Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

So every Christmas there is one thing that I desperately want, but realize no one is going to actually give to me. This year, that coveted item was the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. Now those of you who know me, can attest that I am not typically a neutrals girl. However I skipped out on the original Naked palette as I felt the neutral shades were simply to warm for me. I feel I look exhausted in warm neutrals, so when i heard the shades in the Naked 2 palette ran a bit cool to neutral-i jumped all over it! I took it upon myself to gift this beauty to myself, and I'm thrilled I did! Here's the rundown on one of my newest favorite things:

Packaging: This palette comes to you packed in a sturdy little taupe colored metal package-remniscent of okd school art school cases. Inside, the packaging holds twelve shadows and a dual-ended crease and shadow brush. When i say this packaging is sturdy, it truly is not an understatement. I have dropped it, thrown it across the room accidentally, and even stepped on it. Each time i subject it to abuse i gasp, squeal, and sometimes cuss. But each time i open the case to see the damage, all twelve shadows are flawlessly untouched-PHEW! The provided brush is actually pretty decent suprisingly. The flat side is great for packing on shadows with minimal fallout and the domed crease side makes blending a breeze. It also includes a mini lip junkie lipgloss in the color naked. I got mine from urbandecay.com for $50 but it will be available later from other retailers as well (i believe in feb.)


Colors: Urban Decay selected 12 neutrals, greiges, and taupes to fill this beauty with. The color ranges as follows:
Foxy: A creamy neutral matte shade great as a highlight, transition color, or blending.

Half Baked: Beautiful bronzey gold shimmer.

Bootycall: Light creamy champagne shimmer great for inner corners or tear duct, or sheered out for brow.

Chopper: Bronzey gold shimmer with flakes of silver glitter (expect fallout without a base)

Tease: beautiful matte taupe (midtone). I use it in my crease or as a transition.

Snakebite: Intense rich coppery brown shimmer.

Suspect: midtone mocha shimmer

Pistol: taupey brown shimmer. I love it in my outter V.

Verve: champagne taupe shimmer.

YDK: warmer bronzed brown shimmer.

Busted: rich deep chocolate shimmer.

Blackout: richly pugmented carbon black mostly matte (some shimmer is seen in the pan but doesn't really transfer to the lid)

Performance: like most Urban Decay shadows, these are forumlated with buttery texture and rockin pigmentation. I do find that, like every shadow, these perform best over a primer. I have worn them for as long as 13 hours over Urban Decay Primer Potion with very minimal fading, smudging, and rarely any creasing. Like most glittery shades, expect some fallout when applying any colors that contain glitter. This can be minimized with a good sticky base and pressing or patting the shadows into place instead of sweeping.

The last word: While I definitely am loving this palette right now I think with any shimmery neutrals you must remember Not to over blend for risk of muddiness. If you loved the first Naked palette, or if you wanted to love it but felt it was too warm-toned, Naked 2 is definitely worth trying. A wide range of looks can be created from nude and natural to deep and smokey. Give it at shot--you just might love it as much as I do! Stay tuned for FOTDs and tutorials featuring this versatile palette!

...Amy...