Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm Review & Swatches
As you know Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm launched late last week. Urban Decay’s first ever BB Cream leaves a little to be desired in the pigmentation department and acts more as a tinted moisturizer than a BB Cream. This alone had me worried whether I’d rant or rave it, love it or hate it.
However, after trying it out for the past several days I can honestly say it took me by surprise.
Put aside what you know about traditional Asian BB Creams because this is not a BB Cream formula that would comparable to those. It’s very sheer, nearly transparent. That alone will disappoint a good deal of people who are seeking extra coverage to conceal major problems on their face.
I had to ask myself who could get the most use out of a product like Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm and the answer to that question would be those who already have fairly smooth, blemish-free skin. This is a my skin but better type of product. Perhaps you suffer from some dullness, smaller pores, a little redness, maybe a tiny bit of uneven skin tone….but overall your skin is smooth, you don’t have a ton of acne, acne scarring, or blemishes. You don’t suffer from major redness in your cheeks or face and your pores aren’t huge nor do you have major aging lines and wrinkles.
Urban Decay markets Naked Skin Beauty Balm as a balm that will minimizes pores, lines, wrinkles, and redness while instantly and giving you significantly firmer, more-lifted skin in eight weeks. It’s a universal shade of color according to them that will work with most skin types.
Naked Skin doesn’t technically offer coverage but acts as a light diffuser using high tech pigments to give skin a natural, naked skin look. They say with continued use this “naked” look will continue to get better.
I like that they market it as a “retoucher” product. But they ruin this a little bit by calling it a “BB Cream”. The lack of coverage and the sheerness of the product does not make it a BB Cream sadly. However, the retouching benefits and naked, natural skin look are promises that they delivered on in my opinion as after a single use I was ecstatic with how beautiful my skin looked. It was my skin but way nicer….the balm eased my dullness, gave my skin a smoother appearance, and was virtually weightless. This is exactly the type of thing I want in a base/foundation product.
It contains an SPF 20 which is a little low in my humble opinion so I do use my own sunscreen prior. Other ingredients include Pepha-Protect which helps inhibit DNA damage. Vitasource and Glyagefirm skin, improve elasticity, and provide measurable anti aging benefits. Unfortunately after almost two weeks use of use I can’t really speak for any anti-aging benefits. That would be something you’d have to ask me in a few years….!
The formula is extremely blendable and provides a smooth, almost satiny dry down on my skin. I was worried at first as the texture reminds me of Too Faced Shadow Insurance a little bit….it has that silicone-y separation issue that TFSS suffers from. I also don’t particularly like products like Urban Decay’s Naked Foundation or Benefit’s Oxygen Foundation and this was somewhat greasy like both of those. Texture is a cross between creamy and runny….I know contradiction there but it shares both characteristics of being a creamy yet running formulation. I find that as I apply it, it seems to go creamier. It hydrates very nicely and leaves my drier skin very nicely moisturizer without being greasy or oily. However, if you have oily skin I think you might find it feels greasy to you. Even on flakier areas it seemed to smooth over these areas without accentuating them or making them worst. If anything those areas appeared smoother after application. It does have a unusual almost peppermint-y fresh scent. I liked the scent but I think it might not be terribly appealing to all noses.
The shade is sheer but not completely transparent depending on how much you apply. I’d say it falls in the MAC NC 25-40 range but I’m not a huge expert on MAC colors so don’t quote me. Fairer/paler skin might not see any major differences after application however if you have medium or medium fair skin like my own I think you’ll be very happy with the color.
What exactly did it do for my skin? I have smooth, blemish-free skin and I suffer from dry, sometimes flaky areas and dullness. I do not have larger pores but do have smaller ones on my nose. I do not have fine lines or wrinkles on my face just under my eyes. After application pores on my nose seemed to disappear, dullness was considerably better, and my drier skin definitely showed improvement. So it took my already good skin and made it look great. Evened it out, brightened it a little, eliminated the dullness and lacklusterness I suffer from, and gave me a healthy, natural look.
The really good news? That natural look lasted all day…..
My second round of testing I used it as a primer with a BB Cream and a foundation. I actually didn’t like it as a primer. It excels at creating naked skin so using it as a primer sort of defeats the purpose and your own foundation and/or BB Cream will provide more coverage should you need it where as Naked Skin Beauty Balm will simply offer moisture to ease the way for those products.
Overall, Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm is a surprise hit for me. At first I thought it would be something I disliked due to the texture. It just seems runny plus it has separation issues here and there. The sheerness was also a let down. After trying it, well, I’m impressed. Their claims about providing natural/naked skin are actually very true.
I don’t think everyone is going to love this product unfortunately. If you have problematic skin, skin in need of a ton of coverage, or oily skin it might not work for you. I also don’t think fair or paler skin tones will see the benefits. However, I do urge you to try it. Sephora has such an excellent return policy so there’s really no risk.
It might just surprise you the way it surprised me. This could very well fall onto my HG list.
A most excellent product!
Tried it?
Do share your thoughts!
Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm is available now at Sephora, ULTA, select Macy�s stores and online at sephora.com, ultra.com, macys.com, beauty.com, and urbandecay.com