Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation

Finally reviewing a foundation again :) this one in particular had so many reviews online because it's particularly new and launched during Fall last year; around the same time with other new foundations such as YSL Touche Eclat, Burberry Velvet Foundation and Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation. I remembered this quite well because it made me think of which one I would want to buy. After some thoughts and also price consideration, I decided on Urban Decay's :)

Urban Decay described Naked Skin Foundation as
"Coverage without compromise. Our weightless formula blurs imperfections for a flawless finish that feels invisible, but looks professionally retouched."
Well we should see if those claims are true ;)

Even though you might not care about this point (because I honestly prefer reading about formulation and wear when it comes to foundation) I feel obligated to review the packaging first ^^ Naked Skin came in a plastic bottle with metallic cap. It is not so weighty and quite travel-friendly. I actually love their packaging, maybe all Naked series packaging, because it's sleek and the NAKED writing was enough to add a sophisticated touch. There's a mixing ball inside the foundation because I can hear the sound of it when I shake the foundation. It comes with a convenient pump that's easy to control.

As for coloring, I think Urban Decay offers quite wide range of selection, I mean eighteen sure seems many compared to others that only come with three (come on...). The color numbering system is also easy to work with, the ones end with .0 are the ones with warm undertone while ones with .5 have cool undertone (pink). Just for reference, I use the shade 4.0 (usually I am NC30 to NC35 in MAC and wears Mat Velvet+ shade 35) which suits my skin really nicely. I bought this in the winter, though, so it might be a tad light for me during summer.

First thing I realized when I tried this foundation is how runny the consistency is, compared to my other foundation like Mat Velvet+ or Revlon PhotoReady. I used a dense buffing brush the first time I tried this but somehow it looked quite streaky. The next time I used stippling brush and I think it works better with this foundation. This foundation does feel very light on and felt almost like tinted moisturizer. The finish is said to be demi-matte and I guess that's the right way to describe it, it's not shiny but not overly matte either. It dried down quite quickly, easy to work with. One coat was enough for a natural look but for darker blemish or protruding acne second coat might be needed. On these pictures I applied it with my trusted Beauty Blender. Okay, now cue my awkward before after pictures...

This was with one layer of Naked Skin, from a distance things looked already even and nice

Before application

After Urban Decay Naked Skin

Up close you can still spot some redness peeking through. It looked natural enough for me ;) 

pardon the redness, though, what can I say ^^

I think looking "professionally retouched" might be an overstatement, but this foundation does look good in pictures. It contains no SPF so there's no noticeable white cast in pictures, though it also means you need a separate layer of sunscreen (it's a must!). I don't really know how to describe it but I think it does blurs imperfections. I like it better than MUFE HD which was supposed to look good on camera, but I wasn't a fan of MUFE HD to begin with anyway. I still wear finishing powder on top of this but that's just because I have oily skin, I think those with dry, normal or even combination skin can wear this without finishing powder. 

Without flash

With flash

Naked Skin foundation

NYX Taupe powder blush as bronzer

NARS Orgasm blush

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Imaginaire

The first time I wore this foundation was during autumn and I went through lots of rainfall, at that time I wasn't impressed by this foundation because it didn't last all day. But to be fair it was a long day indeed and I didn't touch up anything. I gave it another try during the winter and after about six hours it still looked perfect, everything on top of it maintained their appearance as well which means it is a good base. I think in warmer weather I might need to spare some time to check, blot or reapply, because I notice that this foundation separated on top of my skin after about six hours. It gets uneven and with my skin condition, more redness peeked through.

Overall, I think this foundation looks great photographed but not long wearing especially for those with oily skin. I haven't really tried prolonging the wear with primer or setting spray because I think I should review it on its own.