Knowing that L’Oréal owns Urban Decay, I wondered just how closely L’Oréal’s much less expensive $19.99 10-pan La Palette Nude 1 palette of neutral powder shadows would imitate its $54 Naked superstar cousin. Would La Palette’s three mattes be as easy to blend as UD Naked’s matte shadows, and what about pigment, shimmer and fallout? How would they compare? And what would I miss with only 10, instead of 12 shades?
I decided to find out.
The $19.99 L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1 vs. the $54 Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette
Briefly, what’s the idea behind L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1?
Well, it’s basically the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette with 10 neutral powder shadows instead of 12. Seven of them are shimmers — a warm beige, a peach, gold, bronze, chocolate brown, silvery taupe and a cool-toned white — and three are matte browns — a medium taupe-brown, medium tan brown and a dark neutral brown. La Palette Nude 1 is one of two eyeshadow palettes that were added to the L’Oréal permanent line this spring, and it comes with a dual-ended brush with a sponge-tip applicator on one end and a small flat eyeshadow brush on the other. There are also four simple how-to tutorials for four different eye looks on the bottom/back. It’s available now online and at drugstores and Ulta.
What makes it interesting?
First, for me, the price. It’s $34 less than Urban Decay Naked.
The 10 shadows work out to $2 each, versus Naked with its 12 shadows, which work out to $4.50 each. So it’s less than half the price.
Yes, I can see your big saucer eyes from across the keyboard, ’cause that’s tempting stuff. 🙂 Seriously, I’m the last person in the world who needs another neutral palette of brown and beige shades, but when I saw La Palette Nude 1 at Ulta last week, I had to go there. I couldn’t stop myself.
What is this compulsion I have to try all of the brown eyeshadows…? It must come from the same place that makes me want all of teh kittehs. The struggle is real, my friend.
So, is La Palette Nude 1 as good as Urban Decay Naked?
In some ways, yes, I think it is. Like Naked, it has a good variety of matte transition shades (which are also highly pigmented! *thumbs up*), and a perfect balance between warm and cool color-temp shades.
The shadows also feel silky and soft like Urban Decay’s, which I guess isn’t a big surprise, considering that L’Oréal owns Urban Decay. Maybe there’s some crossover between the formulas, or maybe not and it just worked out that way. La Palette’s shadows also last seven to eight hours for me.
But there a couple of ways in which I think UD Naked trumps L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1…
Nude 1’s mattes, while fabulously pigmented, take longer to blend.
This first time I wore the Nude 1 palette, I used my trusty NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I layered the shadows on top of it, and I felt like I had to work pretty hard to buff out the edges and transition shades into each other. The overall look turned out a little choppy. Then I tried the mattes on top of a creamier base (MAC’s Paint Pot in Soft Ochre), which I hoped would give the shadows a more slippery surface. It seemed to help a bit, but things were still a tad choppy. It required more passes with my fluffy blending brush to get my gradients worked out than I could count, so if you’re going to invest in this palette and plan to give these mattes a daily workout, I highly recommend also having a cream shadow on hand to use as a base, along with a healthy dose of patience.
Nude 1’s shimmers aren’t all that shiny.
Compared to the shimmery shadows in UD Naked, Nude 1’s pearlescent shadows don’t shimmer as brightly, so I get more of a soft shine than a mirror. The shimmer also doesn’t seem anywhere near as pigmented or refined. In fact, I feel like it looks pretty chunky on my lids. It reminds me of the shimmers in the Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette.
I don’t know if it’s something that companies do on purpose to cater to the drugstore makeup crowd, or if it’s just a consequence of a lower price, but it is still possible to reach the point where Nude 1’s shimmery eyeshadows shine bright like diamonds. You may just have to wet your brush first and do a lot of layering.
It’ll take some effort, not gonna lie.
What about fallout?
There is some…
Actually, quite a bit — similar to Urban Decay’s eyeshadows.
