Urban Decay NAKED 2 – Review | Swatches | Looks

Alright. Continuing my little foray into Urban Decay and the Naked Collection, I have a long long long overdue review of the Naked 2 palette complete with swatches and a couple looks. So does this palette stand the test of time? Is it still worth the hype? Let’s find out. 

I have had this palette for a few years now. Right off the bat, I will say, it’s not my most reached for palette. Mine still looks relatively new in fact. It’s one of the first high-end palettes I purchased because Pinterest told me to and my introduction to the Naked Palettes.

 

When the Naked 2 came out back in 2011 you couldn’t get on Pinterest without seeing a million smoky eyes using this guy. I feel like this palette really caught on with everyone, not just the Urban Decay fans. This palette has become iconic in the beauty world and is undoubtedly one of the most duped palettes on the market next to the Naked 3.

Now let’s pick it apart. LOL.

The Packaging

 

Unlike the Naked Palette which is packaged in a chocolate brown velvet box, the Naked 2 is encased in a shiny taupe tin casket. Much cleaner, and durable than the original.  The embossed deep cool brown font is clean and sophisticated like the original and is a departure from what we had previously seen from UD.

The latch on the palette is strong and the case is somewhat weighty but very sturdy.

Inside you have the 12 0.05 oz pans arranged from lightest to deepest. The interior is a grayish brown hard plastic with the eyeshadows labeled in a clean gold font.

 

Also included is a doubled ended brush of pretty decent quality. One end features a flat shader brush and the other a blending brush. There is also a very nice high-quality mirror.

The Breakdown

The shade selection in the Naked 2 is predominantly cool toned with the exception of Half Baked which also appears in the Naked Palette. Even though the palette is obviously cool toned on the whole and Half Baked and Chopper don’t quite fit into that scheme, I think of the palette as more inspired by metals. Hence the metal packaging change.

You have a mix of matte, shimmer and metallic shadows ranging from light bisque to a deepest dark black.

 

 

On a whole, the eyeshadows are pigmented, buttery smooth and excellent quality. All the shadows aside from Bootycall can be purchased separately. I’m not sure if they were around prior to this palette or not.

There is a lot of fall out with this palette, however. Especially the black but that is the nature of the beast with UD eyeshadows from my experience. You kind of have to learn how the formula works for yourself and play.

The Swatches and Shadows

 

Foxy (cream bisque matte) is a sheer matte shadow with a yellow hue. It can go very yellow on pale skin. This is an odd shade choice for the palette and just in general.

Half Baked (golden bronze shimmer) Half Baked is an amazingly beautiful gold eyeshadow, it’s the perfect warm gold. It’s metallic and the pigmentation is outstanding. I would recommend this eyeshadow to anyone needing a good gold in their collection. It’s a universally flattering gold. While Half Baked doesn’t seem to make sense in the palette if you look at it not as a cool toned palette but as a palette inspired by metal it works.

Bootycall (cork shimmer) Bootycall is the only exclusive to the palette. It’s a lovely pale shimmer. Great for the inner corner highlight and applied lightly to the brow bone. This would make a great face highlight.

Chopper (copper shimmer w/silver micro-glitter) Chopper is a pretty cool shade. It’s a rosy metallic copper but with silver micro-glitter which gives it something really unique. Pigmentation is great. It’s a warmer shade but somehow it works perfectly in this palette. This shade could fit into the Naked 3 flawlessly. Maybe it was a hint of what was to come.

Tease (creamy pale brown matte) This is the perfect contour shade. I wish I had a huge pan of Tease just for that. It’s a great transition shade for cool toned looks and for pale skin. Could be more pigmented but it’s still a great shade. 

Snakebite (dark bronze shimmer) Not my favorite shade in the palette, but that’s just personal preference. I’m not a fan of shimmery browns. This shade reminds me of the hardware in my home which all has a Venetian Bronze finish. Great in my home but not a fan for my face. That being said, the pigmentation and quality of this shadow is great. 

Suspect (pale golden beige shimmer) Suspect is to me the most disappointing shade in the bunch. I just want more from it. It’s just kind of pale and blah. It looks pretty in the pan but I personally find it does nothing on the eye. It’s pigmented and quality is one par with the rest. Just doesn’t do it for me.

