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Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks vs. Revolution Lipsticks Shade Comparisons

Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks
Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks

As promised, I went through and swatched both old and new versions of any shades that were still included in the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick range, and I’ve only included comparison swatches for the ones where there was any difference detected–the majority were very consistent from old to new in tone, depth, and color. The biggest difference is in the Comfort Matte finish, which is where the Matte Revolution formula was absorbed, and the Comfort Matte finish is not really matte–it is a true satin–and does an interesting thing where it seems to “melt” and appear more satiny as it is applied than just swatched. I just noted that most of the Matte Revolution shades were more matte than their Vice Lipstick counterparts. I will go over other details about how finishes and shades perform in future posts–this post isn’t intended to offer initial impressions or provide an overview/review of the Vice formula. Stay tuned! 🙂

You can find swatches of all 120 shades in our sneak peek post as well as in the Swatch Gallery!

  • 714 | Vice version is very slightly less matte, a bit brighter, noticeably creamier.
  • 1993 | Vice version is slightly lighter and warmer, less matte
  • Afterdark | Vice version is brighter, less matte.
  • Backtalk | Vice version is deeper, cooler in tone, less matte.
  • Bad Blood | Vice version is brighter, not as dark.
  • Bittersweet | Vice version has a much m ore noticeable sheen and appears a smidgen brighter/warmer.
  • Carnal | Vice version is slightly darker, warmer, less matte.
  • Ladyflower | Vice version is noted as a Sheer finish, and it is closest to the Sheer Revolution version, not the regular
  • Revolution version (just to confirm) — no color difference.
  • Liar | Vice version is slightly darker.
  • Menace | Vice version is slightly darker, less matte.
  • Mrs. Mia Wallace | Vice version is cooler-toned by a hair, slightly deeper.
  • Naked | Vice version is cooler in tone, less rose/warmth.
  • Rapture | Vice version is slightly darker, warmer.
  • Rush | Vice version is slightly darker, warmer.
  • Stark Naked | Vice version is less matte but only by a hair (this one seemed closer to the original Matte Revolution feel/finish).
  • Streak | Vice version is cooler, stronger pink coloring vs. warmer, more true-coral coloring of the original — this was the largest, most noticeable change across all repeated shades.
  • Temper | Vice version is less matte.
  • Tilt | Vice version is less matte.
  • Wonderland | I thought I’d throw in a comparison of the Vice version of Wonderland (which is the same as the version released in the Gwen Stefani collection) to Catfight, which didn’t get carried over–you can see Catfight is a bit warmer and has a stronger pink coloring, but they are relatively close.

Don’t see a shade listed above?  That’s because I felt like it was exactly the same when I did rough side-by-side swatches and discovered many, many of the old shades were the same in color/undertone as the new one, so I only took photos when I could detect a difference (even if slight).

See more photos & swatches!

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — 714

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — 1993

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Afterdark

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Backtalk

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Bad Blood

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Bittersweet

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Carnal

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Ladyflower

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Liar

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Menace

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Mrs. Mia Wallace

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Naked

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Rapture

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Rush

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Stark Naked

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Streak

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Temper

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Tilt

Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison
Urban Decay Vice vs. Revolution Comparison — Wonderland vs. Catfight

82 Comments

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Kristin Avatar

Hahaha. I thought the same thing. I couldn’t tell any differences except for Ladyflower, which became sheer. When I finally got to the end, I thought Aha! Finally, I see a difference, but that is the one pair that are meant to be different colors.

Ayanami Avatar

Urban Decay Germany (www.urbandecay.de) still carry the Revolution lipsticks (incl. matte and sheer revolution) at the moment, including Catfight (which I just got and am totally mad about), and they are on sale, instead of the original 20 Euros they are 12 Euros (about 13,50$) … I don’t think they ship internationally, but maybe you know someone in Germany to buy them for you??

WARPAINTandUnicorns Avatar

Ahhh so Wonderland is the new Catfight! Other than Streak looking pinker in the new formula, these are pretty close to 98% colour conversion….. I think I need to pick up Catfight tomorrow then…. lol

Just to be clear, these are comparison of the ones you felt had any shift in colour/finish?
So shades like Native, Anarchy, F-Bomb, Blackmail, etc……. were not a part of these swatches because they where 100% the same?

Christine Avatar

Correct – any shades that existed in the previous Revolution line and now exist in the Vice line but AREN’T swatched were 100% the same to my eye. I went through and did smaller side-by-side swatches on my hand (kind of like rough swatches) and SO many were dead-on.

Katherine T. Avatar

For the most part, the colors look very similar. Think I need to check out Streak, think it will go well with MAC Spring Flock blush

Carlotta Avatar

Amazing Job, Christine ! Thank you so much , I hope that we’ll get the Vice version in Germany als well– although I got 4 Revolution Lipsticks on sale when I visited the US last week,I hope they will last for a while ( maybe..)

Christine Avatar

Hi Maggie,

For every single other shade that existed in Revolution line and is now in the Vice line but is not shown above is because it was exactly the same – I could not personally detect a difference by eye at all. I only did full comparison swatches of the only shades that I felt had any remote difference 🙂

Christine Avatar

For every single other shade that existed in Revolution line and is now in the Vice line but is not shown above is because it was exactly the same – I could not personally detect a difference by eye at all. I only did full comparison swatches of the only shades that I felt had any remote difference 🙂

Nancy T Avatar

I am so GLAD I picked up a b/u of Catfight! But, obviously, I now need to grab a few of Streak. It took me literally FOREVER to find a light pinky-coral that looked truly *just right* on my not so easy to pull light shades off skintone. Therefore, this very OBVIOUS shade change has me fairly unhappy! I think Liar looks close enough that even though it and MAC Marque are the best nudes on me, the difference is minimal enough to bear. Not happy that they messed with After Dark, either! But I definitely have a truckload of similar deep, bright plum-berry shades, so…I guess I’ll survive. ?

