Product Review -- Urban Decay Naked Cherry and Elements Eyeshadow Palettes

Like many makeup lovers, the news that Urban Decay was retiring the original Naked Palette left me feeling strangely emotional.

I remember how much trouble I went to get that palette, how excited I was to play with it, how it seemed to start the whole natural/neutral palette trend back in the day. I've used it a ton over the years to the point where I'd hit pan on a few of the shades (and yes, I took advantage of all discounted pricing after its retirement was announced to buy a brand spanking new one).

To drown my sorrows over the news, I bought a couple of new Urban Decay palettes -- the Naked Cherry Palette from the Naked line and the Elements Palette.

I fully admit that I'm a pretty big pink eyeshadow fan. I know some folks don't love it because it can sometimes make you look a little sick if you're not careful, but I love how soft and pretty it can look. Besides purple, it's probably the colored shadow that I find easiest to wear even with my fair skin.

The Naked Cherry Palette is clearly dedicated to celebrating pink tones, but it has some brown, burgundy, and peach shades thrown in as well. Overall, I'd say that it's a more wearable take on pink -- though, don't get me wrong, it's still decidedly pink.

Like the other Naked Palettes, Naked Cherry comes in a long plastic rectangular compact with a fun cherry print design on the lid. Inside, there's a decent size mirror and a double-ended synthetic brush.

Urban Decay Naked Cherry Shadow Palette

The palette contains 12 shadows: Hot Spot, a matte ivory; Caution, a matte soft neutral beige; Bang Bang, a shimmery pink with gold shift; Feelz, a matte soft dusty rose; Juicy, a soft matte peach; Turn On, a metallic light rose; Ambitious, a metallic rose copper; Bing, a matte deep mauve; Devilish, a matte reddish plum; Young Love, a metallic cranberry; Drunk Dial, a deep metallic burgundy; and Privacy, a matte deep brownish plum.

Urban Decay Naked Cherry Shadow Palette

As I said, I love pink shadows -- and cranberry, mauve, burgundy, and plum tones -- so I absolutely adore the color scheme that's going on here. If you aren't a fan of those types of shades, then obviously this palette isn't going to be your cup of tea.

What I appreciate most about the shade selection is that while there's something of a monochromatic scheme going on here, there's enough difference between all the shadows that you don't just wind up with a muddy pink look every time. You can go really soft and subtle or smoky and bold -- and everything in between.

From l. to r.: Hot Spot, Caution, Bang Bang, Feelz, Juicy, Turn On

From l. to r.: Ambitious, Bing, Devilish, Young Love, Drunk Dial, Privacy

The shadow formula is good too -- I have no issues with getting the shadows to show up or blending or fading.

If you like pink shadow looks, I think this is a great palette to consider.

It retails for $49 on the UD website, Sephora, Ulta and anywhere else you can find UD products.

The color scheme for the UD Elements Palette isn't quite as cohesive as the Naked Cherry. It features a range of natural, netural-ish shades, as well bright pops of color.  The palette comes in a large circular plastic compact with a very generously sized mirror on the inside.

Urban Decay Elements Palette

The 19 shades in the palette include: Silver Burn, a smoky purple with pink iridescent sparkle; Electric Air, a pinkish silver with iridescent micro-glitter; Tectonic, a chocolate brown with iridescent micro-sparkle; Earth Bound, a satin forest green with micro-sparkle; Hex Remedy, a bright purple with iridescent sparkle; Fool's Gold, a metallic gold with sparkle; Antidote, a matte warm nude; Dream Weave, a matte bright ink; Ego, a soft pinkish purple with blue micro-shimmer; Fortune Teller, a metallic pink-red with green 3-D sparkle; Moon Rock, a metallic copper with iridescent sparkle; Secret Keeper, a bright green satin with gold shift; Luna, a shimmery white with iridescent micro-sparkle; Lioness, a smoky burgundy satin with bronze sparkle; Elemental, a matte sienna; Heavy Water, a bright metallic teal; Sapphire Dream, a bright navy blue metallic; and Fire Starter, a deep red with gold micro-shimmer.

Urban Decay Elements Palette

I think the color story in this palette is absolutely stunning -- and despite there being some really bold, bright shades in the palette, it's surprisingly wearable even for some as pasty-pale as me. Heavy Water, the metallic teal, and Sapphire Dream, the bright navy, are the only shades that are really tricky for me to wear, but blue shadows are always tough for me.

(And don't get me wrong -- those shades are stunning. They just work better as liners for me than lid or crease shades.)

From l. to r.: Heavy Water, Ego, Dream Weaver, Firestarter, Lioness, Volcanic 

From l. to r.: Luna, Hex Remedy, Tectonic, Moon Rock, Fool's Gold, Silver Burn, Fortune-Teller

From l. to r.: Sapphire Dream, Electric Air, Antidote, Secret Keeper, Earth Bound, Elemental

I particularly love Silver Burn, Electric Air, and Fortune Teller.

The shadow formula is easy to work with too, so I have no complaints in that regard.

Well, I do wish there were some more matte crease and transition shades in the palette -- Antidote and Elemental are really the only two, so I've had to pull other palettes in to create some of the eye looks I did with the Elements.

But my main issues with the palette are more superficial.

I'm just not a fan of round palettes because I find them more difficult to store. I'm also not a fan of the fact that all the pans in the palette aren't the same size -- I just don't love the way that type of set-up looks for some reason.

But those are minor points, and I'm sure other people wouldn't be bothered by them in the least.

The palette retails for $52 and is available on the UD website, Sephora, Ulta, and anywhere else you can find UD products.

Have you tried the Urban Decay Naked Cherry and/or Elements Palette? Are you a fan?