Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette | First Impressions & Swatches | AD-Gifted

It's getting hot in here...

So take off all your clothes... No? *mic drop*... 

About a month ago, the world was shook as Urban Decay finally released the warm toned eyeshadow palette we had all been waiting for. They gave the Naked Heat Palette* a soft-launch about a month ago, only releasing a certain number of palettes. It is now launching nationwide (for real this time) from today at the price of £39.50. The Naked Heat Palette is the fifth Naked Palette in the line-up, and the warm tones are right up my alley. This is actually my only Naked palette - soz for being a shit beauty blogger - despite lusting after the original for so long, but more on that below...

I was really lucky to receive the Naked Heat Palette from the babes at Urban Decay (no seriously, I love you!), and it took me straight back to 5 years ago when I was just getting into makeup and all I wanted was the original Naked palette. I had never spent that much money on a single makeup item before, and so I told myself I was a broke-AF student and I could only afford the dupe, and so I settled. I've come full circle from being very choosy about what I buy, to buying literally the whole of Superdrug in one sitting, and back to being very considered about my purchases. Looking back, I should have just bought the Naked palette, I wanted it enough to justify the purchase and I regret not buying it!

The Naked Heat Palette arrived on my doorstep housed in an adorable cool bag, accompanied by some faux ice and I couldn't wait to get it open! The packaging is stunning. I'd heard a couple of people say that they found the 80's vibes of the packaging a bit cheesy, but I really love it. It is SO photogenic too!  The outer packaging is in a matchbox style, which slides open to reveal the palette and underneath, the cardboard is adorned with burnt matchstick imagery. Urban Decay have stuck with the plastic packaging of the Naked Smoky Palette this time, whereas previously the Naked 1 had a velvet/cardboard ensemble and the Naked 2 and 3 both came in metal casing. I feel like the plastic is the chunkiest and heaviest packaging yet, but it feels very sturdy.

As with the previous palettes, the Naked Heat comes with a double ended brush. I know a lot of people automatically discard the brushes, even when they come from high end palettes, but I do occasionally use the one from the Vice XX Ltd palette. I find this one a bit odd however, there is a more dense pencil brush and a fluffier flat brush, whereas I'd prefer a flat shader and a fluffy blending brush. It does really please me that the brush compartment is slightly magnetic to the brush, in addition to the palette's magnetic closure. Inside the palette, there are 12 shades in the palette, with 5 shimmers and 7 mattes, the most matte shades in a Naked palette to date! There's also a mirror which is a fantastic size for doing your makeup on the go.

The shades: my initial thoughts...

Ounce: Ivory shimmer | This one is lacking in the "BAM!" department. Despite not being able to see it that well in the swatch, Ounce is fine as a wearable daytime inner corner/browbone highlight. It is very subtle, so if you're going for more of a smokey look, it's likely you'll want something with a bit more drama.

Chaser: Light nude matte | This is the lightest matte shade in the palette, and presumably created as an all over base to set your eye primer. I tend to go for a paler shade for this purpose, and whilst this does work on the lid, it's too dark for me to blend out shades in the crease. That being said, it works well as a lid shade for a wearable matte daytime look.

Sauced: Soft terracotta matte | This is the lightest matte brown, that works well as a transition or in the crease paired with Chaser for an easy look. This one probably has the most fall-out in the pan, but luckily that doesn't happen when you apply it to the eyes.

Low Blow: Brown matte | I like the shade of this, as it has a touch of yellow to it which really lifts an eye look - think desert vibes. Again, I do find this one rather dusty, but its a beautiful shade and blends really nicely.

Lumbre: Copper shimmer with gold pearl shift | This shade is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l but girrrrrllll who made the decision to hold off on the intensity of this? It's a bit MAC Expensive Pink, but less pink and more wearable. The the lightest "lid shade" in the palette, it is more on the rose gold end of the spectrum. It can work for everyday with the lighter mattes in the crease, but I would really love for it to reflect the light more as it's quite underwhelming on the eye.

He Devil: Burnt red matte | This one is a nice rusty brown shade with more of a pinky tone. It has more of a stiff texture than the previous matte shades and is a little less creamy. This texture continues with the rest of the matte shades in the palette.

L>R: Ounce, Chaser, Sauced, Low Blow, Lumbre, He Devil

Dirty Talk: Metallic burnt red | The second of the 3 shimmery lid shades, all in varying shades of copper. One of these definitely could have been omitted for a gold. This one isn't as buttery as Scorched but has good pigmentation. Shade wise, it still has quite a pink undertone, whilst being warmer and deeper than Lumbre.

Scorched: Metallic deep red with gold micro-shimmer | This the most rusty lid shade and is the most pigmented out of the three, and swatches amazingly as it is so creamy. It is a little crumbly in the pan, but I haven't experienced any fallout. It doesn't quite pop as much as I'd like on the lid though.

Cayenne: Deep terracotta matte | This one isn't my favourite in the palette as the pigmentation really isn't there and it doesn't blend out as easily as the others. It looks gorgeous in the pan but the colour doesn't really translate to the eyelid.

En Fuego: Burgundy matte | This has a stunning almost pinky burgundy tone in the pan, but it really doesn't translate onto the eyes. This one doesn't blend as nicely, and ends up blending into a bit of a muddy mess. As with Cayenne, I was a bit disappointed.

Ashes: Deep reddish brown matte | This is a dark purplely brown matte shade, the darkest matte in the palette. It didn't swatch that great, but the pigmentation is perfect for deepening up a look without going overboard and ruining it. I also like the purpley tone as it makes it quite unique.

Ember: Deep metallic copper burgundy | I was blown away by how well this one swatched. All the swatches are two swipes, but this hit full intensity with just one swipe! I am slightly confused by this shade though. It has a similar texture to Scorched, and somehow the foil effect blends away into a smudge of dark shadow. You really need to be using this shade on a wet brush to get any of it's gorgeousness. It does have an interesting shift to it, and reminds me of one of the shades in the original Naked palette.

L>R: Dirty Talk, Scorched, Cayenne, En Fuego, Ashes, Ember

Overall, at this stage I do like this palette and I'm looking forward to integrating it into my everyday makeup. It is not without its flaws and there are definitely things I would change about it if I was queen shade selector at Urban Decay (and OMG wouldn't that be the best job ever, hook a gal up UD??), such as the addition of a gold, and tweaking the intensity and finishes of a couple of the shades. Obviously this palette is great for the more smoky looks, but the addition of the lighter mattes mean this is extremely wearable for everyday, and as I don't own a Naked Basics, it well and truly fills that gap for me. I'll be doing a post on whether the Naked Heat palette is really worth it in about a month's time, as well as a video on how to get the most out of your palette, so stay tuned for those!

What do you think of the Naked Heat Palette?

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