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March 23, 2013

Urban Decay Naked Palette Review and Swatches

In February of 2012, almost a year ago, I bought the famous Urban Decay Naked Palette. This palette is so hyped up in the beauty community that I almost didn't write this review. There's so many posts like this online and, to be honest, I didn't know whether I wanted to add to them. 

For a long time the Urban Decay Naked Palette had me feeling very indifferent. I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. I used it occasionally, but purely because it was there. Would I have missed it? No. After taking this away with me, however, I'm a total convert. I went from thinking it was a waste of money to a thinking it was a great investment and something that I wanted to share with you all! 

Before I talk about the product, I want to show you the colours available in the palette. There's 12 colours in total, with the formula varying from matte to shimmer (two matte, 10 shimmer shadows). 
Left to Right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck and Half Baked
Left to Right: Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

As you can see, there's quite a varied range of colours in the Urban Decay Naked Palette. The swatches above aren't as true to colour as I'd like but it's the best I was able to get. Sorry! If you want incredibly true to colour photos, click here. I'm terrible at describing colours so I'm going to leave that to the expert - 

Virgin (satin chamois), Sin (champagne), Naked (matte buff nude), Sidecar (cocoa with golden sparkle sheen), Buck (matte nutmeg), Half Baked (subtle, lustrous bronze), Smog (deep coppery bronze), Darkhorse (bronze patina), Toasted (rich copper), Hustle (plum brown satin), Creep (onyx with gold sparkle) and Gunmetal (gunmetal grey with silver glitter)

This is the first and only time that I've had the opportunity to try Urban Decay eyeshadows and, let me tell you, they don't disappoint! They are some of the best I've ever tried. I definitely want to pick up some more and that's based on my opinion of these alone. The eyeshadows in the Urban Decay Naked Palette are super pigmented, as seen in the swatches above, and incredibly blendable. Each eyeshadow applies really nicely and blends out really easily if needed. Matte eyeshadows have a reputation for being a little more difficult to work with, however Naked and Buck (the two matte shades in the palette) apply as well as any other in the palette. 


Whilst I have never used the last two colours in the palette (I don't know why as I often rock a smokey eye on a night out) I haven't had an issue with fall out, regardless of the way I apply it. From my experience, I think Sidecar has the most fall out but it's very minimal!

One of my favourite things about this palette is how versatile it is. Given that it's a palette, all of the eyeshadows work well together to make any eye look; nude, daytime, smokey etc. They eyeshadows can also be used alone, either to create a very simple look or in conjunction with eyeshadows from other brands. On a lazy day I love using Sin as a lid colour, with Naked in the crease and Virgin in the inner corner. On day when I want a little more depth, I love using a combination of Toasted and Hustle in the outer corner! On darker days, I really love Smog all over the lid! It's absolutely beautiful with my blue/green eyes and, given that I have Smog in liner form also, it's so easy. If you'd like to see posts on any of these looks, please let me know below!

When it was first released, the Urban Decay Naked Palette was sold with an Urban Decay  Original Primer Potion mini and an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil duo in Zero and Whiskey.  I'm not entirely sure why but they stopped selling it with the eyeliner duo and it's now sold with a cruelty free Urban Decay Good Karma Shadow Brush. I quite like this brush for cream products but I don't think it's the great when used in conjunction with the shadows. That could just be me though. 

All in all, I really love this palette. Unfortunately it's unavailable in Australia but it can be bought from BeautyBay.com for $52.21AU, equalling under $5.00 per shadow. When you work it out like that, it's almost a crime to NOT buy it. To check it out on the BeautyBay.com page, click here. If $52.21AU is a bit out of your budget, Chic Chi has recently released a very comparable 'Nudes' palette that can be purchased for $19.95AU. Check out a fellow Perthian blogger, Mishelle, and her comparison post here.  

What do you think of the Urban Decay Naked Palette? Do you have it? Do you want it? Do you think it's overpriced and/or overhyped? Have you tried any other Urban Decay palettes? I'd love to pick up the Naked 2 (no, I know I don't need it), as well as the Naked Basics palette and the Glinda Palette (I just love that good witch!). 
Always look your best,
Sophie
x

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9 comments :

  1. I don't think you can ever have too many reviews of products! I've never been able to justify $50 on a palette (although maybe now you've pointed out the price per shadow...). I own the MUA dupe of this and I use it a lot so maybe it would be worth it for me - although I prefer MUA's version of Toasted because it's more pink. I also find I don't really use the last 2 shades of my dupe.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you don't think there can be too many reviews of a product! Sometimes I feel like products have reached a saturation point in the blogging community but, hey, I wanted to add to it! It's definitely difficult to part with $50+ for a product but, when you break it down to price per shadow it's a lot less daunting. Regardless though, it's still $50. It's weird how we don't use the last two colours. I need to start, I think! x

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  2. i bought naked 2 about 2 months ago and its awesome, much better then spending more then that to buy dupes trying to match these eyeshadow as others don't really come xclose

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    1. I couldn't agree more! Sometimes you spend so much on buying as many dupe palettes as you can that, by the time you've added it all up, you could've just bought the original product. I'm really interested in seeing what you think of the Naked 2! Not sure whether to give it a shot. xx

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  3. I love my naked palette. Only bought it recently and i use it almost daily. Love the shades. Nothing beats great quality urban decay shadows!

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    1. It's such a handy palette, isn't it? I think that's why I gravitate towards mine so much. I agree. The quality of the shadows is amazing! xx

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  4. I actually purchased this just before my spending ban, and still haven't tested it out! Naughty blogger, right?
    But I agree with Claire, I don't think you can have too many reviews, I love reading everyone's thoughts!

    I think the real reason I haven't used it yet is because it's way too pretty haha! I'll have to give it a go though - I love your swatches!
    xx

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    1. Whattt, Jasmine? You haven't tried it yet? What's wrong with you?! Haha. Let me know if you do pull it out! I'd love to know what you think!

      Thanks for the comment about the swatches. I take them outside now because I find they're more true to colour but sometimes they can be too bright, depending on what way the sun and I are both facing. Oh the joys..

      xx

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  5. Hi Sophie :) Love this page, really helpful. I'm from the UK and I ordered my palette the day before yesterday, so I'm hoping it will arrive tomorrow. I think it was money wel spent, but I was just wondering, do you use ALL the shades? I have dark blonde/light brown hair and green eyes, and I'm wondering if all the colours will suit me?:) I've heard that some people don't like all the shimmer shades.. what do you think..? thanks so much! xxx

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