Naked Again

 

My Mum usually buys me practical gifts for my birthday but this year Lee was in her ear and advised that this might just be the only thing I'd want. He was right. I have been remarkably restrained  to not have rushed out and bought it before now as I absolutely could not wait for it to launch but I have been trying to save my pennies to spend in Vegas and with my birthday approaching I thought it best to 'wait and see'.. it paid off.. yay!

Ok so...

The palette is comprised of 12 neutral (duh) shades from the pale base shade of Foxy to the incredibly pigmented Blackout. Having worked for the company some time ago I was tipped off there was to be a sequel to the naked. I was understandably giddy and now I have it I'm pleased to see some of my old favourites are in there...Chopper, YDK and Half Baked (the only repeat from the first Naked).. all fabulous golden tones. I also like that they've kept two matte shades, I'm wearing tease today in my crease over my foxy base and loving the simplicity. The whole palette is encased in a tin and the lid opens to reveal a huge mirror and a double ended shadow/crease brush. You also get a bonus mini lip Junkie gloss in Naked - how appropriate.

Now on to the swatches.. I always love this part...

And now of course I would be remiss if I wasn't to compare the new Naked with the original. I read/watched a LOT of reviews and comparisons and the general consensus is that the new Naked is generally cooler toned which I would agree with but I can see more to it than that. 

On the whole the palette offers a variety of paler shades and unfortunately in my opinion those that aren't repromotes are not the quality I'm used to from Urban Decay. They lack the payoff and longevity I would expect. They're still very nice don't get me wrong but the brand has set the bar high and I was disappointed with the new shades in this set. The packaging.. well, what can I say? I loved the original chocolate box velour but yes its looks beaten up after a year and a half so I guess the tin is an improvement and I do love the full sized in-lid mirror. When the Naked was first released in 2010 it was produced with a double ended 24/7 liner, it was said liner that made it the must have item that nobody could get hold of. The manufacture of the pencils was difficult and slow and so eventually they replaced the liner with a shadow brush. Many loved the amendment.. I'm glad I got the pencil. In the new palette they've created a new double ended brush (I appreciate the symmetry) and I think it's a lot more appropriate. I'm a huge fan of blending and with just this 'one' brush you can lay down a base, define your crease and under your eyes and blend blend blend. Love it!Lastly this is one of the only UD palettes I've known come without  primer and I for one miss it. It comes instead with a mini Lip Junkie lipgloss - Naked of course! I am already a fan of these, love the cooling, tingly sensation and they smell deliciously like After Eights so I've made my peace with the missing primer. It doesn't give a lot of colour but it will make a nice handbag gloss to jazz up what ever lipstick I'm wearing.

When you compare the two side by side I have to say I think I still prefer the original palette, there's more depth and I've loved it for so long it's hard to replace it with something new. I do like the new one and I'm sure it will also get a lot of use but I would have liked to see some deeper shades. 

Do I Need Both?

 So many bloggers have remained on the fence about this but I'm going to put myself out there and say YES! If you are a neutrals girl (or boy..hey.. it's 2012) I think so... They are very very different so yes it is nice to have both and what I do like about my new addition is that between them I now have a neutral range that spans the palest nude to the darkest black.

Available online and in store at Debenhams now

£36.00 (link)

There's something very beautiful about an untouched eyeshadow.. you almost don't want to use it!

I said ALMOST!

Miss BB