Katherine T. Avatar

I have a lot of problems pulling off pink-corals lippie too (they seem to clash with my yellow undertones) , but find that pairing it with a blush in the same color family can work wonders. I’m thinking of pairing the new UD Streak lippie with MAC Spring Flock blush, which I think has enough pink-peach/brightness to help me pull it off.

Ryou Avatar

Aaaaaa thank you so much for your hard work! I’ve been debating whether I should be grabbing Rapture in the old formula, but I have a feeling I might like the new version more.

Lacey Avatar

I’m a little bummed that the mattes are less matte, particularly After Dark. What drew me to the color was that it was mostly matte with a bit of a muted sheen. But I’m wondering if it would help to apply some translucent powder over a tissue. Hm.

Probably worrying for nothing, I won’t run out of After Dark for a long time!

Risa Avatar

I know you haven’t done your review, but is it me, or do a lot of the new versions look like they feather quite a bit more? Hopefully that doesn’t happen on the lips, but it seems there’s a visible difference.

Jane Avatar

I’m still bummed that they didn’t bring over the non-sheer Ladyflower. Try as I might, my tiny deluxe sample isn’t going to last forever, but they’ve never released it full-size.

Jolene Avatar

Thank u so much christine! The colour streak that I want to try so much on the 5th is the most changed! I ordered the older version in sheer formula today as its on sale! So I will eventually have both old and new. Thrilled that like mac offer free shipping with establishment of act (register). Thank u for turning on to this brand!

Judy H. Avatar

To be honest, I have never been a fan of Urban Decay lipsticks. I have found the colors don’t stay true over the course of a day. I always feel like if I look at my lips 4 hours after application, the color doesn’t look the same as when I put it on. Overall, I thik the new formula shades are far and above better than the old formulas. The new formula shades look much fresher than the old. Out of the bunch, the only one I might consider is the Backtalk. What a difference the new formula makes!

Jess Avatar

I’m really happy to see no reported significant differences for Native or Gash, two of my all-time favorite colors. I didn’t have a chance to hoard any backups and I was terrified they’d do something to them!

Christine Avatar

My guess is that they have decided to have a much larger lipstick range and want to categorize by finish, rather than have so many different formulas and different packaging – like they had Sheer Revolution, Revolution, and Matte Revolution. So this looks like they’re tried to condense into one formula and then vary by finish, though it looks like they may have played with the formula to some degree.

Mary Avatar

Thanks so much for the comparisons, Christine! It’s good to know if there are going to be any differences as I may like the older versions a little better.

Ginny D Avatar

They look like the same exact pigments dispersed in a different base formula, for which I’m glad. Carnal was a big fav of mine

Christine Avatar

That’s what I was getting, too, Ginny – with the exception of a few shades, the “differences” are so minute that they could easily be explained by simple batch variance or, as you’ve mentioned, slight changes in the formula itself (more of this, less of that, greater emollience, etc.).

Lisa Avatar

Good to know Wonderland and Catfight are pretty much the same! I probably wouldn’t notice the difference while wearing anyway. But I did buy a couple of backups before I saw this post, so I’m definitely covered!

Tessa Avatar

Thank you for this! I got thiiiiiisclose to buying Afterdark when it came out but couldn’t quite get 100% behind the formula I do have Bad Blood, which is okay and all… bury long story short, a just SLIGHTLY less matte version of Afterdark is really tempting to me!

Marta G. Avatar

Thank you for this, Christine! I was worried the shades were going to be too different, but they don’t seem to, at least in a huge way! Also, I’m happy that Wonderland is so close to Catfight, because everyone was going crazy for that one. However, it seems that they made the formula more creamy/with a sheen instead of going for a matte look with some, which is kind of disappointing in my book.

Allison Avatar

Thank you for doing this!!! I’ve gotta go through my Revolution collection and see what I’ve got so I don’t replace it with Vice. But glad that many of the comparisons that you’ve done show that Vice is less matte. I can’t tell you how happy finding new lipsticks that are less matte makes me!!

Connie Avatar

I got sucked into buying Backtalk by a salesperson today. The new packaging Is beautiful but Backtalk is a bit too cool toned for my pale skin. Need to make it work somehow >_< ?

SpoiledRabbit Avatar

Hi Christine,
Big big thanks for swatching these – good to know what has become of my two favourite shades Streak & Catfight! 🙂 Now, I will go try them in stores.

To the ladies that have bought a big haul of Urban Decay Revolution (not VICE) lippies with the big discounts, please check your recent brand new lippies for any defects.
I bought 8 from Sephora when they were on 50% off and was shocked to spot a light coat of furry mould on a few of them. Even the Sephora saleperson was surprised, but they gave me a refund for them. Good luck!

Aurelia Avatar

Which colour from the Vice range do you think is most similar to “Turn On” from the Revolution range? I’m so upset that it was discontinued!!! Trying to look for a replacement from UD as well. Not too interested in the other dupes! Please help 🙂

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