Greetings from the side of a rather hopeful wizard, fellow rogues!
You know these old wizards. They’re nice chaps, really, but don’t always get out much – so when they hear of a quest involving kisses, even if this is in conjunction with the word ‘venomous’, they can’t go and investgate fast enough! Such was the case recently for our good friend Khael, who saw just such a posting on the local adventure board. Nothing would do but that we all pick up our stuff and go hiking over hill and dale to find…
Urban Decay’s Revolution Lipstick in Venom! 😀
You can imagine Khael’s disappointment when it turned out to be a lipstick artefact – he’d spent the whole trip dosing himself up on various antidotes, confident that they would aid him in receiving a magical, if toxic, kiss from some siren or other. We all had a bit of a laugh, getting ready to head back to town and out of the way of the surprising number of poisonous scarab swarms that were haging around this lipstick, until I discovered something…
I discovered that this artefact was more than just a wizard’s libido-based wild goose chase – it’s a truly fantastic, vampy, venomous berry purple lipstick that can hold its own with the very best in my not-inconsiderable collection of vampy purple lipsticks!
To start from the outside: the packaging for Urban Decay’s revamped line of Revolution lipsticks is really quite lovely. It’s an undulating gunmetal grey on the outside, and bears the signature UD violet colour on the inside. Now, I won’t lie, I’m a pretty devoted fan of Urban Decay’s offerings (particularly their eye pencils), and putting purple in anything is a good way to get me to look twice, but the packaging here is also eminently sturdy, operates smoothly and has a pleasingly luxurious weight to it in the hand. It’s the sort of packaging that is perfect for adventuring – it looks good in an understated way (as befits a rogue), it’ll hold up to being dropped to the bottom of a dungeon, and in the event of an emergency, you can probably knock out a guard or goblin with it.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to give Urban Decay a rogueish hug, for making their products available to non-US customers at the normal price. Sure, you have to get it shipped, and there’s the exchange rate to think about, but that’s just part of living in a different country to where the products originate. They haven’t just opened stores here and marked everything up by 3x (have they, MAC, hmm?). Anyway, back to the review…
The lipstick itself is in the flat-top chisel format, which I quite like – you can use the flat edge to fill in your lips, and the sharp edge to line them and even up the edges afterwards. I don’t find that this lipstick feathers at all throughout its very impressive 5-6 hour wear time on me, so I don’t use lipliner, but it’s nice to be able to do a precision job of applying it. And yes, you read that right. 5-6 hours. That’s truly epic by my standards, and Urban Decay gets a ‘You Rolled a 20! Award for Wear Time So Good It’s A Critical Hit’. This thing’ll have you vamping and venoming it up through a full temple-catacomb complex, no worries.
The colour is what I would call a berry violet (purple with strong berry red undertones), with very fine purple shimmer particles. The shimmer doesn’t translate to the lips as glitter or frost, but the finish is decidedly luminous and satin. I can’t detect any scent or flavour on this listick at all – I thought I could, but upon closer investigation, it turned out to be the scent of the violet lipstick barrel that I was catching, not the lipstick itself!
The pigmentation is excellent, the lipstick applies smoothly, and as you can see from the above swatch, it does leave behind a berryish stain when it wears off. The process of wearing off is pretty even on me (the stain helps), but I will tell you now that if you do decide to smooch a wizard (or anyone else) while wearing this lipstick, they will be sporting a very fetching purple lip-brand. Khael might have missed out, but I tried this on my own wizard, several hours after applying the lipstick, and he was suitably emblazoned with my mark…
The smooth, satin finish does have…how would you describe it? A little ‘tack’ to it when it has dried down? It’s not ‘tacky’ like a lipgloss might get, but there is a feeling of things having set a little. It’s not at all unpleasant, and I can only assume that it has something to do with the epic wear time, and the fact that this lipstick is beautifully hydrating (or at least it keeps the moisture in, sometimes it’s hard to tell), for the entire wear time.
Have you joined Urban Decay’s little revolution yet? I first saw these lipsticks last year when they launched, on the paragon sites of Temptalia, Makeup And Beauty Blog and Vampy Varnish (Christine’s gorgeous swatches sold me on Venom!) but my good friend and adventurer Nikki over at Girl Behind the Glasses also has a fabulous review of two of the other colours in this line – pinky nude Streak and bright pink Catfight – so please do go and check out her post if you’re intrigued by these lipsticks!
The verdict: What can I say, really? It’s a gorgeous colour, keeps my lips hydrated for the SIX HOURS it wears unscathed, has a luminous finish, is easy to apply, pigmented, unscented and flvaoured, and comes in a tube stylish enough that Coco Chanel would have approved if she’d gone through a bit of a grunge phase. I can’t wait to try some more from ths line of lipsticks (I think there are 20?!), and I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a go yourself, if you haven’t already.
The practicalities: Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks cost USD 22.00 each for 0.09 oz /2.6 g, are permanent, and may be acquired from http://www.urbandecaycosmetics.com. If you’re not in the US, they have a parcel forwarding service that they recommend, and if you’re in NZ, you can use YouShop from NZ Post to get a US shipping address. Importantly, there’s NO requirement to have a US billing address or credit card, which is usually where things go wrong for non-US consumers. Yay! 😀
Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!
Syl
I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com. All content on this website, including images, is the property of the owner/author (Sylirael The Painted Rogue, unless otherwise stated), and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send harpies after you. Smelly ones.
