The Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation (proper & long name = Urban Decay Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup) shot into the limelight a couple of years back when Kim K infamously chose this as her wedding day base. Her trusted makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, listed all the products he used, and a large protion was in fact Urban Decay. It’s been one of those makeup products that I have toyed with, nearly purchased and kept meaning to try but have only just got round to it now….did it live up to the hype? Well, kind of yes. I do like the foundation a lot, but I am also super skeptical when I see celebrity-endorsed products, so I actually never had huge expectations about it in the first place.
The packaging is nice and light and comes in a plastic, pump bottle. I really like how it looks, and I always prefer a pump foundation rather than a pour or a pot as it is just more hygenic and quick to use. I start off with one full pump of this and if more is needed I go for a demi-pump as not to waste any. The texture is very thin liquid, bordering on watery and if you are one of those people who don’t like the thickess and weight of a typical foundation, you will very much appreciate this on your skin as it is weightless and has a super light feel on the face. I am wearing shade 5.5 which is definately my summer shade and currently a touch too dark for me but with a help of fake tan sessions, I can make it work (ordering online is never my friend!).
The finish of this oil-free foundation is demi-matte yet a touch luminous so works wells on a normal-combo-oily skin. It gives skin that healthy appearance whilst giving a generouds medium coverage. It has optical blurring technology that smoothes the appearance of the skin & a handful of skincare ingredients (in small-ish amounts which won’t *really* do a great deal so I won’t bother faffing with them), it is also fragrance and paraben free. A key selling point is that this foundation makes your skinlook HD ready and retouched, but I will still be keeping that Valencia filter at the ready. The shade range is extensive and covers pretty much all skin tones hoo-RAH.
I would say this is defo not a full-full coverage foundation. This kind of base works really well on people who have reasonably *good* skin, needing up to a medium coverage who don’t have heavy markings / acne or redness. I have used this when my skin was really broken out, and I did need a good dose of concealer after I had applied this foundation to finish off and perfect my base. When my skin is good however, this foundation makes it REALLY good. In the above pictures I have on just Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation and a touch of concealer on blemishes, bronzer and blusher. As always I like applying my foundations with a buffing-type foundation brush as opposed to the typical paddle-style brush, as I just find them more pliable and versatile. My favourite being the Crownbrush C472 or this NARS one.
This foundation is available at the House of Fraser website, in-stores and also in the UD Boutique priced at £27 which slots it into the high-end market. I think I need to pop along to now try the matching concealer, as again, I have heard good things about this!
Have you tried any of the Urban Decay base products? I also have my eye on the Naked Concealer.
