Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I figured that since I mentioned the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette the other day in my review of the Kat Von D Ladybird palette that I might as well go ahead and post a review.  I've had the Naked Basics palette since last winter and I never, ever use it.

I think from the name, Naked Basics is a fantastic idea.  And the packaging is my favorite of all the Naked palettes.  It's super sleek and sturdy, all matte, doesn't collect dust or fingerprints.  The mirror is a really nice size.

The execution of the shadows, however, leaves a whole lot to be desired.  I picked it up because I am a huge fan of matte neutrals and I wear them often.  Problem is that of the 6 shades in the palette, only 5 of them are actually matte.  (Venus has shimmer).

The other big problem, as far as I'm concerned, is that out of 6 shades, 4 of them are incredibly light neutrals.  Just look at the swatches below.  Look.  The first 4 shades in the palette are barely discernible from my pasty pale skintone.  

As far as the texture on the shadows, they're fine.  I'm not blown away by any of them, but they're okay, especially for mattes.  I definitely don't feel like Urban Decay's matte formula is any better than other mid-range brands.  Inglot's matte formula is heaps better.

Overall, this Naked Basics palette is so incredibly basic, in the most derogatory sense of the word.  There is nothing special about this palette, there isn't even anything particularly useful (IMO) about his palette.  I know that lots of people love this palette as a complement to other palettes and I understand that, but I feel like a palette should be self contained.

The Urban Decay Naked Basics palette is part of UD's permanent range.  It contains 7.8 grams of product and retails for $27.  It is available wherever Urban Decay is sold.  I picked mine up at Sephora.

Overall:  5/10

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked

Starting in Spring 2012, Urban Decay has made significant headway in reformulating most of their cosmetics line (for the better, from what I can tell).  Their eyeshadows were reformulated in Spring 2012 and in Summer 2013, they released their new line of Revolution lipsticks.  Urban Decay overhauled both the packaging and the formula of their lipsticks.

I will admit to being fairly oblivious to Urban Decay's previous line of lipsticks.  I didn't own any and I wasn't even remotely curious about them.  I didn't tend to hear anything about them, good or bad.   But when the reformulated lipstick line launched, the reviews tended to be solidly favorable across the board.

The packaging is nice, very slim and shiny.  The bullet is significantly taller than a MAC or drugstore bullet and the actual product is not very wide, which makes precise application easier.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to pick up the Revolution lipstick in Naked.  The color is described by Urban Decay as "nude-pink" and the revolution formula is supposed to be "insanely pigmented".  I don't know about that last part.  It took a couple of swipes to get opaque coverage, which really isn't a deal breaker for me.

(indirect natural light)

(daybulbs)

The lipstick definitely applied shiny at first, but after an hour or so, the shine was pretty much gone.  The lipstick wore for probably 3 - 4 hours before I needed to re-apply.  This color is very forgiving, so it wore off nicely. I can't speak to how the darker and more intense colors wear.  The formula is comfortable on the lips.  I don't know about Urban Decay's claims that it's nourishing.  It definitely didn't feel like a lip balm, but it wasn't drying either.

The Urban Decay revolution lipsticks contain 2.55 grams of product, which is less than a standard drugstore lipstick, and retail for $22.  I don't feel like this formula is significantly better than what I could find at the drugstore, so I won't be buying anymore of these.  The Urban Decay revolution lipsticks are available directly from Urban Decay, at Ulta or Sephora.  I bought mine at Sephora.

Overall:  7/10

Milani Shadow Eyez!

I've been on the lookout for the Milani Shadow Eyez for weeks and I finally found them at CVS this week.  I was so excited!

I picked up 3 colors:

• 04 Green Safari
• 02 Brown Deluxe
• 03 Champagne Toast

They also have a white, purple and blue, but I passed on those.  I already have the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in milk, so I didn't need the white.  And like so many people, I picked up the Urban Decay 24/7 shadow pencil set so I already have a purple and blue.

I was most excited about the Shadow Eyez in Champagne Toast.  I thought it looked like a dupe for Urban Decay's 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Sin.  I love that pencil from Urban Decay.  I use it several times a week.

You can still get the 24/7 Shadow Pencils in Sin.  They are $20 for  2.8g of product.  The Milani Shadow Eyez pencils are also 2.8g of product, but they retail for $5.99 at CVS, so they are much more budget friendly.

Anyway, back to the dupe issue.  Here is the Milani pencil and the Urban Decay pencil.

Swatch with no flash:

Swatch in sunlight:

The Milani pencil is pretty much an exact dupe.  I will say that the Urban Decay pencil does wear a bit longer, but the Milani pencil is definitely great quality and it's about a quarter of the price.

Have you guys tried out the Milani Shadow Eyez pencils?  What do you think?