Urban Decay Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes Review

I always mix and match my eyeshadow palettes—it’s the measure I take to ensure that I end up choosing colors that compliment my olive-toned skin and dark brown eyes. Urban Decay, however, made me realize that I don’t have to reach for more than one palette, thanks to the release of its Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes. I’m confident that if you snag one of these three palettes, it’ll become a fixture in your everyday makeup routine just like they now are in mine.

What are the Urban Decay Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes?

Urban Decay is a makeup brand that was founded in 1996 in southern California. The line of makeup products for the eyes, lips, and face are inspired by “LA’s sprawling cityscape and street art to palm trees and beach breaks.” Even though the brand specializes in products designed with all your makeup needs in mind, the brand's original Naked eyeshadow palettes cemented their status as one of the most popular makeup brands on the market. You can shop Urban Decay products at Ulta, Sephora, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and on the brand’s website.

The Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes come in three color stories, each of which include and are based around one shade from the original—and discontinued—Naked palette. The palettes contain six hues and comrpise matte, satin, and shimmering finishes. “Sin” is a collection of “blush-toned neutrals,” “Foxy” is a compilation of “olive-toned neutrals,” and “Half Baked” is an edit of “blazed, bronze-toned neutrals.” They purport to have a “velvety” texture that is easy to blend and a 12-hour wear time with no creasing or smudging. Each palette retails for $29.

What I like about the Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes

Bold color payoff

Urban Decay was not playing around when creating pigmented shadows. I started experimenting with the shade “Buck Off” (matte tawny bronze) from the “Half Baked” palette, and I realized quickly that I picked up way too much powder with a tap of my Sephora Collection Pro Shadow Brush #15 into the pan, which was evident to me because my eyelids looked too orange for my liking. So I attempted to brush my lids with “Buck Off'' once more on the other eyelid—this time with a lot less product—and I got the bronzed wash of color I was expecting.

The vibrant color impact also rang true when I applied “Edible” (matte dark brown) from the same palette on the outer corners of my eyes, but it managed to diffuse it beautifully along the outer corner and crease of my eyes using my Fenty Beauty Plush Eyeshadow Brush 240..

The eyeshadows’ vibrancy extended to its shimmer shades. I packed the shade “Rocky” (sparkling gold) from the “Half Baked” palette in the inner hood of my eyes using the M.A.C. 242 Synthetic Shader Brush, and I immediately saw its bright sparkle on my lids. This shade was the first of the ones I mentioned to fade—it started to lose its luster after six or seven hours of wear. To see if this shade was an outlier, I also put the sparkling shade “Unlucky” (ballerina pink) from the “Sin” palette to the test, and unlike its shimmering gold counterpart, it ended up holding its own after an eight hour day of wear.

Long-lasting

Despite its wear-time claim, I didn’t wear these eyeshadows for 12 hours—more like eight—but I’m happy to report that Urban Decay stood by its long-lasting promise. All of the shades I tried looked just as vibrant at night as they did when I applied them first thing in the morning. Each color is very pigmented, too, but I’ll add that the shadows’ longevity was probably enhanced with a little help from the brand’s Anti-Aging Eyeshadow Primer Potion, a cream eyeshadow primer that I applied on my lids before dusting on the shadows.

What I don’t like about the Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes

Nothing

When it came to performance, these palettes didn’t miss a beat. But if you’re still on the fence or newer to eyeshadow, you can find palettes that perform just as well as Urban Decay’s for a more affordable price. For example, E.L.F. Cosmetics has six mini eyeshadow palettes—known as the Bite Size Eyeshadow Palettes—that are each equipped with four shades that come in matte and shimmer finishes. These $4 compacts come in an array of colors—purple, pink, beige, green, to name a few—so you’ll definitely be able to find the color scheme you want.

Are the Naked Your Way Mini Eyeshadow Palettes worth it?

Yes, if you’re willing to spend the money

If you’re looking for a compact, cohesive eyeshadow palette that features all the colors you need for a casual, everyday eye makeup look, I suggest picking one of these up. However, if cost is of the utmost importance to you without compromising performance, I’d say it’s better to snag one of E.LF.’s Bite Size Eyeshadow Palettes, you’ll save yourself $25.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.