Allure (Jan. 7th 2016)

Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani: Why the Star Says She Made the Collection Just for Herself

Gwen Stefani tops pretty much everyone's list of modern beauty icons, and as a former makeup artist, she has in-the-trenches credibility, too. And now the singer can now officially add beauty mogul to her expansive résumé, with a new collection of slick lipsticks and liners, brow powder, and a b-a-n-a-n-a-s blush palette, out now in partnership with Urban Decay.

For Stefani, the nearly two-year process of curating the collection started in her own bathroom. "I went through all my makeup and was like, OK, what are my must-haves? Not, like, fashion-shoot-type stuff, but just what I'm legitimately wearing every day," she says. "There's not one color in the collection that isn't true to who I am. I didn't consider anyone else—it was really about what I needed." That may sound a little diva-ish, but it turns out the makeup Stefani needed is also what we needed. There are four variations on red lipstick (because this is a Gwen Stefani collection, after all), as well as a supercreamy rosy nude and a bright fuchsia, with lip liners to match. The lipsticks are the perfect balance between creamy and hydrating, with serious staying power, which Stefani knows is of the upmost importance. "You know, having kids is hilarious. I'll just be standing there, and then I'll be swiped across the mouth and then there will be red lipstick everywhere," she says. "The way you talk, the way you eat, everything you have learned to do, you learn to do it in the right way so you don't mess up the lipstick."

The six-pan blush palette has everything from golden bronzers to shimmery candy-pink shades. And though the brow palette comes only in light and dark blonde, the color is buildable, so you don't have to rock platinum hair to use it. And Stefani even played a key role in designing the black-white-and-gold packaging. "I have the Harajuku Lovers side of me, which is the cute, wild, pop art, younger side. And then I have L.A.M.B., which is more sophisticated, more designer, more chic. And then there's me and my history with makeup and my love for anything retro. So I wanted to create packaging that represented everything that I embodied," she says.

"I just truly am passionate about makeup, and I wear it every day, no matter what," says the singer, noting her own background as a makeup artist. "When I don't wear makeup, it just doesn't feel right. People think I'm insane, but I feel like it's part of who I am that day and who I want to be." As anyone with a makeup obsession can understand, Stefani says the most difficult part of designing this collection was editing. "It's so hard! I had to edit so much out. This is just the tip of the iceberg." So there's no doubt about it—you can expect more products to be on the way (our fingers are crossed for a black liquid eyeliner).