Power of Three? Urban Decay Naked Flushed {Review and Swatches}

All in one, multi-purpose palettes are my almond butter and jam. Did I mention I’m going vegan? But, that’s for another post. Oh, sometimes I am such a rambler, I need to dial it back a bit . . . what do you think? Back to regular programming . . . I love these combo palettes because they are time-saving, travel friendly and just ups my makeup game, making life a whole lot easier.I have been dying to try the Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette with its bronzer, blush and highlighter in one compact.

These palettes come in in 4 shades. Big up Urban Decay for considering in us chocolate beauties too! A side note: I have found Urban Decay in general to cater to deeper skin tones. This warms my heart and brings colour to my brown face! #wocrejoice #hailthemakeupgods

The Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette comes on in four shades. They are Naked, Native, Streak and Strip. Each shade caters to a different skin tone ranging from pale pink, rosy to mauve.

These shades are meant to diffuse light to give your skin a glow and God knows I like to glow!

These powders are finely milled and blendable, but you have to work it in a bit so it doesn’t look choppy. I have worked with powders that are better like the bronzers in the Too Faced The Little Black Book of Bronzers or the Kat von D Shade and Light palette

Urban Decay says to use these pressed powders individually or blend them together to create this radiant glow. The Naked Flushed comes in a sleek metallic case, with raised metallic lettering. It has a magnetic closure and a big, good quality mirror. The back of the box has images of the products inside the compact in true Urban Decay style. The packaging is a hit-and-run to the nearest makeup counter!

Strip is the deepest of the four shades. The bronzer is warm with a sheen . . . but it’s not orange and the colour payoff is excellent. The blush is a deep rose and very pigmented too. The highlighter is a light, yellow gold. These are exceptionally complimentary on dark skin. I wasn’t very impressed with the highlighter because while it swatched well, it didn’t translate that way on the face. It lacks pigment and looks best when you have doused yourself with a setting stray or hydrating mist to bring out the pigment. (Like shower in MAC Fix+) With a weight of 14g, you get a fair amount of product so it’s great bang for your buck!

However, you knew it was coming . . . the problem . . . This isn’t a not a ‘no mess not fuss’ palette. The bronzer, blush and highlighter are arranged close together in the pan. There aren’t partitions separating the different products. You have to be careful not to mix the individual makeup products. While this can be used swirled together to create radiance to the skin, this is an option and should be true to that claim. You can use the shades separately but you have to do so with a brush small enough to pick up the individual shades and be sure not to mix it in with the product next to it. I looked a hot mess when I first tried it. I went in with a large, fluffy brush and wanted to use the bronzer. But I brushed over the highlighter too, so when I applied it, I had a shiny, bronzy/goldy forehead, which wasn’t very cute. I had to buff it away, so I didn’t have a panic attack.

You can see this in action in my Warm Toned Smokey eye makeup tutorial on YouTube. Click here to check that out.

You have to find a brush that is the right size if you want to use a specific product in the Urban Decay Naked Flushed pallete. You have more wiggle room and can use a fluffier brush with the bronzer because it is larger in size when compared to the blush and highlighter. The highlighter works well to pick up product with a Real Techniques Setting Brush. It’s picks up a good amount of product and it’s fluffy enough to apply the highlighter on a concentrated area.

Honestly, I prefer using blush with a large fluffy brush because the colour can be dispersed easily onto the face. I don’t want to add concentrated pigment on my cheeks, then have to take another large fluffy brush to blend it out. It’s an added step, a time-consuming hassle and it leaves more room for error. Remember, with makeup, it’s better to apply less and build up than put on too much and take it away.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Do I recommend this? No, I’d be a liar if I said it makes me want to put on stilettos and dance the night away. My advice would be to buy a blusher, bronzer and highlighter separately. I’d rather have one product that I love and use all the time than three in one compact where I’m not blown away by all three products. I am a bronzer-addict so I’m waiting for the bronzer to get back in stock. I have swatched their highlighters and blushes. They didn’t give me the feels, but I may check them out again. If you have tried them, let me know, down below.

Price: R540 (She’s not toooo sssspensive!)

Where to buy: Urban Decay store in Sandton City, Johannesburg, UD Cape Town set to open. No online store set up yet, but Urban Decay does have pop up online stores that run for a limited time randomly. So far, they have only sold the Naked palettes.

What do you think of combo palettes, multi-purpose products? Have you ever bought a multi-purpose palette and only use one or two of the shades.

 Until next time, stay blessed and beautiful,

Love you all like I love bronzer

Xoxo

Prativa

Beauty Bugle