Urban Decay Backtalk Palette – Review & Swatches

Summer is the time to let go of inhibitions, check a few goals off your bucket list and slip into that sexy sun dress you’ve been dying to wear. If you’re looking for a multipurpose palette that can go from formal to fun you should definitely get your hands on Urban Decay’s latest creation.

Backtalk is the kind of palette you will want to take on vacation to create effortless looks and slip in your tote for romantic weekend getaways. It is perfect for daily wear and stunning on all skin tones.

This portable palette has a unique structural design that forms a mini vanity! Pop it open to reveal a row of gorgeous eye shadows alongside 2 must-have blushes and 2 radiant highlighters. Each side is divided by a double-sided removable mirror and when you’re done creating your masterpiece, the whole thing folds-up (pretty neat).

The shadows are luxuriously silky, highly pigmented, buildable, non-creasing and long-lasting. When applied over UD’s Primer Potion, the colors stand-out vividly and blend easily with bold saturation. My favourite shade is Attitude - a dusty rose with a pop of metallic brilliance but there is enough variety to create both neutral effects and dramatic intensity. The only thing I would add is another matte crease shade in deep burgundy or dark brown but I can always turn to my Naked Heat Palette for backup. You also get a nice brow highlight and a couple pretty transition shades to help pull your entire look together.

The Blushes instantly revive dull skin and the rich, velvety texture blends seamlessly! Cheap Shot is a gorgeous pink-mauve that provides a natural flush and Double Take is a soft coral that looks amazing on sunkissed skin. The two highlighters pair well with the blush and the smooth, lightweight shimmer instantly brightens the face for a lustrous bombshell glow.

The Palette retails for $59.00. Urban Decay is available at freestanding stores, Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart, and online at urbandecay.ca. Don`t forget to sign up for the Beauty Junkies Rewards Program to earn and redeem points.

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Eye Shadow Palette Review

The latest addition to the beloved Naked Collection by Urban Decay has been all the rage in the beauty community as the sultry rich shades and expertly crafted formula has awed makeup lovers and quickly become a fan fave. This time around the brand has stepped up their game when it comes to packaging with a large mirror for application and a semi-translucent hard case that is stylish and edgy.

For fall I love seductive smokey eyes that compliment fluffy sweaters, warm hues and jewel tones. This palette is packed with a dozen never-before-seen shades and a gorgeous combination of neutrals, beautiful bronze, browns, dimensional grays and alluring deep black. The finishes provide a range of effects from matte, satin, shimmer and stand-out sparkle so you can mix, match and create to your heart’s content!

When I first touched these soft, velvety shadows it was love at first swatch, the colors are very trendy, suitable for all skin tones and the pigmentation is buildable, full-coverage and intense for great saturation, shading, contouring and highlighting. The staying power and quality is also fantastic with or without a primer and the rich colors stay put all day without fading or creasing. To decrease fall-out I like to pat the shadows on with a flat brush and layer to achieve my desired effect and boldness.

The palette also comes with a duo sided brush, one end is great for blending and the other is smaller but ideal for placing shadow in the crease directly where you want it. Although the brush is good quality for the purpose of travel I would have preferred something for patting color onto the lids.

The first four shades starting on the left- High (champagne shimmer with micro glitter), Dirty Sweet (medium gold), Radar (metallic taupe with mico glitter) and Armor (metallic silver taupe with sparkle) are all shimmery but quite neutral. These shades have a brilliant finish and look great on the lids or as highlight. The next four shades- Slanted (light metallic grey), Dagger (medium charcoal with micro shimmer), Black Market (jet black satin) and Smolder (deep plum) are cool tones and work well for sculpting, defining and shaping. These fall beauties also transition into next season for trendy winter looks. The last four hues- Password (cool gray), Whiskey (rich matte brown), Combust (soft pink) and Thirteen (light matte cream) are fabulous for blending, transitioning colors and highlighting under the brows. Matte hues mesh beautifully with shimmery finishes for a nice combination of texture and depth.

I love the versatility of this palette and you can control the intensity of the smokey effects you create for subtle day looks or party girl, glam with endless possibilities! The range of light to dark essential hues makes this palette a great addition to any collection and it is ideal for travel.

The edgy new look, addictive hues and superb quality definitely creates an obsession! When it comes to Smok’n hotness this bad boy is the cream of the crop and you pick it up at Sephora locations and online for $60.00.

*Press sample featured

Urban Decay Vice 3 Eye Shadow Palette Review

I am a big fan of Urban Decay, in fact I use their Primer Potion every time I apply my eye shadows and it has been one of my must-have makeup essentials for years! The brand has released many beautiful palettes including cult favorites like The Naked Collection and today I will be taking a closer look at the magnificent Vice 3 palette with its warm, trendy hues and flashy packaging.

I have a lot of eye shadow in my collection so nowadays it is quite rare for a palette to impress me as much as this one has. The Vice 3 is a stunner and the magnificent shades are not only ultra saturated they are also very distinctive and remarkably smooth, soft and bold. 

The shadow are protected in a sleek, lightweight case embossed with a neon green jewel inspired logo and comes with a large mirror and a handy makeup bag to store the palette or transport your favorite products. You also get a dual ended brush with one end equipped to pat on color and the other for blending.

Vice 3 has 20 velvety “never-before-seen shades” with an impressive range of hues including: vibrant gold, sparking emerald, vivid blue, posh pink, bold bronze, burgundy and smokey red-black. The colors are arranged in columns- nudes on the left, jewel tones in the middle and smokey shades on the right so you can color coordinate your looks. There is also a wonderful array of finishes such as matte, metallic, shimmer and satin so you can mix, match and get creative!

