Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - Review & Swatches!
9:00 AM
Anymore, in the beauty world, if you hear the word "nude" or "naked" it stirs excitement but not for the reasons everyone else stirs with excitement when hearing those words. I think our makeup-obsessed ears have become rather jaded with the sexual undertones of a lot of makeup names, amirite NARS Orgasm blush?
In any case, I am very excited to share with you Urban Decay's newest eyeshadow palette: Naked Basics. It contains six "matte" (in quotations because it's not 100% matte) eyeshadows that are supposed to compliment the Naked and Naked 2 palettes seamlessly. Does it live up to that claim? Let's take a look!
The packaging is a refreshing upgrade from the previous two Nakeds in that it's slim, sleek, and very travel-friendly with a slightly rubberized finish. They also skipped out on unnecessary brushes and kept in a generously-sized mirror on the lid. The entire thing is just a bit smaller than my iPhone 4S so it's more petite than you'd think!
There are 6 full-sized shadows in total. Venus which is a satin shade similar to Virgin from the Naked Palette. The other 5 are true mattes which have a nice silky texture compared to mattes from other companies.
Venus / Foxy / Walk of Shame / Naked 2 / Faint / Crave
Venus: Satin pale cream
Foxy: Matte peachy beige (also in the Naked 2 palette)
Walk of Shame: Matte pinky beige (comes with the 6-pan Build Your Own palette)
Naked 2: Matte pale taupe
Faint: Matte dusty brown
Crave: Matte black-brown
I really adore the concept of a matte palette but in my swatches you can obviously see the slight complaint I have here. On my skintone, three of the shades (Foxy, Walk of Shame, and Naked 2) nearly disappear! I won't lie, I would definitely still use the heck out of Foxy and Walk of Shame separately as highlight shadows but I would've preferred a shade between Naked 2 and Faint that could have been used cohesively instead of including two nearly-identical highlight shades. I had high hopes of Naked 2 being a nice blending color but I just think it's too cool and near my skin color to give it any edge over my favorite Buck eyeshadow.
All in all I love Venus, Foxy/Walk of Shame (if there was only one and not both), Faint, and Crave which are 4/6 shadows. I'm just not sure that 66.66% means I need it since as they said, it works best as a companion to the first two Naked palettes. I am fully 100% happy travelling with just my original Naked so this for me would instead be a handy sidekick to my colored eyeshadows that could be mixed with these neutrals if I wanted to travel very light.
It goes without saying that if I had a lighter skintone or had more concerns with wrinkles (mattes look fantastic on more mature ladies) this would be a more versatile palette. At $27 it's a steal for 6 full, high-quality eyeshadows as well.
What do you guys think? Will you be picking up the Naked Basics palette? Does this fill the void in your matte-desiring hearts? Let me know in the comments!
Disclaimer: This post contains product provided by the company's PR for consideration. For more information please see my review policy.
47 comments
I looooove this palette!
ReplyDeleteI want this palette now! (: thank you for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteEmilie
http://urdailydosage.blogspot.com
The fact that I love the very 1st Naked palette this one is looking promising. And I love the size too!
ReplyDeleteeveryone's been raving about this palette lately>.< and I think I love it too, despite some of the color might be too close to natural skintone. Anyhow, I still love it <3
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I'm sad that they are so light! I still love the idea of this palette tho. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Some of the shades are too similar and too light for my skintone.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Urban Decay Naked or Naked 2 but what are your thoughts of NYX Bohemian Chic Nude Palette?
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried it myself so I can't say exactly how good it is but from looking at pics online it seems like you get a nice mix of neutrals, blushes, and accent colors that are all matte. The possible downside is that some NYX mattes tend to be a bit chalky. It seems like a good value though if you don't already have many neutrals.
DeleteI love this palette but I wish the was a warm chocolate-ish colour like MAC Swiss chocolate...then it would be perfect :)
ReplyDeleteJust bought a Naked and Naked 2 :(( My bank account is definitely gonna be nonexistent by the end of this year!! I love this already. It looks so portable and MATTE shades!! ♥ Good lord!! Why didn tyou come out sooner!!
ReplyDelete♥,
Shari
I was curious about Naked basic, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCannot wait for this to come out in the UK.
ReplyDeletedoricquine88.blogspot.co.uk
I have always been on the fence about shelling out for a Naked palette. I think that this is the one I'm most likely to go for - you can't go wrong with basic matte shades like these! :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to check it out when it's released in the UK, but I don't think there's any point purchasing when I already have naked 1 & 2 right?
ReplyDeletewithlovex0-ploy.blogpspot.com
ploy x
It really depends on how much of a matte shadow nut you are! Faint, for instance, is a unique matte shade unlike anything in either Naked palettes previous. :)
DeleteSomehow I still think the Naked/Naked2 palette is more versatile than this new one. I love matte shades, but a whole palette of them seems a bit overkill. This is definitely a COMPANION to the previous 2, and not a palette to be used alone. >__<
ReplyDeleteI want it soooooo bad! Will definitely be picking it up! It should do really well on my pale skin :) I only have Naked 1 and I've really been dreaming with a matte palette from UD.
