The Urban Decay Naked Palette will always hold a place in the makeup hall of fame. And after its limited-run resurgence earlier this year, people are clearly still head over heels for the iconic shades. But let’s get real: most of us with Naked palettes had our favorite shades that we hit pan on, hardly touching others. Which is exactly why I think the new Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Sticks are such a great addition to the brand’s hero collection.
The Naked Eyeshadow Sticks ($25) are twist-up cream shadows in eight shades inspired by the original namesake palette. There are a mix of mattes and shimmers that can be used on their own or as bases for powder shadow. The brand claims 16 hour wear with smudge-proof, crease-proof, fade-proof and waterproof performance.
Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Sticks Swatches Left to Right: Top Off, Blurred Out, Peach Bum, Exposed, Toasty, Private Album, Sinnocent, Tasteful
The shades are all super pigmented– the mattes are creamy and full coverage in one swipe, and the shimmers are equally high impact. Four out of five of the shimmer shades do have larger glitter sparkles, while Tasteful has more of a soft shimmer finish.
Despite their creamy texture though, these shadows set quickly. You have just enough time to blend the color softly before there’s no moving it anymore. I recommend using your fingers, as the warmth can help keep them workable slightly longer.
<em>Sinnocent</em> applied all over the lid, with <em>Peach Bum</em> blended in the center.
I decided to test these eyeshadow sticks in two different ways: with and without eyeshadow primer. I have extremely oily lids, with pretty prominent eyelid folds now that I’m in my 30s. Usually, primer is a must for me.
The Naked Eyeshadow Sticks definitely outperformed more affordable alternatives, with only slight creasing and fading when worn without primer. You can mostly see the darker shade I applied, Sinnocent, bunching a bit in the inner crease of my eye. But for the most part, it’s still looking strong after 12 hours of wear in 100+ degree Vegas weather!
With primer, these look hardly worn by the end of the day– only the slightest it of fading that wouldn’t be noticeable if you weren’t looking at side by side pictures. With that said, these are much harder to blend when applied over primer. You don’t have a lot of time to blend to begin with, but these set nearly instantly over a long-wear primer like the e.l.f. Lock It Down Primer. I actually had to go in with a fluffy brush and concealer to soften up the edges.
Frankly, if you don’t have severely oily lids, you can most likely skip primer and have bulletproof wear for most occasions. Even with my experience, I can absolutely see myself going straight in with these for more casual wear.
With so many of us simplifying our makeup routines, the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Sticks capture what we loved about the original palette with the convenience preferred in 2025. It just doesn’t make sense to grab a full palette when you’re gravitating to the same two to three shades every time. These allow you to spend smarter while maintaining your signature look.
You can fin the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Sticks at Ulta Beauty for $25.
– Miranda
