Review | Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

I had bought the Urban Decay Naked Palette near the time it was launched, due to the fact that many beauty gurus on YouTube were saying amazing things about it, I thought I would give it a shot. It was the first time I had bought a make up item with a slightly ridiculous price tag, but there's a first for everything right, so I went for it. I searched all over the Internet for it (as Urban Decay was not yet available at my Debenhams) and was over the moon when I found one for a discounted price at www.beautybay.com - do check it out as they sell some amazing beauty products. I managed to purchase it at £32 which is £4 off its usual price. If you would like me to do a review on the Original Naked Palette, leave a comment below and I'd be more than happy to.

Recently, I had been contemplating whether or not I should buy the Naked Basics palette which consists of 6 matte shades and costs £20. Unfortunately, it had been out of stock in Debenhams for a long time and being my impatient self, I looked for alternatives. With a little persuasion from the lovely lady at the Urban Decay counter and my little calculating brain, I thought that it would be worth it to buy the Naked 2 palette which combined with my Naked palette, I would basically be able to make up the Naked Basics. That's a lot of "naked-ness" in one paragraph!

Actual Review

The palette consists of 12 neutral eyeshadow colours: 3 matte colours (foxy, tease and blackout) and 9 shimmery colours (half baked, snakebite, suspect, pistol, verve, YDK and busted). There is only one colour that is also available in the Naked palette, which is "half baked", but I really love this bronze-y, shimmery colour, so I didn't really mind.

I guess I didn't expect anything less to come of this palette, the colours are very pigmented and when paired with the matching Urban Decay primer potion, the colours stay vibrant for the whole day and I have not experience any creasing - though my eyelids are not particularly oily, so I do not want to completely rule out the possibility for creasing. My current favourite combination is foxy all over the lid, ("buck" from Naked palette in my crease) & a teeny-weeny bit of blackout towards the outer corner. The matte colours makes it such a wearable everyday look and it is flattering on virtually everyone.

The Naked 2 Palette also comes with a double-ended eyeshadow brush with a flat shader brush on one end and a crease brush on the other. I do not own a whole lot of make up brushes, so I just went with what the lady at the counter told me and that due to its artificial bristles, it lasts for such a long time and it is really good quality. Now, I somewhat agree with this but not entirely - I feel that for a brush that comes with a make up product, it is a lot better than other ones that have come with my make up purchases, however, perhaps my expectations were quite high when I first used it, I do not feel that it is as fluffy as some other make up brushes I have felt in stores, for example MAC brushes. Having said that, for a brush that comes with a make up palette, I cannot really complain. The palette also comes with a lip gloss which is a deep pink colour (unfortunately, you begin to lose tiny tester-sized make up products when you switch bags every now and then, but when I do find it, I shall add a picture to this post), it has a really creamy consistency and adds a lovely shine to the lips, whilst still keeping it natural.

In comparison to the original Naked Palette, the thing I love the most about the Naked 2 is the fact that it has tin packaging, being so this is my go to palette when I stay round people's houses or when I travel, having tin packaging with a good clasp prevents the eyeshadows from smashing or the whole thing falling apart - you got to love that right?! It also contains more matte eyeshadows I believe in comparison, which makes the palette more everyday friendly as I am not one to go out everyday with a bunch of glitter on my eyelids, plus I like to differ my going out looks to my everyday casual looks.

Now on to the big one - the price. I feel that this is a topic that a lot of people will be debating about when deciding whether or not to purchase this, so let me weigh out the pros and cons. It is obvious that at £36, this is a high-end product and unless you know that you will use it, you probably shouldn't buy it as it's pointless virtually keeping £36 at the back of your make up drawer. Strangely, I feel that this is a great make up palette for someone who is looking for a collection of eyeshadows, whether or not they are looking for a high end brand or a high street brand. From the selection of colours in the palette, I think that this is a great start-out palette for everyone as all the colours are very compatible with each other and can create amazing looks. 

Let's compare!

• Stila in the Moment Eye Shadow Palette 14g - £25
  10 eyeshadows, mostly neutral with a few pops of colours thrown in 
• Too Face Naked Eye Palette - £26
  9 neutral eyeshadows, with cards which helps you to create looks
• MAC Pro Palette x 4 - around £39
  your choice of mac eyeshadow colours in a eyeshadow quad packaging, refillable

*prices from www.beautybay.com*

So that's it! That's my review on the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, I hope it was informative and perhaps helped you make a decision on whether or not to buy it! Overall, I would give it a 4.5/5.

Thank you for reading this post, if you enjoyed it please follow my blog (you can find the button on the sidebar on the right hand side) and do leave a comment of your blog as I love finding new blogs to read.

Love, Nicole

ps. although it seems like it in this post, i am not sponsored by beautybay.com, but I just happen to find their website easiest to use and i bought the Naked palette off their website so i do know that it is trustworthy.