Urban Decay’s Naked palettes are bestsellers, and rightfully so. They create endless options for day and night looks, and thanks to their nude color palettes, work well for all age groups and work on all skin tones. The eyeshadows are pigmented, soft, and apply smoothly. All product descriptions are courtesy of Ulta. The four palettes are $54.00 each.
Naked
The original Naked palette includes a beautiful selection of primarily warm neutrals. The shades range from light champagnes to dark grays and come in a variety of textures including glitter, matte, satin, and shimmer. The shades are: Virgin (a cool very light brown with slight shimmer), Sin (champagne shimmer), Sidecar (beige with silver micro-glitter), Buck (light brown matte), Half-Baked (gold shimmer), Smog (dark bronze shimmer), Darkhorse (dark brown shimmer), Toasted (antique copper shimmer), Hustle (purple taupe satin), Creep (black shimmer with gold sparkle), and Gunmetal (dark silver shimmer with silver micro-glitter). These shades can be worn in a daring smoky eye, or office appropriate lighter tones. In particular, the Sin shade works wonders for making those with fair skin look less tired. This palette works best for those with warm skin undertones, brown eyes, or brown hair. It does have more shimmer than the newer palettes, so if you like sparkle this may be your best option.
Naked 2
Like the original, Naked 2 has 12 eyeshadow shades. This collection is less warm in tone, and a bit more subdued than Naked. The shades are: Foxy (cream matte), Half Baked (gold shimmer, slightly different from the one found in the original Naked), Bootycall (light beige shimmer), Chopper (copper shimmer with silver micro-glitter), Tease (creamy taupe matte), Snakebite (dark bronze shimmer), Suspect (light gold beige shimmer), Pistol (light ashy brown shimmer), Verve (bright silver shimmer), YDK (cool bronze shimmer), Busted (dark brown shimmer), and Blackout (pure black matte). Again, this palette can create either day or night looks. The browns found in this palette are overall more metallic and cool-toned than those in the Naked original. It works best on those with cool skin tones. It’s less sparkly than the original and may be a bit more of a sophisticated option.
Naked 3
The Naked 3 palette features rose-hued shadows, venturing a bit away from the more classic neutrals of the first two palettes. It’s important to note that all of these shadows are only found in the palette, and are not sold individually. The shades are: Strange (pale blush matte satin), Dust (pale metallic pink shimmer with iridescent micro-glitter), Burnout (light peach satin), Limit (light dusty rose matte), Buzz (metallic rose shimmer with silver micro-glitter), Trick (light rose-gold shimmer with micro-sparkle), Nooner(medium mauve matte), Liar (medium metallic mauve shimmer), Factory (pinky-brown satin), Mugshot (metallic taupe with slight pink shift shimmer), Darkside (deep taupe satin), and Darkheart (smoky black matte with rose micro-sparkle). This palette has about an equal mix of shimmer and matte shades and works great on all skin tones. However, if you have green or hazel eyes, this palette will really make them pop.
Naked Smoky
The newest installment in the Naked line, Naked Smoky is meant for smoky eyes, though it can be used for a more subdued look. Because it is meant for heavier looks, the shadows are all very pigmented and very easy to blend. It also makes things easy for those who have no idea how to work with dark colors, as it comes with a lookbook of various tutorials, as well as a double ended brush that is perfect for making smoky looks. The shades are: High (light champagne shimmer with micro-glitter), Dirtysweet (light bronze), Radar (taupe shimmer with micro-glitter), Armor (silver shimmer with sparkle), Slanted (light gray shimmer), Dagger (medium charcoal with micro-shimmer), Black Market (black satin), Smolder (deep plumb-taupe), Password (cool taupe matte), Whiskey (brown matte), Combust (light pink-taupe matte), and Thirteen (light beige satin). Overall, most of the shades are matte or satin and therefore works well for those who prefer less sparkle in their looks. The shades in this palette tend to have a cooler slant, though it would work for warm skin tones as well.