Name: Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Streak

Date Purchased: January 2014

Grade: B+

Notes: This “chronology” has gotten so woefully out of order that it doesn’t even deserve the name, but the weather is finally above freezing and the sun is out and I’m drinking an iced coffee, and I’m going to review my springiest lipstick, damn it, even if that means skipping over ten others. It’s my blog and I can ignore the flow of linear time if I want to.

Streak is the only purchase I’ve ever made from Urban Decay; the brand just never grabbed my attention until it released its 22 new Revolution Lipsticks in the fall of 2013, and it hasn’t grabbed my attention since. The reason, I think, has to do with the disconnect between UD’s brand identity and its price point. If I’m going to pay $18 for a single eyeshadow or $22 for a lipstick, I want to buy into a slightly more refined aesthetic, you know? UD describes the Revolution Lipsticks as “creamy, badass luxury,” but I’m not sure I like my luxury badass or my badassery luxurious.

Or maybe I do, because I was sorely tempted by the new lipsticks. Like the NARS Audacious lipsticks a year later, they received almost unanimous rave reviews; like the Audacious lipsticks, there were so many of them that I despaired of ever making a choice. As I did with the Audacious line, I vacillated between two or three berry-fuchsia-plum lipsticks for the entire fall season, then realized that I’d missed my chance and should really buy something suited to warmer weather. And so I ended up with Streak, a soft peachy pink.

Like most of the Revolution lipsticks, it contains no shimmer, though it does have a shiny finish that settles into satin with time.

The Revolution packaging has garnered much praise and squee from reviewers, and it does look both badass and luxurious: a heavy silver-violet metal tube with a ripple design and “Urban Decay” engraved on the lid. And yes, it really is metal: a sack of Revolution lipsticks would probably do as much harm to an enemy’s cranium as a sack of doorknobs. Keep this in mind for the zombie apocalypse.

Unfortunately, my tube of Streak has a structural problem. The lipstick isn’t secured properly, so it rattles back and forth when I apply it, and it leaves streaks (ifyouwill) of lipstick inside the tube when I retract it. I assume that most of the Revolution Lipsticks don’t suffer from this problem, but it doesn’t exactly make me want to buy another one.

The lipstick itself is unscented, but I can smell the metal of the tube when I put the lipstick on, which really bothers me. I’ve always hated the smell of metal–it makes my teeth ache–but this might be my own personal neurosis. For what it’s worth, no other review I’ve read has noted the metallic smell.

I own a truly disgraceful number of lipsticks, but Streak is my only peachy pink. Below, I’ve swatched it between Milani Flamingo Pose (left) and NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler (right). I couldn’t find another lipstick or lip gloss to compare it to! I’m poor in corals and peaches.

As you can see from these swatches, Streak is semi-sheer. (Urban Decay just released a line of sheer Revolution Lipsticks, including “Sheer Streak,” which looks almost identical to regular Streak.) Most of the Revolution lipsticks are more pigmented than Streak, but I don’t mind the slight sheerness, especially in a color that would be less flattering to me if it didn’t let my lip color peek through. Streak doesn’t apply unevenly, though it does emphasize imperfections when my lips are especially dry, and I wish it lasted longer–its wear time is 2-3 hours with moderate drinking (of iced coffee, natch).

Full face. My other color makeup is ColourPop Krinkle eyeshadow applied as a liner, to harmonize with the blue-gray dots in my scarf, and Sleek Life’s a Peach blush.

The ColourPop eyeshadows make great, long-lasting liners, but I’d caution against pressing your eyeliner brush directly into the pot, as the formula is too soft to provide much resistance and the brush slips right through. I found it easier to transfer some eyeshadow to the back of my hand and apply from there.

Here’s a bonus Streak FOTD (that sounds wrong) from last May. I’m wearing Stubborn, Snobby, and Stand-offish from theBalm’s Nude ‘tude palette on my eyes, and Life’s a Peach on my cheeks. This photo is a bit more color-accurate.

Despite my usual aversion to layering lip products (too much fuss, and I’m neurotic enough that I prefer to appreciate each color in its “pure” form), I applied NYX Peach Cobbler over Streak out of curiosity. (Thanks to Monika for the layering inspiration!) On its own, Peach Cobbler turns redder and darker on my lips than it looks in the tube, but an undercoat of Streak brought out Peach Cobbler’s bright orange tones. I really like this combination!

Full face with Peach Cobbler layered over Streak, and a better view of Krinkle as liner. For some reason my skin looks a lot warmer in this photo than it does in real life (for reference, the wall behind me is white, not beige).

The UD/NYX combination reminds me of the lip color that Emma Stone wore to the Oscars: Revlon HD Tulip lipstick over Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Rouge Candy. The result was a muted orange peach that complemented her chartreuse gown perfectly. I’d caution against buying HD Tulip to achieve this look, though. When even the face of Revlon needs a Chanel lip liner under a Revlon lipstick, you have to wonder about the lipstick, and indeed I’ve seen reports that HD Tulip applies patchily. Streak looks very similar to HD Tulip, though, and I think you could get even closer to Emma’s look by layering it over a peach or soft red-orange lip liner.

Source

It’s amazing how much more inspired I feel now that the worst of winter seems to have passed. I want to wear all my brights and pastels in celebration! And acquire more brights and pastels, but I’ve been adhering to a no-buy this month, so it’s back to my stash I go. At least for now.

By the way, how warm does it have to be for you to order an iced coffee? At the beginning of grad school, my cutoff point was 70 degrees; now it’s “above freezing, if the sun’s out.” For some people in my town, “below freezing, if the sun’s out” seems to be standard. I wonder how many more East Coast winters it will take for me to reach that point.