The wait is over! I finally have the Naked 3 in my makeup collection!
Urban Decay has us all fooled because nobody anticipated that they would release this palette. With their holiday collection out (Vice 2, Ocho Loco 2, Shattered and Anarchy Face Cases) and releasing their Revolution Lipstick and other sets, we all thought that UD would end 2013 with just that. Well, surprise, surprise! Naked 3 came out!
Boasting 12 brand new, rose-hued eyeshadows, the Naked 3 Palette is a great addition to the Naked collection. The original Naked leans more to the warm bronzy shades and the Naked 2 leans more to the cooler side of the spectrum. Naked 3 is a good middle ground for the warmth and the coolness of the previous Naked palettes with it's pink based shadows.
Before heading on to the actual shadows and their swatches, I wanted to point out a few things I've noticed with this palette.
Whereas the Naked 1 included a deluxe sample size of the Original Urban Decay Primer Potion and the Naked 2 included a deluxe sample size of their Lip Junkie Lip Gloss, the Naked 3 includes "sample pods" of the four Urban Decay Primer Potion: Original, Eden, Sin and Anti-Aging. It says on the box packaging that each sample pod holds about a week's worth of primer.
Personally, I find this freebie disappointing. Truth be told, I never really used the Lip Junkie Lip Gloss from Naked 2 just because I'm not a huge fan of glosses, but I think it was a really good product to include in the set. The sample of the Orginal UDPP from the Naked Palette I've used up until it was gone completely. Fact is, these sample pods are not really convenient. Once you rip open the seal, you can't seal it back. The next best thing to do is transfer them in some small container, but if you don't have any in hand, then you just have an open sample of primer. Each pod does contain such an adequate amount that will last about a week or more, but I just don't feel comfortable letting a primer sit their in the open for a week. It does seem like it's a good method of trying out all the available primers that they have in a decent amount but I just don't think it's hygienic. Well, this is just my personal take on it.
The packaging for the Naked 3 is beautiful and reminiscent of the Naked 2 palette which came out almost 2 years ago (I'm not so sure anymore!) It's in a tin case that is art-school inspired, with the Naked 3 embossed on it and with grooves and facets on the case that makes it really cool. Because of the tin packaging, the Naked 2 and Naked 3 is great for traveling because it is more sturdy than the Naked 1, plus it has a big mirror inside. I only have one complaint with this packaging, the snaps on my palette is a bit loose. Unlike the Naked 2 palette which I sometimes have to make an effort to open up, this palette's snaps are just loose. It's not really that big of a deal since I can still open and close it properly but I'm just a bit worried that it might not be as sturdy and the packaging is not that of high quality as the Naked 2.
This palette also comes with a dual-ended brush which according to the Urban Decay website is new. Comparing it to the Naked 2 and Vice 2 dual ended brushes, the UD N3 brush seems to be a combination of the two other brushes. On one end, it has a flat shader brush (which is similar if not the same to the N2), and on the other end is a dense shadow brush (which is only a little bit bigger in size to the Vice 2 brush). Both ends of the Naked 3 brush is very usable and great for packing on color. The other end which is thicker, can also be used to blend out the shadows nicely.
Moving on to the actual eyeshadows in this palette, we have here 12 gorgeous shadows. The first time I saw a photo of this palette, I found it strikingly similar to the Naked 2. Perhaps its just because of the packaging. Comparing it side by side, they are two different palettes. For this review, I had to go back to the previous Naked palettes just to check how different and similar all the shades are.
Strange is said to be a pale neutral pink matte-satin but it is indeed "strange" with my skin tone since it comes out as a nice matte cream shade, I honestly see no "neutral pink." Dust is a pale metallic pink shimmer w/iridescent micro-glitter that just falls off a lot like Sidecar from Naked 1 does, but it's still a pretty champagne shade Burnout is described as light pinky-peach satin. It is only a shade warmer than dusk but without the glitters. Limit is a light dusty rose matte which is a great blending color. It is very similar to Naked from N1 but it definitely has more pink to it! Buzz is a metallic rose shimmer w/silver micro-glitter. At first I thought that this would be similar to Toasted from N1 or Chopper from N2, but alas, it is a color unique to Naked 3!
Trick is a light metallic pinky-copper shimmer w/tonal micro-sparkle. The closest shade to it is Chopper from N2 which is a copper shade. Nooner a medium pinky-brown matte, is very close Tease from N2 but is more pinky-brown while Tease is more of a ash-brown. Liar is medium metallic mauve shimmer. It can be the love child of YDK from N1 and Buzz from this palette. Factory is described as a pinky-brown satin. Nope, no similarities on other shadows either. Mugshot metallic taupe shimmer w/slight pink shift. If YDK is paired up with Toasted, I think that this will be the product.
Darkside a deep taupe-mauve satin which I first thought as something similar to Pistol from N2 but it actually isn't.
Blackheart described as a smoky black matte w/rosy red micro-sparkle. I find that the red micro-glitter from this shadow doesn't really show up on the eyes after blending out with a fluffy brush. It's best applied with a finger and the edges ever so lightly blended so that you will be able to see the micro-glitters.
Urban Decay always delivers great quality eyeshadows. They are always soft, highly pigmented and blendable. This palette is extremely different from the other palette even though the shades might look similar. These rose-hued shades would work well with any skin tone and is extremely versatile since you can go from a day time look to a smokey, night time look with it.
Do you really need the Naked 3 if you have the previous palettes? I believe that getting a palette or any product in general is a matter of choice and preference. This palette is surely a great addition to the makeup collection of any makeup junkie. I believe that one person can never have too many neutral shades to choose from so this palette is right up in my alley. If you are someone just starting out or saving money, it's a product that you can definitely pass up if you have either or both of the previous palettes.
For the price of $52 I think it's a pretty fair price for getting 12 shadows. I have gotten a lot of use out of the Naked 1 and 2 and I'm sure I'll be having so much fun with this too.
It's available at the Urban Decay website as well as Beauty.com. Ulta & Sephora also carries them online but it will be on stock in stores on December 12. :)
I hope you enjoyed reading this review and found it helpful!
'Til next time! Always stay pretty!
