Hey everyone!

Urban Decay has recently stepped up its game with a whole new range of lipsticks – the Matte Revolution – in addition to its two existing lines, Sheer Revolution and the original Revolution (satin finish) which I absolutely adore.  With almost a full collection of the latter in my stash, you can say that I’m a die-hard fan of its opaque lipsticks. Therefore when I got wind of the exciting news of its latest lineup, the matte lipstick fanatic in me squealed in delight! I simply couldn’t wait to lay my hands on these new exquisite offerings from one of my all-time favourite cosmetics brands!

Released early last month on urbandecay.com, this tantalising collection boasts a total of 11 new shades (with 2 being online-exclusive) namely Backtalk (OE), Carnal (OE), Blackmail, Bad Blood, Tilt, Temper, After Dark, Menace, Bittersweet, 1993 and Stark Naked made with a super-creamy and nondrying formula (Pigment Infusion System™) and encased in a sleek, dark-grayish metallic packaging.

(Hmmm, why do I have the impression that these names are Taylor Swift-inspired?)

Backtalk and Carnal weren’t available at time of my purchase so I settled for my next top 4 consisting of a nude, a red, a plum and a noir.

Also, these lipsticks are loaded with a long list of nourishing ingredients, including a blend of avocado, olive and babassu oils. Shea butter conditions; illipe butter (derived from Malaysian illipe trees) provides long-lasting moisture; and vitamin C and vitamin E provide a hit of antioxidants. [source]

Whoa, a lip conditioner and lipstick in one! Sounds like it will do wonders for my poor chapped lips which intensify under most matte formula. But do they live up to expectations?

#1 1993

One of the more sought-after shades, this “dirty brown” was practically sold out in a matter of days and I had to wait for it to be restocked before I could cart out my order so I reckon it’s going to be a hit among Singapore buyers as well. Application was easy and smooth as butter and it has very rich pigmentation with a little sheen. Colour is slightly darker than pictured which works great on both fair and dark skin tones.

As you can see, the Matte formula is a lot more opaque than that of the Revolution series.

#2 Tilt

This cheery coral-orange looks bright but is surprisingly flattering on warm skin tones like mine. Bold and vivid colours have the tendency to accentuate and settle into my lip lines but Tilt doesn’t at all. It seemed to cover my lips well although it is less pigmented than 1993. The Matte finish is also more apparent here as it’s not as glossy as the rest.

#3 After Dark

Similarly, After Dark provides even coverage in a single swipe with its superb pigmentation. It has a bit of a frost finish with tiny reflecting particles (perhaps of a lighter shade), giving a subtle ombre effect from bottom-up and leaving your lips with a lustrous shine. This shade is very similar to the existing fuchsias by Urban Decay, albeit marginally darker.

Swatch comparison after Blackmail.

#4 Blackmail

My most anticipated shade but also the worst-performing one, Blackmail doesn’t fare well in terms of coverage and opacity – a common problem among really dark shades, I guess. Hated how it still looked visibly patchy and uneven on the lips even after trying to cover it up. Still, I don’t deny that it’s a gorgeous blackened berry and it’s perhaps my darkest lipstick shade in my collection after Hautecore.

Shame, the darkest shade from the Revolution range, doesn’t seem that dark anymore next to Blackmail with its brighter and redder hue and After Dark is just a more sombre and less iridescent version of Venom and Anarchy.

But evidently, Urban Decay had retained most of the satin finish in their Matte range to make it less drying on the lips. I believe this has got to do with the nourishing formula Urban Decay had infused into the lipsticks too.

All in all, I’m very satisfied with the smooth finish of the lipsticks. Pigmentation is fantastic in general and they are all extremely opaque without having to apply layers upon layers of the product. Feather-resistant, hydrating and long-lasting, they are pretty much like the Revolution lipsticks, just a teeny-weeny bit less glossy. My only complaint is the flat surface of the lipstick bullet which makes it a little challenging for me to line my cupid’s bow. But of course, that can be easily solved using a lip brush.

However, purchasing from urbandecay.com can be a pain as it only allows international buyers to ship their orders via MyUS.com which charges really exorbitant shipping fees (in fact, more than twice the rate my designated forwarder offers), not forgetting the ridiculous US$10 registration fee upon sign up. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend buying anything at all from urbandecay.com. The better alternative would be Sephora.com (using your forwarder’s BuyForMe service) if you can afford to wait for a few more days.

Now that Urban Decay has added the online-exclusive shades  to its website, I feel really tempted to get them. But at the same time I’m deterred by the preposterous shipping charges. Argh, the dilemma. Should I decide to get them in the end, I’ll include the review into this post so do follow my Facebook or Instagram for updates!

Did anything catch your eye? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Thanks for reading and look out for my Naked Smoky palette review coming up next!

Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipsticks are now available on urbandecay.com and will be released in Singapore on 20 August 2015.