What’s The Difference Between The Urban Decay Naked Palettes?

There are few eyeshadow palettes more iconic than the Urban Decay Naked palette. The brand’s Naked franchise kicked off in 2010 with the launch of the original Naked palette, and after its success, Urban Decay launched Naked2, which provided consumers with the cooler tones they felt were missing from the original palette.

Since then, the two palettes have been discontinued and lay in cosmetic history, but the Urban Decay Naked palettes are still alive and well, with newer palettes that offer broader color ranges yet still retain the original palette’s 12-hour wear time. All Naked palettes are quite versatile, offering a mix of matte, shimmery, and glittery shades in slim, travel-friendly compacts. The Naked palettes typically come with 12 eyeshadow colors, but the franchise also features mini palettes that contain six shades each.

If you’re wondering which palette is right for you, check out our comparison of the many Urban Decay Naked palettes, below.

Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette

• What’s included: 6 matte shades
• Color Theme: neutral pinks, browns, and mauves
• Price: $20

The Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette is an offshoot of the Naked2 Eyeshadow Palette, which featured cool-toned shades to assist in everyday eye sculpting and creating intense smokey looks for the night. This palette is a mini version of the original Naked2, featuring six matte shades ideal for smoking out the crease or highlighting the inner corners of the eyes without a speck of shimmer. The Naked2 Basics palette is an ideal choice for makeup minimalists who are looking to enhance their eye's natural contours rather than going for bold, colorful eyeshadow looks.

Naked3 Eyeshadow Palette

• What’s included: 12 matte, shimmery, and metallic shades
• Color theme: pinks and browns
• Price: $54

The original Naked and the Naked2 palettes covered the need for warm browns or cool gray tones — the Naked3 Eyeshadow Palette, however, brings a rosy touch to the Naked franchise with several dusty pink shades. Pink eyeshadow has been having a moment lately, and this palette comprises both bold and neutral pink shades that can lean minimalist or make a statement, depending on how much you layer on. Meanwhile, the bronze, brown, and gray shades in this palette are incredibly versatile for both daytime and nighttime wear. If 12 colors are too much for you, this palette also comes in a mini version with six taupe and brown-ish shades.

Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette

• What’s included: 12 matte, shimmery, and metallic shades
• Color theme: warm browns, pinks, and metals
• Price: $44

The Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette contains the best of all worlds with its mix of light pink, metallic, and brown shades. This palette is great for people with darker skin tones since many of its colors are deep and vibrant, but the pinks would be beautiful on fair skin, while the orange-brown shades would complement olive skin perfectly. Plus, unlike the other palettes, the Naked Reloaded palette contains two highlighter shades that are bigger than the rest of the shadows, meaning you can use them on your eyes and on the high points of your cheekbones.

Naked x Robin Eisenberg Eyeshadow Palette

• What’s included: 12 matte and shimmery shades
• Color theme: rainbow
• Price: $27

The Naked x Robin Eisenberg Eyeshadow Palette is a first of its kind in the Naked franchise — this is the first ever Naked palette Urban Decay created in collaboration with a makeup artist. Makeup artist Robin Eisenberg helped Urban Decay bring a blast of color to the Naked family with this bold, brifght color scheme that contains shades like pink, turquoise, and periwinkle. If you're a fan of color, you will undoubtedly enjoy these highly pigmented shades. But don’t worry, there are still a few nice neutrals in here for more minimalist daytime looks.

Naked Honey Eyeshadow Palette

• What’s included: 12 matte, shimmery, and metallic shades
• Color theme: warm browns and golds
• Price: $34

Fans of warm-toned metallic eyeshadows may want to consider the Naked Honey Eyeshadow Palette since it contains 12 honey-like shades, ranging from a matte terracotta to a shimmering bronze. This palette will work exceptionally well for anyone who often reaches for warm golden hues, and while anyone can wear these colors, they tend to look best on people with tan and olive skin. However, if you're more interested in cool-toned shadows, you'll want to steer clear of the Naked Honey Palette.

Naked Wild West Eyeshadow Palette

• What’s included: 12 matte, shimmery, and metallic shades
• Color theme: browns, greens, and metals
• Price: $34

The Naked Wild West Eyeshadow Palette is an ideal choice for those who switch between minimalism and maximalism depending on the day. This palette is a personal favorite of mine since it contains deep matte-brown colors that are great for building a smokey eye, whereas the lighter neutral tones add a wash of color to my lids for a daytime office-appropriate look. Plus, this palette contains a healthy mix of both warm- and cool-toned neutrals, making it useable during all seasons. I especially love dipping into the green shades to add a pop of color along my lower lash line or in the inner corners of my eyes.

Which Urban Decay Naked Palette Should You Buy?

All things considered, the Naked Wild West Eyeshadow Palette is the overall best palette the Naked franchise has to offer since it contains brighter colors and both warm- and cool-toned neutrals, making it the most versatile. If you don't care for bold colors, consider going for the neutral-leaning Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette. On the contrary, try the Urban Decay x Robin Eisenberg Naked Palette if you love to get experimental with your eye makeup. Finally, if your makeup collection consists of products you can easily store in a carry-on bag, consider purchasing one of the Naked Mini Eyeshadow Palettes:

• Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette: matte pinks and gray-browns.
• Naked3 Mini Eyeshadow Palette: matte and shimmery pink-browns and metallics.
• Naked Foxy Mini Eyeshadow Palette: matte browns and gold and bronze metallics.
• Naked Half Baked Mini Eyeshadow Palette: rich, matte browns and shimmery golds.