Q&A: Do you prefer to buy makeup palettes or individual products?

Having just posted about the latest Urban Decay palette, I wondered whether more people prefer to buy palettes for their makeup bag because of the great value they offer or if individual products still win as they offer better choice.

Nars Emotional Rescue Artist Palette - £53

When at university and on a tighter budget (and less room for my makeup collection), I invested in a lot of palettes, especially from Nars and Stila. I could never have afforded the products individually and I discovered a few products I loved this way that I later bought individually.

Now at home in my own space, my makeup has room to spread itself everywhere and I find that I reach for the palettes far less often. I discovered yesterday a whole box of them which I've barely touched. So this begs the question, are they really better value for money when you generally reach for one or two shades and waste the rest?

I am hoping that my new Naked palette with prove the exception. I am determined to use it all, I want to see the bottom of the pan for once!

So do you buy into palettes or do you prefer to choose your own shades?

It's official, naked is the best way to be!

So after many days waiting for the postman, it has finally arrived, Urban Decay's Naked Palette.

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £27

Much sought after, the palette is great value for money, containing 12 neutral shades, all that you could ever need! Four of the shades are exclusive to the palette and the different textures include matte, shimmer, satin and sparkle.

Shades: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

The aim of the palette is cover all the basics you could ever need, but make them versatile and interesting. You should be able to go from office looks to an evening smokey eye with just these shades. As well as the eyeshadows, the palette contains a 3.7ml size the bestselling Primer Potion and double ended 24/7 eye pencil in Zero and Whiskey (black and brown).

The case itself is quite sleek, has a decent size mirror inside and the outside is flocked. Although this is a nice idea, I doubt that it will wear well. As the idea is that this palette can be all you need when out and about, a leather or metallic casing might have been more suitable.

I haven't tried the eyesahdows on yet, just swatched them, but they do feel lovely and creamy. I haven't used any Urban Decay products since I was 17 and used a couple of their face palettes for school, so the quality of the shadows was a pleasant surprise.

The swatches were taken without the primer potion applied underneath. On the darker shades, the photo makes them appear a lot more glittery than they are in real life.

Shades: Virgin, Sin, Naked & Sidecar

Shades: Buck, Half Baked, Smog & Darkhorse

Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal

 

Overall, I think this is a great palette for anyone and everyone. Even though I have quite a few Bobbi Brown neutral eyeshadow palettes, this Naked Palette offers something that little bit special. I would only hesitate to recommend it to those who already have a number of Urban Decay shadows as I don't know if I would pay £27 for the sake of just 4 new shades. Happily for me, I have none so all are new and exciting. I can't wait to have a play around with them. Plus, I have never used the primer potion so I'll be interested to see how it affects all of my shadows, not just these.

The palette is what it says, a great basic. It allows me to have a wardrobe of nudes at a good price, which I can add to with the more expensive brands like Edward Bess, Rouge Bunny Rouge and Burberry, as I would never be able to afford 12 of their neutrals in one go.

Although this should satisfy my requirements for nudes for the foreseeable future, I still feel incomplete without Chanel's Taupe Gris. It will be mine when my bank balance is out of the red!

Urban Decay's Naked Palette is available for £27 from Boots, Debenhams and House of Fraser.

Get it while you can!

Dates for your diary - Urban Decay Naked Palette UK release

This is just a quick heads up on a few important beauty dates this week:

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £27

1st to 3rd September - Get 15% off any order on http://www.hqhair.com/ with the discount code HQSLIP. This might be just the incentive/excuse I need to buy some of the Nars Fall Collection I've had my eye on for weeks.

3rd September - The Urban Decay Naked Palette will be released nationwide and should be available online at Debenhams and House of Fraser. It was released on 23rd August solely at House of Fraser and sold out online very quickly so best get in quick if you want a palette of 12 fabulous neutral shades for just £27!

8th September - Vogue's Fashion Night Out: Peter Philips created 3 new limited edition Chanel nail varnish shades for the occasion. Move over Paradoxal, here come Les Khakis de Chanel. They will only be available from Selfridges and Chanel boutiques for £19 each.