Battle of the Urban Decay NAKED Palettes

After the immense success of the first Urban Decay NAKED make-up palette the second one was going to have a LOT to live up to. The first NAKED palette made such a name for itself and featured in an abundance of YouTube videos and blog posts all over the world with pretty much everyone raving about it. With the gorgeous selection of quality shadows, it was hard not to.
So finally... the NAKED2 palette, I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and assessing it very critically against the well-established first palette. Here are the results. 

On first appearance, the palettes have much in common, a rectangular case with a series of rectangular shadows lined up inside, both printed with NAKED on the front with bold lettering. However there are a number of key differences, and if we are just talking about packaging then the NAKED2 has to win. The case for the NAKED2 is much more durable, the shadows come in a metal case that locks securely shut, whereas the original is a velvet case that closes loosely together, thus making the new palette much more handbag friendly and protected. If i'm going to nitpick, the velvet on the first palette also attracts fluff, so ultimately the NAKED2 has better packaging for those with mild OCD (like myself).

Down to the nitty gritty - the eyeshadows! Ultimately, I have come to the decision that you just cannot chose between the palettes, they simply compliment each other perfectly and although it may seem slightly greedy to have both, the new palette has been designed as a follow up palette to the first but I would say it has more peachy tones.
Both have colours that I would certainly buy separately, while some perhaps I would not, but as complete sets I love them both equally and both have colours that I use more than other sets. If you are looking to get one over the other, you just have to decide how many colours from each you would wear the most and go with the one that has the most wearable colours for you.

To remind ourselves of the first palette...

Left to right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal

This palette is undoubtedly brilliant and has such a cult following because of its quality and fantastic colour selection. On a side note, I do find these shadows have more fallout than many of my other favourite brands.

The colours that I personally use and would consider purchasing separately are Naked, Sidecar, Darkhorse, Toasted and Gunmetal. Unlike the NAKED2 this palette has two matte brown colours (Naked and Buck) which are brilliant for definition, there is also the gorgeously glittery Sidecar and the deep and dark glitters of Creep and Gunmetal. It is different to the NAKED2 in this respect, but the NAKED2 has some essential colours that are not found in this palette...

Left to right: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted and Blackout

Although this palette doesn't feature matte browns, there is the mink colour of tease that is very pretty and soft to contour with, The neutral matte shadow Foxy, which is wonderful as a base colour, and the deeply pigmented matte black named blackout, which is amazing for quickly defining the eyes and creating a rich intensity. Neither these colours, or anything similar, feature in the original palette. 

There is also the introduction of the taupe colour Pistol which is a much welcomed colour for me. The only cross over is Half Baked which makes an appearance in both palettes, although not one of my personal favourites, I presume it is in here again due to it being very popular and it is great on bronzed skin. This palette also sees the addition of five brand new eyeshadows - Booty Call, Busted, Pistol, Snake Bite and Tease.

Finally, just to talk of the overall quality of the shadows, as you may already know since we feature UD shadows quite a bit, the quality is fantastic, the payoff is rich, they are long lasting, they blend like a dream and the colour selections are right up my street but as I mentioned earlier, the fallout may be a turn off for some. Also, they are very shimmery indeed so certainly would be a disappointment for the person  that prefers a matte texture

Personally, I can't pick a favourite of the two (apart from the packaging) and love having both, they offer me variety and have their uses in different ways. At £36 a pop, I think they are great value for 12 outstanding shadows in each palette. I'm pretty sure the NAKED2 will create just as much of a buzz and have the same amount of success as the first. 

What do you guys think, do you have a favourite and why?

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV

Another product launched by Urban Decay as part of their holiday 2011 collection is the Book of Shadows IV (see the Midnight Emergency Kit review here). This all singing, all dancing creation is essentially comprised of typical Urban Decay products - a set of 16 - some new and some classic - shadows, a 24/7 black liquid liner (see review here), a mascara, and an eye shadow primer potion - all packaged neatly into this compact, rather bright and colourful box. But when the box is opened....

...it pulls out into this incredibly high tech (as far as make-up packaging goes) kit. When I first opened it, I wasn't actually sure what to do with it and found it almost overwhelming, but then soon learnt that what you are meant to do is to attach your phone to the purple speaker provided, and pop it into the top by the mirror. The point of this is because you are also presented with a card that has 5 smart phone barcodes (QR codes) on it which you scan with your phone to reveal a 'get the look' tutorial that you can follow with the products provided, hence the large mirror, which needs to be large because most of it is covered with huge plastic butterflies. I like the idea of this, but not with all the fuss that comes with it.

