How I feel about Urban Decay’s Naked palettes can best be described in 3 words: Take. My. Money.

Since purchasing the original Naked palette years ago, I’ve amassed quite the collection of Naked and Naked Basics palettes.  These palettes are by far my favorite eyeshadows due to their fantastic color payoff, ease of blendability and never-ending color combination options.

So you better believe I got my hands on the new Naked Smoky palette with quickness upon its release in early July.  I’ve had a couple weeks to play around with the shadows and am loving it so far.  Here’s why:

I’m not one of those people who really cares much about the packaging of products, I went to the Mr. Rogers’ school of thinking that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And what’s inside this is excellent.  But I will say that the palette is very sleek, sturdy, (magnetic closures are always thrilling because…magnets, how do they work?) and the smoke design is a cool touch.

 Can you hear that?  Those are angels singing.  Look at those colors. And that huge mirror.

Now, this palette is not cheap ($54) but you’re getting twelve, semi-large gorgeous shadows that should last you a long time. Similar to other Naked palettes, a double ended blending and pencil/smudging brush is included.

I really like that this palette includes both brown and grey/blue toned matte blending shades, along with a matte cream  highlight color.  A little soft brown in the crease can really help ensure your smokey eye is well blended and not too severe. I’ve found that the more blue-purple toned shades do a great job of making my blue eyes look more, well, blue when used along the lashline.

The other half of the palette is all about shimmer, dahling. I like using shimmer shades on my lid to catch the light and matte shades in the crease to blend everything out and give my hooded eyes some depth.  Wet your brush before applying the shimmer shadows to intensify the color and shine.

I haven’t done a full-on, dark smoky eye with this palette yet, but I have been loving it for everyday, daytime looks:

(Forgive me, I’m still trying to figure out how to pose to show makeup.  I call this one “Seductively checking the time”)

Overall, I give this palette a solid A.  It’s versatile enough to justify the price tag.  If you can spare the cash, I highly recommend adding this one to your collection.