Hey guys, as you may well know, I'm a huge Urban Decay fan and today I'll be reviewing something I've been uber excited about for a long while: the new Urban Decay lipsticks.

The new lipsticks have been redesigned and reformulated and repackaged.. basically a whole new lipstick, but there are some familiar sounding shades like Revolution, Rush and Jilted.

I was sent two lipstick shades: Anarchy (bright fuschia) and Turn On (rosy pink) and their corresponding 24/7 lip pencils (also relaunched).

24/7 lip pencils

Colour & Pigmentation: As with all the 24/7 range, the pigmentation is gorgeous in both lip pencils. Turn On is a rosy pink shade and Anarchy is a gorgeous bright fuschia with strong blue tones.
Texture: Both lip pencils were creamy enough to go on smoothly but not with too much slip that the pencil would bleed. I found Turn On to be drier than Anarchy when worn alone.
Longevity: When worn alone, these lip pencils can last ages, literally 24/7!
Scent: No particular scent.
Price: At £12 they remain at the same price when many of the other Urban Decay products have gone up in price; I'd definitely pick up a fair few shades before they do inevitably get popular and go up in price!

FrootiFactor: As a fan of all products "24/7" I would give these pencils a 4.5-5 out of 5:

Revolution lipsticks

Colour & Pigmentation: The colours are as described above for the corresponding lipsticks, however I found Turn On lip pencil to be duller than the corresponding lipstick. Pigmentation is insane.. absolutely packed with colour in both of these shades.
Texture: I found the texture to be utterly creamy and buttery even, like the YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks, but with more pigmentation. Amazing.
Longevity: As these are fairly creamy lipsticks, I'd expect them to wear away pretty fast, however I ate, and wore my Turn On lipstick (with liner underneath) comfortably for around 4-5 hours before I felt it wear away.
Scent: No particular scent
Price: At £15.50 it's a bit more than a MAC lipstick, but less than its quality equivalent YSL Rouge Volupte which is one of my other favourite lipsticks.. And the packaging is sleek and so me (purple) so for £15.50 it is totally justified in my opinion.

FrootiFactor: I love this lippy so much, I give it a 5!

All in all, I'm impressed just as I knew I would be, and can't wait to buy more pencils and lipsticks in the range.. My bank balance will hate me but my lips won't!

Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks are available to buy at Debenhams, House Of Fraser, and John Lewis.

What do you think of these new lipsticks? Have you seen or bought any favourite shades yet?


 

Pixi event product swatches and reviews

Two weeks ago I got to get up close and personal with Pixi products at their London store in Fouberts Place and talked about the new AW12 releases.
Pixi is a brand I've always been undecided on; I love their name and quirky vintage-feeling shop. I used to buy their lip blushes when they were available in Debenhams and a few of their brushes too which I quite liked; but I've never been able to try eyeshadows/blushes or other lip products so it was a great opportunity to do so.

The shop was filled with a lovely warm smell and I was offered some yummy pastries as I entered.

I browsed some of the new products out from the AW12 collection and found I quite liked the eyeshadow quads (Shade Quartettes), particularly "Shades Of Daylight" (£16):

I also thought the glittery nail polish trios (£16) looked so pretty and festive:

 

Early Bird Kit
I got to take away the Early Bird Kit which consists of 3 cheek colours, 2 bronzers and a highlighter, 4 eye base shades and 16 eyeshadows.

The kit is designed to make you look like you've got more sleep than you actually have with it's "daylight colours".

I've not yet come across base shades that are powders/eyeshadow-like like these but I've used them underneath some shadows to see the effect and it does seem to make the shadow more vibrant.

16 eyeshadows and 4 eye base shades

swatches of eye base shades

eyeshadow swatches; left - without eye base shades, right with eye base shades

2 bronzers and highlighter

3 blushes

left 3: highlighter and 2 bronzers; right 3: blushes

Overall I found the palette to be quite soft and pigmented; the blushes were lovely, not too over powering. The highlighter and bronzers I feel are more suited to fairer skintones so I'll have to find a way of using them all as highlighters.
The eyeshadows were hit and miss; some were soft and creamy in texture and others grainy. They're mainly lovely light colours with the odd darker colour and one matte shade too, so many looks could be created.

I'd give this palette a 3.5 out of 5 because it's improved my expectation of Pixi but this particular palette doesn't have face shades that would suit a range of skintones.

Lip & Line
Whilst in store I discovered the Lip & Line (£12) and thought it was innovative; I was lucky enough to get one to take home in "No 2 Fresh Pink"; 

It consists of a double ended lipliner and lipstick in the same shade which is so handy as a MUA but also as a lippie buyer! The lipliner is waterproof and anti-feathering, whilst the lipstick is moisturising with Vitamins E and C. I chose this shade as it's rare to get lighter shades like this in matching tones, however as my lips are fairly dark, this colour is too pale for me so I'll be using this in my kit for fairer clients.
I did notice that the lipliner coupled with the lipstick felt nice and moisturising but also lasted a long time too, so these are definitely plus points.
I'd give this product a 4.5 out of 5 as it's hydrating but also long lasting; I  like that you don't need to waste time faffing around looking for a lipliner or that it would take up much space, as it's a handy two in one!

All Pixi products can be bought from their boutique off Carnaby Street (22a Fouberts Place) in London, pixibeauty.co.uk, or ASOS. 

Have you tried any Pixi products before? Which would you recommend?