Urban Decay Naked Palettes Review

If you’re a makeup junkie like me, you’ve surely given in and purchased a couple eyeshadow palettes from Urban Decay by now.  But if you are new to this brand, choosing can be a bit tricky. Read my product reviews on the Naked palette, Naked2 palette, and Naked Smoky  by Urban Decay, and  follow the tutorial suggestions to create a different look with each palette!

Urban Decay Naked Palette

This palette has 12 eyeshadows and comes with a standard eyeshadow brush. Within the eyeshadows 8 are shimmery, 2 have a slight shimmer and 2 are matte. The colors start out light and then get darker. And if you’re familiar with Urban Decay you know they like to choose fun names for their shadows so we start out with ‘Virgin’ and end with ‘Gunmetal’.

This particular palette has very warm colors and is perfect for creating the perfect fun summer look with all of its shimmery colors that just pop when the sun hits them. These shadows go on really well but if you have darker skin you’ll have to really pack on the color depending on how dramatic you want your eyes to be. Though the application is good the shadows do tend to be messy and get all over your face. I recommend using an eyeshadow primer to give the shadows a great base to stick to.

Urban Decay Naked Tutorial:

Before applying the eyeshadow you might want to try using a long wear paint pot to cover tiny discolorations on your lid, you can also apply foundation on your choice.

1. Start by using the Buck color and put it into your crease as a transition color.
2. Then use the Smog shadow and put it into your crease as well.
3. Apply the Virgin color and put it into your brow bone as a highlight.
4. Then apply the High Baked color and put it all over your lid.
5. The final color you are going to use is Darkhorse on your outer eyelid.
6. To define your look you can use an liquid eyeliner and put an easy liner on top of it to create a even more intense dark line.
7. Apply mascara as a final step and you favorite concealer.

Check out this video by Alexis Kaymor for details:

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette

Like the first Naked palette, Naked2 also comes with 12 shadows but with a dual ended brush. There are 9 shimmer and 3 matte shadows. Unlike the previous palette these shimmer shadows are more toned down, starting with ‘Foxy’ and ending with ‘Blackout’, these colors are perfect for fall.

With the toned down shimmers they pair perfectly with the matte shadows. My only issue with that palette was that the shadows were not as pigmented as I would have liked, so to get it to show on my skin I had to really pack on the shadow. Packing on the shadow led to the more shimmery shadows falling off onto the rest of my face. It was also hard to create a large range of looks since there were more shimmer shadows and very little matte colors for blending.

Urban Decay Naked2 Tutorial:

1. For this palette try starting with the YDK color and apply it over the lid.
2. Then take the Half Baked color and apply in the inner corner of your eye.
3. Grab the Busted color and put in the outer corner of your lid and up to the crease.
4. Blend the color together a little bit with a thin brush.
5. Come back to the YDK color and fade the edges.
6. Then grab the Blackout tone and apply it close to the eyelashes, in the outer corner of the lid, and blend it out!
7. Then go for the Busted tone and apply it under the eye.
8. For this look you can apply a white/ beige inliner and black eyeliner too.
9. And apply mascara to finish!

Follow this video by Helen Torsgarden for details:

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

This palette has to be my all time favorite. It has 12 shadows and a dual brush. It ranges in colors from light to dark and from shimmery to more matte like colors. It has 4 shimmery shadows, 4 subdued shimmers, and 4 matte colors.

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It is able to take you from a neutral eye to a dramatic eye extremely easily since it has such a wide variety of colors and it can also be used in any season since it has colors that work well any time.

I especially like that it has shimmer shadows for when I want to have a more eye catching look and matte shadows for when I want to do something more low-key and natural. With the variety of types of shadows (shimmer vs. matte) you are able to create a variety of looks with this palette alone.

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Tutorial:

1. Apply your foundation of preference to your lid, you can even apply a creamy beige eyeshadow to emphasize the final result.
2. Use the Radar tone first, apply it all over your lid.
3. Then apply the Combust on your crease to blend out the smoky eye.
4. Use the same color on the lower lash line.
5. Get back to the Radar an apply it on the lash line to connect the smoky eye.
6. Blend out the eyeshadow with a brush.
7. The last shadow your going to use is the Dirty Sweet, apply it to the tear drop of your eye with a thin brush and blend it out towards your brows to give more dimension to the eye.

Check out this video by Melissa Alatorre:

Feature image source: Urban Decay