Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette | The Review.

Hi! 

First of all, an apology. I haven't blogged since the 21st. This is unusual for me, as I like to post at least once a week, but i've been so busy with final touches for my assessment, and then we had the bank holiday weekend, and then I planned to write this post last night after seeing Iron Man 3 with my friend but we ended up going for a drink and a chat afterwards so it didn't happen and before you know it, it's Wednesday and you realised you haven't even started one of the 3 reviews you wanted to do this week!   Anyway, I'm finally getting around to my first of those three reviews and that is the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. 

I have lusted over the Naked palettes for quite some time, but the £36 price tag somewhat deterred me from buying. Student loans are great, but when you're an Art Student paying for materials for your course as well as being a serial shopoholic, sometimes you have to bypass the nice stores and head for Primarni, which has meant that for the longest time i've bypassed the Urban Decay counter at Debenhams. I finally broke down and gave in just over a month ago, purchasing the Naked Basics Palette at the more reasonable price of £20. Still fairly expensive, however you get 6 eyeshadows which makes the average price per shadow £3.33. Not too shabby when you think of it that way, and much cheaper than the likes of Nars and MAC. 

The packaging is sleek and simple, but with an air of sophistication shown by it's velvety smooth rubbery casing and embossed lettering. The only qualm I have with this is that I'm scared to leave it outside of the box for fear of the case getting grubby and marked. It doesn't seem like the type of packaging that would be easy to clean. 

Inside the palette are 6, neatly presented shades showing the shade name of each, which is helpful if you wanted to buy an individual shade. The palette also has a mirror, perfect for on the go touch ups or travelling. 

Left To Right | Venus | Foxy| W.O.S | Naked 2 | Faint | Crave

The palette consists of 6 shades, 5 of which are matte. I much prefer to use matte shades so this palette really suits my tastes, and the nude colours are perfect for day to day wear, and can be built up for a smokey evening look. As far as I am aware, only 'Foxy' is available in the Naked 2 palette, Although 'Crave' is very similar to 'Blackout', also in Naked 2. Other than that the other 4 shades are exclusive to the basics palette; which is great as you won't be buying a palette of colours you already have if you own Naked 1 and 2.

Venus: Venus is the only shimmer shade in the palette, adding a touch of sparkle if needed. It's an off-white shade with a decent amount of shimmer, which looks lovely dotted in the inner corner of the eye to brighten the eyes.
Foxy: Foxy is a yellow based matte cream. As I have found with every shade in this palette, it's highly pigmented and blends like a dream.
W.O.S: Walk of shame is another cream, however this time more pink toned. I think Urban Decay have really done well with creating a nude palette to suit all skin tones.

Naked 2: Naked 2 is probably my favourite shade. A gorgeous creamy matte mushroom/taupe, it looks amazing all over the lid on it's own, or blended with a lighter/darker shade.
Faint: A deeper, almost dirty matte brown which looks great blended into the crease for a defined, smokey look.
Crave: Pure matte black. I rarely use this as I don't use black eyeshadow, however I have heard great things about this shade as an alternative for eyeliner. I'm currently rebuilding my eye brush collection so I have yet to try it, but it sounds like a good alternative.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this palette to anyone who loves a neutral eye look as this little baby has everything a girl could need!