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Thursday 3 September 2015

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette | Review & Swatches

urban decay naked smoky eyeshadow palette


Eyeshadows and lipsticks are my biggest beauty obsession. Every new launch is a big temptation and the latest release to lure me into splurging was the URBAN DECAY NAKED SMOKY PALETTE.


I'm a massive fan of Urban Decay's eyeshadows. I have the Naked 1 (see post here), Naked 3 & Naked 2 Basics (review here) and simply love all of them. So when I found out another palette was coming out, it was peer excitement. But I won't lie... when I saw the new palette for the first time, I wasn't too keen. I'm a warm tone, brown and neutral shades kind of girl. So the mostly cool tones didn't scream at me. However, the more I saw reviews, swatches and all, I grew increasingly more tempted to get out of my comfort zone and give it a try. And so I did. :)
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette - packagingThe first thing I will mention about this palette is that the packaging is beautiful. It's sort of see through, with smoke printed all over, 3D writing and a swift magnetic closure. It's also got a big mirror. It's by far, my favourite packaging out of all Naked palettes.  
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette - brushes

Inside, you get a double ended brush with one side being a blending brush and on the other end you have a smudger brush. I'm not usually a huge fan of UD's brushes but this one is really soft and I've been using it a lot with this palette.
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

But let's talk about the stars of the show... the 12 beautiful shades. The cool thing about this palette is that they included shades in 3 different finishes. So you have some glittery shades, some satin ones and at the end, you get 4 matte shades, which are incredible.
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette - shades


1. HIGH is a metallic peachy-beige with lots of glitter. Very pigmented. I love using this all over the lid or as an inner corner highlighter for days I go for a darker eye look.

2. DIRTYSWEET is your usual golden brown shade. Also pigmented, buttery smooth and stunning. I do experience a tiny bit of glitter fall out but it's very minor and doesn't bother me.

3. RADAR is a chocolate (medium-dark) brown, with a tiny bit of golden glitter. The colour is simply beautiful and I love to wear it all over the lid for a quick and simple look. I find that the pigmentation on this one is a bit sheer, so it takes longer to make it look as intense as I like, but it's still one of my favourite shades in the palette.

4. ARMOR is a sparkly deep gunmetal/taupe grey shade. It's so pretty and very wearable. Although the pigmentation of this one is also a little weak, once you pack it on the lid, it looks stunning for a night out, especially if applied wet.

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette swatches
L to R: High, Dirtysweet, Radar and Armor

5. SLANTED is more of a bright metallic grey, with a satin finish. Another beautiful shade.

6. DAGGER is described as a "medium charcoal with micro-shimmer". Beautiful dark grey, with blue undertones.

7. BLACK MARKET is a black. But not a super black like the eyeshadow Blackout (also from Urban Decay). It's a more wearable black, with satin finish. Really like this one just to add a bit of drama to the eye but I also wear it as an eyeliner.

8. SMOLDER is one of my favourites. Such a stunning deep plum. It doesn't translate as plum on the lid as it looks on the pan, but still looks lovely on and adds a nice hint of colour to the look.
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette swatches
L to R: Slanted, Dagger, Black Market, Smolder

9. PASSWORD is a cool taupe. Matte and pigmented, it's the perfect crease colour, adding the right depth to the eye. Love it.

10. WHISKEY is another chocolate brown colour, this time in a matte formulation (and a bit darker than Radar). In fact those two work great together and I've been wearing them a lot since I got this palette.

11. COMBUST is described as a "soft pink taupe". It's such an amazing transition shade for my skin tone. Easy to blend and great on it's own for a simple daytime look or to help soften the crease colour.

12. Last but not least, THIRTEEN. This is a light beige colour that works really well as a brow bone highlighter. Have been really enjoying it.
Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette swatches
L to R: Password, Whiskey, Combust, Thirteen

So overall, although the pigmentation of Radar & Armor are not quite what I usually expect from Urban Decay (I blame it on the glitter), I still love all the colours and really like that this palette offers a good variety of finishes, a mix of warm and cool toned shadows, including all kinds of wearable shades for a complete look (brow bone, inner corner highlighter, transition, lid and crease colours all in one palette). Plus the packaging and the brush make this palette a winner in my eyes. Could it be better? In terms of pigmentation, yes! But apart from that, this palette ticks all the boxes for me. I think the colour selection is beautiful and I'm really glad I got it. It's been my go to since the day I got my hands on it and I won't look back. I'm beginning to like the Naked Smoky as much as the Naked 1. And that says it all, as the Naked 1 (original) has been my favourite palette for years.

Have you tried the Naked Smoky? What are your thoughts on this new Urban Decay release? X



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