Urban Decay has been on a roll with its shadow palettes this year. The releases have come thick and fast, and thematically there’s been something for everyone. The appetite of UD fans has been well and truly satiated.
The latest collection that’s crossed my path is the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics, part of the brand’s Autumn/Winter releases (it’s been out a little but still available).
At face value it’s an indispensable collection of 12 all-neutral matte shadows that can be mixed and matched to create subtle looks for day, and bolder/smokey (or smoky, depending on your preference) ones for night. There’s one demi-matte (Blow) for highlighting.
The ‘all new’ and ‘exclusive’ shadows are housed in a slim-line case with a large mirror (it’s very useable as it occupies the whole of the lid), and a double ended brush (one end for blending, the other for smudging). The case itself is stunning – a rose gold finish with the UD branding embossed in the middle of a sunburst design.
So, all-in- all, a versatile palette that pops easily inside your handbag and that you’d be more than happy to be seen whipping out for day-time touch-ups, or for creating a new look from scratch when going out for the night straight from work – something to consider with party season approaching .
Top Row Swatches, from right to left:
Blow (light nude demi-matte), Nudie (soft pink-nude matte), Commando (light taupe-brown matte), Tempted (pale brown matte), Instinct (medium pink-taupe matte), Lethal (reddish brown matte),
Bottom Row Swatches, from right to left:
Pre-Game (pale yellow matte), Extra Bitter (burnt orange matte), Faith (medium warm brown matte), Lockout (rich neutral brown matte), Magnet (smoky grey matte) and Blackjack (warm black matte). Magnet actually has a bit of sparkle in the pan but that doesn’t show when applied.
Thoughts
Here I’ve created an evening look that’s not too heavy – the idea was to put together something flattering for my 30 plus eyes. I used Pre Game to brighten the inner corners, blended Nudie and Commando in the middle and completed the lower lid with a smudge of Black Jack and Magnet in the outer corner.
I used Lethal and Instinct in the crease and lifted my brow bone with the Blow semi-matte highlighter.
I used a greater number of shades than I would usually as I found some of the darker ones tricky to blend.
Blending generally took a bit of work – I found I needed to use an additional blending brush. I was happy with the end result, though; it just took a bit of time getting there.
Also, I’m a bit of a blingy shadow fan (yes, even with my 30 plus eyes), so outside of review I would choose to pair these mattes with a bolder sparkly shade – something that Urban Decay suggests you could do to create different looks from the palette. That last point, though, is very much a personal thing.
The Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics All Matte, All Naked Collection is available now (very loow stock at time of post!) for £38.50, here.
PR Sample
