Saying goodbye to beauty’s favourite palette

Over the weekend I heard some sad news, Urban Decay are discontinuing their beloved Naked Palette. Now it may sound over dramatic to say the news has made me sad, but any other beauty lovers will understand this moment of grief. This was THE palette of all palettes, 12 gorgeous, pigmented, buttery eyeshadows that was on every girls Christmas list in 2010.

Prior to its launch I was still using an Urban Decay palette filled with greens, blues and purples so these nude tones were something of a revelation. Previously palettes with these colours were not really marketed towards the younger generation, we were too busy browsing the endless colour options in MAC to get excited about brown. Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier reigned supreme in the au natural world of understated beauty. Then, suddenly, we had a makeup revolution as all everyone wanted were shades of taupe, brown and gold. For the first time in my life my makeup looked quite put together, classy even. Gone was the green glitter and purple I had previously favoured. For those not particularly ‘good’ at eyeshadow this palette made it easy, so many colours to choose from that all blended in effortlessly together.

The other thing was this palette was gorgeous. Starting with a pale, matte nude (my all time favourite base shade) it went through pale taupes, to rich  browns, finishing with a shimmery gunmetal grey and finally black. You could create any look with this palette, classic natural for day or a smoky eye for evening. The packaging was brown velvet emblazoned with the iconic ‘Naked’ in gold, a gorgeous thing to open on Christmas morning, but notorious for looking filthy in a matter of weeks.

So why are Urban Decay discontinuing it? For one they have the Naked 2, 3 and 4 now, not to mention their handy Naked Basics palette which is perfect for travel. Secondly there are so many similar things on the market now, Huda beauty are dominating the palette scene and cheaper brands like Sleek offer great quality eyeshadows at a more affordable price.

Personally, I haven’t used my Naked palette for a while, like everyone else favouring new launches and trying new things. But, I cannot bear to throw it away, despite the fact I’ve hit pan on so my of the shades I like, it has sentimental value. So it’s finally time to say goodbye, a palette for the millennial generation, something of a beauty lovers rite of passage, you shall not be forgotten. RIP.