Pammy Blogs Beauty: "Get Naked" with Urban Decay: The Naked Palette: Review (pic heavy)





Sunday, December 12, 2010

"Get Naked" with Urban Decay: The Naked Palette: Review (pic heavy)


Good morning dear readers and blog followers! :)

I am sure this will come as no surprise to any of you, but, I *heart* the Urban Decay Naked Palette!!!!

I have been meaning post a review for quite some time now; but, I really just wanted a good/long chance to play around with it first. I mean, after all the hype, I really wanted to be able to experience the product for awhile so that I could review it well. What can I say, I have been having so much fun "playing" with this amazing palette!!!

As you readers may know, I was on this search for this palette for quite some time (we are talking *months* here ladies). Every time I went to order it, out-of-stock (grrr!). I pretty much stalked my Ultas and Sephoras with frequent visits and phone calls to see when this palette would arrive. Luckily, I won Vyile's blog gift card giveaway right when the Urban Decay Naked Palettes were back in stock at Macy's.com. Total Serendipity! Thanks again to Shelley!!!

For me, a neutrals palette is the ticket. While I love bright and fun shadows for that "pop of color", in general, for day-to-day, neutrals are what I reach for. So,  if you are like me, a neutrals gal, then this palette might be ideal for you. I know it was "calling my name"...lol (I'm a nut ya'll). :)

So, the hype surrounding this palette has been unreal! After all this effort to find the palette and crazy Internet hype, will it really be that great??? In a word...YES!!! My expectations had gotten so high during my wait that I almost expected disappointment. Well, that certainly was not the case. I love this palette!!! Honestly, I have nothing bad *at all* to say here!



So, here are my thoughts:

  • The range of neutrals are extremely well chosen colors. The full range is here...light to dark. Love it that the palette contains highlight and liner/smoke shades and everything in-between!
  • Love that there are a variety of finishes: matte, satin/shimmer, metallic, & glitter!
  • The shadows themselves are of the highest quality. Seriously, I can't stress that enough! I really consider MAC, Urban Decay, and Stila to have the nicest texture for shadows (IMHO). These shadows totally set the bar high! Fantastic quality. The texture is perfect and they apply like a dream! Truly, I love my drugstore shadows, and there are great drugstore brands that are of good value and quality considering the price. But, these Urban Decay shadows are really a step above in quality and showcase how great high-end shadows can be. The texture, pigment, blendabilty, finish, staying power of these shadows are just superior to most of the other shadows in my makeup collection. 
  • 12 beautiful shades: Some of the stand-outs (my personal faves, and the shades that I would purchase shadow singles of separately): Virgin, Sin, Toasted, and Hustle. Love, love, love these!!!
  • LOVE the size and shape of this palette! It is big enough that the shadow pans are of decent size, but not too bulky for travel. The layout and shape makes it easy to hold and work with during application. Also love that the dual ended liner is stored inside the actual palette. So handy!
  • The 24/7 liner duo (dual ended: Whiskey-brown and Zero-black): I absolutely adore the texture of these UD 24/7 liner!!! Its a pencil that applies like a gel. Genius really! It just glides effortlessly onto the lash line (no "tugging" of the lid nor a need to "warm" the liner up like a typical eye pencil to allow it to glide). The pencil feels sort of "wet" upon application. I believe this is what gives the product its great staying powder...this liner will absolutely stay put (and perfect) all day long! Love, Love, Love these! I will totally purchase more 24/7 liners in the future! And, it is super travel friendly as the dual ended pencil gives you both your black and brown in one pencil! :) Two liners in one! The only other liner that I could compare these to are the Prestige Total Intensity liners that are of similar gel-like texture.
  • Packaging is NICE! Love the brown fuzzy palette and the gold lettering. Nice sized mirror on the inside too. Love that it is actually "fuzzy"! I am such a "butter fingers". This palette won't slip out of your hands when in a hurry (and yes, lol, I have had shadows fly around in my bathroom when I am in a super-hurry in the morning, doh!) :)
  • I believe these shadows would suit most people! I am neutral-cool toned and they work very well with my coloring. Great assortment! My only *teensy tiny* wish is that there were more cool-toned colors in this palette. Wouldn't it be great if Urban Decay came out with a UD Naked II for cooler tones? But, really, I can wear all these shades in this palette, even with my neutral-cool coloring. 
  • You can use this palette for neutral school/office appropriate daytime looks *OR* for sexy and dramatic evening/nighttime looks. You have everything you need to go from day-to-night in one convenient palette. How great is that!!! 
  • This set retails for $44, which is a good deal considering you get 12 amazing shadows, a dual-ended 24/7 liner (which rocks by-the-way: will do a top 5 pencil eyeliners post in the near future and this is on it!), and a mini Primer Potion. Not sure if any of you saw some of the eBay listings for this palette??? OMG! Clearly people are willing to pay much more for this palette...upwards of $80+! Shhh
A breakdown of the shades and some descriptions (I have*starred my faves):



