BUY THIS NOW: Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick

Urban Decay are doing a very un-Urban Decay like thing for Spring 2015 - releasing sheer lipsticks.  Luckily for us, these aren't sheer lipsticks in the usual vein of light on pigment, basically a tinted balm - they're just sheer versions of UD's insanely pigmented Revolution line.

The metallic ludicrously-shiny-and-fingerprint-magnet packaging is the same as the original Revolution lipsticks, albeit with a light lilac tone rather than the moody gunmetal of the full pigment version.  They're still a bugger to photograph, they still stand out amongst the anonymous black/gold/silver tubes in my lipstick bag, and they're still seriously pretty and weighty in the hand.

Left to right: Sheer Ladyflower, Sheer Streak, Sheer F-Bomb, Sheer Shame, Sheer Walk of Shame,
Sheer Liar, Sheer Anarchy, Sheer Obsessed

I still think that the bullet shape is too large to be easy to apply - even on my full lips, I have to contort my hand a bit to make sure I don't go over the edges of my lips.

Shade wise, there are 10 in the lineup overall, compared to 20 in the full-pigment Revolution line.  Some of the shades are muted versions of those in the Revolution lineup, and some are entirely new, so if you already have a favourite you might find that there's a muted version to match - true for one of my favourites, Shame.

Sheer Ladyflower

Sheer Streak

Sheer F-Bomb

Sheer Shame

Sheer Walk of Shame

Sheer Liar

Sheer Anarchy

Sheer Obsessed

Looking at these swatches, I can put my finger on exactly what I love about these lipsticks - they're not actually all that sheer.  They're medium pigment, easy-wearing colour - they'd probably count as a full pigment lipstick for some other brands, but for UD they're soft and sheer, compared as they are to the quite frankly insanely pigmented Revolution lipsticks - If you compare my original swatches of Revolution in Shame, you can see the difference.

They feel substantial on the lips, slightly waxy but still buttery and comfortable with a lovely glossy finish which lasts for a couple of hours before it softens down and fades away.  The colour itself sticks to the lips for much longer, but if you want to maintain a strong, glossy finish, you'll need to top up every couple of hours.  I particularly like that my lips feel pretty good after application - they're not particularly dry, nor do they feel like they've been wearing lip balm.

For me, the standout shades are F-Bomb, Shame, Ladyflower and Liar - a good mix of lovely neutrals and deeper shades, all of which give a good smack of colour without being overbearing, and which don't require the level of maintenance Revolution does.  Find them now at Urban Decay counters, and online at the Urban Decay website.

Disclosure: PR samples

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