I know it, you know it – I barely purchase High End cosmetics.

A fact that is hardly going to change any time soon. Mostly. Unique products, yes I can imagine splurging for. Products which are in no way whatsoever exceptional on their field or even produce excellent dupes…nope, I admit I would be way too greedy for that ?

This feeling of great dupe-ability I usually get with eyeshadows. They are used on a relatively small area of skin and you can definitely influence your results with primers, brushes and your technique. Which gets me to today’s topic: Neutral eyeshadow(palette)s are a dime a dozen. Almost every cosmetics brand out there insists on releasing a “nude collection” either limited or in their permanent line, be it single eyeshadows or palettes. Well, to be fair – neutral brown, taupe or gold shades speak to just about every woman, even if they love their brights!

Urban Decay, the sly foxes, reinvented the wheel – well, actually, their PR just pushed well known customer preferences again – with the release of the first NAKED eyeshadow palette which aroused new excitement for neutrals on the eyes on what seemed all over the cosmetics market.

And with that a race for the first and best dupes for it. Dupes, cheaper alternatives for high end products, simply put, can court controversy. Personally, I think they are a positive thing, seeing what quality you can get for less. Usually dupes barely do any harm to the original products since they can stir desire to get the luxurious product after all respectively loyal customers preferring the High End brand in the first place.

Hardly any other series of products seem so desireable to be duped than the Urban Decay NAKED one – its popularity is unmatched and the demand for cheaper alternatives has no equal so it seems. I just have to admit the composition of each palette is just gorgeous, even though I am still criticising the unbalanced relation of shimmer to matte finishes, two mattes, really, UD?

Well…without furth ado – cough – let’s see the comparison of the swatches, both the original Urban Decay palettes and my dupes. This post is only possible with the friendly support of Beauty Mango who provided her Urban Decay pictures, thanks a bunch! ?

My first two dupes are by Make Up Academy, the third palette is by Make Up Revolution, which is why they look so differently in their layout. The three NAKED palettes obviously are all uniform, but to be completely honest with you my OCD would be slightly annoyed at their design change from cardboard to metal boxes from the second palette on out.

As you can tell from the pictures two different people with different lighting and skintones took them, so please keep that in mind.

Make Up Academy “Undressed” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED”

The first palette seems to contain some ever-so-slight differences already: While some of the colours are matching the original quite perfectly, others are just a bit off, an example would be the very popular “Halfbaked” shade (1. row, 6. colour) which is way more golden in the Undressed palette. In return the matte black is more pigmented in the MUA version.

My post with more swatches of the  MUA Undressed. Additionally I have to mention the play on words in “Undressed”, you see the synonym to “naked”, yes?

Make Up Academy Undressed in the Shop or Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED, f.e. at feelunique with free shipping, €48,10

Make Up Academy “Undress Me Too” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED 2”

Second dupe, similar situation – theoretically just about the same, single shades seem a bit different in their subtle undertones, the most prominent one being the colour “YDK” (2. row, 4. colour) which appears way more softer, mauve-y in the Urban Decay palette.

My post with more swatches of the  MUA Undress Me Too. And great pun again, not just undressed=naked but also the assonance of Two and Too…yes these details make me chuckle.

Make Up Academy Undressed in the Shop or Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED 2, f.e. at feelunique with free shipping, €48,10

Make Up Revolution “Iconic 3” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED 3”

These pictures really show how my swatches are not from the same day but Beauty Mango’s are ? Personally, I find the first row matches accurately, and while most colours are really similar in the second row as well, Urban Decay produced two more distinct brown shades (2. row, 3. and 4. colour).

My post with more swatches of the  MUR Iconic 3. I obviously can’t speak for Iconic 1 (=NAKED 1/Undressed) and Iconic 2 (=NAKED 2/Undress Me Too) but since the third one didn’t disappoint in either pigmentation or longevity, I would assume they are a bargain buy as well.

Make Up Revolution Iconic 3 im Shop  or Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED 3, f.e. at feelunique with free shipping, €48,10

My conclusion: Matching eyeshadows perfectly obviously is not that easy. The Urban Decay palettes appear higher quality, naturally. However, I stick with my opinion: You simply can not detect the differences when applied, no one could ever tell what you are wearing once a look is completed. Yes, really ?