Oh my goodness. It’s beautiful. I want a berry-and-scarab smoothie now…
LikeLike
Mmm… berry and scarab smoothie…
You’d be surprised what I’ve tried – sometimes dungeon systems are larger than your rations bargained for, so you have to…supplement… 😉
LikeLike
Oh I sometimes wish my lips were less pigmented! A lot of my (sheer) lipsticks would look so much better on me then. 😦
I I have a sample of this lipstick but in different color. I’m also really impressed with the formula and longevity! Venom is such a bold color and it looks striking against your complexion! 😀
LikeLike
It’s one of the (few) advantages one has in the makeup world with a vampire complexion – vampy colours really do work! They are very striking, and people will stare at you, but that’s kind of the point, right? 😉
Having pigmentless lips is also nice in a way (your lipsticks run true to colour!) but then finding a ‘nude’ lipstick is nearly impossible – I think people underestimate sometimes how much their natural lip colour contributes to making a pale ‘nude’ wearable! I just look like a corpse 😀
LikeLike
wow the color looks amzing and the tube is very my type .
very informative review thx you
LikeLike
You’re welcome! The tube is pretty awesome, isn’t it 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and saying hello, Popsicle!
LikeLike
Silly Wizard. It’s a traaaaaap!
Another stunning purple lipstick for your mega-hoard.
LikeLike
I know, right? This is what happens when you let your libido override the rogue’s good sense. However, in this case I can’t blame him too much – it did lead me to an epic lipstick.
I was thinking of doing a ’10 ways with purple lipstick’ post or something similar soon. Thoughts anyone?
LikeLike
My thoughts are: YES
Purple lipstick gets so much less love than it deserves! I think of it as the cool-toned person’s orange lipstick.
LikeLike
That is an amazingly good way of describing it! Orange lipstick is still a mystery to me, but it does get so much more room in the beauty industry (lipstick-wise, anyway) than true purple does…
I’ve just finished doing an epic lipswatch fest (and I have the collagen-injection-gone-wrong post-swatch lips to prove it :-P). Soon there will be more purple on this site…soon…
LikeLike
When I first saw Venom on Temptalia, I wasn’t wowed. I didn’t see how it can be a dupe for MAC Rebel. But on you, it looks gorgeous! And it’s so much closer to Rebel.
LikeLike
I’ve actually never tried Rebel myself (and now I kind of feel I don’t need to, LOL), but I do really love this particular colour. Doesn’t hurt that the lipstick is great quality too!
My paleness against the vampy lipstick seems to be a hit! This is such a strange feeling, you know 😉
LikeLike
Venom is such a gorgeous color! The only Revolution lipstick I own is Streak, a peachy pink; I love the color, but it wears off in just a couple of hours. I’m glad to hear that the darker colors have a better wear time, because I’m thinking of buying either Venom or Jilted for fall. And I do think these lipsticks would make excellent weapons, particularly if you had a whole sack of them on hand to swing at enemies.
LikeLike
Indeed! There is a definite heft to the tube…wouldn’t mind a whole sack of these to try! 😀
Jilted is on my list of ones to get next! I was going to get it originally, but that would have been just around the time of my wedding, and jilted seemed…inappropriate 😉 Other than that, I have my eye on Lovelight and 69. I wanted to love Shame, but everyone’s swatches seem to come out rather streaky…
LikeLike
I have this shade and I love it, I get a lot of use out of it surprisingly by mixing it with a pink if I want a slightly toned down look 🙂
LikeLike
Welcome to The Painted Rogue, MishMreow! 🙂
Your words are wise – mixing lipsticks is such a great way to make a bold one more versatile, or get your own custom shade! Which pink do you like mixing Venom with most?
LikeLike
Hey Syl, I don’t know why I still haven’t tried one of these! I guess no shade is calling my name loudly enough? I do really love Venom on you though! So much va-va-voom! Reminds me of the bruised plum/oxblood thing that I briefly considered sporting last winter (but then I wimped out) LOL
LikeLike
Aww, you should give it a try, Sunny! 😀 I’m sure you can vamp it up with the best!
I’d agree that the shade range for these isn’t super unique, but the formula is definitely worth a look. I’d try something like Bang, 69, Jilted, F-Bomb or Venom, depending on your undertone preference, as the brights seem to be the best for pigment and longevity, from what I’ve seen/read!
LikeLike
Venom. Once it gets into your veins, it rushes to your heart and holds it captive.
Guess the only cure is to run to Sephora and buy this. 😛
LikeLike
I agree 😉 Quick, Christina! Save yourself!
LikeLike
Poor Khael, he expected a fair dwarven lady but all he got were beetles…well and a massive golden lipstick. I am sure this artifact will sell for a good price. You share evenly, right?
LikeLike
…*narrows eyes*
Who said anything about sharing? And…what lipstick?
*empty hands*
LikeLike
Looks like UD rolled a natural 20 when they formulated this bad boy!
LikeLike
Indeed they did! Critical hit, ongoing 5 poison damage to all foes, no save ends. 😉
LikeLike
Pingback: Found the Magic Lamp of Frivolity? Then Here’s a Rogue’s April 2014 Wishlist! | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: Loot Alert! Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick Swatches | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: Nude Dungeoneering! The Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: Balm for the Soul of a Tense Wizard? YSL Rouge Volupté Shine Lipstick in #17, Rose In Tension | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: The Rogue at the Social – Marc Jacobs Lovemarc Lip Gel in Have We Met? | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: A Rogue’s Preciousssss…Eyeliner Collection! | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: The Nocturnal Rogue: Adventuring with Tarte’s Rainforest After Dark Eye and Cheek Palette! | The Painted Rogue
Pingback: Interrogueation! Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award + A Fun Questionnaire for All! | The Painted Rogue