  • *Virgin: One of the prettiest highlight colors that I have ever seen! Absolutely love the finish on this one. It is a gorgeous shimmery buttery champagne shade (that description doesn't even do it justice). This light and shimmery shade gives you such a beautiful highlight without being overly "white" (if you know what I mean)...its just the *ideal* highlight shade! Love it for a brow highlight, inner corners, and to line under my lower lashes. It really brightens up my eyes! I can already tell that this is the first shadow that I will "hit pan" on in this palette! I will, no doubt, repurchase this as a shadow single!
  • *Sin: The *perfect* lid color! Darker than Virgin, this is a pinkish/champagne metallic hue that is somewhat reminiscent of Stila Kitten (which I totally adore as well). This color is beautiful worn on its own as a "wash" of color all over the lid with dramatic winged liner. I also like to wear this on the lid with some of the darker shades in this palette worn in the crease and outer "v". Love this shade!
  • Naked: This matte tan (or very light brown) is the perfect shade to blend out smoky colors above the crease. I also love using this in the crease when using lighter colors to give the eyes more dimension. Overall, a very versatile and wearable shade. Urban Decay is generally "known" for its glittery and shimmery shades, but this shadow proves that UD can do matte very well!
  • Sidecar: This is the most glittery shade of the palette. It is a beautiful gold metallic with fine milled glitter. You have to be careful upon application of this one as you might experience glitter fall-out if you are not careful. It is best applied by "tapping" it on with a flat shader-style brush. A fluffy brush would cause the glitter to scatter and fall-out. And, while glitter is great on the lid...glitter fall out is just a hot-mess. The color of this is so pretty on the lid!!! LOVE! (fan of glitter here!)

Wow, those swatched well...look at the beautiful metallics! 

  • Buck: This is the matte medium brown of the palette. Again, I find that UD does mattes *so well*! It has a smooth and "creamy" texture. Not even slightly chalky! I like this one in the crease or to define the outer corner. Great eye contouring shade.
  • Half Baked: This shadow is a very shimmery gold/copper metallic color. The finish is just beautiful on this one. This shade is a bit warm on me. But, with that said, the shade itself really makes my blue eyes pop (see my previous article on Color Theory).
  • Smog: Smog is a beautiful shimmery metallic bronze shadow. It looks very nice paired with Half-baked. Love it for the crease or outer corner. Beautiful finish!
  • Dark Horse (okay, lol, I can't think of this shade without thinking of one of my favorite bars in Atlanta of the same name...sorry, I digress!): This is a deep and dark shimmery brown hue. I *love* this one used as an eyeliner or for a deep/dark outer "v" shade.



