I thought I had closed my chapter with the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup* when I noticed the 3 shades I had tried were too peachy neutral for my olive skin tone. Thinking the whole line was probably peachy neutral, I ended my trials with Naked Skin and moved on. I never thought I'd go back to buy the full size bottle and love it as much as I do now. I've been using it almost everyday and simply can't get enough. You've probably seen it popping up frequently on my insta feed #motd's! The words love and Holy Grail come to mind.

*Cor blimey! I thought Nars ADLW was long!

Now for the story, in my world there's always a story behind every beauty product, you'll appreciate this if you understand, if not, you most likely get p****d off with my never ending rambling....so....

I was casually traipsing through the Urban Decay aisle one day at a rather empty Beauty Department in Debenhams, testing this and swatching that, as you do, when the assistant (who was actually a fellow South Asian) came up to me and asked me if I wanted to get colour matched. I kindly declined her offer saying that I like the foundation but I don't have a shade in Urban Decay foundations, to which she replied "I really doubt that" and insisted to test some shades on me. Tbh I wasn't in the mood to pretend being pleased with the colour match and then nod and smile and skip off the stool, thank her for her service and tell her I'd see how it fares through the day and see how I feel about the foundation before making a purchase, then walk away never to see her again.

But she looked rather determined and eager to test shades on me and I didn't want to be rude and decline, so I thought I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and give her something to do in the drearily empty store, though at the time I was quite certain she wouldn't succeed. "Okay sure go ahead..." I replied, adding that it's a difficult job matching me. She picked up a couple of bottles after inspecting my face and proceeded to test them on me.

Using the Optical Blurring Brush (dreamy soft) she applied one shade on one side of my face and the other shade on the other. We agreed that one side was looking neutral (5.0) whereas the other side was mimicking the olive tones in my skin flatteringly. Super impressed, I enquired about the shade, when she said 4.0, I was really surprised! I would never have thought I would be any lower than 5.0 or 6.0 in Urban Decay. She mentioned that it was one of the only yellow/olive tones in the whole colour range made for those with medium skin tone with prominent olive tones. I asked for a sample to try it out at home under normal lighting to be sure and she happily sent me off with a sample and a smile. I really appreciate lovely assistants who explain things to you and are happy to help you out or educate you instead of forcing products on to you. Kudos to her!

This is the description from the website and it's BANG on! :

The shade 4.0 is a pretty decent match to my skin, it's like Nars Sheer Glow Stromboli but slightly better, like Sheer Glow it matches the paler parts of my face, though 4.0 is a touch more olive. It does slightly lack the luscious golden tones of Nars ADLW Stromboli. ADLW Stromboli brings together all of the tones in my skin and compliments the yellow in my complexion terrifically, which is why I'd keep it for special occasions, I do wish 4.0 was a teeny tiny bit more golden but I shan't complain as it does disappear into my skin nicely, I adore how olive it looks and have received nothing but inquisitive compliments with it every time and that's always a good thing!

When I'm blending this into my skin it evens my skin out so nicely I almost feel like Desi Perkins from Youtube (doesn't she have the most flawless and even skin ever?). I do have to colour correct with orange but I've noticed it doesn't turn hideously grey like some foundations can do if I don't colour correct which is superb! This works so well for me with my complicated skin, I can't believe it almost managed to slip away from my life. 

I looked up swatches of the Naked Skin foundation online when I researched the shade and one blogger had swatched all the shades side by side and you could clearly see the variations between them all and how yellow/olive 4.0 was compared to the rest, it definitely stood out! This has now educated me to look out for pictures that have ALL the shades swatched together so you can make out the differences between them and spot the most appropriate shade for yourself. There also isn't much difference between 5.0 and 6.0, the latter is a touch deeper.  I also watch an Asian YouTuber called Batool Rizvi, she uses 4.0 and seems to be of similar skin tone to me, I also learnt that it's a shade lighter/Caucasian skintones like to use if they want to look more olive/tanned.

Here are the links of the swatches which were somewhat of a revelation for me with regards to the shade 4.0:

http://soundlysensiblebeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/urban-decay-naked-ultra-definition.html?m=1

http://www.tonguechic.com/beauty/swatch-it-urban-decay-naked-skin-weightless-ultra-definition-liquid-makeup/

The link to this image below from "TongueChic" wasn't working so I've just put it up, 5th from left, you can perfectly see the olive tones in 4.0.

In the swatches I let the foundation run down my hand on its own, so you can see how runny it is!

The texture of Naked Skin is very liquidy and runny, it has some emollience in it which is related to the dewy finish this can have. We're informed to shake the bottle before using, the bottle has little rattle balls which make a pleasing clackety rattling noise when you shake it up, pleasing to me anyway! The bottle is nicely designed, good controllable pump, clear indication of how much foundation has been used, no issues apart from the lid which can be a tad loose and come off in my makeup bag if not compactly packed. (See Update below)

I use half a pump for a light natural coverage and I love how even and super natural my skin looks. I use a full pump for medium to full coverage and again not a speck of cakey fakeness in sight, I just look naturally airbrushed (like Desi :D). I don't feel the need to use any more, this gives me so much coverage with such little and it all looks so natural! I must mention (repetitively in every post) that my skin doesn't need or like a lot of coverage, I just need some unifying and evening and this does this perfectly! If I wanted a full on glam coverage look I would use a pump and a half. 

