Monday, January 6, 2014

Urban Decay NAKED 3 eyeshadow palette review + swatches


           I rarely spring for palettes. Despite being a beauty lover, I try to keep things minimal - which means going for carefully curated singles over collections of colors I don't feel particularly strongly about. It seems that the Urban Decay NAKED series is an exception to my rule, as I now own all three!

             That said, I did think carefully before picking up Urban Decay NAKED 3 - after all, did I really need another neutral palette? Ultimately I gave this rosy/ mauve neutral palette a go for two reasons.  First, neutrals with hints of mauve pink tend to look more natural on me, matching my skin's undertones. Second, neutrals are considered 'classics', but they're really subject to trend as much as your typical colors. Warm golden shades a la the original Urban Decay NAKED are out, while mauve pinks are currently in.


        To me, the textured rosy metal casing looks like wave-rippled oceanside sand! The closure and hinge mechanisms are plastic, which initially made me worry about the possibility of breakage. However, my NAKED 2 palette (which has the same construction) has yet to break, so these fears are, so far, unfounded.


       The palette comes with a double ended cruelty-free brush, which I definitely prefer over their pencils. One end is a fluffy shadow brush and the other is a smaller flat paddle. Overall, I find that Urban Decay brushes work well with their products. The light-handedness of a synthetic bristle brush is good when working with highly pigmented shadows.


         I'm a fan of the general organization of shades from light to dark, which wasn't the case in the past NAKEDs. The inclusion of more matte shades, including a base white, is much appreciated too! I've written more detailed thoughts on each shade below.


        I like to dust a matte white/cream tone all over my lids as a brightening base, so I was happy to see Urban Decay Strange included in the palette. It has an ever-so-slight satin sheen, which is fine by me. The next three are light and lean a bit peachy. To be honest, I'll probably get less use from them as I don't usually go for light peachy shades. Urban Decay Dust, was unfortunately a bit dusty for me (per its namesake). It's a pale peachy pink shimmer. Urban Decay Burnout is a slightly richer peach shade with considerable sheen. I found Urban Decay Limit to be a great matte kid, however, it's almost invisible on my skin. I'll probably use it to soften lines.


         Urban Decay Buzz is an unexpected favorite of mine. At first I thought it had poor pigmentation since it wasn't showing up well on me. Then I realized it was simply because the shimmery pink mauve blended in so well with my skin! It adds a beautiful pink glow to my lids. Urban Decay Trick might do the same thing for warmer skin tones; it has a nicely pigmented orange-copper glow.  I already know that Urban Decay Nooner and I are going to be BFFs. This slightly cool mauve brown is a perfect blending color for me. Urban Decay Liar is a wonderful mauve-brown with a beautiful sheen.


         There is a wonderful range of medium to dark neutral shades in the palette; though they might not look it at first glance, they all have mauve to pink undertones. Urban Decay Factory is a brown with slight pink undertones and a satin finish. Urban Decay Mugshot is a taupe brown. Urban Decay Darkside is a mysterious looking grey-taupe that leans a bit mauve. Urban Decay Blackheart looks stunning in the pan. When blended out, the pearl is lost and I get a soft black liner shade instead.

         I've swatched all twelve shades from Urban Decay NAKED 3 below. The palette may look slightly warmer and less pink on me than others' swatches, as my skin naturally pulls out some of the pink tones. (Whereas, on warmer skin, the shades might actually look pinker and cooler).


             The verdict on Urban Decay Naked 3? For me, it's love. I could see Urban Decay NAKED 3 becoming my favorite of their palettes. As I've mentioned, the shades seem to meld beautifully with my skin tone, and frankly, it's hard to find neutrals with rosy or mauve undertones (trust me, I'm always looking). My current favorite shades are Strange, Nooner, Buzz, and Blackheart.

          For others, I think it depends on your expectations. Urban Decay NAKED 3 is relatively neutral and should be wearable on most skin tones. It's a good fit for the current climate, when subtle pink tones are trending. However, as I've mentioned, even neutrals have trends (and trends do pass); it's something worth considering if you like to think long-term.

          Thanks for reading! Have you tried Urban Decay NAKED 3? Which shades stand out to you most? Do you have a favorite out of the three NAKED palettes?

Love, Dovey.
P.S. Click to check out reviews of Urban Decay NAKED 1 and Urban Decay NAKED 2!

28 comments:

  1. Beautiful review and photos, as always Dovey :)

    I adore the look of this, and am awaiting the arrival any day now!

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    1. Hi Emma, Thank you so much! I hope NAKED 3 makes its way towards you soon!

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  2. i love the look of the second half of the palette! :)

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    1. Hi Joyce, I have to agree --- the mediums/darks are quite nice :)

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  3. I've been loving watching and reading all the Naked 3 reviews... I don't plan on buying one on myself, but I can't resist wanting to know what everybody else loves about it :)

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    1. Hi Lucy, I've really done the same as well - everyone seems to have unique thoughts on the same palette!

