About a good month ago Urban Decay released the Naked Ultimate Basics and I walked into my local Sephora the day it was available in store and I was informed when I purchased it that I was the first person who came looking for it and bought it! They expected it to sell out by the end of the day and I was glad that I was able to get my hands on it.
It took me so long to get this review up because of the number of sponsored posts that I have to do this month plus all the other things that went on with my daily life.
The Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics promises 12, new, all-matte shadows that everybody has been begging for for what seems like forever.
The eyeshadows in this palette is also described as having a velvety texture and rich color. Honestly, I don't think this is true at all. Although these shadows are pigmented, I don't think they have the same texture as the other Urban Decay shadows. They are still as good and high quality but they don't have that smooth, velvety texture as the others. It is still smooth but slightly dry in comparison to the other Naked palette shadows. Good thing about the Ultimate Basics, all shadows are tightly packed in the pan and they are not dusty and doesn't have kick offs and little to no fall outs at all during application. In my book that is already an A+.
The packaging is phenomenal as expected from Urban Decay. It is also lightweight and even if it is a bit bigger than what I am used to in palettes, it is pretty good for traveling.
Inside is a lovely, wide mirror that stands up on it's own so you can set it down on a table and do your makeup. Very convenient if you like to bring this around with you when you go on a weekend trip or traveling since you don't have to hold the mirror since it stands on it's own.
The palette also comes with a short, dual ended brush. One end is a fluffy eyeshadow brush that I find great for applying an all over lid color and brow bone highlight. It is soft and fluffy enough to blend shadows that you have packed on the lid although I don't find it great for extreme blending needs. The other side feature a short, dense brush that is great for smudging and smoking out dark shadows. It is perfect for shadow application underneath the lower lash line. This dual ended brush would be everything you need if you want a light wash of color but if you do a complex look, you would definitely need the help of at least one flat brush and one blending brush.
As I mentioned earlier, this palette consists of 12, all new, matte shades, with the exception of one which is said to be a demi-matte formula.
Blow is a light nude demi-matte shadow. It basically is a cream, soft-satin shade. Although Urban Decay promised an all-matte palette and this one isn't exactly matte, I'm not mad at it since I always like a brighter, slightly shimmery inner eye corner highlight and this fits the bill perfectly.
Nudie is a soft pink-nude matte. On the swatch above, this shade barely show up on my skin. You might thin that since this shade doesn't really show up on a fair-medium skin tone there is no use for this eyeshadow, but it is actually a great shade to lay all over your lids before you start doing your makeup look. It makes blending for all the other eyeshadows you lay on top of it easier.
Commando is a light taupe-brown matte. This shade is still light for my skin tone and it barely shows up too. It is slightly pink on me but it is a great transition shade.
Tempted is a pale brown matte. This is one of my favorite blending shadows from this palette. Still light on my skin tone but definitely comes out more than Nudie and Commando. It might be light swatched but it definitely comes out when you use it with a fluffy blending brush. Again, great transition shade.
Instinct is a medium pink-taupe matte. This is like the baby brother of Nooner from the Naked 3 palette. It is way lighter than Nooner but in the same family.
Lethal is a reddish brown matte. This shade is a lovely all over the lid shade if you want a gradient smokey eye, or it can go over the outer V of your lids to add more depth. It goes slightly plum-my on my skin tone and does come out darker on the lid than on the pan.
Pre-Game is a pale yellow matte that is very similar to Foxy from Naked Basics 1 and the Naked 2 Palette. This slightly lighter than Foxy and is great as a matte brow bone highlight. It gives the brow bone a lifted look.
Extra Bitter is a burnt orange matte shade. This is my favorite color out of all the shades in this palette. This scream fall. It surely reminds me of the leaves during the fall season. This can either be an all over lid shade or a warm transition color.
Faith is a medium warm brown matte. I lovely this color together with Tempted and Lockout because they are in the same family of brown and they make any makeup look put together.
Lockout is a rich neutral brown matte. It is indeed more neutral than all the other brown shades but it is a lovely shade. Again, a great blending shadow.
Magnet is a smoky gray matte. If you love neutral grays this is your shade. This is my least favorite shadow just because I'm not a huge fan of gray eye shadows in general although I can see this working really well with Darkside, a more shimmery gray from the Naked 3 palette and Pistol from Naked 2.
Blackjack is a warm black matte. It is warmer and not as black as all the other black shadows from Urban Decay. The truest black from UD is Blackout and Crave from the Basics 1 is more brown-black.
I love the fact that these shadows can be built up to your desired intensity and you can also go very light handed with it. It is such a perfect palette for beginners because of this. For pros, this is a great complimentary palette if you already have a lot of eyeshadows and palettes since it is all matte and neutral - you can definitely find your blending and transition shades in this palette.Is this a must buy? Honestly, I don't think so. If you are a makeup junkie, a collector or a beginner this is a palette that you should buy but if you are someone who owns too many palettes already with really good matte transition shades in it, you might want to look at other makeup products to buy rather than to get this palette.
I love this palette and I have been using this for the past month since I got it but I honestly think that there are other palettes out there that you should pick up. Unless you really just want an all matte, neutral palette.
The Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette is still my all time favorite palette the Juvia's Place Nubian Palette comes in second and the Urban Decay Ultimate Basics comes in third for me.
