In Your Face: Urban Decay NAKED palette.

Virgin, Sin, Naked (matte), Sidecar

 Buck (matte), Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse

Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Urban Decay NAKED palette (£36- received for my birthday). 

After seeing all the blogging hype and getting back into using eyeshadow, I lusted for so long after the NAKED palettes. My parents bought me this for my birthday and I chose the original NAKED over NAKED2 because the lady in the shop said that the latter was more day-time and the former perfect for a dark smoky look. You get a palette with 12 eyeshadows, a mini Primer Potion and a professional eyeshadow brush in the set. I love the velvety exterior of the palette and think it looks really smart and special in my makeup collection. There are four exlcusive shades in this palette being Sidecar, Darkhorse, Hustle and Creep; Naked and Buck are the two matte shades in this palette but tbh, it's all about the smoky shimmer shades here. I've used all of the shades already and my favourites have to be Darkhorse, which is a super dark brown with golden micro glitter and Sidecar which is the shimmeriest, most stunning mocha brown ever. All the shadows blend really well both onto the eyelid and with each other; they're all super pigmented and I can't say any of them are disappointing on application compared with in the pan. The Primer Poition (not shown) definitely makes the powders last longer and keeps them looking fresh throughout the day. The NAKED palette is notorious for excessive fall-out so I've been tapping my brush a lot then using the fallout up before getting more product (hope that makes sense). I love how the shades are all so different yet they all work together- there isn't a wrong combination here ladies. I also love the highlighter shades of Virgin (champagne shimmer) and Sin (super soft rose gold shimmer) for under my brow bone and in the inner corners of my eyes.

The palette comes with a pretty substantial mirror on the inside, although I would have liked it to have been more magnified for precision application but it's definitely good for travel. My main criticism of this glorious palette is the brush provided. In a way, I wish it wasn't included and maybe the price would be a bit lower because, I'm sorry but that is the worst eyeshadow brush I've ever used. It's really nice to look at and I love the colour and shape of the metally handle and the brush seems soft when you run your finger through it, but on the eyes it's so scratchy and stabby that it makes the whole experience a little unpleasent! I think Urban Decay have taken 'synthetic' to mean 'nylon chord' or something because that's sure what it feels like to me. Thankfully, my Real Techniques brushes have saved the day (post to come on those bad boys). Having said all that, I love this palette soso much and I'm so happy I've finally got it. I've literally used it everyday since I got it and I don't see that changing for a while! Have you ever tried either of the NAKED palettes, what d'you think? Are you with me on the brush?