GXVE by Gwen Stefani just launched at Sephora, and there was no way that I wasn’t going to run to my nearest mall to try it out. All of the products are vegan, cruelty free, and come in recyclable packaging. When purchasing items from this line, I tried to think of which items I’d most likely reach for instead of where my heart usually goes (eyeshadow palettes) as I’m trying to use up the hoards of makeup that are already in my collection. So it made sense to pick up the Most Def Clean Instant Definition Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil ($31 CAD) and the Line It Up Clean 24-Hr Gel Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner ($27 CAD). I picked up the eyebrow pencil in the shade 6. It has a chisel tip on one end and a brush on the other to help shape, fill and sculpt your brows. From just looking at the chisel tip I thought that it would give too much product on the first swipe, but it actually built up nicely. The tip of the chisel made it easy to create a natural look, but the awkward shape did take some time to get use to as you could quickly make your brows a little too bold.

Over the last decade, I’ve been converted to liquid eyeliner as it’s easy to get sharp lines and I don’t have to worry about sharpening it, but after swatching the gel waterproof eyeliner in store and seeing how it wouldn’t budge once it dried, I wanted to give it a try. I picked up the shade, Spiderwebs, and I’m absolutely in love! It goes on pretty opaque, and you get a few seconds of play time to smudge it out if you choose, but once it sets it doesn’t budge. I have oily eyelids so I find that I usually end up with raccoon eyes at the end of the day or some kind of transfer to above my eyelid but this one surpassed my expectations. Although I did take note to how buttery and smooth it was during application, I noticed that the sharp edge gets dull really quick which makes me wonder how fast I will go through this pencil if I’m always having to sharpen it. Either way, I’ll be going back for the gorgeous metallic blue shade, Bathwater, and really hope they decide to add more colours in the future. I feel like the vibrant blue would be great to help eye looks really pop as an accent.

These days I don’t wear lipstick as often but when you hear someone mention Gwen Stefani, your mind usually goes straight to her iconic red lip, so there was no way I was going to leave her signature colour behind. GXVE currently only has the one shade, Original Recipe, but it comes in 3 formulas: liquid, matte and satin. I opted for the I’m Still Here Longwear Clean Matte Liquid Lipstick ($31 CAD). I’ve tried so many different brands of liquid lipsticks and I’m honestly torn on this one. The colour is absolutely stunning and I feel like it would compliment most skin tones. It dries down quickly and it’s very pigmented. My swatch is just one swipe of product! I also found it to apply evenly and the formula was very smooth. As the day goes by, it takes a while for you to notice that the product has faded on your lips. It’s also a plus that it has this amazing vanilla + coconut scent to it. But with that said you need to be careful when wearing it, it’s not transfer proof. I noticed bright red on anything that touched my lips even briefly, and it smudges everywhere leaving hard to remove stains on your skin. On top of that, I found it to be very drying and eventually my lips started stinging like they do when I wear the Chapstick brand.

All in all, if you’re looking to try out GXVE, I would definitely recommend the Line It Up Clean 24-Hr Gel Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner to anyone, and would recommend the Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil if you’re looking for a quick way to fill out your eyebrows in the morning. But I’ll say pass on the liquid lipstick as it’s a bit nerve wrecking to know it smudges easily even though it has dried down, and the stains are hard to get off your skin which isn’t ideal if you’re on the go.