ReplyDeleteI haven't even gotten Naked 2 yet!!! But this looks like it would be nice for traveling, maybe a future purchase :)
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, the colors don't scream I AM UNIQUE, PLEASE BUY ME! You can get those shades from other palettes, but I'd have to say that $27 IS quite a steal haha.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to hold off on this. The only Naked palette I own is the very first one and it's good enough for me ^___^; However, what I would love for UD to do is create a "Naked Build Your Own Palette"! XD I would totally buy that and make my own "naked". ^^; I love the idea of mattes but that may be a bit much for me and the lighter colors specifically in the Basics palette would just blend in with my skintone too much. T^T
ReplyDeleteThey don't have a "build your own Naked palette" yet but they do actually have fairly compact 4-pan Build Your Own palette (to fill with the individual UD singles) which already comes with 1 single and is $18, the same price as an individual shadow. Still pricey overall but if you have specific favorites it's an option!
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DeleteJen, what 4 colors would you choose for a good neutral palette?
DeleteI love the idea... not in love with the color selection of the palette. A 12 shadow matte would have been to die for.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen, thanks for reviewing this. I've been eyeing this Naked basics but still couldn't make up my mind. Same thought with you, I guess the first three shades won't appear on my fair skin, so i think i'll skip this palette. I'd rather choose the balm Meet Matt(e) as matte palette with wider matte color selection...
ReplyDeleteJust beatiful........
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ReplyDeleteJen, is this about the same size as the Josie Maran Natural Wonders / My Favorite Powders palettes?
ReplyDeleteI just checked and this is a bit wider while the Josie Maran is thinner but they are super close in size!
DeleteThanks, Jen! I adore things in small packages. I'm small (but not quite as small as you), and I wonder if it's why I like things scaled down. :) In fact, the size of this makes me me more interested in the palette than I should be, as I probably own similar shades already.
DeletePs how is the Aritzia blazer working out for you? I'm the one who took measurements for you.
Sadly, I think 3/6 of those would disappear on me. My skin goes from pale yellow to very tan in just a few hours, and I'm out in the sun pretty regularly, so I need neutrals and highlighters that will actually appear on my skin. Faint looks so pretty, but I just got a similar matte shade from Shiro. I think I'll skip out on this one!
ReplyDeleteBut mattes are quickly becoming a new favourite lately... maybe some other palette...
Urban Decay prices their palettes so well that it's hard to turn them down. At $27, liking one and a half shadows makes it worthwhile since they are full size! i have and love Walk of Shame, have and indifferent about Foxy. I have purchased this for Naked 2 and Faint, and the convenience of having all these together! Having Venus may help me pass by Naked (I'm jonesing Virgin). I am a klutz - just yesterday I spilled my sample of Naked Sin and dropped Ruthless deluxe shadow! Having a nice size palette to hold is worth it for me! Thank you for a great review and the swatches!
ReplyDeleteI know it might be a really stupid request, but can you explain the difference between satins, mattes and other kinds of shades. I'm never entirely sure what's the difference between those when i read or watch review of eyeshadows where people use those descriptions ;) Thank you! :) x
ReplyDeleteJen, can you do an every day look tutorial with this palette??? :):):)
ReplyDeleteI first saw this on emilynoel83's you tube vid and I have to say the first thing I thought, being ghost pale was "YAY so many light shades". I have the other 2 naked palettes and for daily looks I am very limited as many of the colours come out to dark for day. Thinking I will buy this before my next holiday as my go to travel palette. Thanks so much for the review.
ReplyDeletei love the nudes! i cant wait til this item is available at macys.
ReplyDeletethnks for the review! ^_^
i'm currently on the fence about getting it but leaning towards no for the very same reasons you stated.
ReplyDeleteMaggie
lovestylehappiness.blogspot.com
Thanks for the awesome review! I'm going to pick this up the next time I'm at Sephora. :)
ReplyDeleteHI Jen! Would you mind doing a tutorial with this Naked palette? I received it as a gift and I'm trying to figure out how to create more versatile looks out of this very simple palette :) I have less experience with matte so any advice would be SO appreciated! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
Yes, please do a tutorial with the Naked Basics palette. There are only a couple really good tutorials using this palette on YouTube and I want to see more looks!
DeleteIm going to skip this palette since I already have the other two. This seems unnessary. Thank you for the review on this.
ReplyDeleteLove the review, please check mine out as I've just started back up again!
ReplyDeletewill u make a make up tutorial for this one? i just purchased one and realize that it doesnt make me that happy :( and thinking if u can change that. thankss x)
ReplyDeletecomplement, not compliment!
ReplyDeleteI'm a beginner and I want a neutral eyeshadow palete of high quality, should I get this?
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and YouTube channel I would love if you follow me on my blog http://burstwithenvy.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
ReplyDeleteis it me or is the cover really so damn hard to open? ):
ReplyDelete