The Holiday Collection: Urban Decay Naked Palette

Next up on the Holiday Collection is one of the most popular makeup items this year: the Urban Decay Naked Palette.  This palette, full of 12 universally-flattering shades, was one of the hardest items to get your hands on, until recently that is.

I got mine back in March 2011 (see my post on it here) after stalking the Sephora website for months.  Urban Decay doesn’t ship to Canada online and my local Sephora store was always out of the palette, so when they got it in online I dropped everything that I was doing and ordered me one.

Don't slam down a hairspray bottle on the top of this product, my mirror is cracked because of it!

This palette is seriously everything it lives up to. Just Google “Urban Decay Naked Palette” and you will find YouTube videos, blog posts, etc. all raving about the product.  This palette was my first foray into Urban Decay shadows and I have to say, I love them!  They are just so pigmented and easy to apply and blend; a wonder to work with!

The product comes with 12 colours (0.05 ounces) as well as their Good Karma eyeshadow brush and a travel-sized Urban Decay Primer Potion.  It retails for $48 USD ($56 CDN I believe).  The colours range from light (Virgin) to black and grey (Creep and Gunmetal respectively).  You have every colour here to create a natural look, a smoky eye, a bronze eye, etc. I also often use the colour Buck to fill in my eyebrows.  You know when you get a eyeshadow palette and there are a few “fun” colours thrown in that aren’t wearable for everyday?  Yeah, with this palette, that is not a problem.

The shadows are also in an abundance of different formulas.  For examples, there are some matte colours (Naked and Buck), some glitters (Sidecar and Creep) and some metallics (Half Baked and Smog).  If you are just starting off with makeup or if you are looking for the perfect palette, this is the one, look no further. So why would this be a great holiday gift?  Well, there is a reason that it was super hard to come by for a year.  Like I mentioned, these are wearable colours and you can mix them to create more shades.  When I travel I often just take this one palette because you can create so many different looks with it.  When I’m feeling lazy I’ll often just apply Sin on my lids, Naked or Buck in my crease, and Virgin as a highlight; it’s a natural “I’m not wearing any makeup but I actually am” kind of look.  

Aside from the palette you also get a eyeshadow brush and a mini version of the company’s Primer Potion.  The eyeshadow brush isn’t that great in my opinion, it’s very stiff and I don’t find that it applies the colour very well.  I often use it.  When the palette first came out it came with a double-ended 24/7 liner in Zero and Whiskey (black and brown) which I would have so preferred over the eyeshadow brush. However, because of the high-demand for the product Urban Decay couldn’t keep up with making them so they replaced the eyeliner with the brush.  As for the Primer Potion, I use this product on a daily basis so a travel-sized version definitely gets good use.

The Naked Palette is available on Sephora online and I have actually seen the palette stocked at my local Sephora.  If you live in the United States you can also order it from the Urban Decay website.  If you want to buy it as a gift for someone or yourself I recommend picking it up rather soon if you see it in stores.  It’s literally been out of stock at my local store for like a year.  There are dupes of it out there by other companies, like Two Faced Naked Eye Soft and Sexy Eyeshadow Collection, which is also a good palette, but with the UD one you get more shadows and little extras.  Plus, I’m the kind of person who always goes with the original.

Have you tried Urban Decay’s Naked Palette?  Is it on your holiday list?