Honestly, though, it’s not a deal-breaker for me. If you get in the habit of tapping off your brush to unload the excess product before applying these shadows, you really should be fine.
Also, since Nude 1 has 10 shadows instead of 12, it’s not quite as flexible as Urban Decay Naked, and the shadows that are missing are two of the darkest shades. Just something else to keep in mind.
Oh…and the brush that comes with Nude 1 is pretty lame. It’s scratchy (like a cat’s tongue). I’m going to ditch it.
For $20, is L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1 worth it?
If you don’t already own a good neutral palette, I think it is. La Nude 1 is a perfectly respectable Urban Decay Naked dupe, and one of the better ones out there.
I do think that it helps to go into it expecting to have to do more blending and layering than you would with Naked, but because of the price difference, you’re saving a lot. As long as you’re cool with the extra blending, you’ll be able to do a lot with this palette. While a little pricey for a drugstore product, it’s still quite a good value.
PRICE: $19.99
AVAILABILITY: Available now online and at drugstores, Ulta and L’Oréal counters
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Additional makeup worn in this look…
Lips — MAC Matte Lipstick in Men Love Mystery
Lashes — NARS Numero 2
Eyes — MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl, MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Soft Ochre, Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen in Deeper
Cheeks — BECCA Damselfly Blush, Smashbox Fusion Lights in Baked Starblush, Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons in 03 Naturel Brunettes
Face — Dior Diorskin Nude Air Serum in 040, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Biscuit
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sheila says
So pretty! I have La Palette Nude 2 for the mauve-y pink colours, but the formula is equally impressive for a drugstore palette. I actually didn’t find the original Naked palette that good, ended up giving it away because I just couldn’t make the best use out of the palette, but I’m really enjoying La Palette Nude 2.
rtuko says
Oooh. I’m a fan of Urban Decay, a cheapskate, and also UD’s shimmers being a little TOO shimmery for me (I have fat monolids, so shimmers just…make them look fatter), I think I’ll definitely pick these up! Will you be reviewing the other La Palettes too?
Rae // theNotice says
Thanks so much for this review, Karen! These palettes are pretty pricy in Canada (I think they’re usually $30), so I’ve been waiting on more in-depth reviews.
If you get a lot of fallout from it, though, I think I’m going to skip it. My wallet thanks you 😉
Kelly B. says
I’ve been trying out this palette for over a month now and I agree that the shimmers just aren’t all the impressive-I definitely enjoyed the matte shades more than the shimmer ones. But, since I got my palette on sale at Ulta, it was still a great deal!
CL says
Interesting to see this. However, I’d be more likely to purchase Nude 2. I think I have enough browns for the rest of my life.
tirurit says
Thanks for the review!
Personally I think that the lack of at least a dark shade is a bit of a miss with this palette.
Also, I swore off of palettes as I never use them. In fact I do have the naked 1 and it just gathers dust :X I am THIS close to depotting it for once and all!
Jennifer says
I’m all about saving money but this sounds like it’s a lot more work to use than the Urban Decay.
I can relate however to your need to try all the brown eyeshadows. I must try all the pink lipsticks…
Erin says
I think I’d go straight for the original! I’m too lazy to blend that much.
Natalye says
this is a good alternative!
http://natalyepronio.com
Fancie says
I wasn’t expecting much from this palette but the swatches don’t look bad at all. Looks like it’ll make a nice alternative.
Hazel says
I haven’t tried this pallet yet, thank you for the review. This is more affordable for me, although I do hope to get one Naked pallet in my future yet!
Kiss & Make-up says
Nice, this looks and sounds pretty good!
Starrz Beauty says
The fact that it’s hard to blend is a massive deal breaker for me! I love my eyeshadow to look flawlessly blended!
starrzbeauty.blogspot.co.uk
Rune says
Wow. If I had neutrals that looked that beautiful against my skin I’d be doing backflips and clapping like a seal. I really would.
Blend away, my friend. It’s worth it. ;}