Let's get Naked!

Usually when there's a ton of hype around products online, I'm very reluctant to jump on the bandwagon without doing extensive research first. Now, I should probably preface this by saying I've never been an "eye shadow girl"- I think you can all tell by now lip products are my one true love, but I am a complete sucker for neutrals. And pretty packaging. So unfortunately for my bank account, I finally caved and purchased a few of Urban Decay's infamous Naked palettes.

I have to say that I do really enjoy Urban Decay's eyeshadow formula, as I picked up their limited edition Oz palettes a while back. To be honest, I'm pretty sure everybody and their mother has swatched and reviewed these palettes by now, so I'm just going to add my two cents and pretty photos for anybody who's interested. Considering what a pain in the butt these can be to get a hold of in Australia, I'll also link some sites at the end of the post if they do tickle your fancy.

The original Naked palette is the one I feel I could have skipped on considering the shadows I already own. It's a mostly warm toned palette, so if bronzes and golds are your thing, I think you'll definitely enjoy this one. There's enough of a variety of shades and finishes that you'd be able to get some nice school or work appropriate looks as well as some more sultry ones for night time.

As far as I'm concerned, there aren't any duds in this palette. I know I'll get use out of every shade, and they're all amazing to apply and blend. I haven't played with any of these palettes enough to be able to testify as to their wear time, but my other Urban Decay shadows wear extremely well, so I'm hoping these ones will as well.

Okay so, I'm pretty sure the Naked 3 is responsible for making the online beauty world pretty much explode. I wasn't certain whether I'd get enough wear out of it to justify the pretty hefty price tag, but as always, I ended up caving after seeing a plethora of swatches on the web (and seeing Adelaide Kane post a photo on instagram- oops!).

It is gorgeous, and certainly different to majority of the eyeshadows I already own. It comes across a lot more muted and creates a softer look, if that makes any sense. I think it's a great one for the career girl, because it's definitely day time appropriate, since the darkest shade Blackheart isn't even really that dark. It's pretty for sure, but the jury's still out as to whether it's worth the hype.

This little gem might just be my favourite of the bunch, quite unexpectedly I might add. I don't own a lot of versatile matte shades, so I figured the Naked Basics palette would be a good investment. It's compact and easy to toss in my bag, and since it's composed of all matte/satin neutrals, I don't really think you can go wrong.

I'm in love with the texture of all these shadows, and to be honest, I think I'm learning to love working with matte shades on my eyes to give a more understated look rather than using the shimmers. Surprisingly, this is the one I've been using the most since these arrived in the mail so I'd probably recommend you purchase the Basics palette above the other two!

Purchase info
Naked & Naked 3: $79.71 from beautybay; $75 from discountbeautyboutique
Naked Basics: $40.99 from beautybay; $39 from discountbeautyboutique

What do you think of the Naked palettes? Are you loving them, or will you be leaving them? I'd love to know your thoughts!