Urban Decay Naked Skin Liquid Foundation Review
Recently I had the opportunity to try out the new Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup
. (What a name!)
I received the following shades: .5 (neutral/cool), 2.0 (warm/golden), 3.5 (neutral/cool), 5.5 (neutral/cool), 7.5 (neutral/cool), 9.0 (warm/golden) and 12.0(warm/golden). Pictured above is my shade, .5, along with the Optical Blurring Brush. You can see swatches of all the shades that I received here.
The press release says:
It feels like wearing nothing at all, yet Naked Skin transforms complexions. Skin looks natural, illuminated and bright: like the beautiful skin you were born with. Weightless and virtually invisible, this revolutionary, paraben-free formula creates a flawless, demi-matte finish; light-diffusing spheres make you look professionally retouched. It’s the ultimate in ultra definition. With a broad, universal range of 18 meticulously calibrated shades, Naked Skin is a buildable liquid foundation that provides medium to full coverage with an unrivaled, weightless texture. It feels different as soon as you touch it.
Naked Skin’s revolutionary, oil-free, fragrance-free, and paraben-free formula diffuses light, blurring fine lines and wrinkles. Ultra-forgiving, the weightless, never-before-seen texture allows you to apply more wherever you need extra complexion perfection. No matter how much or how little you build, your skin is left neither matte nor dewy, but with a totally natural, luminous finish.
The Naked Skin shades are numbered rather than named. Shades that end in .5 are supposed to be more neutral / cool in tone. Shades that end in .0 are supposed to be more golden / warm in tone. This system seems a lot easier to understand to me than NC or NW. You can see my swatches of 7 of these foundation shades in my initial Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation Swatches post.
This is one pump of .5 in my hand. The texture is very liquidy, almost runny. This allows it to spread easily on the skin.
The available shades are:
0.5 – neutral/cool
1.0 – warm/golden
2.0 – warm/golden
3.0 – warm/golden
3.5 – neutral/cool
4.0 – warm/golden
4.5 – neutral/cool
5.0 – warm/golden
5.5 – neutral/cool
6.0 – warm/golden
6.5 – neutral/cool
7.0 – warm/golden
7.5 – neutral/cool
8.0 – warm/golden
9.0 – warm/golden
10.0 – warm/golden
11.0 – warm/golden
12.0 – warm/golden
You can see that swatched, .5 looks darker than it is.
Price:
$39 for 1 oz.
Packaging:
It comes in a hygienic cylinder with a pump. I LOVE pump packaging. It’s double walled and clear, so you can see how much product is left as you use it and you know when you’re running out. I hate sticking my fingers in jars for foundations and moisturizers, so I’m pleased that this is a pump.
Ingredients:
Aqua (Water/Eau), Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Silica, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Litchi Chinensis Pericarp Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tribehenin, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Polyglycerin-3 Crosspolymer, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Polysorbate 20, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Propylene Glycol, Carbomer, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol. All shades may contain: CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491/77492/77499 (Iron Oxides).
I do have some of the important ingredients from the press release for you. I do know it is oil-free, fragrance-free and paraben-free. It’s supposed to diffuse light, blur fine lines and wrinkles, be weightless on the skin and perfect your complexion. It also is supposed to nourish the skin.
Litchiderm (from lychee fruit) – this is supposed to protect skin from dehydration, oxidative, stress, accelerated aging, resulting in a brighter, more radiant complexion
Vitamin E – used to hydrated and increase the skin’s elasticity while fighting off free-radicals that cause skin to age prematurely
Japanese Green Tea – soothes and calms skin with anti-oxidants to neutralize free-radicals and promote collagen production for smooth and supple skin.
Matrixyl 3000 – anti-wrinkle and lifting peptides to restore and maintain the skin’s youthful appearance while increasing elasticity
Here’s the foundation swatched along my jaw line in direct sunlight outdoors. It’s not blended at all.
Here’s the foundation with flash along my jaw line.
How to Apply
UD recommends that you use UD’s Pore Perfecting Primer Potion or Brightening and Tightening Primer Potion before applying this foundation. They say to use the Pore Perfecting Primer on your t-zone, while using the Brightening & Tightening on the rest of your face. You’re supposed to shake well before application and use the Optical Blurring Brush to buff out lines.
