The one and only...Urban Decay Naked Palette

Guys! I own the Naked Palette. THE NAKED PALETTE!

Okay, phew, now that I got out, I can carry on in a more sensible fashion.

Yes, I am the proud owner of the one and only Naked Palette by Urban Decay. This has always been, in my eyes, the epitome of eyeshadow and certainly when I think of eyeshadow as a product, this is what comes to mind.

When a good friend of mine went over to America I begged her to purchase this little beauty from Sephora because it is just so much cheaper and I always feel funny about ordering makeup online (probably crazy but I just don't do it). 

When she brought it back I almost died of excitement as soon as I opened it up. It is gorgeous.

With twelve warm toned neutral shades, this is literally my idea of eyeshadow heaven and contains basically every shade I could ever want. I love that it includes two matte shades because although shimmers are my favourite, there is always a place for matte shadows. 

Alright, so let's start with the packaging. I love that unlike the other two Naked Palettes, this isn't housed in a tin but a wonderfully cosy feeling (because palettes can totally be cosy!) velvet flip top box. Of course, it isn't velvet I just have absolutely no idea what the name of the lovely texture is. The gold imprinted letters are striking on the chocolate brown and it is all just wonderful. The only problem is that fluff sticks to the box so it looks filthy very quickly.

As for the shade range, I mentioned before how perfect it is. Beginning with Virgin on the far left it has a light shimmery white extending all the way down to Creep and Gunmetal, black and dark grey.

I personally think that every shade inbetween covers all that you could ever want with different browns, pinks and golds.  

Virgin: Very light pink champagne colour perfect for highlights. Super shimmery!

Sin: Light shimmery pink toned shade suitable for all over the lid.

Naked: I don't think this could be more perfectly named: a light matte flesh toned shade that barely shows up on my light skin.

Sidecar: gorgeous light brown chocolate shade that could be used as an all over the lid shade or crease colour. This shade is so beautiful and versatile.

Buck: Medium toned matte brown shade that paired with Naked in the crease works magic.

Half-Baked: This was the shade I was easily most excited about being a shimmery pale gold. Though it is beautiful it's not been my absolute favourite after all but it does get quite a workout.

Smog: Though this is technically a shimmery dark brown, I would go as far to classify it as a dark gold and my-oh-my, I am in love with this shade!

Darkhorse: Admittedly I've not used a lot of darkhorse but it is a very dark brown shimmery shade. I find that it can almost look a little bit dirty on the skin at times.

Toasted: This is another shade I think has been well named, a medium pink/brown shade that is beautiful and shimmery. I often use this as an all over the lid shade.

Hustle: This is a dark brown that almost has a hint of plum overtones to it. In my experimentations I was surprised to find just how beautifully toasted and hustle work together.

Creep: Creep really is a bit of a creepy shade, a black with silver shimmer running through it. Out of all the shades in the palette this is easily the least used and most scary to me! If you have any ideas how I can incorporate this shade a bit more I would love to know because at the moment it seems a bit of a waste with it just sitting there!

Gunmetal: Last of all is Gunmetal, a dark blue grey shade with silver shimmer. Though it's not quite as intimidating as Creep, it also doesn't get a whole lot of use.

Well I'm sad to say that this is where it started to go wrong. Despite the most gorgeous shades in the world (I've swatched my favourites below) with excellent pigmentation, they just did not last on me whatsoever. This was so disappointing me for because it's not like I ever really have a problem with creasing or wearing off but by the end of the day these were a complete mess. You can see in the photo that what once was sidecar on the lid and hustle in the crease ended up being one big yucky mess!

Of course, using an eye primer does help but I've never really had to do that before and for a palette so highly regarded (and the most expensive makeup item in my collection) I was a little let down. I'm curious to know if anyone else has had this happen because I don't think I've ever heard a bad word about this palette and I feel like I stand alone in this thought!

My Favourite shades: L-R: Naked, Sidecar, Half Baked, Smog

I do love this palette and am very glad that I finally bought the shadows I'd been lusting over forever but I am a tiny bit disappointed with their lasting powder. I will continue to love and use them but contrary to what I thought would happen, I will be using other shadows not from this palette too.