A Lesson in Being Basic: Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics

Urban Decay Ultimate Naked Basics £38.50*

When I heard Urban Decay were doing ANOTHER Naked Palette I rolled my eyes, made a joke about it being redundant and then instantly made a mental note that I need it in my life because well... you know... THERES ALWAYS SPACE IN MY LIFE FOR MORE BROWN EYESHADOWS.

Believe it or not the Naked Basics 1 Palette has been my most reached for of the countless additions to the Naked Family. The shimmery shades of 1, 2 and especially three are barely reached for since I decided sparkly eyeshadow gets into all my crows feet and makes me look about 50 despite being 26. Smokey... I like you but you were a little dry to use and smokey shadow 'aint an everyday thing so I'll pass on you you. But gimmie a nice warm matte and I'll be purring like a little kitty.

In jumps Naked ULTIMATE Basics - Every Time I read that I read it in the X Factor announcer guy voice for some reason. I just want to boom the word ULTIMATE out across an echo-y room!

Colour palette wise it's a nice mix between cool and warm shades, and although I feel like I've seen all these shades before in some shape or another in existing Urban Decay Palettes - But none the less that doesn't make me any less drawn to the palette. The colour selection is deeper and richer than all it's predecessors with shades of orange, plum and purple mixed with your standard neutral browns. Which makes it really versatile and something that can be used for the most basic of eye looks working up to something a little sexier.

I'd grant each shade a grade between a B+ to an A+ in terms of colour, quality and pay off. However In some reviews I read people mentioned there was an inevitable naughty child in the bunch in the form of Instinct. I do not agree in the slightest! I actually think thats my favourite shade of the whole lot and my go-to ever since I got this palette.

Shades:

• Blow (Light Nude Demi-Matte)
• Nude (Soft Pink Nude Matte)
• Commando (Light Taupe Brown Matte)
• Tempted (Pale Brown Matte)
• Instinct (Medium Pink Taupe Matte)
• Lethal (Reddish Brown Matte)
• Pre-Game (Pale Yellow Matte)
• Extra Bitter (Burnt Orange Matte)
• Faith (Medium Warm Brown Matte)
• Lockout (Rich Neutral Brown Matte)
• Magnet (Smoky Gray Matte)
• Blackjack (Warm Black Matte)

My extra  picks for the team is obviously Extra Bitter (helllo orange!), I also adore Tempted and Lethal. There's something about the richness of Lethal that I really dig, just looks like the perfect smoke out shade.

I honestly think this is a pretty excellent palette, dare I say better than a lot of the palettes UD have released recently and definitely the most innovative since the OG way back when. While it is basic and filled with mattes, every shade is super wearable and I can realistically see myself using them all in some form or another.

So hell yeah this palette might be basic but boring it is not, wearable does not always mean basic. Obviously if you're an avid makeup collector - especially of Urban Decay Palette one then you could skip it. But if you're in the market for a killer new matte neutral selection box then go forth and purchase.

And finally while it might be flogging a dead horse now with the "Naked" tagline, it works and it'll sell and I'll be damn sure to have this on my eyeballs as often as I can.