I am a huge fan of the Urban Decay Naked line of cosmetics. I have the Naked2, Naked3, and Naked Basics palettes (and have had all the others in my virtual shopping cart at least once before... #moderation). I honestly use each palette at least twice a week, and I have hit pan on 3 colours in the Naked Basics palette, with serious dents in the other colours. It was when I had actually used every last bit of the shade Naked2 from the Naked Basics palette that I finally let myself pick up this new addition to my addiction. (Side note: I really wish Urban Decay would sell Naked2 as a single shadow. I probably would have bought it 3 times over already.)
When this palette first came out, I wasn't too sure if I would really like it. I find I go quite neutral in my neutrals (? - that's a thing, really), but if I lean one way or the other it is ever-so-slightly warm. So, I was thinking that I should just pick up the original Naked Basics palette again. But, upon closer inspection, I made the decision to try this new one. I found with the original Naked Basics palette that I didn't use much of Venus (soft, off-white demi-matte) or Crave (deepest, darkest brown/black matte), so I essentially only had 4 working colours of the 6. I tapped my brush into those two every now and then (Venus more than Crave), but they're not showing much use even still. The Naked2 Basics palette, however, has 6 usable shades for me. The lightest shade isn't so light, and the darkest shade isn't so dark. I anticipate using the four middle shades most, but I think I will get a bit more use out of the two end ones than the corresponding ones in the original Naked Basics palette. The only thing I will say is that the original Naked Basics palette caters a little more to people with extremely fair skin (#gingerproblems) - the colours allow for a barely there natural eye if you want it, whereas the slightly darker shades in the Naked2 Basics make it a bit more noticeable that you're wearing eyeshadow. Non-translucent friends needn't worry about this, though :).
Ok, now on to quality. These shadows are up to par with the standard of the Urban Decay shadows in their other palettes (I haven't tried many of their singles, so I can't really speak to them yet). Urban Decay really does a good job of their mattes. These shades are all buttery, blendable, and perfectly pigmented. I wouldn't change a thing!
Something that I learned when checking out the info on Sephora when writing this post is that the Naked Basics palette was created to coordinate with the Naked palette and the Naked2 Basics palette was created to coordinate with the Naked2 palette. Makes so much sense, yet I didn't know it until now. I mean, I've been using my Naked Basics palette with my Naked2 and Naked3 for a long time, and I think it works great with them, but I'm excited to try out the Naked2 Basics with my Naked2 to see if it's that much better. Kinda cool!
Have you tried out the Naked2 Basics palette? What did you think? Have you tried any of the other Urban Decay Naked products? I'd really like to hear your opinions!
