Get Naked! Urban Decay's Naked Palette

Get Naked! Urban Decay’s Naked Palette

 

 

Let me first go on record as saying I’m an eye shadow collector. I love eye shadow. I have probably around 6, maybe 10, different palettes. Is it a problem? Eh…depends on who you ask. Some women like jewelry, some like nail polish and some even like shoes. Wait, I actually like all of those as well to almost a compulsive, hording level. It’s a problem. You got me.

But there is a reason why I love eye shadow palettes. (We will talk about the shoes and nail polish at a later time.)

Eye shadow palettes give you amazing versatility in one spectrum of shadow. You can create a finished look only using that palette. And we are talking well above the quick swipe of one color on your lids. Palettes are useful, especially for makeup enthusiasts, artists or even the newbie. A palette combines all of range of tones that can be used to build incredible dimension. Yes, there are some that are one trick ponies, and I have a couple I’ll eventually get around to reviewing, but on a whole when you aren’t sure which shades of eye shadow can be combined easily…go with the palette.

The palette I want to discuss today has been around for a long time. It is Urban Decay’s original Naked Palette.

Look at those beautiful earth tones! This is the basic palette that should be in everyone’s makeup drawer. It has shades that compliment every skin tone.

When I purchase a new makeup product, I test it out multiple times. For eye shadow’s I do the finger test first. You want to look for pigmentation. Great eye shadow’s should be very pigmented. There are always going to be exceptions but on a whole you want to get more bang for your buck. The more pigmentation, the less you need. It also allows you to build with less fall out. The test is easy, simply take a finger and run it up, down and then up again on the eye shadow. Take a look at your finger. Is it barely there? Or does the product adhere to your finger easy. (Yes…the light shades are harder to see but even those should pass this test.)

See how well the color picked up? Next comes the swatch. This will serve two purposes. The first is seeing if that pigmentation will transfer well to your eye lid. The second is to match to your skin. There are some shades that look great in the packaging but when you swatch, you get an entirely different color.

These colors definitely stay true and apply very evenly.

How important is it that an eye shadow applies evenly? Extremely important because it limits fall out, flaking and stays where you need it. Some eye shadows will stick in one area of your eye and that may not be the desired effect you wish. I have some that are so hyper-pigmented that you have to daub them on and it takes forever to blend. I’m not saying that I don’t love those colors but it does take more work to make the colors blend and appear seamless. As you can see in the picture above, the Naked Palette drags very easily and it shades out. The only tool used was my finger.

The last test of an eye shadow is how you look wearing the colors. If Kennedy had not already had this palette, I would have tested it in Ulta or Sephora before buying. Taking back eye shadow can be a tremendous pain in the ass. But since she had this one, I knew that I would like the colors. I’m a devoted fan of Urban Decay so it wasn’t too much of a leap to purchase a few (ahem! All) of their palettes.

As far as how it looked on me?

I loved how seamless the colors blend from light to dark. I didn’t go too crazy with this because I was in a hurry. It was using four colors: Naked, Buck and Hustle as the primary and blenders. And just a dab of wet Smog.

Wet? Yes, I wet an eye shadow sponge and then dipped and tapped. You would be amazed at the intensity you can achieve with that little technique. I don’t recommend it for your entire eye but if you want to add some glimmer or a very distinct looking highlight simply wet and apply. (You don’t have to get it sopping wet and it really lasts a long time if you use a setting spray as the liquid!)

Here is the final look for the day:

I am not entirely pleased with the total effect but the eye shadow was definitely on point. I even used the same palette as my eyeliner.

Final tally for the original Naked Palette:

Pigmentation: A+

Consistency: A+

Even application: A+

Color range: A (I’m not giving this a plus because I think they could have swapped out one of the same glimmer tones for something a bit richer and more distinct)

Contrasting colors: B (Many of the colors are glimmers and it only has one or two true matte eye shadows. I think a great palette has an equal number.)

*Why is matte important in a palette? Glimmer eye shadows tend to make older eyes look even older because it easily settles into the lines. Matte’s are a girl’s best friend if she is over 30. Adding in glimmer shadows for enhancement are A++ for any age.*

There you go! My advice is to give this one a chance to become your “go to” shadow palette. It works for any skin tone, has enough range for any one palette and it is definitely worth the $55

So now Kats and Kittens, you sound off. What shades are your "go to" and what palette can you not live without?

Next time we will be talking about Kat Von D's Lockit Foundation