Aug 18, 20207 min read

Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks Review + Swatches – x 10 Shades

Heyyyyyy Beautiesssss

In this post I am going to be talking about and swatching the Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks

Note- the review is pretty long so if you get sick of hearing about the formula or just want to view the swatches of the shades scroll past it, the swatches are under the review :)

Urban Decay Vice Traditional Stick Lipstick Description/Review

The Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks are traditional, twisty, stick lipsticks that come in multiple (and by multiple I mean a whooping 135) shades. Each shade contains 3.4 grams (0.11 ounces) of product, has a shelf life of 24 months (2 years) and is made in the USA. The lipsticks costs $28.00 AUD - $17.00 USD each and can be purchased from Urban Decay Online, Sephora USA and Mecca AU.

The Vice Lipsticks come in 6 different finishes - Mega Matte, Comfort Matte, Cream, Metallized, Sheer and Sheer Shimmer. Here is description of how Urban Decay describes the different finishes (my take on the finishes I have tried will be in the review section below the swatches at the end)...

MEGA MATTE: super-intense matte

COMFORT MATTE: our creamiest matte

CREAM: the original: creamy, badass luxury

METALLIZED: cream with a high level of pearl

SHEER: a punch of color with a sheer, shiny finish

SHEER SHIMMER: slightly transparent finish with floating pearl and a smooth texture

The Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks are beautiful, traditional lipsticks that glide on the lips

In terms of the different finishes of the lipsticks (remember, there is a total of 6), I can't speak about the ones I have't tried yet, but as you can see in the swatches, I have tried the Comfort Matte formula, the Mega-Matte formula, the Cream formula and the Metallic formula. I am going to talk about each formula individually, and then I will talk about the lipsticks as a whole under that!

The Comfort Matte's have a thick, creamy consistency. The texture is lighter than the Vice Lipsticks that have a Cream formula , but it is certainly more of a cream finish than a matte finish and it isn't drying in any way, shape or form.

Each Comfort Matte has a consistent formula, i.e, they all perform the same and I would take a wild guess and say that every single shade in the Comfort Matte range (including the one's I haven't tried), will perform the same way also. I obviously cannot say for sure until I try more of them, but the 5 I tried all work, feel and look the same (bar the pigment and colour of them, of-course). This is good when it comes to lipstick's (and any makeup product really) because you know what to expect. For example, I am confident in buying more shades in the Comfort Matte range simply because these performed and looked so nice on the lips, and the formula is consistent.

As you can see in the picture above, Heartless, Checkmate, Menace, Criminal and Afterdark all have a Comfort Matte finish, and they are all absolutely beautiful and flattering on the lips. They have high pigmentation, are not patchy or streaky and deliver a fully opaque colour pay-off . They are extremely easy to apply and glide on with no tugging and no resistance.

The Comfort Mattes don't feel uncomfortable and even though you can feel them on the lips, they are not too heavy and don't feel extremely annoying or wet. You can move your lips around freely without everything sticking together, and while they do transfer onto things (and by thing's I do mean everything from straws to your fingers), they have a pretty long lasting power. I don't find that they wear bad, and they don't go messy when coming off and instead just slowly fade away. This is good because there is nothing worse than having a creamy mess all over the lips throughout the day, and/or in public, when a lipstick is wearing away.

Overall, I love the comfort matte formula. It just glides on the lip's so beautifully and delivers a high colour pay-off that isn't patchy or streaky. They don't dry the lips out, and even though they have a thick consistency, they are not uncomfortable.

The Mega-Matte Lipsticks have a dry, gritty consistency that is more dry than creamy. They apply extremely pigmented to the lips, but unlike the Comfort Mattes, they do have a bit of resistance and do tug on the lips when on application. However, they are nowhere near as bad as some lipstick's are in regards to the tugging, and the formula is extremely easy to apply. You just have to go against the grain a bit, and spend slightly more time applying than you do with the creamy shades (for obvious reasons, as you can imagine, cream formula's glide on easier than dry formula's).

I will say, Urban Decay has very good, sturdy packaging and unlike the Jeffree Star Lip Ammunitions, which have very high resistance and lot's of tugging, they don't feel like they are going to snap or break in half when you are applying them. In contrast to the Urban Decay packaging, when you are applying the JS Lip Ammunitions, it feels like the stick of product AND the twisty, lipstick handle is going to snap. You can tell the materials UD uses in the packaging is extremely high quality, and I think that's half of the reason why the Mega Matte formula works so well.

The Mega-Mattes have a long lasting power, barely any transfer and do stay on the lips longer than the Comfort Mattes, and the other creamy finishes. Although they do have a dry consistency, they do not feel uncomfortable or dry on the lips and they don't end up extremely clumpy or dehydrating. All in all, the Mega Matte formula is really nice and performs extremely well.

The Cream Lipsticks have a very thick, wet consistency that has no dryness to it at all. They are more creamy than the Comfort Mattes, but perform in the exact same way as they do, just with a bit more creaminess. They apply to the lips extremely easy in one swipe with NO tugging and no resistance. They have high pigmentation and go on the lips fully opaque with not one bit of patchiness or streakiness at all.

The Cream Lipsticks do feel a bit heavy on the lips and are a tiny bit more noticeable than the Comfort Mattes. They transfer onto things a bit more, and they don't have as long of a lasting power. The shades that I tried in the Cream finish (ZZ and Frenemy) look very flattering on the lips, but I could see that this might change depending on the shade you get.

For example, I like Frenemy slightly more than I like ZZ, which most likely comes down to the fact that Frenemy is a brighter, bolder shade than ZZ, which is a pale shade. I would have to try more shades in this finish in different shades to see if the look of them is consistent across the range. I only mention this because sometimes Creamy lipsticks sink into the lips, and this tends to be exaggerated with specific shades, especially lighter and darker ones.

Overall, there is really not that much difference between the Cream formula and the Comfort Matte formula, with the Cream formula being slightly thicker and more wet in texture than the Comfort Matte formula is. However, they ultimately both have the same type of creamy consistency and look pretty much the same on the lips.

The Metallic formula has a soft, light, creamy consistency. I have only tried one shade - Big Bang- so I cannot say for certain that they all have the same formula or work the same. I am pretty sure all of the shades in the Metallic range will perform the same seeing as the different finishes have been consistent so far, however, due to the fact I have only tried one metallic, I am going to talk about Big Bang specifically as opposed to talking about the metallic formula as a whole. I just cannot say for certain until I try more Metallic shades that all of them will work the same, even though I think they will, I have to test this out first.

Big Bang applies to the lips extremely easily, and glides on way easier than the Mega Mattes. You do need to kind of build it up though because it has such a thin consistency, which is no problem because it is very easy to build up. It has pretty high pigmentation, although it is less than the rest of the shade I tried. I thought this shade would be WAY more sheer, but it is pretty opaque and isn't sheer at all.

All in all, I absolutely LOVEEEEEE every single shade I tried, and every single finish. I am extremely happy with the Vice Lipsticks.