Although the Urban Decay Naked Palette has been a smash hit, I just have not been able to drink the Naked Palette Kool Aid. I think the Naked Palette has a great selection of shades, but I really don't like that the majority of them are shimmery, and you know when UD does shimmer, they mean business.
Thus, I decided to see if I could dupe the Naked Palette with MAC shades that are already in my collection. There may be a few MAC shadows that are better dupes, but either they are limited edition or I don't have them. Here is what I came up with (click on images to enlarge):
I think a shade like Shroom would be a better dupe for Virgin, and Black Tied would be a better dupe for Creep, but I don't have Shroom or Black Tied. Overall, I think my dupes are pretty good in terms of color. However, the finishes might be different. For instance, Embark is a pretty good dupe for Hustle, but Embark is matte and Hustle is shimmery. In all honesty, I prefer the MAC finishes. There is only so much shimmer I can deal with and I feel like the mixture of satin, veluxe, matte, etc. finishes create more interest and dimension than pure shimmer shades. The few times I have used the Naked Palette I noticed I kept using Buck, which is one of the only non-shimmery shades in the pallete. The other non-shimmery shades are Virgin and Naked.
When you look at the total value, the Naked Palette is $48 and includes a brush and mini primer potion. If you were to purchase the 12 MAC shades and a palette to hold them in, it would cost $146. On the other hand, if you already have several neutral shades you already like from MAC, you probably wouldn't need to purchase that many more to create your own neutral palette and if you are like me, you will like the finishes better and get more use out of it because you actually like each of the shades.
This is just my two cents. What do you think? Is the Naked Palette your holy grail palette?
Awesome post! Thanks for the dupes :D I don't have the naked palette yet, I'll probably re-visit my MAC stash and then decide :)
ReplyDelete@Appu Personally, I think that's a good decision, especially if you like MAC shadows. If you do pick up the naked palette please let me know what you think!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't really intrigued by the Naked palette and now seeing these amazing dupes.. I really don't regret fallin for it =P
ReplyDeleteGreat post hun.. thanks heaps!
awesome! loved the comparison, haven't been able to get a hold of the naked palette here in India yet, and tho i like it, i agree there's only so much you can do with all that shimmer.... i love the fact that u showed this... i'll go buy a few shades from mac now.super thx for such a super useful post! :)
ReplyDeleteI hate Sidecar. Phew, there. I said it. Now I feel better. It makes me look like a Christmas tree no matter how I apply it.
ReplyDeleteIt's an alright palette. I think a wee bit overhyped, but I can see how useful it is for people who travel and don't want to carry a whole bunch of shadows. I like Creep and Smog the most. Oh and Dark Horse.
Hi Kajal,
ReplyDeleteMay I ask you something? When you say "dupe," what is your meaning of "dupe?"
"Dupe" means something different to everyone. To Scrangie and me, it means the color and finish is exact, and I don't see that with many of the colors. For example, I know Carbon is a black matte and Creep is a black with glitter so those two most definitely CANNOT be dupes; same color, different finishes. Knight Divine and Gunmetal are two different opacities (KD being a dark grey with glitter and opaque it looks like; Gunmetal is a dark grey with glitter, but it's more on the sheer side and meant to enhance other colors in the palette as well as other greys.) Sable and Toasted....two different colors all together. Sable looks like it belongs with Sidecar (even then Sable is lighter than Sidecar by a hue) and All That Glitters is supposed to go with Toasted (still not a dupe in my book. Toasted is warmer and darker.) Smog and Tempting are close, but Tempting is darker by a hue. Embark is lighter than Hustle by two hues at least (and is cooler). Cork is cooler than Buck. Kid is cooler than Naked. Mylar is pinker than Virgin.
Sin and Naked Lunch look like dupes and Half-baked and Woodwinked look like dupes to me (in my book, anyway). That's it. I'd have to see them in person though.
