Are Urban Decay ever going to grow tired of this whole ‘Naked’ phenomenon? No I think not. Branching out from their eyeshadow palette dynasty they recently added the Naked Skin Foundation* to their line. With promises of a weightless oil-free formula that blurs imperfections and creates a flawless base I was rather intrigued…
It may not be housed in the sexiest of packaging, but the convenient pump spurts out just enough in one helping to cover the whole face. Applied with it’s specifically designed partner in crime – the Urban Decay Optical Blurring Brush* (mentioned here) this foundation gives more of a medium to full coverage, but lightly buffed with a slightly more pliable brush like the Real Techniques Buffing Brush you can get a more lighter covering. The finish on my normal/combination complexion definitely sits more on the matte side of proceedings. Not too powdery looking, more of a natural finish than that and if I had to compare it to anything, it reminds me of a more liquidy offering of Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Sheer Foundation. It’s available in 18 shades with a mix of warm and cool tones to choose from and I tested out the slightly too dark for me 4.5. So far so good (orange face aside). The one gripe I have with this foundation is it’s staying power. I’m not a fan of touching-up, so I like my foundation to last from me applying it at the crack of dawn, till when I’m back in my PJ’s in the evening (this is where the Jemma Kidd Light As Air Foundation gets a gold star from me). I’d say after about six hours the Naked Skin foundation begins to become patchy, especially around the chin area and by the end of the day it requires some serious primping and preening.
The Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation should be filtering onto counters now for £27 for your usual 30ml. Quite a fair price, but that does put it at the same price point as other recently released and slightly more high-end foundations – stiff competition from the YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat. To increase it’s wear time perhaps it is one of those ‘must wear with a primer’ bases, which doesn’t appeal to my mostly lazy morning routines. I’d say this is a good choice for those who prefer a more matte, but still natural looking base and who don’t mind a bit of touching up here and there. However, the lack of SPF, and it’s more medium to full coverage finish mean that I will still throw it on as more of an evening out foundation (paired with a primer of course), but it won’t be replacing my more dewier and lighter coverage daytime choices anytime soon. I do wonder what will be the next product cropping up in the Urban Decay Naked Empire?
*PR Samples
