Veracious Product Review: Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation

Hi, everyone! My latest product review features one of Urban Decay's most anticipated new releases- their Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup ($45 CAD at sephora.com). It seems that after the massive success of their ubiquitous Naked and Naked 2 eye shadow palettes, the brand decided to expand on the "Naked" line- and a foundation was an obvious choice!

Urban Decay Promo Photo

I popped into Sephora just after the foundation's release a few weeks ago and walked out with a couple of samples of the new formula. As the foundation is rather pricey (and my skin rather finicky), I thought testing it out before committing to a full bottle was the best bet!

I wasn't sure of my perfect colour match, so I opted for samples of two shades, #1 and #2 (which I describe in more detail below). 

Here are both of the shades swatched on my arm (approximately a MAC NC15 skin tone), alongside my trusty Revlon ColourStay Liquid Foundation in Buff:

Swatches under natural lighting

Swatches under a mix of natural and artificial lighting

As you can see, #1 is a fairly close match to Revlon Buff, while #2 is slightly darker and more yellow-toned.

Here are some before and after pictures that show the Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in action! As if I haven't posted enough makeup-less photos of myself on this blog already, here is a photo of me before applying the foundation:

And here are a couple photos of me wearing just the Urban Decay foundation. I chose shade #2 for this shoot:

And a couple shots of me wearing the foundation in the context of a complete makeup look (topped with mattifying powder and bronzer):

And now for a full breakdown of the product's claims and my impressions!

• The Promise:  "This formula helps skin achieve a natural, illuminated and bright finish— like the beautiful skin you were born with. Naked Skin is formulated with light-diffusing spheres, transforming you to look professionally retouched. Buildable coverage allows women to customize their look. Available in a meticulously calibrated range of shades, Urban Decay’s precise shade numbering system does poetic justice to both warm tones (ending in “.0”) and cool skin tones (ending in “.5”). The finish is matte, never flat, and luminous, but not shiny." (from sephora.com)

A mouthful! But in short, it promises a natural, luminous, semi-matte finish with a lightweight feel, available in a wide range of shades, both cool and warm. 

• Shades Tested: #1 ("very fair bisque shade with soft warm undertones") and #2 ("fair shade with slight yellow undertones").

• Colour Match(es): Shade #1 was a good match for my undertones, but was slightly too pale for my subtly-tanned summer skin. I think it will be perfect for winter, though! Shade #2 (pictured on me above) was actually a pretty good match for my skin at the moment. It was slightly more yellow than my natural skin tone, but not overly so. I always prefer foundations that have yellow tones to them anyways, as they tend to cancel out the redness in my skin.

• Texture: A thin, silky texture- not too watery, but not creamy either.

• Application: This foundation was incredibly easy to apply. It seemed to melt right into my skin! It didn't cling to dry bits, nor did it accentuate pores. It left a dewy finish at first, but quickly dried down to semi-matte, just as described!

• Coverage: Light to moderate, buildable coverage. Masked minor redness and unevenness, but concealer was definitely still needed on blemishes and post-acne marks.

• Wear: This foundation wore like a dream for the first few hours- it left my skin looking natural and glowy. Not too dewy, not too flat! After 4-5 hours, however, my skin became quite shiny. This was remedied by blotting sheets and, at this stage, there was no sign of cakiness or blotchiness. At the end of the day (after 8-10 hours) the foundation had faded significantly, appearing somewhat blotchy, settling into pores and fine lines.

• Verdict: Overall, the texture and finish of this foundation are quite lovely. I think it would be an excellent choice for those with normal/dry, normal, and normal-to-slightly oily skin looking for a foundation with decent coverage and a natural finish. I had been in the market for such a foundation for a long time (it's hard to find a moderate coverage foundation that looks natural!) and Urban Decay Naked Skin totally fits the bill for the first few hours of wear. Despite this, I don't think I can justify purchasing the full size, as it leaves my skin quite oily after only 4-5 hours. That said, I may give it another go in the wintertime when my skin is not so sebum-happy!

I hope you all found this to be helpful! Have any of you tried this foundation yet? Thoughts?!