Hello everyone!
As a beauty junkie, I experiment with my looks from time to time using several makeup brands and it’s through these experiences that I discovered the cosmetics lines that would be the mainstay in my beauty regime. For instance, I rely on MAC lipsticks to give my lips colour but when it comes to eye makeup, I switch to none other than Urban Decay to give my peepers some depth (though Tarte and Too Faced are creeping up my list, that’s a different story for another post 😀 *hint*).
I remember owning my first eyeshadow palette 3 years ago when I started out on (proper) makeup. It wasn’t a full colour palette because I didn’t know how to work with bold shades. I wanted colours that were more neutral and easier to blend with (as I think I suck pretty much at colour combination). Therefore, I eventually decided on Naked 2 which was the latest palette from UD then.
Fast forward to 2015, I have more than 10 eyeshadow palettes from various brands in my possession. But those of UD are still my ultimate holy grail because of their great pigmentation and good mix of matte and shimmery shades. Plus, UD is known to be cruelty-free and vegan, including their complimentary brushes that come with their full palettes! So what’s not to love about UD? 🙂
Of course, the highlight of this post isn’t my vast collection of eyeshadows, but the latest Naked eyeshadow palette rolled out by UD this summer! Nope, it isn’t Naked 4 (it’s ok, that’s what I thought too). It’s the Smoky palette!
Smoky? *scratches head* Doesn’t UD already have it long ago?
No, dearies, it’s not the Smoked palette. I know, I know. It is a little confusing but trust me, you will catch on because these two products are worlds apart! I will go into that later. But first..
The familiar font of NAKED on the packaging that immediately catches your attention
Back
Unveiling what’s inside the box (minus the faux flowers of course hehehe)
This palette comes with a lookbook with detailed steps on achieving a pair of sultry and smoky eyes in 4 ways!
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette (US$53/ S$83)
Along with the truckload of samples I got from Sephora.com! Key in code “HOTHAIR” upon checkout to get them 🙂
This purchase made me so happy because of all the freebies! But I could have gotten a bag of many mini branded fragrances instead if not for the fact that alcohol-based products are prohibited for air shipment -_- Dammit, why don’t the Sephora outlets in Singapore shower their customers with as many samples as their US counterpart? 😕 *greedy*
Back of the palette
Side of the palette
The transparent case is made of hard, uniform plastic material featuring floating smoke effect to exude a sense of mystery. On the surface are the words “Naked Smoky” printed in gunmetal foil. It also has a magnetic closure for convenience .
Eyeshadows and full-size mirror
The Naked Smoky palette consists of High (champagne shimmer with micro-glitter), Dirtysweet (medium bronze), Radar (metallic taupe with iridescent micro-glitter), Armor (metallic silver-taupe with tonal sparkle), Slanted (light metallic gray), Dagger (medium charcoal with micro-shimmer), Black Market (jet-black satin), Smolder (deep plum-taupe), Password (cool taupe matte), Whiskey (rich brown matte), Combust (soft pink-taupe) and Thirteen (light beige satin).
Swatch
My favourites are Dirtysweet, Radar, Dagger, Smolder, Password, Whiskey and Combat. Great neutrals, don’t you think?
With High (brow bone), Thirteen (base), Bittersweet (corners), Combust, Radar, Daggar and Whiskey, primed with Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer Potion.
All my Naked palettes prior to this purchase have been extremely satisfactory but for the Smoky palette? Not quite. The colour payoff for the mattes (e.g. Smolder and Password) are mostly weak and sheer although they are generally darker than those in Naked 1, 2 and 3. I had to apply at least 3 layers to make the colours show. But having said that, you may enjoy this palette if you have issues working with eyeshadows that appear too pigmented.
The shimmery ones, on the other hand, have impressive consistency and the glitters are very micro and evenly distributed. The metallic finish for Bittersweet and Armor are too frosty for my liking but the rest are rather muted. Never thought I would say this but I really prefer the shimmery to the matte ones for this palette!
One thing about the eyeshadows that stood out was the fallout. I mean, the very minimal fallout, perhaps because of the thinner texture of the eyeshadows. I usually have my eyes done so that I can cover the fallout with my foundation thereafter but nope, nothing much to conceal! I guess UD finally hit the nail on the head this time!
Palette comparison with Smoked palette
Swatch comparison against Smoked with just 1-2 swipes
The Smoked shades are a lot more pigmented and heavy (even the lightest matte ones!) as you can see.
Moving on to the complimentary dual-ended eyeshadow brush, the bristles are similar to what you have in the first 3 Naked palettes – smooth to the touch of a finger but slightly prickly on the lids because they are too sturdy. I don’t really use the provided brush anyway so I’m not bothered by it.
Naked Smoky Dual-ended Brush
Naked Smoky Dual-ended Brush with smoke effect
Smoky Smudger Brush on one end
Tapered Crease Brush on the other
On the whole, this palette is a good investment if you’re looking for a set of not-too-heavy shades to do your smoked eyes. The colours are relatively easy to work with (except that the mattes could be a bit more pigmented) and I’m always very tempted to blend all of them on my lids (HAHA, Singaporean kiasu mentality, I guess. Anyone else does the same??). It’s definitely way better than the Smoked palette which I felt were too dense to the extent that it gave me panda eyes on many occasions and I ended up having wipe some off (and ruining my makeup in the process).
Is there ever going to be an end to this Naked series? I mean, since we already have bronze-hued, taupe-hued, rose-gold and now smoky-toned palettes, I wonder what’s going to come next! What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 🙂
Thanks for reading, lovelies!
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