For me, the packaging and all its accessories make the product on the whole a gimmick. 

Unfortunately I think this deters from the brilliance of the actual products inside, of which time and time again I have praised hugely. I think the products speak for themselves without the need for the full-on packaging and phone accessories. Essentially what they have done is repackaged a selection of their amazing eyeshadows and presented them in a different way - 10 of the eyeshadows are new to the palette, which is a great bonus, whilst the other 6 are staple UD shades. Perhaps something like their NAKED Palette would be more suited to those of you who agree with me on the fussy packaging, it would definitely travel better anyway - with this product it pretty much has to stay on the dressing table, it's big!  Granted it is quite a cool concept, and on trend in so far as incorporating smart phones and barcodes into it if that is something that appeals to you, but this doesn't do it for me.

However, packing and phones aside I adore the make-up in this box. The eyeshadows are as usual exceptional and faultless with a beautiful and versatile range on offer, a great selection of colours and a few signature UD shadows that I use all the time. The liner is great and simple to use and the forever talked about eyeshadow potion makes a great base for these eyeshadows to work their magic.

The eyeshadows from left to right are -

1. Blue Bus

2. Gunmetal

3. Cobra

4. Baked

5. Bender

6. Gravity

7. Lost

8. Hijack

9. Midnight Cowgirl

10. Midnight Sin

11. Midnight Rodeo

12. Crystal

13. Bust

14. Missionary

15. Skimp

16. Zephyr

Ultimately, I love the products inside but don't love the other aspects of this release. I guess as it's limited edition it is fun to do something different and exciting, and even if it is fairly complicated and technical, it definitely has contributed something innovative and new to the make-up world and to the Urban Decay brand. Let me know what you guys think. 

The Book of Shadows IV is available now for £46.

Urban Decay Midnight Emergency Kit

New from Urban Decay as one of their Holiday 2012 pieces is the Midnight Emergency kit, a compact kit that is full of night out (or of course, anytime) essentials to keep you looking in check all night long. The kit contains 4 classically shimmery shadows, typical of UD, including the Midnight Cowboy shadow that is their bestselling shadow of all time. It also contains a pink shimmery lip gloss and a brush to apply the shadows, in my opinion the compact could have benefited from a mascara or liner just to give it a more of an all-round appeal. Nether the less, these are a good bunch of essential and reliable products from Urban Decay all in one small and easily portable kit.

The shadows are as usual brilliant in terms of pigment and ease of working with, and offer a girly selection of pinks and shimmers for a pretty look. The Junkie gloss smells great and is a perfect colour for a slick of glittery pink that is warm and soft in appearance. The exterior packaging compliments the inside products well, it has a subtle shimmering gold colour with a durable and hard case that has a zip which makes it perfect for carrying about in your handbag. The interior has a good sized mirror which allows for on the go application. I am not overly struck on the bright yellow and purple zig zag detail but it is the products that count and it looks pretty from the outside.

From left to right

1.Midnight Cowboy

2. Midnight Rodeo

3. Midnight 15

4. AC/DC

The Midnight Emergency Kit is available now and retails at £28 which is reasonable for the full sized products inside. It is limited edition for the holiday season so will be great for winter parties and events.

What's the deal with glitter eyeliners

I admit that i'm not the biggest fan of glitter liners but they are undoubtably popular so I felt that a little investigation might be needed to determine the good from the not so.
It seems that some of the cheaper drugstore brands have got this dialled.

The Collection 2000 Glam Crystals liners are jam packed with glitter particles suspended in coloured gel which often eliminates the need to use another liner before hand. 14 shades available.

The new MUA range from Superdrug features 10 shades of glitter liner.
Every single item in this range is £1.00. I tried Shade 2 which is a beautiful true gold, not yellow, pink or green. The glitter is set in a clear gel but there is so much glitter in this product that it does not look patchy or sparse, possibly helped by the brush which is excellent. A ridiculous bargain for a pound.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal liners have the finest grade of glitter. They certainly have the most sparkle but they need to be layered over another opaque liner to get the full effect as they can appear patchy and reapplication often lifts off the glitter already placed.

I have tried 2 of the Models Own glitters. I liked neither. The gel was too watery and the glitter too fine and sparse.

Note: Another brand to check for good glitter liners is Sleek Make-up.

Posted by Sam