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. 
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14 comments:

  1. Oh yes I wanted to buy the palette last week, but I couldn't decide xD But thank you for the review!! Do you already know that I tagged you on the 'jolly blogger awards'? You need to answer some Christmas related questions and nominate someone else~ It's fun !!
    Love, Jenny
    http://itsmeeejennyy.blogspot.com/

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  2. I saw your post earlier today! Thanks for tagging me and I'll be doing it sometime next week (: The end of the quarter rush just started and so I'm a little bit low on time, but it sounds really fun!

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  3. I've been eyeing to buy this pallete, but I'm a little bit hesitant coz it's quite expensive, but it has great quality though. I love how it's natural color blend so well :) thanx for this honest review :)
    Found your blog through Jenny, want to follow each other? Let me know! ;)
    Best regards,
    Rica
    www.switbbydoll.com

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  4. Emi Doll (ๆต็พŽ)12/13/2014 7:48 AM

    Interesting colours, earthy shades are my favourite!!

    ๆต็พŽใ‚ˆใ‚Š ♥

    emi-doll.blogspot.jp

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  5. I've seen this palette many times and I've been on the fence on buying it. The colors look so nice! I love the natural colors that are great for everyday.
    http://love-celestial.blogspot.com/

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  6. Oh wow, you've done such an amazing job with that eye look! I knew from the beginning that I wanted the Naked basics 2 over the 1 as I prefer the cool tones and the range of browns. I can see how two of the browns could be great brow powder too and I didn't realize the light shade was satin! That's awesome! I'm going to use this for my brows while traveling and for my crease with more colorful/shimmery looks! Ahhh! I want this now!

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  7. It is a bit more pricey, but I love the texture of Urban Decay's matte shadows. I've tried some from other brands they were so hard to blend and faded so easily.


    and my generally following pattern is to follow people that make effort, if that makes sense? and so yes! hahaha I love talking to people about makeup and so I almost immediately follow people if they make effort to talk to me.

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  8. Neutrals and bronzey browns are my absolute favorite. So easy to wear!

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  9. I like this one a lot more than the first basics cuz the colors actually go from light to darker shades. It's a really nice matte palette and I highly recommend it!

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  10. You should get it! I'm such an enabler (:


    I was nervous about the eye look because mattes work a bit iffy on me, but I'm actually really proud of this look.

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  11. It's funny, I wouldn't say this resembles the full sized Naked 2 much at all. I didn't really noticed that the Naked 2 Basics was so cool toned until I saw your photos - now I really see the differences between this and the Naked 1 Basics!

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  12. This looks so pretty on you! When this was first released I was kind of tempted to buy it but I feel like the original Naked Basics would suit me better. Matte eyeshadows are the best! Great post Hao. xo

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  13. Oh my gosh! I didn't see your comment until now. Sorry for taking forever to respond back!


    I don't have the full sized Naked 2, but I know that the colors are supposed to be more cool toned? I just really liked that the shades actually went light to dark unlike the Naked 1 Basics that just had 4 light colors and then 2 super dark ones.

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  14. These are much more cool toned than the rest of my collection, but I do love it so much!! And matte shadows are the best! I wish more palettes had a more even balance of textures coughnakedpalettes

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