 

 

Pistol (light grayish brown shimmer) Now Pistol is one of my favorite shade from the palette. It’s a perfect gunmetal, pewter shimmer. I could be more metallic but I love this shade. Looks stunning on pale skin and deep skin alike.  Best applied with fingertips or a damp brush. 

Verve (oyster shimmer) Verve is another favorite. It’s like the ultra pigmented version of Bootycall. Super high shine shimmer shade in nice oyster tone. 

YDK (cool bronze shimmer) My most loved in the palette. YDK. YDK is an oddly cool bronze. Like Verve, it’s high shine and pigmented. The texture is on the chunky side so I would recommend a damp brush or a sticky base when applying to get the full impact. 

Busted (deep brown shimmer) Busted is am almost plummy brown with shimmer that tends to blend away. Not impressive as a shimmer but great for deepening the crease and outer corner because the shimmer impact is so minimal when applied dry with a brush. If you want the shimmer you can use a damp brush or fingertips. 

Blackout (blackest black matte) Lastly, we have Blackout and girl, it is blaaacck, but blends out into a deep charcoal. It looks like it should be the darkest richest black of life but it has that blue undertone that goes gray as you blend. It can be applied very concentrated to get the depth. It also can get everywhere and make a huge mess. Use with caution. It can muddy up your look. The texture is very smooth though. 

The Looks

Apparently, I can only create one kind of look with the Naked 2. LMAO! But here are some looks I did with it.

Shadowplay – Urban Decay Naked 2 Makeup Tutorial
Now for a question. Below is a picture from one my first tutorials and I would love to recreate it and do a way better job of it, like redo the whole tutorial. Would you like to see that? Here’s a look at the original. Prepare to cringes LOL! Heavy Metals Makeup Feat Urban Decay’s Naked 2.  I also have a daytime\summerly look with the Naked 2 planned.

The Verdict

Do you think the Urban Decay Naked 2 is still worth the hype? I personally would say yes and no.

Yes, in the way it’s a classic, it’s well loved by millions, great for pale girls, great value for what you get and great quality. At the time I think it was unique and totally worth the hype. Even you like just a couple shades, it’s still a better deal to me to by the palette than buy them separately unless it was a backup of one shade. I mean, it’s an iconic palette, it’s Urban Decay.

No, in today’s makeup world we have a million dupes and the shades aren’t that incredibly unique. I wouldn’t go out of my way to repurchase it and if I were new to makeup I probably wouldn’t. I can recreate any look I can do with this palette from other eyeshadows in my collection, be it from high-end brands of the drugstore. Which there are a ton of drugstore dupes for this guy.

The Urban Decay Naked 2 retails currently for $54 and can be found EVERYWHERE that sells UD.

Here are just a few dupes I spotted on Ulta and around the internet that can create almost the exact same looks:

• ULTA Gilded Gold Natural Eyeshadow Palette
• MAKEUP REVOLUTION Iconic 2 Redemption Eyeshadow Palette
• COVERGIRL Nudes TruNaked Eyeshadow Palette
• MAKEUP REVOLUTION #Selfie Slogan Palette
• RIMMEL LONDON Magnif’Eyes Shadow
• SOAP & GLORY Kick into Neutral Eyeshadow Palette
• MAKEUP REVOLUTION Run Boy Run Salvation Eyeshadow Palette
• E.L.F. COSMETICS Online Only Everyday Smoky Eyeshadow Palette
• BRONX COLORS Online Only Burlesque No1
• NYX BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT 101
• NYX SMOKEY LOOK KIT
• NUDE ON NUDE NATURAL LOOK KIT
• NYX NUDE ON NUDE
• LOVE IN PARIS EYESHADOW PALETTE – A LA MODE – BROWNS SHIMMERING SILVERS BLACK & WHITE
• NYX DREAM CATCHER PALETTE
• Coastal Scents Revealed Eyeshadow Palette

So many dupes, some are dead ringers.

Anyway, that’s wraps up this review.  What do you think? and do you want to see me redo my Heavy Metal Tutorial?

Don’t forget to check out my latest tutor and Lust or Bust! 

Shadowplay – Urban Decay Naked 2 Makeup Tutorial

Lust or Bust | Urban Decay – Naked Collection | Part 1 – The Eyes

 

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