Seeing with the Naked Eye

There's been a ton of buzz about the new Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette, primarily from Temptalia's website and Twitter feed, where I keep reading location updates on where to find these babies. I guess they were so popular that people across the nation had to get real-time updates on which Sephoras still had them in stock! My curiosity piqued, I made my way to the Columbus Circle Sephora last weekend to check it out.

There were two available, and after I left, only one =) I've always viewed Urban Decay as a great eyeshadow company; its large color variety and pigment payoff have been repeatedly compared to that of MAC's. But having started with MAC eyeshadows (and as a loyal fan!), Ive never made the transition to UD ... until now. This palette is gorgeous - jam packed with versatile, neutral colors and amazing value. The shadows range from light nude/beige hues, to warm tans and browns, to darker plums, midnight blues, and blue-grays. I don't wear a lot of eyeshadow (this is my first purchase in years) but have used this palette every single day - both for work and going out. There are 2 matte shadows that I like for work-appropriate faces, and the shimmery metallics are great for flashier nights out. I love that the kit comes with the UDPP which I pat on prior to applying the eyeshadow and it really helps maintain color throughout the day.

Let's talk about value. You get 12 full-size eyeshadows, a double-ended eyeliner pencil (Zero which is black, and Whiskey, a warm plummy brown), and the famous UD Primer Potion, all for $44!! That's incredible. The full-size single shadows are $17 each, and so are these (all 5 oz.), so the palette is worth $204 for the eyeshadows alone. The eyeliner and UDPP are excellent bonuses. With this palette, I don't see myself needing another neutral eyeshadow for a very long time. I can mix and match colors to create looks for every occasion, and can see myself getting a lot of mileage from this.

I also appreciate the sleek packaging. It comes in a brown crushed velvet box with gold lettering, which feels toned down and more grown-up relative to the usual colorful, cartoonish graphics on UD products. Closeups of the colors below...

My roommate commented that she loves having the names right under the shadows haha. It's convenient! Naked and Buck are the most-used colors right now.. they're both mattes. The only color I don't love is Sidecar - it has larger chunks of glitter which can be too much.

Smog and Darkhorse are great for smoking out the lids

This end is my one-stop shop for smoky eyes

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. I haven't bought makeup in awhile (black eyeliner doesn't count), and think this was worth it to bring me back. Let me know if you've used this and what your thoughts are!