NEW: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick – Review, Swatches + Looks

Such is the love for Urban Decay that every new drop is met with palpable excitement.  So you can imagine the anticipation surrounding  this one: the brand’s biggest lipstick launch to date.

The just arrived Vice collection comprises a  whopping 100 different colour  lipsticks, from bold brights and intense darks, to easy-to-wear neutrals. Most are new but old favourites from past Revolution formulas have made a return too. 

They come in six different finishes including matte, metallic and sheer.  Accompanying them are 50 new matching lip pencils. Phew, that’s some launch!  Perhaps not surprising then that the brand has turned to Ruby Rose to front the promotional campaign after a successful celeb collab with Gwen Stefani.

The lipsticks come packaged in a modernised version of the original Urban Decay bullet-shell case, with a gold base and debossed lettering. On the bottom are true shade-matched labels, making it easy to locate the colour you’re after - my handbag is a bottomless pit in which I can never find my huge bunch of house keys, never mind lipsticks! 

A few days ago five lipsticks from the new line-up dropped through my letterbox, a mix of shades and finishes that gives a taster of the range.  In a nutshell they’re creamy, deliver great colour payoff and are long wear.

I’ve reviewed and swatched them below, and picked out two favourites.

The 5 Swatched

From top: Firebird, Big Bang, BackTalk, 714 and Pandemonium

Firebird – Cream 

Described as a deep fuchsia with a cream finish, this delivers an intense hit of opaque dark berry pink in a single swipe. It’s also got a bit of a sheen to it. It applies smoothly and feels great on the lips – still hydrating  after hours of wear.

Big Bang – Metallized 

Described as a bright pink sparkle with a metallised finish. I wasn’t expecting to like this (thinking I’m a bit (age) beyond the bright sparkly lip look) but I did!  Yes there’s sparkle but the micro glitter is tasteful and flattering. You can feel the texture slightly as you apply but it’s not coarse. In fact, I found this to be nicely moisturising. It did though leave a few sparkles on my lips beyond the colour fade.

BackTalk – Comfort Matte

The creamiest of the matte finishes. This is a mauve-nude pink and for me is perhaps the most every-day wearable and versatile of the shades here. It delivers full opaque colour in a single swipe and a smooth finish.

714 – Mega Matte

Oh oh oh the colour pay-off here is massive. The pigmentation in this bright red is intense and it looks stunning on. I rarely rock bright red lips (worn daily in my 20s) but as I found with Iracebeth in Urban Decay’s Alice collection (reviewed here) once I’d got it on I loved the striking effect it created.  Application was even (though with some drag) and the wear here was about six hours.

Pandemonium – Mega Matte 

Described as a bright purple with a super-intense matte finish. The colour payout is superb, a very intense purple with a reddish tone. Personally it’s not my choice of shade but if you like dark bold statement lips then this delivers. Texture wise I found it a bit tricky to apply - it felt a tad dry and I needed to give it a good few swipes . 

Two Favourites

714:  for the intensity of the colour and for taking me out of my comfort zone

Big Bang: for being such a  surprise hit - I’d thought my glitter bug days were behind me!

The Vice Lipstick collection is available here and each lipstick costs £15.

Post contains PR samples