Oh I know, I know. How many neutral eyeshadow palettes does a girl need, right? Erm, well, looking at my own stash of eyeshadows, I’d say … erm … four? Five? More? Oh shush! 😛
Now it goes without saying (even though I’m saying it now. Tsk) that I adore the Urban Decay NAKED eyeshadow palette. I don’t have NAKED 2 or NAKED 3, only the NAKED Basics yet I still think the original palette’s the best. Having said that, it’s not exactly the cheapest palette out there so drugstore brands try to come up with similar eyeshadow palettes with similar neutral shades.
An eyeshadow palette I got to try was Maybelline’s The Nudes. It doesn’t resemble the Urban Decay palettes but upon first glance, it does remind me a little of LORAC’s eyeshadow palettes. To be honest, I’ve never had a good track record of Maybelline’s powder eyeshadows. Most if not all that I’ve tried before were not good. Even though I was excited that this is finally launched in Australia, I must say that I was skeptical on the quality of the eyeshadows.
I finally gave the palette a go and while it’s still nowhere near the quality of my beloved NAKED palette, a number of the eyeshadows in this palette aren’t as bad as I thought.
The eyeshadows are arranged in ways that the shades complement each other. The back of the palette gives you an idea of complementary colours to use that come in quads, trios and duos. You don’t have to stick to the suggestions if you prefer to just use whatever shade you like but for those who are new to eye makeup, it’s a good guide to follow. As for the enclosed applicator, I wouldn’t bother with that if I were you. I chucked it as soon as I took photos of this palette for the review and used my makeup brushes and fingers instead. 😛
Straight up, the overall quality of the eyeshadows is only just so-so. All of the eyeshadows are hard to the touch. Some, especially the mattes, are gritty and not at all smooth nor buttery.
The light mattes are so sheer, they’re almost redundant. The worst of the lot, at least in my palette and opinion, is the matte black. I expected this to be the punchiest in the colour and that I would be able to at least use this to line the lash line. The matte black in this palette is sheer, gritty and skips on the skin upon application.
The shimmery shades are the saving grace to this palette. The brighter ones are good. Even though they’re still hard to the touch, they swatched very well and have a much better colour payoff than the mattes. The bronze shades remind me of the Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze.
As I have very oily eyelids, eyeshadow primer is a must before wearing any sort of eye makeup. When I wore the matte eyeshadows only, they didn’t last long. A couple of hours in and they creased on my lids, creating that single line on the lids where the rest of the eyeshadow has disappeared. However, when it’s just the shimmery shades, they held up surprisingly well. They lasted on my eyelids without fading or creasing for over 6 hours, which in my opinion, is pretty bloody fantastic.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the matte eyeshadows and think that the quality is poor. I must, however, give a thumbs up to the shimmery shades because they didn’t only last much longer, they look much better too.
Would I recommend this over the Urban Decay NAKED palette? Of course not. I still love that palette to bits. But I would have loved this palette a lot more if it only came in the shimmery shades, even if it had to come in just a quad palette. The 4th shade from the left on the top row (shimmery bronze) is really beautiful. So is the 3rd shade from the left on the bottom row (shimmery gold). Actually, make it a duo eyeshadow with these two and you’ll have yourself a winner! 🙂
Maybelline The Nudes eyeshadow palette retails at AU$25.95 and is available at selected supermarkets and pharmacies nationwide.
What I like about it: The shimmery shades are very pretty, the lasting power on my primed eyelids is good.
What I do not like about it: Hard to the touch, some are gritty and powdery. The matte eyeshadows are too sheer to work with, even the black.
Great title, Tine, it made me laugh. 🙂
As for the Maybelline palette, I have not tried it and I don’t think I will. I’ve had no luck with the drugstore eyeshadows lately (I’m looking at you, Wet n Wild, why the @·$%&! did you change the formula?). I also love my “original” NAKED palette and I have found its perfect matte companion in the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye palette.
Have an awesome week!
Cecilia recently posted..Update: hauls, uñas y el fracaso de las buenas intenciones
Hehehe happy to oblige. 😛
I’ve heard good things about the Kat Von D Shade and Light. No Kat Von D in Melbourne for me to check out, at least, not yet so I’ll have to wait. I’ve also heard very good things about Wet n Wild’s eyeshadows! Didn’t know they changed the formula! Damn, and I was hoping to buy one to try out. >.<
I’m not a huge fan of Maybelline shadows, but I did think this was a step in the right direction for the brand. It’s a better price point so that folks that can’t quite splurge on Urban Decay can try a nude type palette. I keep eyeing the blushed nudes palette .. but will probably pass on this as well.
Monica.
MonicaP recently posted..StitchFix No 5
There’s a blushed nudes palette? Oh boy, when the heck are WE going to get that here? 😛
Yeah I know what you mean. The Urban Decay palettes are pretty expensive to begin with. But the thing is, I reckon it’s better to pay for a palette which you can use all the shades of (all eyeshadows are good) than one that I can only use 2 out of, say, 8. Cost per use is better with the more expensive one. Oh yeah, I did the calculations. 😛
I heard so many not so great things about the Maybelline palettes that I’ve passed on all of ’em, though in the pans they look quite appealing. In the US, they are priced at $10 which is probably the right price. I almost went for a Makeup Revolution palette the other night that would have cost even less, but I decided to forego that one too, and start using all the palettes I’ve got in my stash that I don’t use nearly often enough. What willpower, right?!
Allison recently posted..Touche Eclat Blur Primer and Blur Perfector from YSL
Hahahaha erm … willpower? What’s that? 😛
Got this from a friend in the U.S. – I was very excited to try it out, used it maybe once or twice and now it’s sitting unloved in my drawer. It definitely didn’t amaze me, especially the matte shades, but it’s still a good one for nude shadow beginners!
Ash recently posted..Real Techniques Bold Metals Brushes
The matte shades were so meh! They were frustrating to even swatch with. The bronze and gold shades though … now those are GORGEOUS.
Sigh, unloved in your drawer just means one thing. It’s not good enough to use. 🙁
Thanks so much for the honest review!! I’ve seen the palette featured soooo many times on YouTube ads and as the sponsor of the Vanity series – it’s seriously just shoved in your face haha. I felt suspect of this palette to start since it’s been so hyped up by sponsored sources, and now I don’t think I’d try it at all. I do like some of Maybelline’s smaller palettes a lot, though – there are definitely some neutral ones that are great!
Yeah I know what you mean. I saw this palette a lot on YouTube as well. It’s not 100% bad, mind you, but it’s not 100% good. The bronze and gold shades are very beautiful but the matte ones are meh. Have you tried the Colour Molten duos? I’ve heard good things!
Hi Tine! Hope, I haven’t tried them yet but I’ve seen them in the drugstore pretty often. I guess I’ll check out some swatches or videos before buying haha
^^^ I meant to say *Nope, I haven’t tried them lol 🙂
Angela Bonanza recently posted..Bath & Body Works Candle Haul and Online Order Review
Gah this just makes me mad (as always) at how much we pay for makeup here. $25 for a mediocre palette what a bummer.
Sigh, tell me about it 🙁
That’s so disappointing to see that they aren’t that pigmented. I would definitely prefer other eyeshadow palettes as $25 is stretching it for a palette like this. I would much rather get Chi Chi eyeshadows which are quite buttery and are generally quite well pigmented.
Amy recently posted..Skincare Hauls + First Impressions
Ahhhhh yes Chi Chi ones definitely feel better than this. More buttery, more pigmented. I don’t have the nudes palette from Chi Chi, just the jewelled tones one and it’s pretty.