Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Eyeshadow Palette Swatches, Review, & Eye Look

October 19, 2016 By StephanieLouise

Affiliate LinksPR Sample
The Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Eyeshadow Palette is one of the most-anticipated palettes of the year. Every shade is matte & neutral- making it awesome for every day or a fantastic companion palette. Inside we have 12 shades & I’ll break it down for you piece by piece. Keep reading to see what I think including a fun eye look!

Urban Decay introduces Naked Ultimate Basics—the matte eye shadow palette loaded into a sleek, square case with matte shades that have been requested time and time again. Each shade is exclusive to this palette and completely different from the shades in Naked Basics and Naked2 Basics. This palette offers a true range of neutral mattes, from cool to warm—all with a little edge. Create contoured all-matte looks, or pair these neutrals with your favorite bold hues.

With the Urban Decay Naked Basics & Naked2 Basics palettes doing so well- most of us assumed there would be a third version. What I wasn’t expecting was a larger palette because basics palettes contain 6 shades normally. I actually figured they’d put it out in the traditional Naked Palette line– those palettes contain 12 shades. The new Ultimate Basics Palette is a grouping of matte neutrals in varying shades & tones which holds 12 shades in square, metallic packaging. Simple & actually pretty elegant packaging. The mirror is very large & the closure is magnetic. You also receive a double-ended brush- one side a small smudger/deatailer which I find handy.

Inside I think the shades are nicely varied. Also, all 12 shades are matte but with that signature Urban Decay matte look that has the tiniest bit of a satin. This doesn’t bother me a bit as it isn’t visible on the eye & I assume it helps the shades blend so well. There is, however, one shade that definitely contains shimmer called Blow. All of the Urban Decay shades definitely apply best over a primer!

From left to right we have Blow (very pale cream demi/satin matte), Nudie (soft, pale pink-toned cream), & Commando (light taupe).

From left to right we have Tempted (muted taupe), Instinct (pink-based muted taupe), & Lethal (brown-based medium/deep plum).

From left to right we have Pre-Game (very pale yellow-based white), Extra Bitter (muted burnt sienna orange), & Faith (medium warm milk chocolate).

From left to right we have Lockout (neutral muted chocolate brown), Magnet (blue-based medium gray), & Blackjack (warm-toned smoky black).

Swatches left to right top row: Blow, Nudie, Commando, Tempted, Instinct, Lethal.

Swatches left to right bottom row: Pre-Game, Extra Bitter, Faith, Lockout, Magnet, Blackjack.

All swatches are on bare skin, no primer, dry finger, one swipe.

For my eye look I wanted to use the only two shades in this palette that sometimes give me trouble with application- Instinct & Lethal. They also happen to be two of my favorite shades. I mostly wanted to prove that even the most difficult shades in this palette are still basically a breeze to work with!

To create this eye look I first applied eyeshadow primer from Urban Decay. I used Tempted as my base shade on the lid & Blow below my eyebrow. I used a bit of Lethal to really buff out my crease. I used a mix of Tempted & Instinct to really define my crease focusing on the outer edge. I smudged a touch of Blow in my inner corner on the top & bottom. I worked my way across the lower lashline blending a bit of Instinct & just a little Blackout.

I topped my upper lashline with my favorite waterproof black liquid liner, my inner rim with this ultra black eyeliner, then of course some mascara! For a bit more pizzazz I added a glitter wing using the Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in Junkshow. Kind of matched my blazer! I got a ton of compliments on this look though so I’ll likely be recreating it somehow!

You can purchase the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Eyeshadow Palette from Sephora, ULTA, & the Urban Decay website!
Have you checked out this new palette from Urban Decay? Which shades do you think you’ll use most? What is your favorite Urban Decay Palette of all time?