 |
| From left to right: High, Dirtysweet, Radar, Armor, Slanted, Dagger |
 |
| From left to right: Black Market, Smolder, Password, Whiskey, Combust, Thirteen |
 |
| From left to right: Thirteen, Combust, Whiskey, Password, Smolder, Black Market |
 |
| From left to right: Dagger, Slanted, Armor, Radar, Dirtysweet, High |
Sorry for posting two Naked palette reviews in a row, but as the new Naked Smoky Palette is finally out in Ireland tomorrow, I thought I would review it to help you decide if this palette is for you or not. I managed to get my hands on this palette on the day it came out in Sephora while I was in America, and I have been testing it and trying out all the eyeshadows since. Although I have only had this palette for about two weeks, it is already one of my favourite Naked palettes. Before getting this palette, I could never create a nice smokey eye without it looking too heavy, but this palette makes creating the perfect smokey eye easy, and you can make a brown toned smokey eye or a more grey, classic smokey eye. I didn't think that this palette would suit me, as I rarely wear a smokey eye, but with this palette you can make natural, everyday smokey eyes and build it up if you want it to be smokier.
This palette has 12 eyeshadows in it, the same amount as the previous Naked palettes. The layout of the eyeshadows in this palette is different to the previous palettes, as unlike the previous palettes, which have the colours laid out ranging from light to dark, this palette has the eyeshadows laid out in order of finish. There are four shimmers together on the left side, four satins in the middle, and four matte eyeshadows on the right side of this palette. Most of the eyeshadows in this palette are very pigmented, but some were quite disappointing. As you can see in the swatches, two of the matte shades, 'Thirteen' and 'Combust' are extremely patchy and they aren't pigmented at all. The satin eyeshadows are all pigmented and very easy to blend, which makes creating a smokey eye much easier. Two of the shimmer eyeshadows, 'Armor' and 'Radar' were a bit disappointing, as they lacked some pigment and there was some fallout with 'Armor', which I have never experienced with an Urban Decay eyeshadow before. With my NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, these eyeshadows last for about 10 hours before creasing. Without primer, I would say they last for about 3 hours, but I have very oily eyelids.
This palette is extremely versatile, as you can create all sorts of smokey eye looks using this palette, from an everyday smokey eye to a deep, intense smokey eye for nighttime. This palette also comes with a double ended brush with a blending brush head on one end and a pencil detailer brush head on the other, which is surprisingly quite good. I wouldn't use them instead of my MAC eye brushes, but if you are a beginner with makeup, I would say to do a nice smokey eye you would only need an extra blending brush, such as the MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush, to use at the end just to blend all of the eyeshadows together, and a flat eyeshadow brush such as the MAC 239 Brush to pack eyeshadow onto the eyelid, to use alongside the brush that comes with this palette.
Despite getting some pretty average reviews online, I really enjoy using this palette and although there is some fallout with some eyeshadows, and there has been some criticism about the wear time of these eyeshadows, I think that by using an eye primer, which I always use with any eyeshadow anyway and I advise everyone else to do the same, can solve these problems. My favourite smokey eye look using this palette is a golden-brown toned smokey eye look. I pack 'Dirtysweet' all over my eyelid using a MAC 239 brush. I then blend 'Radar' into the crease and in the outer corners of my eyes using my MAC 217 blending brush, or the blending brush end of the brush that comes with this palette. Then, I blend 'Whiskey' into the crease and outer corners also, using the same MAC 217 brush, but I make sure to put most of this eyeshadow into the outer corners of my eye, just to make the eye look a bit more smokey. Then, I will use the pencil end of the brush that comes with this palette to bring 'Dirtysweet' all along my lower lashline, right to the inner corners of my eyes. I then do the same with 'Radar'. I then do the same with 'Whiskey', but I stop at about halfway of my lower lashline. To finish off the look, I line my upper lashline with a black liquid eyeliner, and I will line my tightline with a black pencil eyeliner. I then finish off with lots of mascara on both my top and bottom eyelashes, and if I was going out at night I might even wear false eyelashes. I love this eye look, because it is a lovely golden-brown smokey eye that isn't too dark or intense. If you wanted, you could make it a bit smokier by adding a dark brown shade in the outer corners and crease the eyes, and maybe instead of using liquid liner, you could use a brown liner smudged along the upper and lower lashlines. The possibilities are endless with this palette, which is what I really like about it.
Overall, I would advise any smokey eye lovers to buy this palette, and also anyone who would like to try and start wearing a smokey eye look, but they are a bit intimidated and are not sure of what shades to use, as this palette also comes with a small booklet that shows you how to create a few different smokey eye looks.
The Naked Smoky palette is available in Debenhams, and it costs €46.
Despite getting some pretty average reviews online, I really enjoy using this palette and although there is some fallout with some eyeshadows, and there has been some criticism about the wear time of these eyeshadows, I think that by using an eye primer, which I always use with any eyeshadow anyway and I advise everyone else to do the same, can solve these problems. My favourite smokey eye look using this palette is a golden-brown toned smokey eye look. I pack 'Dirtysweet' all over my eyelid using a MAC 239 brush. I then blend 'Radar' into the crease and in the outer corners of my eyes using my MAC 217 blending brush, or the blending brush end of the brush that comes with this palette. Then, I blend 'Whiskey' into the crease and outer corners also, using the same MAC 217 brush, but I make sure to put most of this eyeshadow into the outer corners of my eye, just to make the eye look a bit more smokey. Then, I will use the pencil end of the brush that comes with this palette to bring 'Dirtysweet' all along my lower lashline, right to the inner corners of my eyes. I then do the same with 'Radar'. I then do the same with 'Whiskey', but I stop at about halfway of my lower lashline. To finish off the look, I line my upper lashline with a black liquid eyeliner, and I will line my tightline with a black pencil eyeliner. I then finish off with lots of mascara on both my top and bottom eyelashes, and if I was going out at night I might even wear false eyelashes. I love this eye look, because it is a lovely golden-brown smokey eye that isn't too dark or intense. If you wanted, you could make it a bit smokier by adding a dark brown shade in the outer corners and crease the eyes, and maybe instead of using liquid liner, you could use a brown liner smudged along the upper and lower lashlines. The possibilities are endless with this palette, which is what I really like about it.
Overall, I would advise any smokey eye lovers to buy this palette, and also anyone who would like to try and start wearing a smokey eye look, but they are a bit intimidated and are not sure of what shades to use, as this palette also comes with a small booklet that shows you how to create a few different smokey eye looks.
The Naked Smoky palette is available in Debenhams, and it costs €46.
