Beauty Favorites Friday: Urban Decay Naked2 Palette.

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Today's favorite comes from my beauty blogging friend Aleya at Spontaneous Chick. Spontaneous Chick is a beauty and fashion blog where you can find product reviews, skincare tips, nail polish reviews, beauty trend posts, plus fashion tips and trend alerts for every season.

Aleya's favorite summer beauty product is the very popular Urban Decay Naked2 Palette. Read on to learn why.

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Above all other styles, I love natural looking makeup whether it’s a smokey eye or a no makeup look because it allows me to look like a better, more rested version of myself. So of course when the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay came out I had to purchase it. As it turns out, it has everything that I need to create the right look for whatever I’m doing whether it’s going to work, shopping or meeting friends for dinner.

The Packaging
A shiny taupe tin casing with clean black lettering going across it creates a clean, modern looking palette. The thickness of the case is about half an inch wide and the length and width is about 2” X 9” which makes it small enough to throw into a clutch purse and take it around with you in case you need it for a touch up later in the day. Within the case you’ll find a full length mirror, twelve different shadow colors and a double sided brush. As a bonus they’ve also included a travel sized Lip Junkie gloss which makes this palette a steal at $50.00.

The Eye Shadow
The eye shadow colors are highly pigmented and range from matte to metallic colors, giving you plenty of opportunity to mix, play and create. The shadows have good staying power so that you don’t have to worry about how fresh your eye makeup looks throughout the day. A simple touch up at the end of the day is all you really need to get you to your next appointment. As far as application goes, they go on very easily and blend exceptionally well so that you don’t have to worry about streaks or uneven application. Now for the colors.

  • Foxy- A matte nude color with a yellowish tint making it perfect to use as a base color.
  • Half Baked- A truly versatile metallic gold that can go from day to night and can be incorporated into any eye makeup style.
  • Bootycall- A beautiful matte champagne that really works wonders as a highlighter.
  • Chopper- A sensual metallic copper shadow.
  • Tease- A soft matte brown that can be used to create an array of looks. 
  • Snakebite- A rich metallic brown with gold highlights. 
  • Suspect- A metallic taupe with gold highlights perfect for creating the gold foil eye makeup look that was showing on the runways for this summer.
  • Pistol- A unique metallic gunmetal silver color perfect for the smokey eye look. 
  • Verve- A metallic oyster highlighted with white so that it really shimmers and shines.
  • YDK- Metallic taupish bronze that goes beautifully with every color in the palette. I prefer this color for a night out but it can be worn during the day as well.
  • Busted- A dark metallic brown that I feel should be combined with other colors because it’s very powerful on its own. It makes a great smokey eye color.
  • Blackout- A great matte black shadow. Although it looks dull and washed out in the palette, it’s actually highly pigmented when applied so apply a little bit at a time.

Whether you’re a beginner or a pro you’ll find that the colors play nicely off of each other so that you can mix, match and blend them with little thought. The only complaint that I have about the palette is that I wish they had grouped the similar colors together.

The Brush
The double sided brush has a flat brush as well as a blending brush. The flat brush is a good tool to use when you want a quick basic shadow look. However, I love the bending brush because it creates smooth strokes quickly and seamlessly. This makes it easy to travel with the kit because that’s two fewer items you’ll need to pack.

The Gloss
I’m loving the lacey filigree cap that they’ve added to the Lip Junkie gloss. The metallic grey and purple create a great contrast. The gloss is a sheer brown color that can be worn by anyone regardless of their skin tone. It also has a nice spearmint fragrance that creates the slightest tingle on your lips. As with many glosses, it comes off very easily so be sure to carry it around with you throughout the day because you will need to touch it up after you’ve been drinking coffee and having long discussions.

All in all, the naked 2 palette is a must have for me, not just for the summer but all year round. It allows me to have the natural look that I love but gives me the freedom and range to get creative with twelve gorgeous colors as well.

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