Neutral Matte Palettes: Urban Decay Naked2 Basics & Catrice Absolute Matt

I am a huge fan of matte neutral palettes, especially of those with prevailing taupe shades. The original Naked Basics palette (review here) was what I used for my every day makeup since I got it last year and now I have two more such palettes - an Urban Decay's spin-off named Naked2 Basics and a very budget option by Catrice called Absolute Matt. Both have fast become my favourites and I use all three palettes in combination, depending on what kind of look I'm going for.

URBAN DECAY Naked2 Basics Palette

Naked2 Basics is quite different from the original one, it's definitely different enough to justify having both. I look at it almost as a complimentary palette, so what I thought was missing from the first one, is in this one. Perhaps this one might be more appealing to those with a medium skin tone who found the shades in original Basics too similar and mostly too light, since Naked2 excludes the light skin toned shades and replaces them with medium browns. 

The shades in the palette are:

Skimp - the only shimmery shade in the palette, just as Venus in the original Naked Basics. 

Stark - a matte warm medium skin tone shade. On me it's already a shade that is darker than my skin tone, so I have to limit the use to only the lid. This should be a great base for medium skin tones. W.O.S. from the original and the second shade from the Catrice's Absolute Matte are the shades I use all over the lid as a base since they are lighter. 

Frisk - a matte light taupe shade. It's cooler than Naked 2 from the original, but doesn't look too different when blended out on the skin. I adore such shades.

Cover - a matte medium warm-ish brown. Again a shade I love.

Primal - a matte cool-toned brown. It's like a cooler version of Cover, but a bit darker. Great colour that I use a lot.

Undone - a deep grey. I would prefer a charcoal black here, but it's a nice shade to deepen the crease if you're not as fair as me. I prefer Faint from the original or that dark browh shade in Catrice's Absoloute Matte for that job.

The quality of the eyeshadows is again superb. It's a collection of fantastic quality matte eyeshadows, all are very pigmented (since I'm pale, with most shades I only need to barely touch the surface of the eyeshadow to get enough pay-off), they are so smooth, blend well and last decently on the lids without creasing even without primer (I have normal eyelids). The packaging is small and compact with a big mirror and a rubbery surface. To me this is just the perfect palette.

CATRICE Absolute Matt Eyeshadow Palette 010 Eyes Wide Matt

I love Catrice's single eyeshadows because they are of great quality and they certainly have some of the best matte eyeshadows, but I never tried any of their palettes because I heard somewhere than the quality is far worse and that it lacks pigmentation. Whoever said that is wrong. At least when it comes to this palette. The quality is amazing, I would even call it high-end-ish, though I admit that the eyeshadows are not quite as smooth as Urban Decay's, but on the lids they behave exactly the same. They are certainly better than, for example, Mac's Wedge, which I find quite hard. 

The palette contains:

A matte white - on my skin it's actually no different to the second shade in the palette, so I can use it all over as a base, but I don't often. It's the best performing white eyeshadow I ever tried, since most were so chalky.

A matte pink-toned skin tone shade - I use this shade so much, I use it interchangeably with W.O.S. from the original Basics as a base all over the lids.

A matte cool-toned medium taupe - this is a similar shade to Frisk from the Naked2 Basics. I use it either on the lid or in the crease as the initial "base" shade that ensures a softer transition.

A matte warm-ish medium taupe - a slightly darker shade than Cover from Naked2 Basics. It's a shade I use a lot in the crease.

A matte deep cool-toned brown - one of my favourite shades and one I use pretty much every day. It's a shade that adds a lot of depth and definition to the crease just like Faint from the original Naked Basics, but this one is darker and cooler.

A matte deep grey/black - again another shade that is not quite dark enough just as Undone in Naked2 Basics. I don't mean that they are bad shades at all, but I would prefer black because I use it as a liner and I have no use of such deep grey's. But it's a nicely pigmented shade that blends well.

Another great set of eyeshadows that to me is like a mix between both Basics in terms of variety of shades, They can be used for a subtle every day look or a more smoky effect, but in general they are really good, they perform so well, are very pigmented (again I need only to touch the deeper shades to get enough pay-off for me) and they blend well. The packaging does feel cheap even with an added brush/sponge applicator, but it suffices. It's an amazing palette and I highly recommend it to every one, whether you're on a budget or not. 

As you may have established, I love both of these palette. Well, all three actually. If you're into matte neutrals, I highly recommend all three, but if you're on a budget or you just want a nice cheap thrill, I highly recommend that you at least get the Catrice one. Naked Basic and Naked2 Basics cost about 28 € (I waited for a discount when buying both), while the Catrice Absolute Matte costs 5.29 €.

Have a great day!