Will you be getting NAKED with Urban Decay again?

When I placed my order for Urban Decay's NAKED2 palette, I wasn't sure if I would post about it or not. I've already seen dozens of posts on it and I'm sure there will be zillions more after this one. But I began to see a lot of different opinions about this palette circulating around on the internet so I decided to give my two cents.

Urban Decay NAKED2 and Lip Junkie in Naked

First, here's a swatch of the lipgloss. Might as well get it out of the way since we don't really care about it. It's a nice pearly pinky nude-brown. It will definitely complement that shadows in the palette.

Urban Decay Lip Junkie in Naked

Now for the great debate! Do you need to buy this palette? It's a must-have like its predecessor, the NAKED palette? If you already own the first, is the second worth it? Let's take a look!

 L-R: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite,
Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

All comparisons to the original palette aside, NAKED2 is a beautiful palette. The shadows are versatile and blend like a dream, although the mattes (Foxy, Tease, Blackout) require a bit more effort. The inclusion of a double-sided brush is excellent, as it's actually pretty soft and works well considering I usually toss included brushes the moment I get them! My only issue with this palette is that, much like the original NAKED, it's very shimmery. If you're not a fan of shimmer, this palette is probably not for you. It does have three matte shades so you could always limit the shimmer, but if I took this palette on vacation I'd bring some additional mattes to round out my shadow options. 

I've seen a few debates on whether or not this palette leans warm or cool and I think that there's a good mix of both tones here. While I do think some shades will flatter warm tones (Half Baked, Snakebite), I think this palette is wearable across all skin tones and shades. 

Personally, I was thrilled to see Suspect and Verve in this palette, as I fell in love with them in Urban Decay's Rollergirl palette (swatches here, FOTD here). I was also pleased to see a matte black, which is always something I bring with me when I travel, and only one glitter bomb (Chopper) which actually doesn't look like it'll have completely horrible fallout.

This is a solid palette that would be great for travel or anyone who loves shimmery shadows. 

Bottom line: If you love the look of this palette, buy it. The quality is there, and it's a great value for the money. The packaging is sturdy, the included mirror is huge, and I think you'll really get a lot of use out of it if these shadows are up your alley. 

Now, time for the dreaded comparison! 

Unfortunately, there are a LOT of similarities between NAKED and NAKED2. 

NAKED2 (top) and NAKED (bottom)

NAKED2: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite,

Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.

NAKED: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, 

Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

NAKED2 (top) and NAKED (bottom) [swatches in same order as above]
Excuse my tattoo. Shouldn't have gotten it on my swatching arm! Hindsight, and all that jazz!

Looking at the palettes and swatches, you'll see some definite similarities.

Of course, Half Baked is in both palettes. A lot of people are upset about this because it seems like Urban Decay puts Half Baked in nearly every palette they sell, but I don't mind it here. It's a solid staple gold shadow that goes really well with the rest of the shadows in both palettes. 

Here's a list of shadows in NAKED2 that look a LOT like shadows in the first NAKED palette:

Busted = Hustle (dupes)

YDK = Toasted (YDK is a little lighter and more shimmery, but they're similar)

Snakebite = Smog + Darkhorse (dupes)

Bootycall = Virgin (Bootycall is a teeeeny bit pinker)

Quality and value-wise, these palettes are pretty much identical. Both have gorgeous and smooth shadows. My NAKED palette came with a mini Primer Potion and a 24/7 liner pencil, but in the later palettes came with a brush instead of the pencil. NAKED2 came with a double-ended brush and a mini lipgloss. I know some people preferred the Primer Potion to the lipgloss, but I don't mind the change. 

The packaging in NAKED2 is a vast improvement in my opinion. The velvety cardboard packaging of NAKED was pretty when I first bought it but now it looks dirty and the gold on the front is rubbed off. I didn't experience a whole lot of problems with the palette opening in transit, but it was always something that I worried about when I took it somewhere. NAKED2 is more durable and I like that it snaps shut. The mirror is also a lot bigger, making this more travel-friendly. 

Now, down to the big issue. If you already have NAKED, do you need NAKED2?

Personally, I don't regret purchasing NAKED2. For me, it has everything I loved about the original palette, with some welcome changes. The shadows are still gorgeous and versatile, but I never used Gunmetal and Sidecar (hello, glitterbombs!) so I'm happy that there's only one shade in N2 with chunky glitter. As I previously said, I'm really pleased with the addition of a matte black in N2 because it's more of a complete palette for me. Whenever I traveled with the original palette I always needed to toss a black shadow in my bag to go with it. If I hadn't already purchased NAKED and I had to choose between the two, I would choose NAKED2 based on my personal preferences for shadow colors. I honestly don't know how much use I'll get out of my first NAKED palette now that I have NAKED2. 

Buuuuut, if you have NAKED and don't see what all the fuss is about with NAKED2, I really don't recommend that you purchase it. It's not different enough that you really NEED both in your collection unless you love the change in packaging or the few shades that are different. 

If you don't own either of these palettes but you could use some more neutral shimmers in your life, I recommend you purchase NAKED2. The packaging is excellent and I personally think it's a more well-rounded palette than NAKED. Of course, this is just my opinion. There are a ton of great posts by other beauty bloggers sharing their thoughts on the great NAKED vs. NAKED2 debate so I suggest checking out their photos and reading about how they feel about this new palette. Here are a few: 

• Danielle at Bloomin' Beauty has swatches of both palettes, plus comparable shadows from other brands including Inglot, theBalm, MAC, etc. 
• Vivianna at Vivianna Does Makeup did the first review that I read of this palette. She has swatches and great descriptions of each shadow in NAKED2.
• And of course, Christine has great swatches and a breakdown of NAKED vs. NAKED2 on Temptalia. She also has a video review here and a post on dupes and comparison swatches here.

If you've read any other good comparisons/reviews of this palette, feel free to link it in the comments! 

What are your thoughts on NAKED2? Love it? Leave it? Do you wish there were more new shadows this time around?