Here’s my naked face indoors under the daylight bulbs at my vanity. This is directly after I’ve cleansed and applied moisturizer. My face always has a lot of redness right after I cleanse, which fades down in a bit. That’s my annoying pink overtone.
This is right after I’ve applied it and buffed it in. No primer, no finishing powder. This was taken under daylight bulbs.
How I Applied it
So the foundation makes no claims on being long wearing. As a reminder, I’ve got an oily t-zone. On its own (without a primer or finisher) it lasted about 5 hours for me, though I saw wear on my chin, forehead and nose. With Silk Naturals Oil Control Blur finishing powder, it looked good for about 6 hours and I only needed to dust some more powder on my nose and chin. With a Hydrating Primer (no powder to set) I had the foundation rub off where my sunglasses rested on the bridge of my nose and my chin felt oily after about 3 hours. I tested with tarte’s illuminating serum and the oil control finishing powder and got all day wear. I tested with a pore perfecting primer and finishing powder and got all day wear as well.
This was directly after application, no finishing powder yet, no flash. It does look like skin, which is nice, but you can see my dark spot on my cheek and my chin that I tend to want concealed. You can see how the finish isn’t matte, nor is it dewy, but it looks like skin.
With a pore perfecting primer and finishing powder. I think it looks amazing here.
My preferred method of applying this foundation is with the Optical Blurring Brush for my face. For under my eyes, I use a Sephora Airbrush Concealer Blending brush. Both brushes are very densely packed with bristles to distribute makeup evenly around your face. So what I do is take half a pump of the foundation and dot it on one side of my face. Then I take the brush and buff it in a circular motion. I repeat and do the other side of my face. If any area needs more I repeat, or I use a concealer.
I would consider this medium coverage foundation. I do need to conceal under my eyes with it (if my eyes are looking janky), but otherwise, I can leave it alone, which I really like.
A little more about the Optical Blurring brush:
I really like this foundation brush. It’s cruelty-free, made from synthetic bristles. It’s made from recycled PET bottles and recycled aluminum. The bristles are very densely packed, but it’s super soft on the skin. It does a great job helping the foundation meld with my skin. Since I prefer to put the foundation on my face with my finger tips and then use the brush to blend it, it’s great at buffing over the skin. It could probably serve double duty and be used as a blush brush if you use a light hand.
I feel like the shades must be very forgiving, because this is a neutral / cool shade and I tend to feel like I’m neutral or neutral leaning warm, but I think it looks really nice on me. I don’t feel that it makes me look sunburnt, which is what many cool-toned foundations look like on me.
I personally think it looks best on me with a primer and oil control finishing powder.
Would I purchase?
Yes! I really like the way this foundation looks on my skin. I feel .5 is a very good color match. I think it looks flattering on me. I like what I know about the ingredients (green tea, vitamin E, Matrixyl 3000, oil-free). I do like the finish on me. It doesn’t feel heavy or break me out.
The UD Naked Skin liquid Foundation is part of the Fall 2012 lineup and is now available online!
Edit:
I saw this video on youtube from Wendi, owner of Urban Decay. She demonstrated how to stipple on the Naked Skin foundation by applying it where you need coverage the most, then buffing, then going back over wherever you need more coverage. You can even do it for under the eyes and on blemishes. I tried applying the foundation like that and didn’t need a separate concealer. So while it’s definitely medium coverage, you can build it up only where you need it. I really liked the effect.
For me that means I apply it to my t-zone, blend it out towards the edges, then using my small Sephora brush (which is sort of shaped like a mini Optical Blurring brush), I did the same thing under my eyes
Rating:
To the best of my knowledge Urban Decay is cruelty-free.
Product sent for consideration. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links.
Looking Good
Really Nice
I really love this foundation. I bought it during the friends and family sale after reading your review! It looks flawless on you, and I borrowed your technique and love the effect. I am very fair and I wear 1.0. I was surprised it was light enough, but still warm. I use it with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and it works beautifully!
I was thinking I’d have to skip this because of the lack of .5 colors in the lighter shades, but if .5 worked for you, maybe it’ll work for me!I’m a big UD fan (not as big of one as I used to be, but that’s a different topic) and I’m dying to try this foundation, but it’s so expensive. I might just have to go to Sephora barefaced and try it.
