Product Review: Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette

Few brands are better known for their eyeshadow than Urban Decay. I have tried many an eyeshadow from this brand and loved pretty much every one from the fun, inventive, colorful shades they hit the market with in the mid 90s to the myriad of neutrals that have become mainstay these days with their famous Naked palette franchise, which contain curated collections of neutrals in a variety of tones and finishes.

One of the palettes belonging to the Naked palette family that I have grown to really love is the Naked2 Basics. Urban Decay markets this palette as a collection of taupe-hued neutrals that are "cool in tone and ideal for any skintone." This means that the palette was basically made for me. There are six shades in total: Skimp (a cream with a slight satin finish), Stark (a matte pink nude), Frisk (a matte gray), Cover (a cool-toned reddish brown that can look slightly plummy when blended out) Primal (a medium brown), and Undone (a matte smoky charcoal dark brown). All the shades are very blendable and combine nicely together to create a variety of looks that can go from a sheer wash of color to a neutral smoky eye, especially when taking full advantage of Undone in the outer corners and on the lower lashline.

Across the board, the pigmentation of all the shadows is very good but is not as bold at first as some other shadows that I've owned from Urban Decay. The advantage here is that, though the colors can start off light, if not somewhat dusty, they can be built up to whatever impact you are going for, subtle to more intense. The powders are quite soft that the colors build upon themselves easily and also blend with very little effort. I find, too, that if I do make a mistake these shadows buff very easily and are, therefore, easily removed at the end of the day with minimal tugging and no residual stain left behind.

One thing that I've gone back and forth on about this palette is that there is no true black here to use as a liner. Undone, the darkest shade, is a beautiful color, and I would not want to trade it for a black because the charcoal-brown of Undone is a much easier to color apply smoothly in anyplace you'd want, than most truly black eyeshadows would be, including those I've used from Urban Decay. If I had to take one shadow out,however, I'd probably eliminate Primal (the matte medium brown). This shadow reads really warm , sometimes even orangey, on my pale cool-toned skin. I hardly ever use it, though it is a good quality shadow and would be the favorite from the palette for many. Primal does skew the color scheme of this palette from being as cool-undertoned as Urban Decay claims into a neutral-undertoned territory, offering a of both warm and cool undertones in its shades. Yet, this does add to the palette's versatility in the variety of looks you can create with it.

The design and packaging of this palette is really great for on-the-go. It is compact, hard-sided, and sturdy but is not heavy at all. Thankfully, it also contains a mirror, which is always a much-needed plus but one that is not always thought of by brands.

If you, like me wear neutral eyeshadows on a nearly daily basis or need a good set of reliable neutral matte shades to incorporate with your other colors, I recommend checking out the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics. It retails for $29 USD and can be found at Sephora, Ulta,most major department stores, and the Urban Decay official website. It is a great workhorse palette anytime, anywhere.