Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Review + Swatches!

Originally, I didn’t actually intend on buying Urban Decay’s Naked Ultimate Basics palette for myself but instead as a Christmas present for my mom. I already had a fair few neutral palettes and so it wasn’t something that I was desperate to get my hands on despite being a huge Urban Decay fan. After not initially being blown away from the swatches that I’d seen online, once I actually saw the palette in person I knew I had to add it to my collection.

Despite claiming to be an all-matte palette, it actually contains eleven matte shades and one (hardly noticeable) demi-matte colour, all of which are brand new and exclusive to this particular palette. ‘Extra Bitter’ is the shade that first drew me into the palette; a beautiful, highly pigmented burnt orange perfect for adding warmth and depth to the crease (similar to ‘Terra’ from Illamasqua’s Rose Gold Palette, but with much much more of a muted orange undertone). As I began to use the palette more, I actually found myself dipping into ‘Lethal’ a lot more frequently than any other colour; it’s the perfect rich aubergine with tremendous colour pay off, ideal for intensifying looks and adding drama. For the most part, the velvety smooth texture of the shadows definitely lives up to the high standard that Urban Decay have set over the years. As usual, you also get the added bonus of a brush with this palette; although the blender end does nothing for me, the small shader is perfect for precise lower lash line application. Plus, with a mirror that size who can complain?

(From bottom to stop: Blow, Nudie, Commando, Tempted, Instinct, Lethal, Pre-Game, Extra Bitter, Faith, Lockout, Magnet and Blackjack)

That being said, the Naked Ultimate Basics does have its downfalls. I found ‘Blackjack’ to be quite disappointing as the pigmentation isn’t great and the palette is definitely lacking a deeper brown shade. I do find it fairly difficult to create looks with just this palette alone as the colours aren’t the most diverse (there are quite a lot of lighter shades, some which you can see from the swatches struggle to show up on my fair skin) and more often than not find myself having to dip into others to make a look feel complete.

Overall, I think it’s a great palette to add to your collection if you’re just starting out or you’re like me and feel the need to have collect them all, but not a necessity if you already own a lot of neutrals. And props to Urban Decay for finally giving it’s consumer base the matte based palette it’s been begging for.

Check it out for yourself here!

#urbandecay #nakedultimatebasics #bblogger #naked