@Phyrra , would you suggest the brush for anyone who uses liquid foundation of any brand? Have you tried it with any powders? I’ve felt the brush at the store, and want it, but I don’t want to buy it and only have limited uses for it.
@Oleander I used this brush with my Cargo foundation and it worked really well!
@Hottie Thank you for letting me know! I like your avatar.
@Oleander you’re welcome. Avatar love back atcha!
@Oleander I’ve tried it with other foundations and it works wonderfully! I’ve not tried powders but it says it will work with powders. I’ve used it with liquids, including Too Faced Amazing Face Liquid Foundation, Face Atelier, Illamasqua Skin Base, and a few others.
@Phyrra Ooh, good to know. I’m definitely getting that brush. -adds brush to 17 page Google Docs document titled “Ultimate Cosmetics Wishlist-
@Phyrra I got the brush! It’s wonderful. I also got a sample of .5 and it matches me fantastically, which really surprises me. I also cleaned the liquid foundation out of the brush, let it dry, and then tried it with my different Meow Cosmetics’ foundation samples. It worked better than any of my powder-specific buffing brushes. I think I’m going to purchase another one ( my sister works at Sephora, I get her discount, yay) and have one for liquid, one for powder.
I
@Phyrra @Oleander
I totally have to get some!!
@laroyal06 It’s my favorite foundation right now.
I really want to try this out, I’ve never been happy with any foundation I’ve bought as I find it so hard to get a colour match. I’m very very fair with yellow undertones and every foundation I’ve tried isn’t a right match 🙁 To add to that I also have very dry skin. This shade looks like it could be quite pale so I might have to check this one out, hopefully It will be a good match for my skin! Thank you for doing such a thorough review, your skin really does look amazing in the final picture. – Rhi xx
@RhiandRach You’re welcome 🙂
I REALLY want to try this now. With my oily skin I’m usually afraid of foundations, but this looks amazing!
@melissamcadle It’s oil free so it should be good 🙂
oooh! This foundation looks amazing on you! Really, I think it is the nicest one that I have ever seen on you. I love the natural-skin finish and it is a good color match too. I think I might have to pick this up! Think I might need the buffing brush too, lol! Gorgeous!!!
@pammyblogbeauty Aww thank you so much Pam!
which one do u think has more of a dewy finish MUFE hd foundation or naked foundation ??? which one u like butter?
@danidepaulausa I prefer the UD by far! Right now it’s my favorite foundation and looks amazing if you stipple and buff.
Looks amazing and brilliant detailed review! Not many reviews on the internet actually showing it on the face and buffed in! xx
@BBoutiqueBlog That’s surprising! It really does look great when applied that way. I’m so glad you like the review! Thank you 🙂
I like this type of catchy and dedicated posts, thanks for your dedication for this posts about your urban skin liquid its very cool and looks very professional.
Great review! I really, really love the last look with the stippling technique…it looks flawless and airbrushed. Thank you for including the video link. 🙂
@gorgeois You’re quite welcome 🙂
Looks awesome! I tend to love all things UD, so I will probably pick it up at some point. I have plenty of foundations at the moment, though. 😉
@Trillium I am in super lust with this foundation.
I actually got a sample of this with my last Sephora order. The lightest shade was 2.0, which was too yellow for me. But I put it on anyway because I wanted to test out the formula. Regardless, I loved it so much, that if I somehow got stuck with it, I would wear it anyway haha. The next time I run out of foundation I want to get a color match for .5 (because I have fair skin with pink undertones) and as long as it works, I’m totally buying it.
@milkypearls I would also try shade 1, just to see how it matches, too. I typically pull neutral or neutral leaning warm, so I was really happy that .5 worked since it leans cool. These shades are some of the most forgiving I’ve ever tried.
@Phyrra @milkypearls Good idea! Thanks! Usually yellow does not work with my skin AT ALL. But you’re right, these shades are very forgiving. I actually wore it out for a night on the town and I wasn’t self-conscious at all. I like everyone else am searching for my HG foundation. I don’t want to stray too much and spend hundreds of dollars on numerous foundations when this formula is just amazing.
Phyrra, I have a question for you regarding the foundation…. this is a long question so please bear with me.
