The Urban Decay Spring 2014 Collection: Nakedness Strikes Again With New Lines of Lipglosses and Loose Finishing Powders

What if…

What if my neighbors saw me naked today? What if it should have been totally weird, but it was actually pretty great?

What if I strolled, all gloriously nude, past a group of them in our little circle on my morning walk with Tabs (gotta get that Vitamin D, yo!), as the sun beamed down on my cheeks?

What if I said, “Hello,” smiling and waving at all the neighborhood kids and their parents? “Nice day for a walk.” 🙂

What if —

Uh…DUDE. You do realize that I’ve been referring to wearing Urban Decay’s new spring 2014 collection, right? I wouldn’t actually walk around my neighborhood in the buff.

OK, where was I going with this…?

Oh, yeah! Urban Decay’s latest launch. It’s all about — you guessed it — more nakedness! And skincare benefits.

This time the focus is on naked skin and lips. This spring, the line is getting even more nude (nakeder?) with two brand new products lines, and two new Beauty Balm shades.

First things first, the most exciting stuff (well, at least to me): the brand new Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipglosses.

Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss ($20 each, nine shades)

As if I needed another excuse to hoard sheer neutral lipglosses… Yeah, these are totally up my alley. Sheer, smooth, non-sticky and super hydrating, the formula contains skin-friendly ingredients like avocado oil, shea butter, Hyaluronic Filling Spheres, rosehip seed oil and vitamins A, E and C.

According to Urban Decay, these are also supposed to dramatically improve the appearance of lip lines and wrinkles, lip volume and hydration, to which I say…OK.

My lips have been flaky and dry lately (it has a lot to do with the heater being on 24/7), but they do feel a little better when I wear these. My lips also feel refreshed, as the formula faintly tastes and smells like mint (just a little; it’s not obnoxious).

There are nine shades in the release, all of them wearable nudes, bronzes and pinks.

I suspect that a few of the lighter nudes, like Walk of Shame, Nooner and Naked, will look quite alike on very pigmented lips, but that’s where the sheer brights — Lovechild, Liar and Streak (my faves) — come in.

MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A- 

Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder ($34 each, five shades)

I did not expect to “ooh!” over a loose powder sifter, but that’s exactly what I did when I saw the one on these new Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powders.

They’re really cute!

The etched logo? Nice touch. 🙂

Like the glosses, these are also the first entries in a new product line, and they look like UD’s regular pressed Naked Powders, but in loose form.

There are five shades — Naked Light, Naked Medium Light, Naked Medium, Naked Medium Dark and Naked Dark — and without my summertime tan, I appear to be a Naked Medium…

LOL! I just pictured a nudist clairvoyant.

Anywho, the powders are super silky and soft. Worn atop bare skin or face makeup, they’re designed to leave skin luminous with a demi-matte finish (which I think is like a semi-matte finish, only it sounds cooler).

So far, I’ve worn them a few different ways — on their own, on top of UD’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm, and on top of NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation — and if I were in my teens or early 20s, back when my skin was hella oily, I’d probably favor wearing them on their own, because back then I didn’t really need/want a lot of coverage.

These are beautifully sheer and control oil like a mo-fo.

But I’m not in my teens or early 20s anymore, and my skin is now a combo platter of oily areas and dry. I even have some flakes on my cheeks at the moment, and when I wear these bare, they catch on the flakes, which I’m not too crazy about…

I do, however, like these on top of other face products. Worn with sheer products like UD’s BB cream, I get very sheer, natural-looking coverage where my freckles peek through, which I like well enough, but with medium-to-full coverage foundations, I think they look absolutely beautiful. I wore one the other day with NARS Cream Compact Foundation, and I swear my skin looked airbrushed — not powdery or heavy at all. They photograph beautifully, too.

Now I just hope they don’t give me breakouts (she said, crossing her fingers and knocking on wood)…

All told, we have a nifty sheer powder here with preternatural oil control powers, but it might not be ideal for super dry skin.

MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+ 

Naked Skin Beauty Balm ($34 each, two new shades)

Lastly for spring, two new additions to UD’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm line (bringing the total to three). We’re getting two new colors this time in Naked Light and Naked Dark.

Super sheer, they’re almost like not wearing any makeup at all (your skin will still look like skin), and the tomboys in my life (hi, Mom and Cindy!) will probably love ’em.

How sheer are they?

Well, they’re much sheerer than tinted moisturizers, so when I want just the slightest semblance of coverage for something casual (like a beachy vacation), I might reach for these. They let my freckles peek through, which, ya know, at times, I like. Looks very natural.

But for everyday use, I usually like a little more tint and pigment to even things out and slightly conceal the spots around my mouth and cheeks.

These are also somewhat limited compared to something like NARS Tinted Moisturizer, because I’m not able to build them up in layers. They’re just so sheer…

All in all, I’d say these are pretty average from a strictly appearance point of view, but they do make some very bold anti-aging claims (like, after an 8-week clinical study, “93% of participants had significantly firmer, more lifted skin”), but I haven’t used them long or regularly enough to test that. I should also say that they do contain SPF 20, which is a plus.

If you and I were shopping at Sephora together, I’d still probably try to steer you toward NARS Tinted Moisturizer instead, depending on your needs, but if you told me, “Karen, I’m looking for the absolute faintest coverage possible,” I might suggest these.

MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: C+ 

The Urban Decay spring 2014 collection will be available online at urbandecay.com on January 14, and at Sephora, Ulta and select Macy’s stores this spring.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen