The GXVE by Gwen Stefani Gratis Thread!!

[niki172]

Hello BIC! This is the official thread for the brand new - exclusive to Sephora - makeup line GXVE by Gwen Stefani. This thread is a dedicated place for gratis recipients to share their feedback, unboxings, and swatches for the incoming GXVE by Gwen Stefani products.  Let's get B-A-N-A-N-A-S and dive right in!

Founded by Gwen to share her love of beauty the line is inspired by bold clean colors and elevated classics that are loved and worn by her everyday. I love the fact that everything offered in the line is Clean Beauty certified, Vegan, cruelty free, stage worn and tested before being approved by Gwen as Hella Good. 

GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Anaheim Shine Clean High-Performance Satin Lipstick Original Recipe That red lip is everything and I can't wait to try it out! Please feel free to post your questions, swatch pics, and initial thoughts here. I hope to see a flood of pictures from our lovely Community members here in that signature red lip and I'm also really excited by the eyeliners as well GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Line It Up Clean 24-Hr Gel Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner Bathwater .

[itsfi]

@WinglessOne, I’m Still Here looks magnificent on you! ♥️

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @itsfi !

[curlychiquita]

The liquid lipstick looks amazing on you,  @WinglessOne! I'm going to try that one next.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @curlychiquita ! I hope it works well for you! 

[eshoe]

That PMG Major looks spot on, @WinglessOne. I figured you would have something on hand that would be a perfect match, adding that to my loves list for future reference. 

I have read nothing but good things about that Hindash palette. I went back and forth on it when I ordered my Year of the Tiger brush, opted not to, and now every time I see it, I wonder why. It certainly is beautiful.

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  Really, most blue-based red liners should work if you want one that matches this lipstick. I was kinda surprised PMG Blood Lust wasn't as perfect a match as I expected: it's just slightly cooler, whereas Major is slightly warmer. NARS Mariachi is the warmest of those 3 but it still works, especially since I usually like my liner to be a touch deeper or a slightly different shade than the lipstick. I wanted to swatch a Bite liner but didn't because Bite still hasn't brought them back. (I tried to stick with liners folks can still easily find in the wild.) 

The Hindash palette is fun to play with. If I was okay with packing a full size palette, I could see Beautopsy being a good full-face travel palette. I'd also pack a few metallics or shimmers to use with it, though. I'd buy Hindash's new and more colorful palette if I didn't already have nearly all those shades in other palettes. 😄 

[eshoe]

Yeah, maybe that’s what naturally draws one to a palette like that, @WinglessOne.…it’s easy to become blinded by the beauty of it. It is just pleasing to look at.

[tjffc]

@WinglessOne Amazing lip color!  Love the swatches.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @tjffc ! 

[Sunnysmom]

That’s so cool you can wear the liquid lip @WinglessOne , lucky! Looks terrific on you. Send your comments on the eye quad onward! 🙂 

[WinglessOne]

@Sunnysmom  Heh, probably mostly because I used a good lip primer on top of balm. But I'm still surprised this liquid matte worked for me. It almost reminds me of the PMG "Labs vault" version of liquid mattes: it never fully dried down on me, yet still didn't transfer to cups/glasses and felt pretty comfy. 

I hope someone from GXVE is at least skimming everyone's feedback, or that Sephora's sharing our feedback with the brand. 🙂 I want to play with another of the eyeshadow quads before sending feedback directly to the brand, just to give them a fair chance—because my feedback would also include general shadow performance notes. 

[Sunnysmom]

Hmm @WinglessOne I had one of those. I should try and dig it out and see. lol. I want to give this one another chance too and see if a different lip primer would maybe work. Seems like lots do not find it as drying so that’s interesting to me. You should try another eye quad like Danger Zone maybe. It seems to do better for me than SKOL. (🤔 skol. I like that) . 

[Saradestin]

Great review update @WinglessOne ! I agree with you regarding this eyeshadow palette not being for everyone. I was able to get subtle color payoff for me but it took a lot of packing color. On deeper skin tones it won’t show up or it will look muddy for sure. On the other hand, that lipstick looks AMAZING on you!! Gorgeous!! 😍😍😍😍 Thank you once again for your detailed review!

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @Saradestin ! I do love a bold red lip. Of the 3 GXVE lipstick formulas, this liquid matte might be my favorite—and that's amazing because so many other liquid mattes feel terrible on my lips. So, big kudos to the brand for this one! 

[Sunnysmom]

Thank you so much @TeamBIC and GXVE for including me in this wonderful wonderful gratis! The box itself, product packaging and all the details are perfection. The reds of my dreams! 💋💄 I’m loving what I see and having the best time trying it all out. As I was so impatient when her lippies first came out, I did buy them and the smoky eye quad and have had a good chance to wear them for a few weeks. (I posted some pics early on so I won’t do much more here!) I love having a backup of the satin and matte so I can now always keep one in my bag.

I have only had a chance to use the shadow quads, eyeliners and lips so far but look forward to working with the eyebrow pencils and oil. That will be a learning curve with the brow pencils as I usually use a gel formula but the GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Most Def Clean Instant Definition Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil 5 does intrigue me! GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Hella On Point Clean Ultra-Fine Brow Pencil looks like I may do a bit better with it plus I love the brush at the end to use for any other pencil.  I will post reviews as I try them all. Oils can be tricky for me so I look forward to givingGXVE BY GWEN STEFANI All Time Prime Clean Hydrating Prep & Smooth Face Oil 0.95 fl oz. / 28 mL a good go this week. The fragrance is subtle and pretty, very unobtrusive. I used a little bit on my hand and arm after I swatched the lips and liners the other day and it felt and looked beautiful ! Seems like a perfect glow texture for an oil but not too much. 

I really enjoy the GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Anaheim Shine Clean High-Performance Satin Lipstick Original Recipe the most as it starts as a satin and ends up a little more matte. As long as I use a balm beforehand it doesn’t get too dry tho I can see how it could if used on it’s own. Same with the matte GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Original Me Clean High-Performance Matte Lipstick Original Recipe . It was quite firm and dragged as I swatched it tho on it’s better with a balm under or over when on my lips. I love these bold reds! Just blue enough for me yet so vivid and I can tone them down with a deeper shade too as I love to mix .  I can also use a dot on my cheeks too as I often do. Versatile!  I did find the liquid matte GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI I’m Still Here Longwear Clean Matte Liquid Lipstick Original Recipe  too dry for me as I have a tough time with them anyway but I know I can find a good home for it with a friend. Lucky folks who can wear a liquid lip! 😊

I was also curious to see how the new lips compared to her other collab with UD as some others mentioned too , so I did a quick swatch of them as well. Close but no cigar. GXVE are like a blend of all of them! Perfect. These are true blue reds and others that I bought had more pink and berry to them. 

I am impressed with the GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Line It Up Clean 24-Hr Gel Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner Spiderwebs and GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Line It Up Clean 24-Hr Gel Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner Bathwater once I got them open oh so carefully! I was terrified! 😆 As I love an inky blue black I used Bathwater first and then went over it with Spiderwebs smudging it quickly because ooof it sets! These babies last all day!  Maybe Gwen was thinking it’s for the performing rockstar in all of us so they last throughout our concerts?! 🎵😂 I found the pencils to be a little soft at first which I appreciated so I could work with them too. Mixing pencils is something I love to do so this worked out well tho I know they’ll be perfect on their own. 

The GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Eye See in Color Clean Multidimensional Eyeshadow Palette Simple Kind Of Life is a very wearable set of shadows that are so easy to mix and match. They are a little bit light and matte on me but I can see how they can be easily blended with other shades to make more of a mark. ( I used a shimmery taupe and beige to do this and really liked the affect.) They do feel very soft and have good pigment. This is my favorite classic elegant look against a red lip. I purchased the GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Eye See in Color Clean Multidimensional Eyeshadow Palette Danger Zone smoky palette earlier which gives me more depth to work with plus the lightly metallic charcoal is good for lining or to blend out.

The packaging is darling on the compact as on all the products, very Gwen! Can’t wait to try the rest of the products out. 

I love hearing everyone’s comments and seeing all the creative pics as it gives me lots of new ideas to use them. Thanks again, so grateful and feel like it’s made for me! Congrats to all. 🤗😘

Danger Zone eye includedGXVE Satin, Matte, old UD 714, Plaid, Rock Steady (still one of my favs!)

Spoiler

Bath water and Spiderwebs liners, Simple Kind of Life eye quad, brow linersLiquid , satin and matte lips plus Danger Zone eye quadSatin, matte, 714, Plaid and Rock Steady

[Guessgal]

@Sunnysmom Yaaaaaay you got the gratis too!!!!! 🎉 When we first discussed it earlier on in the thread, I thought something must’ve gone wrong! There was no way I could see you not being included in this one because you always have the best swatches of red lippies💄 Also what a great tidbit you shared regarding the satin turning a little more matte at the end - this makes me excited to try the satin version this weekend!

[Sunnysmom]

Aww you’re the best @Guessgal 😘! Well I wasn’t certain if or what was coming so I didn’t know! 😆 I was quite giddy with excitement to see a set of reds for us that is for sure as oftentimes it’s a more neutral! 💃🏻 I hope you like the satin formula as well. I find it really comfy but I like the matte too which surprised me vs a more semi matte. Don’t you love the stain it leaves?! Yesssss. 🥰

[quspork]

Congrats on the gratis, @Sunnysmom!

[Sunnysmom]

Thank you @quspork ! 💞

[eshoe]

What a fun opening photo, @Sunnysmom! It reminds me of a pop-up card, but better 😉 Lovely swatches, too. Congratulations!!

[Sunnysmom]

Thank you @eshoe !