NAKED Urban Decay Palette.

Jul 9, 2016

K H.

That was today's makeup

Jul 9, 2016

Dana E.

I've had this palette for a year and have so much trouble trying to create looks with it that I barely even use it.

Jul 9, 2016

Dawn C.

I had the same problem Dana E.

Jul 9, 2016

Dana E.

Good to know I'm not the only one Dawn!! The only shades I ever use are whiskey, combust and high :/

Jul 9, 2016

K H.

Thank you Alexis! (: and I barely use mine but just wanted to see what you guys use! Haha (:

Jul 9, 2016

K H.

@ Dawn and Dana ^

Jul 10, 2016

Emily C.

I think that for more casual looks you could use the more neutral ones (browns and golds) and if you wanted to do a kind of going out look a black/grey smokey eye would look reallllly nice. I think they would suit your eye colour and look really nice of you :) (I hope I helped, sorry if I didn't ☺️)

Jul 10, 2016

Jacqueline H.

To keep it truly smoky... ;) Thirteen as the highlight, Password as the midtone and Black Market as the contour (or deepest color used to smoke). You could also use Thirteen as the highlight again, Combust as the Midtone and Whiskey as the Contour(or deepest color used to smoke.)

While, it's not a favorite of mine at all, there are really quite a few options and looks that you can come up with in this palette if you keep the basic tenets of shadow application in mind:

Highlight shade: This is the lightest shade of the ones you will be using. Everything you highlight will visually come forward. A matte finish is much more subtle than a shimmer. For a deep set eye, a shimmery highlight will open up the eye more than a matte shade would. Lighter highlight shades are also more dramatic than more flesh toned shades would be. How much you want to pull an area forward depends on whether you make a more or less dramatic shade choice. Believe it or not, your highlight shade sets the tone for the entire application.

Midtone: This shade is THE most important shade. It's the middle shade of your three shadow colors, it is deeper than you highlight shade and lighter than your contour shade. The midtone really is the first step in the blending process because it's what creates definition. This shade should be the most natural... in essence an extension of your skin tone. You'll change your highlight and contour shades more often than you your change midtone.

Contour: The contour shade is the deepest of the three shades. It does not have to be necessarily deeply stark or dark- It just has to be the deepest of the 3. The contour shade is what defines the eyes.

If you keep in mind the highlight, midtone and contour shades and what they are supposed to do, you'll have an easier time trying to come up with cohesive looks.

That being said, what in this palette constitutes the the 3 basic types of shadows? In my opinion:

Highlight shades in this palette: Thirteen, Combust, High,
even Dirty Sweet.

Midtone shades in this palette: Radar, Armour, Slanted, Password could also be used as a midtone or a contour depending on how you build it up.

Contour Shades: Black Market, Smolder, Whiskey.

I respectfully disagree with using rubbing alcohol over each color. While a LIGHT misting of alcohol over your shadows will sanitize them, applying a more concentrated amount of rubbing alcohol over your shadows can ruin their texture and create hard spots. If you want to make a color pop, I'd use a spray like MAC's Mist Fix+. or mixing medium. When you use any sort of wetting agent, you have to make sure that what you are using will work, and pigments/loose shadows are best for using a wetting agent to make the color pop, I would not advise using rubbing alcohol to do so.  ;)