Urban Decay's Naked Basics Ultimate Palette Review and Swatches

Happy Friday, ya'll! I for one am very relieved that the end of the week is here. It has been a crazy one. Also, my thoughts and prayers are with anyone impacted by hurricane Matthew. I live in an area where many evacuees are staying and coming through and I can't imagine going through that.


Everyone lost their mind when Urban Decay released their Naked Basics Ultimate Palette. For some reason,  I have never been a huge fan of Urban Decay palettes. I'm not exactly sure why. But this one interested  me. I think it was because I fell in love with the pictures of Extra Bitter. You'll see why in a minute.

This palette comes with twelve matte shades in warm and cool tones. There are more warmer tones, though. Here are the shades and their descriptions:

• Blow: creamy beige (this one isn't a true matte)
• Nudie: light pinky nude
• Commando: pale taupe brown
• Tempted: light cool brown
• Instinct: pinky taupe
• Lethal: dark plum brown
• Pre-Game: light yellow
• Extra Bitter: burnt orange
• Faith: medium warm brown
• Lockout: neutral brown
• Magnet: true grey
• Blackjack: black

The first row contains mostly cooler tones, at least in terms of appearance. Once swatched and applied on the eye, they appear to be warmer. The texture of the shadows is great. They are very buttery and creamy, as is typical of the Urban Decay formula.  The only downside is that they produce a TON of powder kick up in the palette. They create a mess and I am constantly wiping down the inside of the palette. Luckily. that does not equate to a lot of fallout on the face. Without primer, the pigment of most of the colors isn't that great. But primer really helps with the color payoff you get. I still find myself having to layer them a little bit, though. I also find them to be a little bit patchy and they can be a little difficult to blend out. I have to put more effort into getting a good look out of them vs some of my other matte shades. For instance, I compared the Lorac matte shadows and the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral Palette to this one. The Lorac mattes are a lot easier to work with and I even think the Sonia Kashuk Palette is a better option, especially if you are on a budget. Even though the quality isn't anything amazing, I do like the palette and I will get use out of it.
I used a brush for my swatches (Japonesque 231) and I included swatches with and without primer. I'll indicate the captions which is which.

Without primer.

With primer.

Without primer.

With primer.

The packaging for the palette is gorgeous, but it feels a little flimsy to me. I get the feeling that if I dropped it, it wouldn't hold up very well. The palette itself is a lovely gold with a stunning design on the front cover. It does have a pretty nice mirror and it also comes with a dual ended brush. The brush is functional and it works pretty well but I still prefer to use my regular brushes.
This palette is $54 at Sephora, Ulta, and Urban Decay's site. If you want an all matte palette, I think you would be better off to get the Sonia Kashuk palette for $20. Or, spend a few more dollars and get the Lorac Mega 3, which has a mix of matte and shimmer.
Like I said, I do like this palette. I just don't think it is anything amazing.
I am playing catch up today, so I am hoping to have some more posts up soon, including a ColourPop haul and try on.
See you soon!