Let's Get Naked...

No no no, not THAT kind of naked! (Although if you are Jensen Ackles, then that kind of naked is definitely allowed. Or preferred. Actually, make that mandatory... Anyway, as you were...!) I'm talking about THIS kind of Naked...

With Urban Decay recently releasing what can only be called the mother of all nakedness, the Naked Vault, I was inspired to dig out my own Naked palettes to review for you. I have been using these for a few years now, and they have become a staple in my makeup arsenal. 


NAKED 1

Way back when the first Naked palette came out, I was already an Urban Decay fan. Their crazy colours and the incredible colour payoff of their eyeshadows had me converted. So when the first palette was released I just knew I had to try it. I love Urban Decay's bright colours and sparkly shades, but I can't wear those everyday, so I knew this palette filled with glorious warm, golden tones was set to become a staple for me. And a few years later, it is still one of my favourite and most used products. I'm not alone either - this is one of the best selling palettes OF ALL TIME. Crazy. 
This is a brown velvet case, with magnetic closure and a small mirror inside. One drawback - the velvet material attracts dust and dirt like nobody's business. It is a warm toned palette, with 2 matte (Naked and Buck) and 10 shimmer shades. Despite the lack of a black here, it isn't just for subtle looks or day wear - the range of light to dark shades means that this is a palette that has your back, no matter what the occasion. You can create stunning looks with this alone. I didn't think they could do better than this.



NAKED 2

But then along came Naked 2. Did I need it? I questioned - I already have Naked 1, are the shades that different? Do I need MORE neutral eyeshadow? And of course, I had to have it. 

What sold it for me was that this palette is more neutral/cool toned than Naked 1, and the light to dark contrast is more pronounced, lending itself to slightly more dramatic looks. This comes in a heavy metal case with clasp closure, and a large mirror inside. it has 3 matte (Foxy, Tease, and Blackout), and 9 shimmer shades. The shadows are just as awesome as I have come to expect from Urban Decay. Creamy, super blendable, pigmented and long lasting. The killer blow that this palette delivers, in my opinion, is a STUNNING black - so pigmented, matte, and so SO black. It is perfect. And I stood back and thought that my collection was complete. And it was good. 


NAKED 3

AND THEN ... in barged Naked 3, waving its arms and screaming "Look at me, in all my rose gold beauty!" 

As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it - it's pinky rose gold tones called out to me and...I was gone. This palette feels luxurious, girly, flirty and just pretty god damn perfect. I LOVE rose gold, but always thought that pink toned shades wouldn't suit me. How wrong I was. These muted, dusky pink and rose gold shades are to die for, creating a beautifully subtle and pretty smoky eye with ease. It has 3 matte (Strange, Limit and Nooner) and 9 shimmer shades. Nooner is my favourite crease and outer v shade, and is wonderfully creamy to blend. The black with a hint of pink shimmer is gorgeous also - in the photo with flash above you can see how the tiny flecks of pink catch the light. Similar to Naked 2, this comes in a heavy metal case with clasp closure, and a large mirror.



So...do you want to get Naked?

At £37 each, the price of these palettes may seem steep at first, but when you think that one single Urban Decay eyeshow costs £14, and in this palette you get 12 of them, it doesn't work out too bad at all! Also, some of the shades are unique to these palettes, and you won't find them in the ordinary Urban Decay lineup. 

Each palette contains mattes, pearls, shimmers and glitters, so you can literally create a whole eye look with just one palette. The eyeshadows are of typical Urban Decay quality - meaning they are creamy, velvety, super pigmented and really easy to blend. 

When I bought my palettes, they each came with a free sample of another Urban Decay product - the awesome Eye Primer Potion with Naked 1 and 3, a lipgloss with Naked 2 (I'm not sure if this is a permanent thing?) You also get a high quality Urban Decay brush - a flat shader brush with Naked 1 and a double ended "Good Karma" brush with Naked 2 and 3. These are worth about £15 each, and the brushes you get with 2 and 3 are only available as double ended brushes in these palettes. 



Aaand on to the question that everyone wants answered: Which one should I buy?

I would say that this is all down to personal taste and preferences - no particular palette has "better" colours than another, it just depends on what shades suit you. I bought all three because I love palettes and can't resist a bit of Urban Decay, but in reality you probably only need one of these palettes. 

If you prefer or suit warm tones then Naked 1 is for you. 

If you are more of a cool toned person - Naked 2 is your bestie. If you are a neutral kind of person who wears both cool and warm tones, then it just depends which shades you wear the most. Both are beautiful, but I don't think that you need both 1 and 2. Personally I reach for Naked 2 over 1 more often than not.

I feel that Naked 3 is the most different - there are no shared shades with 1 or 2 (which both contain Half Baked) and there is less of a light/dark contrast here with more mid toned shades. I think you will either have.to.get this palette, or not be bothered about it, depending on how you feel about the dusky pink overtones. Another note - I love it, but I am fairly pale (NC20 ish) and I don't think half of these shades would work on darker skins.


Do you own one (or more!) of these palettes? Which is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!

**Disclaimer: all products featured here were purchased by me, and all opinions are my own. This is not an affiliate post, I was not paid for this review. Any links contained here are not affiliate links. I am not a health or beauty professional. The photographs used in this post are my own. Please see my Disclaimer page for full deets on all the boring stuff**