Way back in February I got Gwen Stefani’s palette as a Valentines gift. As I’ve had so many other beauty bits to use, I’ve only just got round to trying this eyeshadow palette out.

As a fan of Gwen, I was excited to see that she’d teamed up with Urban Decay, which is a brand I love. Initially I was a bit indecisive about whether I wanted this palette, as online reviews were fairly mixed. Many people said that the colours lacked pigmention and the eyeshadows were too powdery, however, upon seeing this in store, I knew I had to try it.

Starting with the packaging, the eyeshadows are housed in a luxurious black, white and gold perspex palette, which reminds me of a pretty clutch bag. The case feels sturdy but it’s not too weighty.

Opening up the palette, there’s a good sized mirror with ‘Magic’s In The Makeup’ written across it, which is a nod to one of No Doubt’s songs.

Moving onto the eyeshadows, there’s three rows each containing five eyeshadows. A lot of people have said they expected bolder colours in this palette, and in my opinion a couple of brighter shades wouldn’t have gone amiss, but as Gwen herself wears a neutral eye, this palette seems true to her. Three of the shades Blackout, Skimp and Stark are permanent Urban Decay shades, but the other twelve colours are newly designed and named by Gwen herself.

Below is swatches of the eyeshadows row by row.

The first time I tried this palette, I found it hugely disappointing. I applied the colour Pop, which was horribly powdery, to the point that lumps of eyeshadow just sat on my eyelids. Once blended, it sheered out completely with no colour and still looked powdery. I then tried the rose coloured shade Baby, which again lacked pigmentation and finally Harajuku.

Harajuku is a pink with cool blue undertones and was one of the shades I was most excited about, but even after applying layers of eyeshadow it still lacked any colour.

I removed my eye makeup before starting again, this time with the orange pink shade Steady, which was incredibly powdery and patchy, before finishing with the yellow gold colour 1987. As much as I liked this shade, it faded and looked dull after four hours of wear.

Disappointed but not willing to give up, I used this palette a few days later and had better results. I went for a daytime nude look and applied Stark which is a nude pink across my eyelids and the taupe brown Anaheim as my transition shade. My eyeshadow lasted the day and there was no fall out from these shades.

Below is a photo of me wearing the nude eyeshadow look.

The final look I tried was with the shade Stark across my eyelids and the deep blue colour Danger across the outer part of my eyelids and winged outwards. Danger is a shade I like, but it hasn’t wowed me. If it was a slightly lighter shade of blue or had more shimmer, I’d like this more. It also has terrible fall out, even with Urban Decay’s primer applied underneath. Nevertheless, I was growing to enjoy using this eyeshadow palette.

Below is a photo of me wearing this eyeshadow look.

Then just as fast as I started to like this palette, I started to dislike it all over again. After using these eyeshadows, my eyelids became red, dry and flaky like I had eczema. I don’t think I’ve had a reaction to an eyeshadow like this since I was a teenager, using really cheap cosmetics. Since I stopped using this palette, my eyes have returned to normal, but I’m pretty annoyed that I won’t be getting much use out of a £40 palette.

Incase you’re still looking to try Gwen’s palette, here’s my pros and cons:

Pros

• Beautiful clutch style packaging.
• Contains fifteen eyeshadow shades.
• Mostly neutral and nude shades, good for everyday.

Cons

• Like most eyeshadow palettes, it’s too big to carry on a daily basis.
• Not much variation in shades.
• Powdery eyeshadow formula.
• Eyeshadows lack pigmentation.
• Might not be the best palette if you have sensitive eyes.

Let me know if you’ve tried any of Gwen Stefani’s range with Urban Decay.