I have mentioned a few times now that I don't own a single Naked Palette and whilst that isn't any criticism of the brand, one I absolutely adore, I just haven't felt the need to rush out and buy them and to date I haven't been to swatch them. To that end whilst on an endless trip to Primark, a friend asked me if I could pick her up one each of the 'Primark Naked Palettes' and I thought I would give them a go myself along with a few other pieces, which will appear on the blog soon.
At £4 each they are not going to break the bank and I wasn't holding out much hope that they would be any good, infact I expected no pigment, no colour pay off and absolutely no staying power. Well these palettes just go to show that you never should judge and just because it is cheaper, it doesn't mean it will be awful.
So first up we have the Smoky palette and whilst the packaging is made from cardboard and not overly fancy, it does the job it is intended to do. It looks alright and houses ten different shades, all of which are designed to be able to help you create that smokey eye whether you like you nude smoky or your more dramatic one.
As you can see from left to right, the shades are actually quite nice, nothing too over the top and a mixture of Matte and Shimmer shades, again, I think there will be something for everyone on this palette and I happen to also like the shadow names too.
When it comes to using, ive done some basic swathing below, the end result is of each finger moving up and down in the shadow, nothing to heavy or multiple swiping to get these colour pay-offs. What you see is exactly what you get.
From left to right there is Conclave which I use as a base powder for the application of my eyeshadow. It isn't worth using for very much else in my opinion. Then we have Winter Mist, Even Tide and Smoulder. Smoulder is one of the shades I absolutely adore but am not yet brave enough to wear and for me Winter Mist is the weakest shade on the whole palette and doesn't give the best colour payoff, but as you can see, it does have a grey tone to it.
Next we have from left to right Leaded Lights which has a slight gold shimmer to it, Midnight Velvet which is the most incredible blue shade and it almost reminds me of the colour my Mum used to wear and then next to that is Fire Pit and Blood Magic. Blood Magic is one of the most pigmented shades on the palette and Fire Pit I find is an odd shade but I like it a lot, ive just not braved wearing it outside the house.
The final two shades are Grey Wind and Darkness and both really good colour payoff and both work really well for smoking out that dramatic eye.
There is a bit of fall out, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting and when wearing I get around 6 hours wear time, using both a primer and setting spray.
I love my Nude palettes so this was always coming home with me. The packaging is exactly the name as the Smoky palette, only this one represents the nudey neutral shades.
As with the Smoky palette there are again ten shades which again has something for everyone and if like me you love the nudes, there are quite a few that you can use and again there is some fall out when you use the shades, but not as much as I was expecting.
From left to right we have Panacotta which actually works well for the inner eye and isn't a shade I would want all over my lid, but I can't help but like it. Beached Blonde is a really light rosy pink shade and it works so well with the shade next to it which is called Barely Berry and it definitely isn't a berry shade, it is a light shimmery pink. Finally there is Skinny Dipping which has a rose gold tone to it and it is such a pretty shade.
The next lot of swatches feature quite a myriad of shades. Starting with Café Crème which is one of my favourite shades on the palette and it is a gold toned shimmer shade which is just so pretty. Brown Bare is a nice matte shade and perfect for the everyday eye shadow, it gives good colour coverage and is one that can be built up for a night out. Wood Nymph is the first of two shades which surprised me the most on this palette because it is a bold brown shimmer shade and there is next to no fall out, it lasts much longer than everything else. Finally there is Summer Solstice which is quite an odd shade, it is matte but the colour is quite hard to describe as it is neither a brown or gold but is like a murky taupe.
The final two shades on the palette are Under dressed which is a matte black shade with reddish undertones and finally is Caught Red Handed which is a copper brown shade and my second favourite one on this palette.
So there you have two palettes which at £4 each are not going to leave you penniless and they are proof to me that you shouldn't judge something by its price.
Have you tried any of the Primark make up collection?
*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise