches

In their words: 'Addictive to apply (and even more addictive to wear), Revolution Lipstick glides on without dragging or skipping and hugs every curve. Just one swipe gives you a BIG, gorgeous laydown of colour. And with shades that range from gorgeous nudes to bold brights, there’s something for everyone.'

In my words: I hate to be that person, but I really do agree with what Urban Decay have to say about their much anticipated lipstick line - granted, there are a couple that have some minor issues, but nothing that casts them in the realm of bad. Let's look at a breakdown of a few essential factors, shall we? 

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Formula: The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Revolution formula is creamy - these lipsticks are incredibly comfortable to wear. I often find that I can love the colour of a lipstick, but if it sits uncomfortably on the lips, it's a deal breaker and I'll never wear it. They have a rather thick consistency, with the lighter shades generally being slightly thinner, but they're not sticky or tacky at all. They do not emphasize lip lines at all, and you can happily smack your lips together without fear of the formula separating or creating a gooey mess. Generally, they don't feather, but I'd rather be safe than sorry with the darker shades and wear a lip liner underneath for extra security. They do not dry the lips out, but don't necessarily add any moisture either, despite their creamy texture. All those that I own have a satin to slightly glossy finish, but Urban Decay do have matte and sheer versions in the line. 

Pigmentation: As with all lipstick formulas, the darker shades are more pigmented than the lighter ones, but even the latter hold their own - there were only two shades that I felt needed extra help to lift them into opacity. Usually, one swipe will yield rich, full pigment, and they are very true to the colour in the tube. 

Ease of use: Here is where we hit a snag with this product: the actual lipstick is not 'conventionally' shaped, shall we say - it is not angled to fit the contours of your lips, resulting in a loss of control. This could potentially become problematic, especially for those with thinner lips. I found that I struggled to 'colour inside the lines' especially with the darker colours (and you can probably tell in some of my swatches!). Not really a big negative, but they certainly take longer to apply if you really want to achieve precise, crisp lines. 

Longevity: Definitely one of the longer wearing lipsticks I own - darker shades can last a good five or so hours, with lighter shades faltering at around about the three hour mark. What's nice is that when they do fade, it's an 'attractive' fade, rather than crumbling and leaving the dreaded flakey halo in the centre of your lips (you know the one, right?). Most colours will leave a pretty stain too, which can last a further three hours or more. 

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Swatches

Naked2 is a neutral peachy-brown - the perfect nude for fair complexions. On me, it is a 'my lips but better' shade. It is one of the sheerer colours of the bunch (I had to do two swipes on my hand for full opacity), but a beautiful and very wearable colour, nonetheless! 

Liar is a beautiful mid-tone rose mauve with subtle warm undertones. I absolutely love this shade - I think it's so flattering, and would make a lovely nude lipstick for deeper skintones. This is one of the creamiest of the bunch and is completely opaque in one swipe. Looks gorgeous paired with flushed cheeks and minimal eye make-up (can you tell I'm infatuated with this colour?!)

Native is a light warm-tone 'true' pink. Oddly, it translates differently on my lips - it becomes more cool-toned and almost veers into Barbie pink territory. Deeper skintones may need to be careful with this colour, as I imagine it could turn into clown-time pretty quickly (props to you if that's what you enjoy). The formula is consistent with others in the line, and is fairly opaque with one swipe. 

Streak is a mid-tone pink leaning coral. It's a very pretty shade, and screams summer, but is was the worst performer out of the ones I own. Opacity is difficult to achieve (I did three swipes on my hand and you can it's still not completely opaque). It's wear time was also somewhat lacking, and it does not leave a stain unlike the others (probably due to it's more glossy finish) As stated in my introduction though, 'worst' does not by any means equal bad, and it still performs better than most lipsticks. 

Turn On is a mid-tone cool pink with slight blue undertones. This is another favourite - it is incredibly creamy, and arguably performs the best out of all the shades I own (though they're all pretty consistent) Such a pretty colour that I think works with subtle and more adventurous looks.

Manic is a gorgeous bordeaux red with subtle brown undertones. The formula is not as creamy as others (though it has a higher shine, strangely) but that didn't effect the performance at all. This colour STAINS, and is one of the longer wearing shades. A very beautiful vintage colour. 

Anarchy is a bright fuchsia pink. I am very surprised at how flattering this shade is - despite it's intensity, it isn't quite as loud as other fuchsias, and is ALMOST wearable (I know people have different ideas on what is and isn't wearable, so forgive me). I think it would flatter a lot of skin tones, so it's (also surprisingly) very versatile. This had a very cool gold shift running through it in the tube, but that does not translate at all onto the skin or lips. Once again, the formula is lush. 

69 (har har) is a richly pigmented neutral red that leans slightly cool toned. Doesn't everybody love a red lip? What more can I say? It's a beautiful red.

(And here's where my swatches start getting messy - my lips were about to fall off at this point)

Bang is a true blood orange red. It's a perfect summer-time colour if you fancy going a bit more vibrant with your make-up. Pigmentation was perfect, and it was also another long-wearer. 

Venom is a rich, vampy raspberry purple. I was particularly impressed with how this shade applied, as very dark colours tend to be patchy or streaky, but Venom was a very smooth application and covered the lips evenly. It's a very daring colour, but again in the same vein as Anarchy, there is something that makes it more wearable (I think the hint of raspberry does this).

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To conclude...

If you haven't guessed by now, I am very, very fond of these lipsticks. I can't think of any other lipsticks that perform as well as these (apart from, perhaps, the Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Line). The colours I would particularly recommend are Liar, Turn On, Anarchy, 69 and Venom, but they all most definitely have their merits. They're not the cheapest lipsticks on the market at £15.50 a pop, but you really are seeing quality that you sometimes just can't get with budget brands.

Have you tried the Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks? What are your favourite colours? What would you like to see me review next?

- Soph