All in all the concept of a  “neutral” eyeshadow collection is just likeable, they are highly compatible with each other, which you have to hand to Urban Decay, in all honesty. As mentioned above I am just baffled how UD barely put any matte eyeshadows in their palettes, rich, matte taupe and brown shades are supposed to be staples! Regarding mattes I actually am contemplating the completely matte palette by MUR…

Which palettes do you prefer? Do you like more or less eyeshadows in a palette? More matte colours? Or maybe some non-neutrals in there to make some looks pop?

I know it, you know it – I barely purchase High End cosmetics.

A fact that is hardly going to change any time soon. Mostly. Unique products, yes I can imagine splurging for. Products which are in no way whatsoever exceptional on their field or even produce excellent dupes…nope, I admit I would be way too greedy for that 🙂

This feeling of great dupe-ability I usually get with eyeshadows. They are used on a relatively small area of skin and you can definitely influence your results with primers, brushes and your technique. Which gets me to today’s topic: Neutral eyeshadow(palette)s are a dime a dozen. Almost every cosmetics brand out there insists on releasing a “nude collection” either limited or in their permanent line, be it single eyeshadows or palettes. Well, to be fair – neutral brown, taupe or gold shades speak to just about every woman, even if they love their brights!

Urban Decay, the sly foxes, reinvented the wheel – well, actually, their PR just pushed well known customer preferences again – with the release of the first NAKED eyeshadow palette which aroused new excitement for neutrals on the eyes on what seemed all over the cosmetics market.

And with that a race for the first and best dupes for it. Dupes, cheaper alternatives for high end products, simply put, can court controversy. Personally, I think they are a positive thing, seeing what quality you can get for less. Usually dupes barely do any harm to the original products since they can stir desire to get the luxurious product after all respectively loyal customers preferring the High End brand in the first place.

Hardly any other series of products seem so desireable to be duped than the Urban Decay NAKED one – its popularity is unmatched and the demand for cheaper alternatives has no equal so it seems. I just have to admit the composition of each palette is just gorgeous, even though I am still criticising the unbalanced relation of shimmer to matte finishes, two mattes, really, UD?

Well…without furth ado – cough – let’s see the comparison of the swatches, both the original Urban Decay palettes and my dupes. This post is only possible with the friendly support of Beauty Mango who provided her Urban Decay pictures, thanks a bunch! 🙂

My first two dupes are by Make Up Academy, the third palette is by Make Up Revolution, which is why they look so differently in their layout. The three NAKED palettes obviously are all uniform, but to be completely honest with you my OCD would be slightly annoyed at their design change from cardboard to metal boxes from the second palette on out.

As you can tell from the pictures two different people with different lighting and skintones took them, so please keep that in mind.

Make Up Academy “Undressed” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED”

The first palette seems to contain some ever-so-slight differences already: While some of the colours are matching the original quite perfectly, others are just a bit off, an example would be the very popular “Halfbaked” shade (1. row, 6. colour) which is way more golden in the Undressed palette. In return the matte black is more pigmented in the MUA version.

My post with more swatches of the  MUA Undressed. Additionally I have to mention the play on words in “Undressed”, you see the synonym to “naked”, yes?

Make Up Academy Undressed in the Shop or Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED, f.e. at feelunique with free shipping, €48,10

Make Up Academy “Undress Me Too” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED 2”

Second dupe, similar situation – theoretically just about the same, single shades seem a bit different in their subtle undertones, the most prominent one being the colour “YDK” (2. row, 4. colour) which appears way more softer, mauve-y in the Urban Decay palette.

My post with more swatches of the  MUA Undress Me Too. And great pun again, not just undressed=naked but also the assonance of Two and Too…yes these details make me chuckle.

Make Up Academy Undressed in the Shop or Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED 2, f.e. at feelunique with free shipping, €48,10

Make Up Revolution “Iconic 3” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED 3”

These pictures really show how my swatches are not from the same day but Beauty Mango’s are 🙂 Personally, I find the first row matches accurately, and while most colours are really similar in the second row as well, Urban Decay produced two more distinct brown shades (2. row, 3. and 4. colour).

