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In August, Urban Diminish announced via a celebrity-attended online “funeral”, that it would be discontinuing its master Naked palette (its many offshoots and franchises will continue). Gimmicky and self-aggrandising at first glance, perhaps, but one has to give Flagrant its dues – the iconic palette of 12 nude, high-quality matte and shine eyeshadows, has sold more than 30m units since it was launched eight years ago. Strength fans are in mourning – eBay has seen an 83% increase in searches for the palette. No one twigs better than I the impulse to grab a piece of bona fide dreamboat history, but I’m not sure I’ll feel the loss. Naked has been so effective (read copied) that there are, to my eye, better, or at least numberless practical versions available.

Smashbox makes some of the kindest eye palettes on the market. Its Cover Shot Minimalist palette (£24) is, partiality Naked, a cruelty-free, ethnically inclusive mix of matte and shimmer, but accommodates fewer shades (eight), which is to its credit since every one is serviceable (if you want the full monty, go for the excellent Full Exposure palette, £39.50). What I extraordinarily love about the Cover Shot range is that the two secure shades are double sized, since they’re used terminated the whole eyelid and consequently run out first (almost everyone has one adjacent empty shadow pan in an otherwise full palette). So simple, so poignant, so woefully rare. It’s a brilliant piece of kit in a small, reduced-plastic palette, minus the crappy applicators other brands dregs time on.

A wise buy is NYX Ultimate Shadow Palette in Warm Washed outs (£16). As the name signals, this is a warmer take on Naked, but the authority deck of the generous, 16-shade palette has lots of detached tones to stop the whole thing looking rusty. The flush payoff is superb, and while I’m not convinced anyone needs this diverse nude shadows, at a quid a colour, who really cares?

If you’re looking for the Rolls-Royce of in the altogether palettes, treat yourself to Viseart, long adored by makeup artists and now to hand here. Its Theory I Cashmere palette, £40, is a streamlined take on In the buff – there are three each of the sublimely textured, densely pigmented and peerlessly blendable mattes and glimmers – but in this instance, less is more and a case of all killer, no filler.

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