Urban Decay - Naked 2 Palette

Urban Decay's latest palette offering; the Naked 2 palette follows on from where the original Naked palette left off.
Both boast an array of neutral shades that can take you from daytime to full-on smoky looks with just the one (or two, if you have both) palette.

So, what's the difference and is it worth buying Naked 2 if you've already got Naked? Read on to find out.

My review of the original Naked palette is here, just so there's something of a reference point.

The first difference is the packaging; Naked 2 is housed in a tin palette rather than the velvet outer Naked had. Inside, there's 12 shadows, including five brand new shades. The colours are a taupe/greige scheme, ranging from light to black. Comparatively, the shades lean more toward the cooler side than those of the original palette.

Included is a double-ended brush; one end being a crease/blending brush, the other a flat shadow brush. Personally, I find the crease end to be a little large but I've found it to be great for blending with.

Whilst most of the palette does consist of shimmery/frosty shadows, there are 3 matte shades. Unlike Naked, where the two matte shades were similar, these are shades suitable for highlighting, crease & lining/darkening.

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper

The first four shadows make up the lighter end of the palette. Foxy is the only pale matte but Bootycall, despite its shimmery appearance, isn't overly frosty at all, it's Naked 2's version of Virgin. Half Baked also appeared in the first Naked palette but it's the only repeat colour.

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper

The swatches were done straight on to bare skin, using the shadows dry. Foxy does have quite a yellow tone here but it isn't quite as obvious on the eyes.

Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol

Tease, the second of the mattes, is in a similar vein to Naked & Buck from the first palette but it isn't quite as warm-toned. Great texture, Urban Decay mattes are very smooth & easy to work with.  Pistol is probably one of my favourite shades from this batch, it's a great, shimmery taupe that has quite a grey cast to it & works well as part of a smoky eye.

Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

The last four shades. Verve, which is quite silvery & works well paired with Pistol, YDK is the only shadow that has a touch of glitter to it. However, it's very fine glitter & isn't as prone to creating fall-out as some of the more glittery UD shadows can do. Blackout, Naked 2's matte black, also featured in the 15th Anniversary Palette. It's an incredibly pigmented, rich, deep black that applies & blends so well.

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

So, is it worth owning both palettes? That depends on how often you use neutrals, but I like both. However, of the two, Naked 2 has the slight edge for me.
Apart from the packaging, which I find more practical than that of the Naked palette, where Naked 2 wins out for me is down to the cooler tone of the shades. I love Naked but do tend to prefer cooler tones. Another big bonus is the mattes; 2 in Naked compared to 3 in Naked 2. Because they're not similar shades, the three mattes contained within give me more options. My one issue with Naked was the lack of a matte black. Not only have UD included one this time, but it's Blackout, one of the better matte blacks (I wish it was available as a single shadow).

If you prefer brighter colours, Naked 2 obviously won't float your boat. The 15th Anniversary palette would be a much better choice in that situation. If you do find yourself gravitating toward neutrals rather than brights or you like to have an array of shadows for any occasion, Naked 2 is worth checking out.