My post with more swatches of the  MUR Iconic 3. I obviously can’t speak for Iconic 1 (=NAKED 1/Undressed) and Iconic 2 (=NAKED 2/Undress Me Too) but since the third one didn’t disappoint in either pigmentation or longevity, I would assume they are a bargain buy as well.

Make Up Revolution Iconic 3 im Shop  or Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED 3, f.e. at feelunique with free shipping, €48,10

My conclusion: Matching eyeshadows perfectly obviously is not that easy. The Urban Decay palettes appear higher quality, naturally. However, I stick with my opinion: You simply can not detect the differences when applied, no one could ever tell what you are wearing once a look is completed. Yes, really 🙂

All in all the concept of a  “neutral” eyeshadow collection is just likeable, they are highly compatible with each other, which you have to hand to Urban Decay, in all honesty. As mentioned above I am just baffled how UD barely put any matte eyeshadows in their palettes, rich, matte taupe and brown shades are supposed to be staples! Regarding mattes I actually am contemplating the completely matte palette by MUR…

Which palettes do you prefer? Do you like more or less eyeshadows in a palette? More matte colours? Or maybe some non-neutrals in there to make some looks pop?

Ich weiß es, ihr wisst es – ich kaufe kaum High End.

Ist so, wird wohl auch immer so bleiben. Vornehmlich zumindest. Einzelstücke, Unikate, ja, ich kann mir vorstellen, mir so etwas zu leisten. Produkte jedoch, die keineswegs absolut einzigartig sind bzw. vielleicht gar grandiose Dupes hervorbringen…nein, dazu bin ich dann offen und ehrlich zu geizig 🙂

Besonders und vornehmlich bei Lidschatten empfinde ich die “Dupe-barkeit” als sehr hoch, da sie auf relativ kleiner Fläche angewendet werden und das Ergebnis mit Primer bzw. Pinsel und Technik durchaus beeinflussbar ist. Damit sind wir beim Thema angelangt: Neutrale Lidschatten(paletten) gibt es wie Sand am Meer. Fast jede Kosmetikmarke lässt es sich nicht nehmen, eine “nude collection” limitiert oder im Sortiment unterzubringen, seien es nun einzelne Lidschatten oder Paletten. Das war schon immer so – neutrale Braun-, Taupe- und Goldtöne sprechen so ziemlich jede Frau an, auch wenn man Paradiesvogel ist!

Urban Decay hat in diesem Bezug schlauerweise das Rad neu erfunden – naja, eigentlich hat nur die PR die lang bekannten Vorlieben der Kundschaft neu angekurbelt – und mit der ersten NAKED Lidschattenpalette ein wahres Lauffeuer der Neutrals fürs Auge auf dem Kosmetikmarkt entfacht.

Und dazu ein Wettrennen der besten Dupes. Zu Dupes, also einer günstigen Variante eines High End Produkts, gibt es viele Meinungen, ich persönlich finde es positiv zu sehen, welche Qualität man günstiger erhält. Ein Schaden ist es für das Originalprodukt häufig nicht, da Dupes durchaus auch den Wunsch anregen können, “sich doch das Luxuxprodukt zu gönnen”, bzw. es viele treue Kundinnen gibt, die ohnehin Original dem Dupe vorziehen.

Kaum eine Serie reizt so stark imitiert zu werden, wie die Urban Decay NAKED Reihe – die Popularität der Produkte bzw. die Nachfrage an günstigeren Alternativen scheint Ihresgleichen zu suchen. Zugegeben, die Zusammenstellung der jeweiligen Paletten ist in der Tat wunderschön, auch wenn ich persönlich das Verhältnis schimmer zu matte Finishes grundsätzlich als zu unbalanciert empfinde.

Aber jetzt endlich zum eigentlichen Kern – der Vergleich der Swatches der originalen Reihe zu meinen Dupe Varianten. Möglich wurde dieser Beitrag durch die freundliche Zurverfügungstellung der Urban Decay Bilder von Beauty Mango – vielen vielen Dank! 🙂

Meine ersten beiden Dupes stammen von Make Up Academy, die dritte Palette von Make Up Revolution, weshalb sie sich im Design unterscheiden. Die drei NAKED Paletten sind offensichtlich viel uniformer, wobei mich persönlich ja die Designänderung von Pappe auf Metallboxen ab der zweiten Palette auch schon wieder ein klitzekleines Bisschen stören würde ha.