  • *Toasted: I totally LOVE this shade. It is a copper metallic with a strong brown hue. It is absolutely beautiful. Truly stunning with my blue eyes. Would purchase this as an eyeshadow single in a heartbeat!
  • *Hustle: This is probably (well, next to Virgin) my biggest fave of the entire palette!!! I would, no question, purchase this as a single as I never want to be without this lovely shade! I love wearing shimmery plummy dark browns like this in the crease. Such a beautiful and truly dimensional color. The finish is just so beautiful! Gives great depth to your eyes!
  • Creep: Creep is the palette's deep/rich and pigmented matte-ish black shadow with very fine milled micro-glitter. Fantastic to finish off a beautiful smoky eye look. The black applies very "black"! What rich pigmentation! Great for smoky looks, topping pencil liner, or on its own as a liner.
  • Gunmetal: Gunmetal is a deep and dark rich metallic grey color. This is, hands down, my favorite shade for a smokey eye. Love this paired with Creep (Gunmetal on the lid and smoked out with creep for liner and outer corner). I also love this worn on its own for a smoky grey eye. Is also beautiful when used as a liner.
In summary: Love, Love, love this palette! So many wearable and versatile shades. The finishes on the metallic shadows are absolutely beautiful and the mattes are so wearable and basic! This palette packs in the best variety of colors and textures that I have ever seen in a neutrals palette. AND-the best part: I found 4 HG (Holy Grail) new neutral shadows that I seriously will never be without! I highly recommend this palette to everyone who can get their hands on it!

I guess my only "complaint" is that this palette was extremely hard for me to find! But, the good news is that Urban Decay has added this to their permanent line. So, if you have not had the opportunity to check this out, or your Ulta or Sephora is out of stock, then you should be able to get one soon! It is certainly worth the wait!

Thanks for reading!!! Hopefully everyone out there that is searching for this palette will find it soon!



-Urban Decay Book of Shadows III (UD<3 NYC): Review and swatchs, Top 5 Eyeliner Pencils, and My Basic Manicure (Tips and Tricks)


16 comments:

Melly said...

Toasted looks similar (though hard to be sure since not seeing it face to face) to what I'm wearing in my most recent FOTD :)
lovely post (:

Unknown said...

Hi Melly! Yes-It does look somewhat similar. :) Just started following you as well! :)

Stephanie said...

Great review! I'm still on the fence about the colors--it seems that there's too many neutrals in one palette! Glad you like it though :)

Shaylee Anne said...

I think you need to stop posting reviews...because everything you talk about I WANT!! haha This looks amazing, even better than I thought! Good thing my Sephora is always out of stock or I would spend my money on it ;)

Unknown said...

@Shaylee Anne-LOL! I hear ya girl, and I feel the same way about *your* blog! Thats what happens when we have such similar tastes! :) xoxo!

Anonymous said...

yay! You got it :D I absolutely love this palette <3

Unknown said...

@fashionedinfinland-Hey Nea! Yes, I finally did! :) Isn't it a great palette! You and I both seem to wear a lot of neutrals...so, perfect! :)

Ashley said...

LOVE this palette! Haha I got so lucky to get it too. I was someone who had decided I didn't really want this until I saw some swatches and tutorials and let's just say I changed my mind and neeeded it! But luckily the second Sephora I called the day after I decided I needed it had JUST gotten a shipment in and the girl said she'd hold it for me :) So not too much of a hunt for me actually :) But I have been absolutely in love with this palette since I got it in September! Amazing! I am definitely an UD fan now!

Unknown said...

@AffordableBeauty-Hey Ashley!!! Yes-you are a fellow neutrals girl too! :) And, you sure did have an easier time finding it than I did! It is one of those palettes that I just love even more as I continue to use and experiment with it! XOXO!

Sharon said...

great review hun&swatches too howwever I never got round to buying ths palette as I may never wear all those colours,aftr ur honest opinion Im beginning to want it haha

Unknown said...

Hey Sher! Tee-hee! :) I am sure you could create fabulous looks with this palette as you are so creative! :) xoxo!

Anonymous said...

I have this palette and love love LOVE it!!!

Cydonian said...

Great swatches, doll! Glad you finally got a hold of this. It's so lovely. I have a photo tutorial coming up with it :)

Unknown said...

@Kristen-Yes, isnt it great! :) Thanks for stopping by!

@Cydonian-Thanks Wendy! I was so happy to finally get my hands on this palette! I cant wait for your photo tutorial! :) XOXO!

Unknown said...

What an amazing review- this must have taken you hours to compose! You have a true passion..and you are such a lovely person amid all:)

Unknown said...

@Vyile-awh! Thanks Shelley (blushing!). :) XOXO!



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