In the Mouth of Radness — Urban Decay Introduces Its New Revolution Lipsticks and 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils

Sometimes I think the folks at Urban Decay have telepathic powers, that they have a Jean Grey-ish figure on payroll whose mission is to read the minds of brand devotees like myself. Whenever I think to myself, ‘Hey, you know what would be great? If UD made this!’, it’s only a matter of time before they do, indeed, release such a product. For instance, I adored both the Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 eyeshadow palettes but, once I started doing more and more television appearances, I realized I needed a few more matte eye shadow shades in my makeup arsenal (shimmery eye shadows can look ridiculous on television since the overhead lights are so intense that any glimmer particles within the formula reflect light as well as disco balls) and I wished there was a matte edition of the Naked palette. Before I knew it, Urban Decay released the Naked Basics palette featuring all-matte eye shadows ,and it soon became my go-to palette for creating TV-ready looks. Before that, I had longed for a jumbo version of the brand’s highly pigmented 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils, something I could apply all over my lids and wear as eye shadow but which boasted the ease of a pencil and the long-lasting wear associated with their eyeliners. And, sure enough, UD released its stubby, plus-sized Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils. Most recently, I had been praying for Urban Decay to release some new lipsticks. After all, the brand retired its lipsticks several years ago (which I had adored) and released shade after shade of lip gloss. And, while they were all perky and pretty,  I was left with the desire for the full coverage, intense pigment pay-off and creamy consistency offered by lipsticks. Finally, a few months ago, I got the news: Urban Decay was expanding its lip color collection to include some new and reformulated lipstick shades and creamy lip pencils. I was over the moon — especially since my old Urban Decay lipsticks were pretty close to rancid and I’d been holding on to them for mainly sentimental reasons.

It felt like Christmas morning when I received samples of the new Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick ($22 at UrbanDecay.com and Sephora.com) and, like any impatient kid, I was ready to rip through the wrapping paper (metaphorically speaking) and get to playing! But before we get to talking about colors and pigmentation, let’s chat about that metaphorical wrapping paper — in this case, the lipstick’s packaging. You might remember the theatrical, slightly goth, ultra edgy packaging of the previous Urban Decay lipsticks, which featured metallic purple tubes and clear caps with purple and lilac illustrations — butterflies, swirls, skulls, daisies, miniature dragons, and so forth —as well as gunmetal-colored daggers along their disc-shaped bases. The packaging of the new Revolution Lipsticks doesn’t have any of that flair; instead, it’s sleek without being flashy. Each cylindrical tube is a metallic gunmetal tone for a dangerous but enticing, “forbidden fruit” quality, and the sides feature faceting that makes the tube’s surface glisten like a gemstone. In a way, I miss the “wow” factor of the previous packaging, but I do appreciate that these tubes are way more portable (the previous ones were so bulky that they pretty much took over your makeup bag).

But let’s talk about what’s inside that packaging since, after all, it’s what’s inside that counts. Formulated with Urban Decay’s Pigment Infusion System, each lipstick features an indulgently creamy texture and is so intensely pigmented that one single swipe over the lips will deposit high-voltage color on your pout. And the color lasts for hours on end — as many as six straight hours!  The Maxi-Lip technology, meanwhile, hydrates and plumps lips to make them appear plumper and fuller — without any of that uncomfortable burning and tingling often associated with lip volumizers. Nourishing botanicals like jojoba oil, avocado oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter soften and hydrate lips but, more importantly, they penetrate the skin to encourage collagen and elastin production and to fortify the skin’s moisture barrier, locking in the hydration so that your lip color doesn’t feather, seep into fine lines, flake, or lose its luster.

I am absolutely in love with these Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks. My only caveat is that I prefer traditional pointy lipstick tips to the flat, angled, circular tips that have become all the rage in recent years (aside from the UD Revolution lipsticks, MAC makes use of these in its Pro Longwear Lipcreme and Sheen Supreme lipsticks). These rounded tips make it harder to apply color to the corners of the mouth and the cupid bow, so I typically end up using a lip brush instead of gliding the tube over my lips since that can prove a bit messy.

Still, the lipsticks themselves are top-notch. The color offerings are adventurous, the finishes are lustrous and satin-y, and the level of pigment saturation is insanely high, delivering full opacity. Twenty-two shades are currently available including: Jilted, a bright fuchsia with blue undertones; Rapture, a dusty ruse color with a hint of rum raisin to it; Obsessed, a perky light bubblegum pink hue; Bang, a rich vermilion; F-Bomb, a classic, pin-up worthy red; and Anarchy, a raspberry red that borders on pink.

I tested out these six shades and they are beyond bad-to-the-bone. Check out swatches of Obsessed, Jilted, and Rapture below:

Next, check out swatches of  the Anarchy, Bang, and F-Bomb lipsticks — all so bright and rich that they’ll stop traffic:

Now, for extra fun, I’ll include a few photos of me wearing these shades. First, here are some snaps of me during New York Fashion Week wearing the F-Bomb lipstick color:

Next, check out how Rapture looks on the pout. Pretty, chic!

Next, check out the bold pink splendor of the Anarchy shade:

Next, check out the Urban Decay Obsessed shade (and please try to dismiss my raggedy looking hair and tired eyes):

As you hopefully saw for yourself, the shades are dynamite!

And, as if that weren’t enough reason for a celebratory dance, Urban Decay also introduced a new range of Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils ($19 at UrbanDecay.com and Sephora.com), which give your pouts the same type of hold that your eyelids enjoy with the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  You can use each lip pencil to line your lips or even fill the insides so as to prime lips, helping to give the lipstick layered atop it a bit more hold.

Enriched with vitamin E, cottonseed oil  and jojoba oil, these waterproof lip pencils won’t tug or scrape the delicate skin on your lips but, instead, will glide atop them ever so gently, the color practically rolling off your pencil’s tip. As with their eye liner peers, the 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils last an insanely long time, so do expect to use some makeup removing towelettes at the day’s end, when it’s time to remove all your cosmetics. You’ll actually be astonished by how your lips seem to hold on to the pigment and never let go.

Sixteen shades are available including Ozone, a clear tone that works as a primer and which also helps to outline lips so that whatever lip color you apply won’t migrate from the perimeter established (so to speak).

Check out swatches of the Rush, Bang, 69 and Jilted shades:

Pretty spectacular, right? Talk about giving good mouth!