Review & Swatches: Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics Palette

Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics is a cool toned 6 pan palette with 5 matte and 1 satin eyeshadows. It was made to complement the second Naked palette (which I don't have), but it can be used just by itself. Each shade contains 0.05 ounces and the palette retails for $29. 

Going left to right - 

Skimp - Pale Nude Satin - is the only shade that is not matte in the palette. It works great as a highlight and you can even add it on top of the other shades for dimension. I use it to blend out the top edge of my look while highlighting the brown bone. 

Stark - Nude Pink Matte - does not look like there's any pink in it to me despite what UD says. I see a tiny bit of yellow in the pan but applies more cool toned. I can see this being a crease or blending shade for some paler people. It's too light for me to do that and so I use it an inner corner highlight mixed in with Skimp. 

Frisk - Warm Grey Matte - works wonderfully in my brows now that my hair is lighter. It fills in my brows without making them look like blocks. If you're blonde, I recommend this shade for your brows. 

Cover - Muted Red-Brown Matte - is the warmest shade in the palette. For my medium complexion, it works very well as a crease shade. My skin is also on the warm side and so this shade paired with anything else in this palette makes them more wearable for me. 

Primal - Muted Brown Matte - is a medium brown that is more cool toned than Cover. I also use this shade for the tail of my brows to create a gradient. 

Undone - Deep, Smokey Brown Matte - is the darkest shade in the palette and amps up any of the other shades to create a smokey eye. It can also be used to create soft eyeliner looks. 

All of these shades blend so incredibly well and have great pigmentation. It's exactly what I expected out of Urban Decay. 

The shadows have a more varied color gradient than the first Naked Basics Palette. I felt like the first one had 4 very light shades, 1 medium, and 1 very dark shade. I can actually create a nice smokey look with this and it can work with more skin tones. 

On the eyes - 

Frisk in the brows

Primal and Frisk in the inner third of the lid

Skimp in the middle of the lid

Primal and Undone in the outer third of the lid and outer half of the lower lashine

Skimp under the brows

The packaging is also very basic and compact, which makes it great for traveling. It feels slightly rubbery, but not like NARS packaging. It fits in the palm of my hand and has a decent sized mirror. 

Final thoughts: I wanted something more cool toned when I eventually got cool toned hair and so I got this palette. I haven't reached that hair goal yet, butI'm so glad that I got this palette. The shades blend so beautifully and aren't patchy or powdery like how some mattes can look like. I highly recommend this palette for anyone looking for some matte shades.