Sorry if I'm sounding prissy, I'm just wondering because your definition and mine apparently aren't matching up!
@Delyteful Speaks I'm glad you found this post helpful! =)
ReplyDelete@Chatterazzi Thanks for the comments dear! I'm happy this was helpful and hopefully you will only have to get a few shades to put together a neutral palette that works for you! =)
@Fieran LoL!!! I am not a fan of Sidecar either. So many of the shadows in this palette are shimmery and it just doesn't do it for me.
@Katie You are right, everyone has a different definition of "dupe." I use "dupe" to mean a product that is extremely similar and can be used interchangeably. I already stated that the finishes of some of my dupes aren't the same as the UD shadows, but would work just fine if used in an eye look.
Wow thanks for this post! I have always wanted to get the UD palette but just couldn't stray from my MAC palette. I'm glad to see there are some great alternatives , many of which I have.
ReplyDeleteHi Kajal,
ReplyDeleteOkay, I got you. (See, people should put these things in the first sentence so I'm not going, "NO, THAT IS NOT A DUPE YOU MORON!!! DO YOU NOT HAVE EYEBALLS! That is MAGENTA; that is FUCHSIA. Can you not tell the difference?" Although, if you can't tell the difference between magenta and fuchsia....you're either colorblind or need to see an ophthalmologist ASAP.)
Also, I should read before posting. Since I see in images, colors and textures (not words like normal people), when I see an image, I read the title, first sentence and then images. Note to self: read.
@Neena Glad this post was helpful! Hopefully it saves you some money and some space in your makeup bag! =)
ReplyDeleteVery helpful post!
ReplyDeleteI always believed that someone with a good basic collection of neutrals, that included different finishes wouldn't NEED the Naked palette! And I'm not 100% convinced that I'm wrong yet! Although I would love to get a Naked on my hands and see for myself tbh...! Lol!
xx
Great post, I did want the Naked palette, but now looking I have so many of the Mac shadows already :)
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison post. I've got some favorite MAC shades that are matte2 formula (Copperplate, Handwritten, Blanc Type, Prussian) and I really like them. I also adore Knight Divine and All That Glitters. I skipped the Naked palette, but I did pick up a few colors from Silk Naturals that are dupes for shades in it. I picked up Scout (clone of Smog), Bareback (clone of Naked) and Restless (clone of Virgin) and I really like them.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post you have no idea how much it helped!! I dont wanna lie i've been wanting to buy the naked palette forever but everytime i get there i feel like i hate it and im just going to buy it cuz of the hype!! The shimmer in it just drives me away but now i know i can dupe it with my mac shadows and i love it there there are different finishes instead of all shimmer!! THANK YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
ReplyDeleteI have no place I can actually look at the palette, or MAC eye shadows. I wanted to purchase the Naked Palette, but thought about the same thing - I don't really enjoy using shimmers/glitters that much; maybe I just should go with MAC? But still, I couldn't quite convince myself about not wanting the UD Naked palette, but now I'm sure :)
I have these MAC shades but I miss the shimmer of urban decay. I just don't want to spend that kind of cash when I already have so many Mac shades it would take years to use them all... Do you think I could achieve that look by using a paint underneath my MAC shadows??
ReplyDeleteHey! I know this post is MEGA old but it was still super helpful. I'm replacing my favorite Naked Palette shades with MAC singles. There's a handful of shades in every palette that I don't use, and then there's the ones that I use to DEATH but don't want to buy a whole palette to replace. Some shades in UD palettes are palette exclusives, and when they're not, UD runs what, $18 a single? NO THANKS!
ReplyDeleteUrban Dicky Eyeshadow Palette Nikd Chery
ReplyDeleteContains natural, attractive and bright colors
Contains a large mirror and double-headed brush
One hundred percent violence against animals
Creating velvety texture on the skin
Includes matte and metallic colors
Includes twelve neutral colors
Very high combinability
Has a cherry color tone
Very high durability