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  4. I don't own the other two and I think this is the one that I've been waiting for! I love the mix of pink and peach tones.

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    1. Hi Larie, I hope you get a chance to try it! Maybe the third time's the charm :)

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  5. Lovely photos as always Dovey! After much thought and comparing notes, I'd finally decided that this would be the Naked palette for me. Surely, this one would have enough cool toned colors that it would work but swatched on me, there were a few that were pretty, several were close to colors I already have and several pulled red out in my skintone. Redder is not the overall beauty look I'm going for! ; P So I passed on this one too. Like you, I very rarely purchase palettes. I'm far more likely to purchase singles. All that said, I still love looking at this - it is a pretty palette!

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    1. Hi Kristi, Thank you so much! It's shame that the colors pulled redder - it can definitely be trickier to pull off that way. It's definitely interesting how the same color can look so different on different people :)

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  6. Amazing! I decided I needed this palette after the rosy toned Zoya Naturel polishes captured my lil heart. I don't go for palettes either, for the same reason, among others, but these N3 colors just look so. darned. pretty! I havent been able to get my hands on this one quite yet but I'm excited to own it and maybe work on my minimal blending skills. Beautiful review :)

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    1. Hi Liesl, I hope you manage to find one soon! The Zoya Naturels certainly looked like a pretty collection :)

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  7. Hey Dovey, I own Naked and Naked 2, but I'm pretty sure I'll pass on this one! I counted 4 shades that I won't ever use (Dust, Burnout, Buzz, Trick), so ultimately it doesn't have quite the same value for me. I do agree with you that neutrals actually have a trend. I'm still very stuck in the taupe-y phase of Naked 2 though LOL

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    1. Hi Sunny, I still love NAKED 2 - it has a lot of good colors! It's great that you know which colors you would/wouldn't use! It makes makeup buying a lot more straightforward :)

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  8. I love this palette! It was such a surprise winner, since I wasn't sure how the rosy tones would look on my skin tone.

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    1. Hi Natalie, me too! Glad to hear it worked so well for you :)

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  9. Great review. You make a good argument for acquiring this beauty (as if I needed one) and I'm looking forward to having it in my collection - hopefully soon :p

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    1. Hi Scribblewithliner, Thank you! I hope you get the chance to try it out in person :)

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  10. I don't have any pull toward the Nakeds anymore, but this is one of the prettiest reviews of Naked3 that I've seen. Enjoy, Dovey!

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    1. Hi Liz, Thank you for the kind comment! I tried to resist, but as you can see I fell for the charms of yet another NAKED!

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  11. Beautiful swatches! I am always tempted by the Naked palettes, but I only purchased the first and Naked Basics. I imagine bronze-y golds are less popular nowadays, but they're what work best for me, and what I'm drawn to. Pinks always seem to emphasize the redness on my lids, making me look tired or like I have allergies, so there are really only a handful of pink shadows I love. I feel like UD Sin from the original is similar to a few of these shades. Glad this worked well for you, though!

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    1. Hi Catherine, I'm the opposite! I don't have NAKED Basics, but it did seem like such a great palette. If they came out with a second cooler version, I'd probably jump :)

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  12. Hi Dovey, Excellent review and beautiful photos! I was so excited when I first heard that Urban Decay had created a pink-toned NAKED palette and as soon as I saw photos of it, I knew I had to have it! I also like that it has a nice mix of mattes and shimmers :)

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    1. Hi Shannon, Thank you so much! I'm quite excited about the pink as well - I bet it would look beautiful against your eyes :)

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  13. I've been loving the Naked 3 palette. I've done a few looks with it, but I've tended to stay toward the lighter end of the spectrum. Limit and Nooner are so nice for a simple matte eye, and I've loved using Burnout all over my lids on lazy days. These are lovely photographs!

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  14. Dovey, What an amazing review on this highly awaited (mine is on it's way as well!) Palette! I love how you do those swatches, as I can truly see the roset undertones, especially in Darkside, where you wouldn't normally expect to see! I have Urban Decay Palette 2 and did not use it as much as I thought I would. Very disappointed. I havr 4 Too Faced Palettes and use them much more. So when I read about UD 3, I did get excited, as it seems these colors will go very well on my skin color, (similar to yours) but even more, with my Green Eyes! I read somewhere that UD has changed up their pigments, so that it doesn't fly around, for lack of better wording, all over your face and eye area too.

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    1. Hi Pamela, it sounds like you have a lot of palette experience! I hope UD Naked 3 is what you hope it to be :)

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    2. It is! I love love it! Even my hubby said, "Wow, those look more like you." When I showed him the colors. And yes, I admit, I'm a palette girl. It's so much easier for me. Much Love♥

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