[This is a sponsored post for Urban Decay through Condé Nast.]

The newest addition to the Urban Decay family is the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette! I still remember when the very first palette was released many years ago and I scooped it up. I was lucky enough to get to try this palette out before it is released and do a makeup look for you all. I was inspired by supermodel Cara Delevingne, with her signature perfectly imperfect smoky eye that she always wears. It’s that no-fuss, slightly disheveled, but impossibly chic smoky look. I have swatches and a gorgeous makeup look and tutorial inside for you!

THE PALETTE:

Urban Decay Naked Smoky is their fourth addition to the Naked Palette family. This one has everything you need for the perfect smoky eye, including shimmers, mattes, and plenty of neutrals for you to work with. I already own the original Naked, Naked 2, and Naked 3 palettes, so I am very familiar with these and can compare this one to the rest easily.

One of the main questions I’ve already been asked is, “If I already own the other Naked Palettes, do I need this one?” Yes. I think every single Naked Palette has been unique in itself and different from the next. This one has an impeccable mix of warm bronzes, cool grey, taupe, black, and even a dark violet. There is a wide variety of finishes in the palette as well, from matte to very shimmery.

 

There are twelve shades total and I broke the swatches up into two groups of six. The first six shades are shimmery and there is a good amount of lighter shades. The second group of six are your darker, smoky shades mixed in with a couple of really great matte light shades for highlighting your brow-bone and using in the inner corners of your eyes. Each and every single shade is extremely pigmented, soft, and smooth. One swipe with my finger was all I needed. The pigmentation on this palette may be the most impressive out of all of the Naked Palettes thus far, and I already think that they are all very pigmented.

 

 

THE MAKEUP LOOK MUSE: Cara Delevingne, international supermodel and badass. She sports the perfectly imperfect smoky eye like no one else. It’s her signature makeup look to wear at events. It’s a smoky eye that looks slightly messy and like you’ve slept in your eye makeup overnight, but it still looks chic and sophisticated. It looks very unfussy, which is what I love about it. It always looks like the kind of smoky eye that took 5 minutes to do, and who doesn’t love simple?

 

 

HOW TO GET THIS MAKEUP LOOK USING THE NAKED SMOKY PALETTE:

 

1. Start with Urban Decay Primer Potion over your eyelids and lower lash-line. This will help everything stay on your eyelids longer.
2. Using the shade “Whiskey,” which is a medium matte brown, apply it to the crease of your eye and blend it upward toward your brow-bone. Also apply this along the lower lash-line. It doesn’t need to be perfect since this is our transition shade.
3. Apply “Smolder,” a matte violet over your entire eyelid, stopping just before the crease. Also apply this shade along your lower lash-line generously. Go back with a fluffy blending brush and blend out this shade along your lower lashes so it gets nice and smoky. The more dramatic, and the smokier, the better.
4. Reapply “Whiskey” into the socket of your eye only. This will help blend out that eyelid shade and keep all of our eyeshadow lines blurred.
5. Apply “Black Market” to the outer-third of your eyes, both on the upper and bottom part of your eyes. This will add depth and dimension to the look and stand out against the violet on you eyelids.
6. Use “High” on the inner corners of your eyes to highlight them. This will give you a stunning metallic glow when it hits the light.
7. Use “Thirteen” on your brow-bone and blend well. This will help to blend “Whiskey” well when you used it as your transition shade.

 

Apply black eyeliner to your lower water-line generously. Make sure you use the blackest one you have. I personally love Urban Decay’s “Zero” Liner because it’s ultra-black and goes on really smoothly. Also, tight-line your upper lashes. Keeping your upper lash line bare with no liner really gives you that Cara Delevingne inspired look. It looks very rocker chic and lived-in.

 

THE FINISHED LOOK:

The black eyeliner along the lower water-line and tight-lined on your upper lashes really makes this look grungy and perfectly imperfect. It is the signature Cara Delevingne look and it’s so chic. The chocolate brown shade, “Whiskey,” stands out as our transition shade and gives the look depth. Don’t worry about any mascara or liner smudges you may have. This look is all about embracing the imperfection that comes with a dramatic smoky eye!

 

 

 

 

To keep the look authentically Cara Delevingne inspired, keep your face makeup to a minimum. I applied foundation lightly and only applied a contour to my cheekbones. I did not apply any blush or any highlight at all. I also filled in my eyebrows thicker and darker than usual since Cara is known for her eyebrows. I kept the lips matte, light, and natural. The main focus here is that disheveled, lived in smoky eye!

 

The Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette will be available starting on July 16th, 2015 at Sephora, ULTA and select Macy’s stores, as well as online at UrbanDecay.com. Each palette will retail for $54.00USD.

I highly recommend this gorgeous palette, even if you already own the other Naked Palettes. It has such rich pigmentation and blends so well on the eyes. You can create a multitude of looks using it and I’d love to see them if you create one!

 

 

 

[ALL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THIS SITE IS TAKEN BY REBECCA KAZIMIR. NO PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.]