Thursday 21 March 2013

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

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Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette £20

When a new Naked Palette launched earlier this year, I sensed mixed feelings amongst the beauty community. I, like many already owned both the 2 naked palettes with their original palette shade ‘Naked’ being an everyday necessity. I have to admit I was a little sceptical at first - was this a ploy to jump on the back of the original palettes and make a little dollar from loyal Naked fans or was this palette a genuine asset to an already cult line. 

The Naked Basics Palette* is a fraction of the size of both of the original palettes, measuring roughly half the size of the Naked 2. Unlike the former Naked palettes it comes in a rubberised case with embossed lettering on the front and consists of 6 ‘basic’ shades featuring 4 of which are exclusive to the Basics palette. Whilst you won’t be seeing any additional brushes, primers or lip-glosses as seen previously, this is straight up eyeshadow goodness. To give you  quick round up of the shades - Venus is a light shimmering champagne-esque shade, Foxy (which has already made an appearance in Naked 2) is a light cream highlighter, Walk of Shame is leaning towards Foxy with a slight pink undertone to it, Naked 2 is a light base brown -  a lighter version of its predecessor Naked which featured in the original palette. Faint is a darker version of Naked 2 perfect as a crease colour and finally you have Crave which is basically a newer version of Blackout - a matte black. 

5 out of the 6 shades are straight up matte with the exception of Venus which has a very fine shimmer running through it - perfect for the brow bone or in the corner of the eye. As with all Urban Decay shadows I cannot fault for pigmentation and longevity. They are smooth, long lasting and blend well, hence why the Naked Palettes will always be my go to of choice in addition to the fact their colours are so versatile particularly for a colour-phobe like me! There has also been mention that Faint makes a good eyeshadow shade, it definitely has a slight MAC espresso feel about it so I shall definitely give this a try. 

If you don't already own either of the Naked palettes then this is great starter palette and a way of dipping your toes in before deciding whether you really want to invest in the full palettes. If however you are already a loyal fan of the Naked Palette brigade  then this will be a welcome addition to your collection regardless of whether you need or not :-). But if you still can't bring yourself to part with 20 notes then MUA and Sleek both do budget friendly nude palettes for a fraction of the cost. 

Will you be investing in the new Basics palette?

*PR Sample