A Buyer's Guide To the Urban Decay Naked Palette Collection

Not long ago, a friend of mine posted on her Facebook page that she couldn't understand all the hype over the Urban Decay Naked palettes. After all, it's just eye shadow, right?

Personally, I get it. I'm a neutral girl to begin with, and I also don't have a whole heckuva lot of time to spend getting ready in the mornings. It's nice--nay, essential--to have something I can grab, knowing that I'll be able to pick a color, slap it on my eyes, and not have to deal with pigmentation or blending issues. Urban Decay (who is not paying me to write this, and has no idea I even exist) makes some of the best shadows around, so a palette filled with twelve coordinating shades is kind of a god-send for me. Key words: "for me". Everyone's tastes and needs are unique. Some people crave zillions of bright colors; others may be good with a flesh-toned single. Me? I prefer these 40 neutrals.

If you're reading this, you're probably considering picking up a Naked palette. Here, I hope to share with you everything you need to know to decide which one(s) will be right for you. Please note: I'm not going into detail over every single shade in each palette. They will be touched on, but odds are, the inclusion or exclusion of one shade isn't going to make or break your decision. You know, generally speaking. All descriptions and recommendations are my own, and may or may not differ from those found elsewhere.

Alrighty, then. Let's start with the Basics.

Packaging: Hard plastic with a rubberized finish and raised logo. Slightly larger than a credit card. Very secure closure. Full-length, usable mirror on the inside lid.

Extras: None.

Shades: Six full-sized shadows. Five matte, one satin. Pigmentation ranges from fair to excellent, with the darker shades being best. Easily blendable. Could be considered slightly powdery.

Versatility: Blending, highlighting, liner, brows. Can create a limited number of looks. Works best in conjunction with other palettes.

Swatches: For reference, I'm an NW15 in MAC, and around a 2.0 in Urban Decay. And yes, that is my leg, and yes, my lighting does kind of suck. I have work with what I've got, sometimes. Believe it or not, colors are actually very close to true to life.

Top Row, L-R: Venus, Foxy, W.O.S. Bottom Row, L-R: Naked 2, Faint, Crave 

Repeats: Four shades are exclusive to this palette. Foxy is also found in Naked 2 and the permanent range. W.O.S. was also available in some build-your-own palettes, but is not in the permanent collection.

Recommended For: All skin tones. Fair to medium may benefit most.

Naked

Packaging: Sturdy cardboard with velveteen covering. Embossed logo. Magnetic closure. Small, high quality mirror on the inside lid.

Extras: Eyeshadow brush and mini Primer Potion (at time of purchase).

Shades: Twelve full-sized shadows. Two matte, one satin, six shimmer, three glitter. Pigmentation generally excellent, with the exception of Naked, which has good pigmentation. Easily blendable. Generally creamy. Moderate fall-out on glitter shades. Overall warm tone.

Versatility:  Blending, highlighting, liner. Possibly brow fill. Evening and heavier daytime looks, with limited lighter looks possible.

Swatches:


Top Row, L-R: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked. Bottom Row, L-R: Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal.

 Repeats: Smog and Sin are in the Ammo palette. Half Baked is in Naked 2. Only Sidecar, Hustle, and Creep are not part of the permanent line.

Recommended For: Warmer and neutral medium to deep skin tones. Fair skin tones may find the majority of the colors require a very light hand.

Naked 2

Packaging: Metal with raised logo. Secure closure. Usable mirror fills the inner lid.

Extras: Double-ended eye shadow brush and mini Lip Junkie lip gloss in Naked (at time of purchase).

Shades: Twelve full-sized eye shadows. Three matte, one satin, two glitter, six shimmer. Pigmentation ranging from very good to excellent, with the exceptions of Foxy, which has good pigmentation. Easily blendable, though Tease can apply somewhat patchy. Generally creamy texture. Moderate fallout on glitter shades. Overall cool tone.

Versatility: Blending, highlighting, liner. Best for lighter to medium daytime looks, with some evening looks possible.  

Swatches:

Top Row, L-R: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite. Bottom Row, L-R: Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.

Repeats: Foxy is in the Basics pallete. Chopper is in the Ammo palette. All but Busted, Snakebite, and Bootycall are in the permanent line.

Recommended For: Cooler and neutral skin tones. Fair to medium skin tones may benefit most, but could work for deeper tones.

Naked 3

Packaging: Metal with raised logo. Secure closure. Usable mirror fills the inside lid.

Extras: Double-ended eye shadow brush and sample blister packs for the Primer Potion line.

Shades: Twelve full-sized shadows. Three matte, three glitter, one satin, five shimmer. Pigmentation generally very good to excellent, with Strange ranking as fair, and Dust acting more as a glitter topcoat. Easily blendable, generally creamy. Moderate to heavy fallout on glitter shades (particularly Dust). Overall rosy tone.

Versatility: Blending, liner. Best for glowy, natural daytime looks, with some evening looks possible.

Swatches:

Top Row, L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick. Bottom Row, L-R: Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart.

Repeats: None. All are new shades, exclusive to this palette.

Recommended For: Warm, Cool, or Neutral. Fair skin tones may benefit most, but also recommended for medium. Deeper tones may be able to make it work.

Good luck getting Naked!