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Hello my makeup-loving friends. It’s been a long ‘ol while since I’ve had something fresh from Urban Decay to review for you but I’m so pleased that I got sent the newest launch from them just recently : say hello the the Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Eyeshadow Palette. Here is my full review of the palette, the formulas, the shades, the swatches and the eye looks.
You have probably seen this doing the rounds of late ; I think every influencer was sent it as for the first time since maybe the Naked Heat palette, Urban Decay are wanting a little bit of a hype launch perhaps. I don’t think I’m the only one to notice UD have been a little on the d-low over the last couple of years? There used to be so much incredible hype and coverage when they launched but it kind of fizzled a little so I’m hoping they are bringing back a bit of *something* with this UV palette.
The Ultraviolet palette is still sitting within their infamous ‘naked’ range, which very much isn’t naked anymore but it’s described as ’12 vivid neutrals with a purple pop’ ; I think there are definitely 6 neutrals in this palette but not 12 ; this palette is kinda unusual, kinda bright and a little/ lot more interesting than a naked or neutral palette.
There are 12 shades : with formulas that are their classic matte, metallics and then holographic shimmers, which I think are a newer formula from Urban Decay. The first 5 shades are definitely your more neutral with washes of beige, golds, warm browns and smokey coppers. The ‘Lucid’ green tone which is possibly the most interesting for me, is arguably neutral as it is quite sheer/ ethereal and will work as a solo shade or over the top of others. The final 6 shades are all your pops of purple and they have a really interesting mix of finishes and tones : I love the matte pastel tone, the slightly pinkier purples, the blue-purples and the near black smokier tones. It has a lot of the purples you need and want!
The packaging is the typical Naked palette size and layout. The design is pretty and reflects what’s within. I usually find the UD packaging pretty sturdy and have only had one breakage and that was with the Heat palette. The brush that comes within the palette is decent ; you may know I have ‘a thing’ for brushes/applicators that comes within makeup palettes as they are often absolutely garbage but the Urban Decay brushes are actually pretty good
You can truly get A LOT of looks from this one palette ; it’s really versatile and I wanted to showcase this with a few eye looks that I created. The green is such a great shade as when worn over the top of a darker shadows and if you pop it over ‘Digital’ you get the brighter green you can see below.
For me, this is a really great palette, and I’ve really enjoyed using it and playing with it over the last couple of weeks : the formulas are true Urban Decay ; nicely pigmented, easy to blend and work with. The mattes, as any matte shadow, will drop if you are too heavy-handed with them as they are so very soft so I always say just build up the colour.
The ‘holographic shimmers’ I think are possibly the ‘V.R’, ‘Cyber Punk’ and ‘Purple Dust’. These are multi-faceted shadows that have lots of colours within that really changes and pop with lighting ; this is a new formula for me from Urban Decay and I really like what they have done with these. They feel a little creamier than the other formulas and you can really build this up with layering and pushing them onto the eye.
MY TIP FOR GETTING THE MOST FROM THIS PALETTE = LAYERING.
I’ve swatched and played with these shades a lot and honestly, just try experimenting with the mixing and layering of these shades ; the Lucid (green) can be washed over any of these colours to give them a twist, if you layer ‘Cyber Punk’ with ‘Warning’ or ‘Euphoric’ you get new shades of purple, if you pop colour over the top of the darkest shade, Digital, you get more shades ; it’s really quite a fun palette for perhaps stepping outside your zone a little.
I think it’s an interesting launch for Urban Decay, I’m hoping they follow with more cool stuff, as I do feel they have been a little quiet and over-shadowed by some of the newer colour brands lately. I’m also hoping to see another version of my favourite ‘Born to Run’ eyeshadow palette ; maybe a slightly bigger, artist-style palette and bolder version?
The Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Eyeshadow palette costs £43 and is available from all the usual retailers, online. I actually have a code where you can save 15% off this palette (it’ll be £36.54) if you shop with Look Fantastic and if you want to swipe one up then just use the code LAURA_LF at checkout.
So……what are we thinking about the latest palette launch from Urban Decay? Are you liking the shades? I think it’s a great palette : nice, workable formulas, an interesting mix of shades and really versatile.
