Is the new Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette ($54 US/$68 CAD) really the ultimate matte palette? Let’s find out!
The palette is gorgeously packaged is a sleek, slim gold plastic case. It leans slightly rose gold. The lid features a textured design of matte and shiny lines radiating out from the palette name in the centre. The palette is well designed with no wasted space. There is a very large mirror inside the lid and the dual ended, cruelty free, brush included inside is actually very nice. Urban Decay continues to kill it in the packaging department.
The palette includes 12 all new shades. Eleven of them are matte while the top left shade is said to have a demi-matte finish for highlighting. I find it does have more of a shimmer finish, rather than a satin or demi-matte finish. It is perfect for use as a brow bone and inner corner highlight. I find myself wishing it was a little less shimmery for use as a base shade, since Pre-Game is too yellow for me to use as a base.
There is a nice mix of cool-neutral and warm shades in the palette. The formula on the shadows is wonderful, and in-line with the quality we’ve come to expect from the other Naked Basics palettes. They are well pigmented and apply smoothly. They blend out really, really nicely. I was able to use even the deeper shades in my crease and blend them out with ease.
The shades are:
- 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
- Pre-Game – pale yellow matte
- Extra Bitter – burnt orange matte
- Faith – medium warm brown matte
- Lockout – rich neutral brown matte
- Magnet – smoky grey matte
- Blackjack – warm black matte
My favorite shades are Instinct, Lethal, Extra Bitter, and Faith. Extra Bitter is so good! I do think this really is an ultimate matte palette. It has basically just been sitting out on my vanity since I received it because I can turn to it for every look. Whether I’m looking for the perfect matte crease shade to add to my look, or a deep dark matte for contrast, Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics has so many great options to choose from. As I mentioned earlier, the only thing that makes it not completely perfect for me, is that I wish there was a shade just like Blow, but matte, for use as a base shade from crease to brow. But that is just a wish for my particular colouring. Most will find that Pre-Game serves that purpose for them well.
I’m not one to wear an all matte eye look, but with the addition of the one shimmery shade Blow, you really can use this as an all in one palette. My favorite way to use this palette is to pair it with my favourite shimmer shades and palettes.
Have you picked up this palette yet? If you are looking to build the amount of quality matte shades in your collection then you can’t go wrong with the Urban Decay Ultimate Naked Basics palette. If you already have an extensive collection of mattes then you may not find you need this palette, but you can’t deny how handy it is to have all these shades in one handy palette!
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