LIPSTICKS - Urban Decay Revolution & Matte Revolution Lipsticks Currently $11!

Many of us have probably noticed the sudden drop in price for the Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks in the past few weeks at the usual UD retailers. They went from $22 to $11 and there was a lot of buzz in the online beauty community as to why and for how long. I first found out about the sale price through Nouveau Cheap and eventually the reason for the price drop in this post. The referenced article can be found here at Refinery 29.

I adore UD's iconic purple packaging!

I didn't want to wait too long to get this post up since the new UD Vice lipsticks are debuting in June. I hope this information is handy for those who want to grab some before the original packaging is long gone (as well as the discounted price!). The current shades as well as previous limited edition ones will be available with the relaunch.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks Left to Right: Naked, Rapture, Rush, Venom, Matte After Dark, Matte Blackmail

The color-matched labels were a nice touch.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks Left to Right: Naked, Rapture, Rush, Venom, Matte After Dark, Matte Blackmail

The label for Naked looks more beigey in person compared to the actual lipstick bullet.

UD Logo Embossed on Top of Caps

UD Revolution Lipstick Packaging

I think this is some of the most gorgeous lipstick packaging I've ever seen. It's quite understated yet edgy at the same time. The gunmetal casing is for the regular finish and the black casing is for the matte finish. Inside there's purple casing around the bullet itself. There's a nice heftiness to these lipsticks. I quite like how the caps fit snugly over the tubes. No worries about the caps coming off in my purse! I'm usually not one to buy lipstick for the packaging but this is really a bonus! The formula is the deciding factor for me.

As of the time of this post, there are still some UD Revolution lipsticks available at the following retailers (shade availability will vary):

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks at Macy's (free shipping w/ beauty purchase)
Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks at Sephora
Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipsticks at Sephora
Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipsticks at Sephora

Brick and mortar stores may still have a handful available if they haven't all been sold out already.

I know these lipsticks are loved by many since they are supposed to be very pigmented and moisturizing, so it was very difficult to resist picking some up to try out. A couple years ago, I received a teeny tiny tube of the shade Anarchy in my Ipsy bag. It's such a bright Barbie pink shade and I wasn't brave enough to wear it out. I was still fixated on the spicy shades that looked "safe" with my coloring. It slipped my mind and I forgot to swatch that one.

Here are some arm swatches:

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks Left to Right: Naked, Rapture, Rush, Venom, Matte After Dark, Matte Blackmail

Over the course of the past few weeks, I wound up acquiring six shades. Four with the regular creme finish and two with the matte finish. As much as I wanted to experiment with a bunch of super bold colors, I played it relatively safe with this set. I wanted to make sure that I would actually use these shades and not have them sit and collect dust. You can probably guess that Blackmail will get the least use from me, but I wanted just one shade that was really outside of my comfort zone.

If you're curious as to how I ended up with six new lipsticks, then read on!

I started out with only getting Rush from Macys.com since it was still unknown at the time if these were temporarily discounted or permanently discontinued. I didn't want to go too crazy right away with getting so many. I was lurking on urbandecay.com and put another lipstick in my shopping cart and clicked out of the window. A couple days later, UD emailed me and said that if I purchased the lipstick, I would receive a deluxe sample of All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray and 4-shade Sheer Revolution sample. I've been wanting to try their setting spray for years now so I caved and added one of the few remaining shades of lipstick left, which was Blackmail. There's also free shipping if you sign up for their UD Beauty Junkies Rewards program.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks Left to Right: Naked, Rapture, Rush, Venom, Matte After Dark, Matte Blackmail

I have a huge weakness for berry shades and have been contemplating getting Matte After Dark. I figured I'd probably wear it a lot because it would seem flattering. I went ahead and ordered a tube from Nordstrom.com with my three free samples and free shipping. I said to myself that this was it.

Of course, it was then announced that UD is discontinuing their current line of Revolution lipsticks for their relaunch this summer. There will be new packaging similar to the Gwen Stefani and Alice in Wonderland lipsticks with a pointed bullet. I don't mind the round bullet and really like the purple and gunmetal packaging of the current ones. They do feel very luxurious in the hand. Aside from Clinique and Lancome (they're all from GWPs), these were going to be the fanciest lipsticks I owned. I couldn't imagine the formula and shades being radically different anyway and figured the next relaunch wasn't going to be for another good while, so I planned to get three more shades.