The finish is semi matte-dewy. Without powder it sets to a ever so slight powdery finish but has a natural radiant glow, it's so natural (naked) looking and airbrushed I love it. I set this with my Soap & Glory Kick Ass Powder and it's like MAGIC on my skin. I'm addicted to my Kick Ass powder by the way, I use it with all my foundations. It sets my face and reduces transfer whilst filling in pores, taking away shine and making my skin look uber smooth and soft, it's literally a foundation perfecter for me! This foundation just makes me look FLAWLESS every time. I'm proper hooked!

This feels hydrating when you put it on and super duper lightweight. You can't feel makeup on your skin, especially with my beloved Kick Ass, it's smooth to the touch. This foundation does have that setting factor to it but it's not tautening or drying at all, it's more soft and light. I think people who don't need heavy coverage, who like no makeup makeup and natural looking, lightweight bases will adore this, like myself.

I find this builds up beautifully, I use my RTMC Sponge and it blends like a dream, and doesn't cake up on my skin or build up texture horribly. (This depends on your skin type and skin condition, good skin=flawless finish). I have also used my buffing brush and it gives me pretty decent results too but I prefer a sponge most of the time. I'm surprised how a little goes a long way and how much it actually covers yet how natural and light it looks. It doesn't look like I have layers of makeup on at all. ( See Update below)

This doesn't oxidise on me, it keeps me looking radiant and olive the whole time it's on so no qualms here. Without setting it'll last 3-4 hours before I start seeing some little shine and fading but with powder it lasts me almost 8 hours+ before I start seeing some fading or shine (on my skin type, which is dehydrated combination). This duration is perfectly suitable for me and I would definitely use it for special occasions too.

When I mentioned that Nars ADLW was the older, meaner sister who's going through her terrible teens, I really meant it LOL! They are both very similar with their specs and what they offer but Naked Skin is a lot easier to use and much more forgiving. Even though I raved about the ADLW being HG, I've come to love Naked Skin as my HG everyday liquid foundation. The ADLW can behave amazingly but it can go wrong quite easily and can be difficult to deal with although I absolutely love the brightening yellow of the ADLW and that's what the Naked Skin lacks. Naked Skin is hydrating and lightweight and looks really natural and airbrushed like "naked skin", ADLW is more fuller coverage but can catch on texture and be drying at the same time but can look amazingly flawless too plus last much longer. I believe Naked Skin is an incredible foundation and so so underrated! I love how well this formula works with my skin and I honestly can not stop using it. If you can find a perfect match go for it! Hope this was helpful. Noodles! 

*UPDATE* 26/04/16 : I've been using this consistently for almost 4 months now and I've used up 1/3 already! My skin has gone through a few changes in the past few months so I've gotten to know this foundation even better now with my skins highs and lows. I have noticed some changes in the application and overall results and wanted to share them with everyone to give an even more broader analysis of this foundation and who it can work best for.

At the moment my skin is extremely dehydrated and I have some dry skin flakes/patches here and there. I also have some extra fine lines presumably because of the level of dehydration in my skin. Skin texture/bumps as well is at it's highest unfortunately, I'm not too sure of the reason behind all this but I believe it might be a combination of poor health as I have been falling ill a lot lately and perhaps too much Salicylic acid (I've realised my skin behaves a little cray cray if I've used Salicylic acid consistently). I'm trying to nurse my skin back to its usual self inshaa Allah (God willing).

Anyway, I've noticed that the Urban Decay foundation isn't looking as excellent as it used to and isn't really working for my current skin condition. It's highlighting all the flakes and texture that I currently have on my skin, it's also sinking into all the lines and making my skin look very dehydrated and overall making me look very dull and not very flawless at all! I now know that this is NOT the foundation to wear on bad skin days/phases.

If you have very dry/dehydrated skin or skin with uneven texture and flakes, I would avoid this foundation, it'll just highlight all your flaws and make your skin look a lot worse than it is. It's not a nourishing emollient foundation nor does it claim to be, but I personally think this works and looks its best on skin that's soft and smooth in texture or skin that is of a normal / oily / slightly dry skin type. I've noticed it now sinks into lines and cracks that weren't visible before applying so be wary! I really hope and my pray my skin gets better soon and that I can go back to loving this again, I still use it but just a little on VERY well moisturised and primed skin.

I'd also like to mention that the plastic packaging on the bottle has cracked in several places, the lid had cracked quite early on (I've read/watched other reviews on this that have mentioned the same issue) but there are more cracks now in other places and the bottle actually comes completely apart. I mean this could just prove how much I've used it but I can say this is definitely not travel friendly because I have taken it away with me and that's when it came apart, but it wasn't like I was rough with it though, so Urban Decay if you're reading this (highly doubt it) improve the packaging quality! Anyway that's all I have to say for now, as always I hope this was helpful.

*Update* 19/06/16

Disclaimer: I need to mention that when I review or recommend products, I cannot guarantee that you will have the same results or overall opinions as mine, everyone's skin is different and different products work differently for people, people also have their own preferences to consider so I can't guarantee that what works for me will work for you too. The world of beauty is simply too vast to distinguish and categorise appropriately for everyone. It's all about researching and experimenting to find out what works best for you.