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Product Description
What it is: The fourth iteration of the Urban Decay Naked Palette which focuses on shades used in smoky eyeshadow looks. The shades are mainly in the neutral family but they vary widely which allows for looks ranging from extremely subtle to highly dramatic.
Price/Quantity: $54 for a total of 0.6 oz / 15.6 grams
Availability: Urban Decay, Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s
Colors/Finishes:
- High is a frosty champagne with silver sparkles.
- Sin from UDN1 is similar in tone but isn’t as sparkly.
- Sidecar from UDN1 has the same kind of finish but is darker and more bronze-toned.
- Sin from UDN2 is much lighter and less frosty.
- Chopper for UDN2 is much more copper-toned but similar in finish.
- Suspect from UDN2 is more bronze-toned and less frosty.
- Dust from UDN3 is pinker.
- Burnout is also pink but less frosty.
- Buzz and Trick are rosier in tone and have different finishes.
- Dirtysweet is a metallic light bronze.
- Half Baked from UDN1/UDN2 is more yellow tone and a bit more reflective.
- Radar is a shimmery bronze.
- Smog from UDN1 is more yellow-toned.
- Snakebite from UDN2 is very close but just a smidge darker.
- Factory from UDN3 is more pink-toned.
- Armor is a frosty gunmetal with silver sparkles.
- Pistol from UDN2 is less frosty and has a hint of a warmer tone.
- Slanted is a medium-dark silver shimmer.
- Gunmetal from UDN1 is very similar in tone and finish.
- Dagger is a stormy dark grey with micro-shimmer. There weren’t any shades like this in previous palettes.
- Black Market is a satin black.
- It’s about as black as Blackout from UDN2 which is more matte.
- Creep from UDN1 is much more sheer and has micro-shimmer in it.
- Crave from UDNB1 is more matte and has more of a brown tone to it.
- Smolder is deep greyed purple with a satin finish.
- Hustle from UDN1 is more bronze and more sparkly.
- Busted from UDN2 is a bit closer but still not as purple.
- Darkside from UDN3 is much more sheer. Blackheart uses similar colors but the finish is completely different (matte grey base with plummy/purple sparkles).
- Password is a medium-deep matte grey.
- Undone from UDNB2 is very similar in shade but has more of a dusty/powdery formula.
- Whiskey is a medium-dark neutral matte brown.
- Faint from UDNB1 is a bit lighter and has more of a dusty/powdery formula.
- Primal from UDNB2 is more grey-toned and has more of a dusty/powdery formula.
- Combust is a light peachy/pink matte.
- Naked from UDN1 is more yellow/brown-toned.
- Tease from UDN2 is darker and more mauve-toned.
- Limit from UDN3 is pinker and has a slightly dusty/powdery formula.
- Nooner is darker and more purple-toned.
- Walk of Shame form UDNB1 is much lighter and more neutral.
- Naked 2 is more taupey and a tad darker. Stark from UDNB2 is lighter and more peachy.
- Cover is darker and more red-toned.
- Thirteen is a pale satin-matte ivory.
- Virgin from UDN1 is similar in tone but is more shimmery.
- Foxy from UDN2 is more yellow-toned and less pigmented.
- Strange from UDN3 is slightly more pink-toned but similar in finish and color payoff.
- Venus from UDNB1 is more shimmery. Walk of Shame is darker and more peachy.
- Skimp is more satiny and warmer-toned.
Packaging: The packaging is made of a translucent grey plastic with dark swirls resembling ribbons of smoke. It closes shut with a magnet and has a nice large mirror inside the lid. A double ended synthetic brush was included, one end having a medium size crease brush and the other a smaller precision dome brush. The brush is really nice and adds value to the palette, I feel, because it works well particularly for smoky looks where you need to blend A LOT and precisely place color.
Smell/Fragrance: Just a very faint mineral smell if I get up close to the powder. Otherwise, I don’t notice any smell at all.
Performance
Application: Most shades are pretty straightforward to work with. Armor has some glitter fallout so if you want to use this shade, you probably want to do your foundation/concealer afterwards. The darker matte shades take some time to blend out properly and do look better over a primer. They can look patchy at times and it helps to build up the color in layers rather that slapping on a whole lot of color at once. I’ve tried this palette with Nars Pro Prime and Urban Decay Primer Potion and the latter worked much better with these shades. UD Primer Potion has a slightly drier feel once applied which helps alleviate any patchiness that could happen with a more sticky/emollient type of eyeshadow base.
Texture: The matte shades on the right have a nice smooth texture which transfers easily and they aren’t powdery or dusty. The shimmers on the left are quite creamy but can bunch and flake up if applied heavily. Three shades in the middle (Black Market, Dagger, and Smolder) are on the drier, firmer side.
Pigmentation: Most shades have excellent pigmentation. Three of the shades (Black Market, Dagger, and Smolder) have a drier formula and don’t transfer as easily but they build up well with minimal fallout for being such dark colors.
Longevity: I only got 4-5 hours of wear before noticing some slight creasing on unprimed eyes. Over primer, these lasted 8 hours.
Overall Opinion
So this is the 4th version of these palettes and I pretty much decided immediately that I was going this get this. As the first reviews came out (before the palette was available to the public), I saw several bloggers and YouTubers make comments along the lines of:
“It’s a nice palette but it’s not something you really need.”
I think they are right, not because of the quality (which is quite good), but because there are so many Naked Palettes now. I bought it partly because I liked the shade selection and partly because I had the urge to have a complete collection.
Pros:
- Most shades have good color payoff and apply well
- Enough matte shades for a completely matte look
- You can create an everyday natural look or a very dramatic look
- The included brush (especially the small dome brush end) is super helpful for placing color precisely
Cons:
- It might have been nice if, in place of Combust, they included something slightly darker or another shade in addition to it
- Smolder is one shade I don’t feel I get much use out of. It looks more grey than purple and there is already plenty of grey in this palette.
- The dark matte shades are a bit tricky to apply and get to look well-blended (but it is doable)
Worth Buying? Yes but only if the shades are what you are looking for. It’s not the most universally flattering selection of shades but that’s why they have several Naked palettes to choose from. It’s a good quality palette and offers variety in terms of what kinds of looks you can get out of it, and the price is fair for what you get. Those of you that prefer warm colors on your eyes will probably not get much use out of this. The shades are neutral-to-cool but not so cool that the colors will look out of place on a warmer skin tone.
