As you will probably know if you're a regular here, I bloody love Urban Decay. So when the Blackmail Vice Lipstick Palette* (£31.50) landed on my doorstep, I was intrigued to see what the palette would look like and how good the lipsticks would be. I've already reviewed some Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks so I knew what some of the finishes and colours were available, but they were only sample sizes so you only get a rough idea. When it comes to Urban Decay lipsticks, you can never have too much, so they've introduced the Blackmail Vice Lipstick Palette; the ultimate fix for lipstick junkies.
You can indulge your vice with a dozen from the huge Vice collection, no matter what you're in the mood for. In this palette there are shades with all six finishes, with cult favourite shades like Firebird (deep fuchsia cream), 714 (bright red mega matte), 1993 (medium brown matte), Conspiracy (plum-bronze shimmer) and Blackmail (deep berry matte). Firebird was one of my favourite choices from the samples I reviewed back in July and I love that there is the shade 1993 which is my birth year in it. The lipsticks are pigmented and with one swatch you can see the colour payoff, no matter what the finish is. Every shade applies smoothly with no dragging, to really hug the lips. Even typing this I'm currently wearing Ex-Girlfriend which is the perfect nude for my lips, and I keep rubbing them together as it feels like you're wearing a moisturiser.
The thing I love most about this palette is the fact that it's a palette - if I go away even for a weekend I am one of those people who can't decide what clothes to take and what lipsticks to take, so I over pack and end up lugging more things around than I need to. Wende at UDHQ took a poll to see how many lipsticks her employees had in their makeup bag and some had as many as nine, so to solve the problem she created the Blackmail Vice Lipstick Palette. It's really ideal for travel as it includes a retractable lip brush and a mirror so you can have different colours and finishes wherever you may be. Another perk of the palette is if you're toying with trying a more experimental shade out but you're unsure as to whether it will suit you, you can try it out in the palette and still keep your options open. With the brush you can mix or layer the shades to suit you, and for longer wear you can apply it over a shade of the 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil for ultimate lasting power.
The packaging has been engineered with real life in mind, to be able to apply lipstick on the go, with a special stair-step effect to wipe off the excess and also keep the lipstick in the compartment. When you're finished applying the lipstick you can flip over the attached cover to keep lipstick wells protected and free of messes. This is especially handy to keep the mirror clean as there is nothing worse than trying to clean a sticky mirror. Aside from practicality, it's a beautiful palette with the luxurious metallized gunmetal case with gold accents just like the Vice Lipstick bullets. It's also the same formula as the individual lipstcks, with the proprietary Pigment Infusion System to give each shade its super-creamy texture, superior colour dispersion and rich colour payout. They're buttery and are well loved even in the Winter as they don't dry the lips out.
