[REVIEW] Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

As with most holy grail products, I had heard waaay too many good stories and watched too many amazing videos about this product. Case in point:

So as someone who is always sweating buckets and staying out for long hours, especially when I am overseas, I thought that I should definitely invest in something that could help my makeup last longer.

Product Description

This high-tech makeup setting spray uses an ingenious formula to lower the temperature of your skin and keep makeup cool and pristine. Ideal for use in hot, humid conditions, the clever formula is suitable for all skin types. Simply spritz it across your pre-applied makeup to lock it into place. Beautiful!

Official Retail Price in Singapore: SGD 48

Ingredient List

Aqua / Water, Alcohol Denat., PVP, Dimethicone PEG-7 Phosphate, PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Dipropylene Glycol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Glycereth-5 Lactate, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenylpropanol, Parfum / Fragrance, Propanediol, Methyl Diisopropyl Propionamide, Poloxamer 407, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Maltodextrin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, BHT.

Denatured alcohol: can cause dryness, irritation and breakouts
PVP: commonly found in your hairsprays, in contact lens solutions, thickening agent in toothpaste
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder: reduce flaking, restore moisture
Fragrance: potential irritant
Benzyl Alcohol: potential irritant

I bought a travel-sized version at Sephora, because I reckoned that it would be better to bring a smaller bottle when I’m travelling (which is also when I would use this most frequently.

Packaging: There’s actually another small plastic cap inside the one you see on the outside, which is kind of troublesome because you have to take out two caps just to spray – an extra step to take when you are already rushing for time (at least, I always seem to be rushing for time in the morning).

I don’t know if it’s just my bottle, but I feel that the spray bottle isn’t the best either. I don’t get a very even spray – more like a small burst or drips of liquid that plop on my face, when I was expecting a more even mist. I don’t even know how people manage to do that X and T formation.

Texture and smell: I have to admit, I’m probably so used to great-smelling K-beauty products that this really turned me off when I first used it. I don’t even know how to describe the smell – the closest I can think of is like the musk of something gone bad. Fortunately, the smell disappears after a while, so you don’t have to suffer from smelling it the whole day.

Texture-wise, it’s very viscous so its gets absorbed rather quickly, and you don’t have to suffer from having random wet patches on your face.

Effectiveness: All the unpleasantries aside, I have to say that this product really does what it’s supposed to. It has helped my makeup (foundation, brows, blush and all) to look as good as it did when I first applied it, even after a workout session. I know I shouldn’t apply a full face of makeup to the gym (oops), but I’m doing this for science ya?

I didn’t test this on my lips so I can’t tell if it helps with lipstick – you shouldn’t either!

Final Verdict

As effective as this product is, I feel a little iffy about the ingredients used. Even though I haven’t faced any major skincare issues from using this, a lot of these ingredients are seriously not good for your skin, even if they added stuff like aloe vera to try and counteract.

I’m still not sure if I will repurchase this even as I am about to finish my current bottle…

Is this your holy grail? Let me know if you are still using this, and why!

Rating

Ease of use: ✮✮✮
Effectiveness: ✮✮✮✮
Value for money: ✮✮✮

[REVIEW] Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick

Ever since my amazing experience with Urban Decay’s Gwen Stefani collection, I was pretty determined to get my hands on their Vice lipsticks.

Product description

This is Vice Liquid Lipstick—a waterproof formula so life-proof, it’s not going ANYWHERE until you take it off. (Just imagine the possibilities.) What makes Vice different? Our high-tech formula provides longer-lasting wear with ZERO transfer. Like our original formula, Vice Liquid Lipstick lays down intensely pigmented color. And the comfortable, nondrying wear sets it apart from other liquid lipsticks.

Official Retail Price in Singapore: SGD 30

Image credits

I was absolutely spoiled for choice at the store when I saw all the shades available. I remember being torn between Brat, Naked, Backtalk and Trivial. In the end, I chose Naked because it looked like a nice nude pink that I could pull off for everyday looks.

It actually looked a bit streaky in the bottle after a while, especially if you don’t use it often. This came as a surprise to me because I haven’t had similar problems with my other liquid lipsticks.

This is how the shade is advertised on the official UD website.

