Urban Decay Naked2 Eye Palette (Sephora, $50)
I’ve worn Stila Coco and Oasis eye shadows since I was 20 years old. As lovely as the shadows are, using the same eye color for almost a decade is officially classified as a cosmetics rut. To break out of my dry spell, I decided to give the Urban Decay Naked2 palette a try.
I was immediately drawn to the palette’s mix of earth tones and metallic shimmer. The shades are versatile, buildable and, with the addition of primer, last all day. I even like the brush, and I’m usually anti-eye shadow brushes.
My favorite shades so far are Chopper, shimmery copper with tones of pink, and Pistol a deep, charcoal grey with a wash of metallic. I also like Bootycall, a champagne color with a bit of sparkle, as a highlighter. (If you want to see each shade on the skin, Beauty Junkies Unite has the in depth scoop.)
All in all, I think this palette is worth the hype that surrounded its release. The shades are perfect for creating a neutral eye look for every day or a smoky look for your off hours. It’s the perfect thing to break me out of my rut without dropping me head long into a vat of garish neons.
I also recently bought myself the Kat Von D Saint Palette from Sephora. It has a similar array of colors, and comes with a dark brown eyeliner pencil. I have gotten complements every time I've worn it. The shadows are highly pigmented so they will last a long time.
The other Naked palette was surprisingly shimmery – I was planning on ordering it until I tried it in the store. Can anyone speak to the shimmery-ness of this one? I'm quite pale so I worry about looking like a 16 year old going to prom.
e: Some of the shades are shimmery, some are matte. The ones that are shimmery, to my eye, are more like a wash than glitter-y.
There aren't as many colors in this one, but I love it! (Fabulous Christmas present from the MIL this year)
https://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/product/2329/15937/Makeup/Eyes/Eye-Palettes/Shadow-Options-Eye-Palette/SS11/index.tmpl
I really like this – Belle, do you think it would work for a pale, natural redhead?
Katy: There are definitely some colors in here that would work. The pale shimmers in gold and silver are a great base color. And the mauves and purples would be lovely. The copper colors might be an issue of personal preference, but the purples would be lovely.
E, I have both palettes and think they have similar levels of shimmeryness to them. In this one, I would say there are four colors that are matter and in the original I think there are three, so maybe this one is slightly less shimmery, but not by much.
Like Belle, I think the shadows are more of a wash than glittery. (Perfect wording, by the way!)
Oops, I mean matte, not matter. D'oh.
I like the palate quite a bit but was curious about something. I go through the lighter/more neutral colors far faster than the bolder, smokey, for evening colors. Do you all end up tossing the whole thing when the primary shadows have been consumed, or do you keep them around? I have this Tarte Palette and am going through the 6 shadows to the left fairly quickly.
https://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P242808&categoryId=S10501&shouldPaginate=true