I recently used this palette during my backstage coverage of World Master Card Fashion Week and I was able to come up with some dramatic, glam looks that were perfect for the occasion. The variety of color is great for the lids, crease and brow bones as well as blending, transitioning and creating depth, shape and contrast.

This palette has an abundance of rich, flattering hues that compliment most complexions and they are wearable through every season. The pigmentation is very impressive with highly buildable coverage and the versatility to take you from fresh day appropriate makeup to smoldering evening looks and everything in-between. When used with Urban Decay’s Primer Potion the pigments are intensified and the finishes are beautifully enhanced for long-wear results with no creasing or fading.

Shades from top left to right: Truth (pale matte pink), Dragon (bright metallic green shimmer), Vanity (smokey metallic eggplant with multidimensional micro-glitter) Alien (pink-peach with gold), Last Sin (champagne shimmer with silver glitter), Undone (pink-beige pearl with a matte-satin finish), Freeze (metallic medium blue with glitter), Lucky (shimmery gold), Alchemy (deep fuchsia satin), Angel (light taupe with silver shimmer), Downfall (warm matte brown), Heroine (deep navy blue) Reign (rich brown), Bondage (smokey burgundy with shimmer), Defy (smokey taupe satin), DTF (taupe with floating pearl), Brokedown (metallic gold-brown shimmer), Bobby Dazzle (metallic white with glitter), Sonic (metallic red copper), Revolver (soft black satin with shimmer).

I did not swatch every shade as there are quite a few but below are some examples to give you an idea of how impactful the pigments are.

I love the smooth, soft non-chalky texture, ease of application and minimal fallout. This palette is definitely high quality and one you will find yourself reaching for often! Whether you are a Makeup Artist or just looking for a set of exceptional pigments to play around with the Vice 3 is a must!

The palette retails for $60.00 at sephora

*Press samples featured

The Naked 2 Eye Shadow Palette by Urban Decay

My love of eye shadow 

 I am going to come clean and confess that among loving all makeup I have a slight obsession with eye shadow. My love of eye shadow began back in Junior High and since then I have been experimenting nonstop with different looks and techniques. Needless to say I was very excited to try out these eye shadows by Urban Decay.

                          Versatility

The Naked palettes by Urban Decay are very popular and have become a staple in many Beauty Guru's makeup collections including my own. These palettes are very versatile with a combination of beautiful shimmery shades and subtle matte shades that can create gorgeous looks for every occasion.

 Many women tend to over pack when traveling and if you are anything like me then narrowing down what makeup items get to board the plane with you is a small feat.The Naked 2 is the palette I tend to grab when I go on vacation or weekend getaways because it can replace many of my other palettes and it can create soft day looks, as well as sultry looks for a night out. For more info on how to pack makeup for travel please click HERE

Naked 1 vs Naked 2 the reviews:

My Naked 2 palette

The original Naked palette

 The Naked palette contains warmer, darker and more neutral tones and the women who seem to favor this palette are women with medium to dark complexions. 

The Naked 2 palette has cooler colors, that are a bit lighter but still rather neutral and it seems to be a favorite among women with medium to lighter complexions. Both palettes however compliments a wide range of skin tones which makes them both a great purchase.

The palettes are $60 each and you receive 12 shades with quite a lot of shadow per slot. They are nicely pigmented, and when paired with the Urban Decay Primer Potion the shadows pack a bold punch of color and lasts all day without creasing.

Differences in packaging:

photos from Sephora.ca

 I prefer the packaging of the Naked 2 because it has a hard sturdy outer shell that appears more durable especially for travelling. The first Naked palette has a soft suede like exterior that has a reputation for becoming quite dirty and difficult to keep clean. 

The Naked 2 also has a larger mirror which is ideal for doing makeup on the go, however I do prefer the magnetic snap closure on the first palette which seems less fragile.

Deciding between palettes

If you don't want to purchase both palettes then the best way to decide between them is to head to your local Sephora and swatch them both. It really comes down to personal preference since both palettes can flatter all skin tones.

The colors

In the Naked 2 I like the range of neutral blending colors like Tease (5th from the left) which works well to blend into the crease as well as the darker crease color called Busted (second from the right). I also like that there are beautiful highlight colors such as Foxy (1st on the left), for a matte brow bone highlight as well as Bootycall (3rd from the left) and Verve (4th from the right) for inner corner highlighting.

The matte black is a nice addition to the palette because it can darken up any of the colors, add definition to the crease and can be used damp for seductive smokey looks.

 All the shimmery colors are great for all over lid use or to highlight the brow bone. The only color present in both palettes is Half Baked (2nd from the left), which is a beautiful gold color and my favorite shade in the palette. I would have liked to see the color Naked in the first palette repeated in the second but you can purchase many of these colors separately.

Pairing with other palettes

The Naked 2 Palette also works well paired with other eye shadow palettes because the colors compliment other hues. Here is a look I did using the gold color Half Baked with a coral color from Inglot.

The brush: 

I was disappointed in the brush that came with the palette. One side is a flat eye shadow brush for all over lid application and the other side is a blending brush made with synthetic material. The brush is not fluffy and soft which would have made for easier blending and application; instead the bristles feel more like plastic and don't have much flexibility.

The lip gloss:

I would have preferred the primer potion that came with the Naked 1 palette instead of the small lip gloss. The gloss is very transparent and a tad sticky.

If you haven't gotten your hands on these palettes yet I would definitely recommend heading to your local Spehora to check them out.