I’ve had acne since forever. Awhile back I finally stopped using liquid foundation and face primer, and made some additional changes to my diet, skin care routine, and vitamin supplements. After many months, my face doesn’t break out anymore (though I’m still plagued by blackheads). When I do get a blemish, it’s usually quite tiny.
The foundation I currently use is the mineral powder by Korres. It’s nice (doesn’t break me out!!), but I feel I still need a little more coverage. Plus my pores are still quite obvious (which is a given, I suppose…). So now I wanna switch to UD’s Naked. I miss the pore-diffusing effects of liquid! ; ;
I seem to recall that you’ve dealt with troubled skin, and you mentioned this didn’t break you out. And now the actual question- should I switch to Naked, or should I stick with powder and give Meow Cosmetics a try? Things have finally been going so well, and I’m scared to screw it up again. 🙁
I’m thinking that since Naked is a thinner consistency than most of the other foundations I’ve tried, maybe it could work. From the photos it kinda/sorta reminds me of YSL’s Teint Resist texture-wise… (one of the only foundations that didn’t break me out, but “BOO!” to animal testing! >.<)
Sorry for the long post. ^^; Any advice is greatly appreciated.
@catneep I have sensitive skin, but I can never pin down why it will break out because I’m not allergic to silicones, which is a typical culprit. I would say pop in Sephora to see if you can get a sample of it to try out for a few days. I do agree, I love the finish of a liquid!However, if Sephora won’t give you a sample, I would suggest Meow’s Pampered Puss. It gives good coverage.Also, people have told me that they’ve mixed Pampered Puss in with their favorite moisturizer with SPF, but I’ve never tried that myself.
@catneep I know you asked for Phyrra’s opinion, but I wanted to chime in and suggest you definitely try Meow Cosmetic’s foundation. It’s excellent, it comes in 1000 shades, and it covers/evens extremely well, especially considering it’s a powder foundation. Since Meow has an eight-dollar minimum, you might as well get different shade and breed samples. (“Breed” is how meow categorizes their different undertones, for those reading this going “What? Breed?”)
The best part is, if you turn out to be a combination of two of their shades, they’ll mix them however you like in a Munchkin or full-sized jar. For example, with Pampered Puss (light/medium coverage) Seek is too light, but Frisky is just a bit too dark. I emailed them about it, they asked me to blend them 50/50, 25/75 Sleek/Frisky, 25/75 Frisky/Sleek, etc, until I found my best match. I emailed back with my best match, and the replied offering me a sample baggie or any size of that combo for the normal price.
Sorry to write a novel, I’m just impressed with Meow. Oh, and they also have “Camo Cats,” which are color correctors and under-eye concealers, and those are great too!
I like it even more knowing it has Matrixyl 3000 in it. That is a very powerful anti-aging ingredient. The 2.0 is perfect for me! I haven’t worn liquid foundation in years but I found this one quite nice. I could tell I did have it on. However, it wore well. And I agree with you that it does look like skin. 🙂
@KimberlyisHere Yay! I’m happy to hear it!
Thanks for the review, the foundation and your eye makeup look amazing!
@krystlekouture You’re welcome 🙂
@Phyrra Thank you so much! I have no idea why youtube search wasn’t working for me.
@DanielleMadden It’s either an 18 gauge or 20 gauge. I buy the type that you bend yourself and then trim because I’ve got a rather small nose shape and the standard size is too long and uncomfortable. http://www.bodycandy.com/cgi-bin/item/NS-14W-FUO-2
I want this now. It is AMAZING on you. I also love that purple eye makeup and your hair. Curious, what gauge is your nostril piercing? I have one and I like your jewelry lol
@perilouslypale Aww! How cute 🙂
@Margo at PrettyPanda Yay Thanks Margo!
Oooh, I love that brush!
@memorymachine It’s awesome! It’s dense like the tarte brush.
@grinwith0utacat Ok, after trying the stippling method that Wende of UD described and demonstrated in the Naked Skin foundation video, try the UD Naked Skin for sure! I tried it tonight and really love the results! I didn’t have to conceal under my eyes because I went back and stippled the Naked Skin there. Looks great!
@Phyrra Where is that video? I looked on youtube and the UD site and can’t seem to find it!
@triskelmoon Here’s the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4dk-K0utPo&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLp7wMhEuitabPA-ztRVKMxw