Ok, so there is no denying, each time Urban Decay announces the release of a new palette, the internet, or at least the beauty addicts online, lose their minds! When it comes to eyeshadow palettes, for the most part, Urban Decay know what they are at and it is not surprising we get our knickers in a twist at the sniff of a new release.
When UD announced the release of their Naked Ultimate basics palette, I honestly was so excited. A warm toned, all matte palette. This could not be anymore perfect for me. So when I got my hands on it, did it live up to my expectations? Yes and no
Lets start with the packaging. For the most part, I have found the Naked palettes packaging to be a little flimsy and boring. However, Urban Decay really went all out with this one, as the palette itself is beautiful. It is a hard plastic that looks luxurious and on the inside is a large size mirror.The mirror did fall off mine, but to be fair, it’s nothing that a bit of super glue can’t fix and it didn’t bother me all that much. So it is a big thumbs up for the packaging.
The palette itself contains 12 matte eyeshadows, with a mix of both warm and cool toned shades. While the palette does look very warm, it doesn’t transfer as overly warm on the eye. Which did disappoint me a little. Take Extra Bitter for example, in the pan it looks like a beautiful warm terracotta brown, but when blended into the eyes, the warmth from the pan isn’t as strong. It looks like a 9 or 10 on the warm scale when in the pan but transfers as more of a 5 or 6. However, don’t let that put you off as it is still a beautiful colour!
The top line in the palette are the lighter shades and perfect for work. I do wish however, that there was a little bit more of a difference between blow, nudie, commando and tempted, as they are all very similar and there is no need for 4 shades like that in the palette. They all work well on the lid, but they are just too samey.
The rest of the colours in the palette are all really beautiful and compliment each other really well. Although Tempted, instinct and lethal, have watched a lot darker than they appear on the eye, so keep that in mind. My favourite combinations would have to be instinct and legal and faith lockout and extra bitter. There are lots of different looks that you can create with this palette, but I would say they are predominantly day looks rather than full on nighttime looks.
I found the shadows themselves performed well. I had no issues with them at all. Some of the lighter colours could do with a little bit more punch when it comes to colour payoff, but it really isn’t that big an issue and Blackjack and magnet were a little patchy, but honestly this is not all that big a deal.
However, even though this is a perfectly beautiful palette, I just don’t find myself reaching for it all that much. There really is nothing wrong with the it at all, it is lovely, but I have realised the problem lies with me. With so many beauty releases over the past few months, it now takes a lot to wow me. I wouldn’t say my standards have risen, as the standard of this palette is excellent. Instead I think my expectations of what impresses me have now changed. With the likes of the Violet Voss palette tickling my fancy at the moment, the poor aul Naked palettes just seem a bit normal! I suppose what I am trying to say is, not everyone needs this palette. It is a perfect palette for someone who doesn’t want anything overly fancy with their makeup. It is the perfect palette for work and the all mattes make it the perfect palette for an older lady. However, if you have 500 palettes like me, you probably already have something like it in your stash. Even still, it is a really lovely palette and it absolutely gets my seal of approval . You can pick it up in Debenhams for €47 here.
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