The latest addition to Urban Decay’s Naked line is the Naked Smoky Palette ($54 for 12 shadows 1.3g each + a dual ended brush). I think it’s a glorious palette and am completely over the moon with it. I had been counting the days to the release date as I’m a huge fan of all the Naked Eyeshadow Palettes (yes, all of them). When I saw previews I was worried this might be too cool-toned for my olive skin. I usually need a mix of some warm shadows otherwise colors look very grey on me. The Naked Smoky Palette has a really good mix of neutral and cool shades, all of which layer beautifully together.
Naked Smoky has 12 shades in a magnetic mirrored compact. Out of all the Naked 12 Pan Palettes, this release has the best packaging. It’s sleek with a super modern look and sturdy feel. The brush is also the best one I’ve tried out of the three palettes I own. One end has a small domed tip which is really quite incredible for applying the darker shades along the upper lashes. The other end is fluffy and picks up a good amount of product and blends nicely.
The shades range from high shimmers, one glitter, a few satiny shimmer shades, and four matte colors. All the Urban Decay colors I’ve tried (palettes and singles) are typically very soft and feel buttery smooth when you apply them. They’re almost like velvet and sometimes there is a bit of debris that can fall off the brush but once color is on the lid it stays put. The textures in this palette seem to be a bit harder than most other Urban Decay shadows I’ve tried making some of them colors a bit sheerer on their own, but pigment and quality is still very good.
- High is a highly pigmented pretty champagne beige shimmer (it’s a bit darker and less pink than Sin)
- Dirtysweet is a pigmented warm copper tan frost with shimmer flecks (it’s like Half Baked but a bit more muted)
- Radar is semi-sheer warm bronze shimmer, texture is bit harder compared to the others making it a bit sheer but this one still has good pigment
- Armor is the only glitter shade, it’s a glorious grey taupe shimmer with silver glitter flecks, there is fall out when you apply it (it will fall off the brush) but once it’s on the lids, it stays put
- Slanted is a sheer silver with a blue undertone, it makes a lovely sheer wash or a good blending color to soften the darker colors, if you want a high impact silver you might find this lacking
- Dagger is a satin grey black, there’s a tiny bit of shimmer, but it looks more matte on me, it also has a hard texture but I like this applied with a detail brush over eyeliner to intensify a smoky look
- Black Market is a muted black satin, this one is also harder in texture making it a softer smoky black, I like to use it with the small end of the Smoky brush to create a blurred line across the upper lash line, it’s a black that is goof-proof if you apply in small strokes
- Smolder is a medium pigmented deep purple shimmer, this one works best over a creamy primer or creamy eyeshadow as a base to help bring out the color
- Password is a matte grey brown with a smooth texture, I like layering this on top of other shadows to create a soft smoky gradiant
- Whiskey is a warm matte brown that an ultra smooth texture
- Combust is a greyed mauve pink matte which is so pretty on the lids
- Thirteen is a super pigmented pale matte pink
I pulled the other three Naked Palettes for comparisons of the colors and brushes:
Swatched on Chanel Beige 40 skin:
Brush comparisons:
Eye swatches below with High all over the lids, Dirty Sweet + Armor layered and a tiny bit of Black Market applied wet as a liner over Zero 24/7 Eyeliner
Based on feedback on other reviews I’ve done on the Urban Decay Naked
Palettes, I think your mileage may vary depending on your shimmer preferences.
Many of the shades in the palettes have a frost or metallic finish but I
find them very wearable for even conservative makeup lovers. That being
said if you can’t wear shadows with a lot of shimmer, I
recommend the Naked Basics, Naked2 Basics or Edward Bess Matte Artiste if you want a good palette of neutrals.
Palettes, I think your mileage may vary depending on your shimmer preferences.
Many of the shades in the palettes have a frost or metallic finish but I
find them very wearable for even conservative makeup lovers. That being
said if you can’t wear shadows with a lot of shimmer, I
recommend the Naked Basics, Naked2 Basics or Edward Bess Matte Artiste if you want a good palette of neutrals.
Out of the four 12-pan Naked Palettes, my favorites are still tied between Naked2 and Naked3. The new Naked Smoky is quite amazing and since I really like the others I find it a must-have even though I could probably create something similar by mixing and layering the others. That being said the colors are unique and I like that there are no repeat shades in this palette compared to the other ones. I almost always bring one of the Naked Palettes with me when I travel – I find them versatile and I think the neutral beige/tan shimmers are really pretty. Each palette has enough colors to take a look from day to night, for any occasion. The look I did above is super natural with the lighter shades, but you can layer the darker colors for a smoky look. I give this one a huge thumbs up – it’s the perfect naked version of a smoky palette.
You can find the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette at all Urban Decay retailers now. I ordered mine online from Urban Decay. You can also find it at Nordstrom, Sephora, Ulta and Macy’s.
Have you tried this yet? Do you have a favorite Naked Palette?
