Light Summer Foundations for Dark Skin: Urban Decay Naked Skin

I’m always amazed at how far Urban Decay has become as a brand. I used to buy Lip Junkies like crazy when I was a teen and in my early 20s—back then who would have thought that the brand would later become acquired by L’Oreal and also include a wide range of foundation shades. I mean, the brand selling foundations is not really new, but I’d be one of those UD fan girls who’d roll her eyes at the like 7 foundation shades available and then suck my teeth as I still continued to politely buy my beloved UD shadows and liners. But my eyes aren’t rolling any more and I’m actually quite late on the Naked Skin wagon. I wonder how it’s even possible I hadn’t tried a foundation this good yet.

What it is:
A weightless and virtually invisible liquid foundation that creates a luminous, demi-matte finish.

What it does:
This formula helps skin achieve a natural, illuminated and bright finish— like the beautiful skin you were born with. Naked Skin is formulated with light-diffusing spheres, transforming you to look professionally retouched. Buildable coverage allows women to customize their look. Available in a meticulously calibrated range of shades, Urban Decay’s precise shade numbering system does poetic justice to both warm tones (ending in “.0”) and cool skin tones (ending in “.5”). The finish is matte, never flat, and luminous, but not shiny.

(in direct sunlight)

The brand’s PR sent over shades 11 and 12. Shade 12 is a perfect match for my NW47 skin (used as a reference for internet beauty speak) which is pretty neutral in undertone—meaning I’m not very red (unless I’ve tanned) and I’m not very yellow either. Shade 12 is described as a dark shade with deep golden undertones. The golden undertones in it helped to correct some dark spots and even out my skin tone but because the formula is on the lighter side, it didn’t make me look “off” because of the undertones. One layer was enough for a majority of my face—the foundation has a very soft, like-skin look but for areas like my chin where I have a couple of dark spots, I layered more foundation to get more coverage. The finish is demi-matte which is SO perfect for my oily skin. I was out running errands in very balmy weather and the foundation still looked almost as good as it did when I put it on. It’s definitely in it to win it for all day coverage, too.

I also used shade 11, described as a dark shade with golden undertones, to slightly highlight under my eyes and the center of my forehead. Not a full on highlight/contour situation, but a subtle effect. I set with Ben Nye Mojave Luxury Powder in Nutmeg all over and Coco Tan under the eyes.

This foundation is so great and so lightweight for summer but also has buildable coverage if you need it.

I’m also wearing the highlighter shade in the Naked Flushed Streak set on the tops of my cheekbones (also a PR samples). Love the highlighter—even with all day wear in the summer time I still had a visible glow left. The other two shades are two light for my skin tone, but I’ll be continuing to use the highlighter. On my cheeks is Illamasqua Excite Powder Blusher and on my lips YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in #10 Chocolate In Style with MAC Chestnut Lip Pencil. I’m also wearing Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Perversion and Kevyn Aucoin Volume Mascara.

Bottom line: Great lightweight to medium buildable coverage foundation that looks like skin and feels like nothing’s on. It also has a demi-matte finish that my oily skin loved even in balmy summer weather. I’m in love!

Price and where to buy: (see widget below)

More Urban Decay…

Check out more in my Light Summer Foundations for Dark Skin series and stay tuned for more posts!