I saw that Ulta.com still had quite a few shades left so I waited until the following Wednesday morning for them to announce their Beauty Break on top of their lowered free shipping order minimum of $35. If you spend the minimum, you get a bunch of bonus goodies. Often times, the minimum is $50, but through a glitch in the system, I was able to get the 8-piece bath Beauty Break and three additional deluxe samples on top of the ones they already send you. I have yet to try these, but they were a nice bonus treat.

I've swatched the six lipsticks on my lips so you can get a better idea of how they look "on".

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Naked

Naked is the palest shade I picked up. It's a light pink shade with a little bit of brown.  I'm always on the prowl for light pink shades that don't make me look washed out for when I do a really dramatic eye. I think this fits the bill.

Rapture is a mauvey berry shade. It's very flattering on my complexion. I can see myself reaching for this one a lot.

Rapture surprised me a little bit. I didn't expect it to be as berry-toned as it turned out on my lips. I am pleasantly surprised since I love berries! In person, I see a touch of brown in the bullet but it doesn't show up on the lips.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Rapture

Rush is a warm medium pinky brown. It's a little bit darker and warmer than Naked. I love this as an everyday color. It's a lovely shade for attending class or going to work.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Rush

Venom is a deep raspberry shade with very fine rosy shimmer. The shimmer is not gritty at all and doesn't make the shade frosty. I don't think this leans too cool or too neutral so I think it can go great with lots of different skin tones. It's so fall, I love it!

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Venom

Matte After Dark is another raspberry shade but it's a little redder than Venom. It looks magenta by comparison. There's a bit of plummy shimmer in it that makes this a very unique lipstick. Combined with the matte finish, the shimmer gives this shade a very plush and dimensional look. The shimmer is not gritty and blends well with the formula.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Matte After Dark

Now onto the most daring lipstick I've ever purchased: Blackmail! It's a deep dark wine shade that leans cool. UD wasn't kidding, these lipsticks are loaded with pigment. I was trying really hard to get an even application with Blackmail and every time I went over a spot again, it would get significantly darker and patchy. So, I ended up with the final look below. I would highly recommend applying this one with a lipstick brush so you can build up the opacity. There is very little room for error while applying straight from the tube. I tried it again the next day and it sheered out to a very nice and wearable black cherry shade. I guess I would go through less product if I use it this way, but I can already imagine reapplying being a hassle while I'm out and about. The edges were extra tricky so the center of my lips don't look as dark by comparison. At full opacity, I think this shade leans more cool than when it's sheered out. I think that may have more to do with my pigmented lips than anything else, though.

If you're looking for a nearly black but not full on black lipstick, this is the one for you!

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick Blackmail

The formula in these lipsticks were really wonderful. Even the mattes were quite moisturizing for what they are. They all applied very smoothly without skipping and were very pigmented.

The regular creme formula was very buttery but expect to reapply every few hours depending on how often you eat/drink. I don't get annoyed over this very much if the brand isn't touting the product as long-wearing.

The mattes went on very smoothly and were extremely velvety. This is where I can really see the justification of the $22 price tag. The formula was just so lush and luxe, I haven't tried anything else like that before. These are not as dry as the Milani Color Statement Matte lipsticks. Because these mattes aren't as dry as your usual matte lipstick, they're bound to fade within a few hours depending on how much you're eating/drinking. I'd like to think of the staying power to be between a regular creme lipstick and a long-wearing staining lipstick. It's actually good that it's not long-wearing because it won't get all weird and clumpy when you reapply.

I'm happy with the shades I picked up. I made sure that I chose wearable shades so the $11 per lipstick cost would be more worth it. I very rarely buy lipsticks from department stores so this was an exception since UD's doing a complete overhaul of their collection.

Although the regular formula is very nice, I'd recommend picking up at least one shade from the matte collection while the sale is still happening. I found this formula to be super comfortable on the lips and extremely pigmented.

If there are certain shades you've been eyeing but aren't currently available, keep checking back. I've seen online retailers randomly restock. However, I'm not sure how long they'll be restocking for since the UD Vice lipsticks will be released in the next few weeks.

Are you planning on picking up some Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks while they're on sale? Do you already own some shades? If so, how do you like them? Let me know in the comments below!