Product Description
What it is: Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 is the sequel to the original Naked Basics palette. It consists of 5 matte shades and 1 satin shade. These shades are mostly neutral but are supposed to be a bit cooler-toned than those in the original Naked Basics Palette.
Price/Quantity: $29 for 6 x 1.3g / 6 x .05oz
Availability: Urban Decay, Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, Macy’s, BeautyBay.com, Belk
Colors/Finishes:
- Skimp – Pale shimmery peachy nude
- Stark – Matte light peach
- Frisk – Matte light greyish taupe
- Cover – Matte pinkish-toned medium brown
- Primal – Matte medium-to-dark taupey brown
- Undone – Matte cool-toned dark brown
Packaging: Pretty much the same as the original, it has a sturdy plastic case with a large mirror on the inside of the lid. Opens and closes easily, stays shut securely. The names are printed below each shade. The size and shape of the palette is really nice because it doesn’t take up a lot of space in my drawer and it’s also really handy for travelling.
Smell/Fragrance: Very faint scent but no fragrance that I can smell.
Performance
Application: On bare lids, these apply well but they do look and blend better over a primer. They take bit of work to blend out evenly, which isn’t surprising for matte shadows, but the end result turns out beautifully for an everyday/work/school look.
Texture: They are soft, but not super silky and just a tad powdery but they don’t create too much of a mess in the palette. Fallout is minimal but more obvious when using darker shades, so remember to tap off any excess before taking your brush to your lid.
Pigmentation: All six shades have good pigmentation.
Longevity: On bare lids, I get about 5 hours of wear before they start to fade and crease. When worn over Urban Decay Primer Potion I got almost 11 hours of uncreased/unfaded wear! I don’t know that I’ve ever gotten such long wear out of an eyeshadow before. It’s interesting how just adding the primer so drastically changed the wear time. Typically I only get 1-2 more hours of wear by using a primer.
Comparisons and Alternatives
Naked Basics vs. Naked 2 Basics
Naked Basics has more contrasting shades that range from very pale to very dark, whereas Naked 2 Basics has a better selection of in-between shades. I feel like this makes it easier to achieve a well blended gradient since you can use a couple of transition shades. Frisk is noticeably grey-hued compared to Naked2 in the original. If you look at the last photo in the post, you can see how the reddish/pinkish tones in Cover clearly show up. The combo of these two are mainly what sell this palette as being cooler toned than the original. If I had to choose one or the other, I’d probably go with the original because, to me, it’s creates a truer neutral eye look that doesn’t lean too warm or too cool.
Sonia Kashuk Neutral Matte Eyeshadow Palette
Sonia Kashuk’s palette is a great alternative. It’s costs about $20 and you get 15 shades to work with. The quality is very comparable in terms of color payoff and blendability but they aren’t quite as smooth as Urban Decay matte shadows. The downsides are that you don’t get a mirror in the palette and the square shape of the shadows makes it less easy to use a brush (but not by much). If you need some great basic mattes but want to save some money, I’d go for this one.
Physician’s Formula Matte Collection Quads
Physician’s Formula Matte Quads (about $7 each) are also a great alternative, though not as versatile as the Sonia Kashuk palette. The formula is pretty similar to Sonia Kashuk, not as smooth as Urban Decay but it certainly has decent enough color payoff and blendability. There are 3 quads and they include sponge-tip applicators but no mirror.
Overall Opinion
Pros:
- Good color payoff
- Lasted a really long time over Urban Decay Primer Potion
- Good selection of colors for everyday, natural looks
- Great compact packaging for travel, doesn’t take up a lot of space
Cons:
- Could be a bit easier to blend given how close the shades are to each other (but it does blend thoroughly)
- Ever so slightly powdery
Worth Buying?
Yes. The quality of this palette is up there. There are a few minor cons but nothing that would prevent me from buying it. I think it’s going to be best for those that prefer cooler colors, taupes, and pinks (like those that had more affection for the UD Naked 2 and 3 palettes). The packaging is what seals the deal and differentiates it from other neutral matte palettes, with it’s smart use of space and great compact size.