Und wie man hier sieht, stammen die Bilder in der Tat von zwei verschiedenen Fotografen, mit anderen Lichtverhältnissen und Hautuntertönen, keep that in mind.

Make Up Academy “Undressed” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED”

Schon bei der ersten Palette sieht man bei genauem Hinsehen doch einige Unterschiede: Während einige Farben sehr schön aufs Original abgestimmt sind, ist etwa die beliebte “Halfbaked” Farbe (1. Reihe, 6. Farbe) in der Undressed viel goldener. Im Gegenzug ist das matte Schwarz in der MUA Variante wohl dunkler.

Mein Beitrag mit mehr Swatches zur MUA Undressed. Zudem muss ich sagen, dass mir das Wortspiel mit “Undressed” unheimlich gefällt, ihr versteht, synonym zu “naked”, ne?

Make Up Academy Undressed im Shop bzw. Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED, bspw. bei feelunique mit Gratisversand €48,10

Make Up Academy “Undress Me Too” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED 2”

Auch im zweiten Dupe ein ähnliches Bild – grundsätzlich scheinbar gleich, einzelne Nuancen zeigen Unterschiede in der Feinabstimmung, für mich am deutlichsten in der Farbe “YDK” (2. Reihe, 4. Farbe) die in der UD Palette, weicher, mauve-iger wirkt.

Mein Beitrag mit mehr Swatches zur MUA Undress Me Too. Auch hier tolles Wortspiel, nicht nur mit Undressed=Naked aber auch mit dem Gleichklang von Two (=zwei) und Too (=ebenfalls, sinngemäß also auch zwei), ja, solche Dinge lassen mich schmunzeln 😉

Make Up Academy Undress Me Too im Shop bzw. Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED 2, bspw. bei feelunique mit Gratisversand €48,10

Make Up Revolution “Iconic 3” vs. Urban Decay “NAKED 3”

Hier wird sehr deutlich, dass ich meine Swatchbilder nicht vom selben Tag stammen, Beauty Mangos aber schon 🙂 Ich finde, die erste Reihe hat Make Up Revolution sehr gut hinbekommen, auch in der unteren sehr schöne Übereinstimmung, einzig die beiden recht ähnlichen Brauntöne (2. Reihe, 3. und 4. Farbe) kommen in der UD wohl besser heraus.

Mein Beitrag mit mehr Swatches zur MUR Iconic 3. Für die Iconic 1 (=NAKED 1 bzw. Undressed) und Iconic 2 (=NAKED 2 bzw. Undress Me Too) kann ich natürlich nicht sprechen, ich schließe lediglich von meiner Erfahrung mit der Iconic 3 darauf, dass man sicherlich komplett enttäuscht sein würde.

Make Up Revolution Iconic 3 im Shop bzw. Superdrug, £4 | Urban Decay NAKED 3, bspw. bei feelunique mit Gratisversand €48,10

Mein Fazit aus dem Vergleich: Lidschatten perfekt abzustimmen ist wohl nicht so einfach wie gedacht. Die Urban Decay Paletten wirken auf mich natürlich hochwertiger in Verpackung usw. Jedoch bleibe ich doch bei der Auffassung, dass man auf dem Auge selbst kaum noch Unterschiede bemerkt – damit meine ich, dass kaum jemand mit 100%iger Sicherheit sagen kann, ob ein Make Up nun doch mit einem Dupe oder dem Original geschminkt wurde. Ja wirklich 🙂

Insgesamt ist dieses Konzept der “neutralen” Lidschattensammlung sehr sympathisch, sie sind gut aufeinander abgestimmt, da muss man Urban Decay danken. Wie eingangs angesprochen empfinde ich es jedoch als schade, dass UD kaum matte Lidschatten in die Paletten gegeben hat, satte, matte Taupe-, Brauntöne sind immer gut! In dieser Hinsicht liebäugle ich gerade ua. mit der komplett matten Palette von MUR…

Welche Paletten bevorzugt ihr? Mit mehr, weniger Lidschatten? Mehr matte Farben? Oder doch ein paar non-neutrals zum Aufmischen? 🙂

Danke nochmal an Beauty Mango! 🙂