It appears as a much darker shade in real life – in fact, it looks a bit like Backtalk and Rapture. On the lips, however, it becomes a nice shade of nude pink.

I had very high expectations of this product because it’s advertised as being ‘life-proof’. Imagine if your lipstick could last through the whole day without any reapplication or transfer! It’s a tough promise to keep, but I’m quite happy to say that it was about as life-proof as I needed it to be. It lasted through hours of snacking (oops) and drinking, with minimal transfer to anything else.

The one issue I have with this liquid lipstick, however, is how drying it is. It promises to be comfortable and nondrying, but it left my lips feeling totally dried out the first time I tried it. The next few times, however, I learned my lesson and applied lip balm before the liquid lipstick. It did improve the situation, so I guess that’s the trick to it.

Another thing I learned was to apply just one layer and let it dry before you decide to smack or press your lips together. This lipstick’s colour payoff is as amazing as you can imagine, especially coming from Urban Decay; just one swipe is good enough for sufficient coverage. HOWEVER, you have to let that one layer of lipstick dry!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. If you don’t let it dry properly on your lips, you’ll find that the lipstick becomes a bit sticky and streaky on your lips, and the application doesn’t look as smooth as it should be, and you’ll end up wondering why this lipstick isn’t as life-proof as it promised to be.

Final Verdict

Life-proof? Check.

Nondrying? Meh.

I think this lipstick comes with its own tradeoffs. You either have a product that you’ll seriously love for its staying power, or one that you’ll have second thoughts about using because it makes your lips feel like you haven’t drunk water in 10 days. Of course, matte lipsticks are more or less guaranteed to make your lips feel like dried prunes, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort to use lip balm for this product, even matte lipsticks can be your go-to product every day.

I would definitely recommend this for the colour intensity and the ‘life-proof’ness. It is honestly one of my favourite shades, and I’m immensely glad I picked this colour after my huge dilemma at the store. I’m a bit iffy about how it feels on my lips though, as well as the price. $30 for one liquid lipstick can feel a bit like an overkill, but for the volume of product you can get, I think it’s probably still acceptable.

Rating

Colour payoff: ✮✮✮✮✮
Ease of use: ✮✮✮
Staying power: ✮✮✮✮✮
Value for money: ✮✮✮✮

[REVIEW] Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipstick

Urban Decay is a cult favourite of makeup junkies, and for good reason. Its products are known for being highly pigmented, and often used to create bold, fun & colourful looks.

I’ve always wanted to try out their Vice lipsticks (more on that next time), and I got this free a few months back.

Product description

Gwen Stefani worked with Urban Decay to create her blend of perfect shades and ideal textures. This lineup of six shades ranges from a bright red matte to a shimmering sheer nude and a creamy deep fuchsia. It features Urban Decay’s first-ever shade in Mega Matte finish—an ultra-bold matte that lays down a lot of color in one coat. Formulated with Urban Decay’s proprietary Pigment Infusion System™, these shades offer a super-creamy texture, rich color payoff, and superior color dispersion.

Official Retail Price in Singapore: SGD 33

The shade I got was 714 – a bright red that I normally wouldn’t go for because I’m more inclined towards nude, pink shades. I find that red makes me look too mature and the overall look is really loud, which I’m not used to, as I prefer to focus on my eye makeup.

However, I’m thoroughly sold by the formula.

It glides on nicely and smoothly, with the intense colour payoff that Urban Decay is renowned for, and feels very comfortable on the lips. The best part, however, is how lasting this lipstick is. It will last you through meal after meal, making sure that you don’t have to keep reapplying this every time you eat or drink. Cream lipsticks are generally not expected to be very lasting, but this is one exception made.

Final Verdict

Although the shade is not my favourite, this is a lipstick that I’ll definitely consider repurchasing in future, thanks to the formula. I’ve read rave reviews online about Firebird (a fuchsia shade) and Rock Steady (a beautiful wine red), so if bright red is not your thing, you might want to try these 2 shades.

The price is a bit higher than some K-beauty lip products that I previously reviewed and recommended, but for the quality that this gives you, I think it’s rather worth it.

Rating

Colour payoff: ✮✮✮✮✮
Ease of use: ✮✮✮✮✮
Staying power: ✮✮✮✮✮
Value for money: ✮✮✮