Ever since I got my hands on the Urban Decay Naked Palette, I have been hooked on nude/neutral eyeshadow shades. I still like my pop of colour, but it's obvious that my makeup style has progressed to one that is less daring and more subtle. Neutral colours are just so ... simple. Nothing fancy at first glance, but a closer look reveals a little shimmer here and there, or a gradient of smokey neutral shades. Basically, neutral eyeshadow shades are versatile. Confirm cannot go wrong one.
The Urban Decay Naked Palette is legendary. It's so legendary that I wanted to get Naked 2 Palette even though many of the shades are so similar. But of course, the hefty price tag of S$80 stopped me on my tracks. I want more but I'm not willing to spend so much. Hence, the NYX Nude on Nude Palette caught my attention! It has been labelled as the perfect dupe for the Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2; like that of course must get right?
Smoochiezz sells this for around S$45 I think and even though it's almost half the price of a Naked 2, I was still quite hesitant. FORTUNATELY, the NYX Nude on Nude Palette is available on Amazon and I was able to get it for around S$26. SCORE.
I had really high hopes for this, and that's not a good thing because the NYX Nude on Nude Palette proved to be at most, mediocre. Bleh.
The
NYX Nude on Nude Palette gives you more for less by including 20 eyeshadow shades and 10 lip colours.
I was so excited when I saw the colour swatches on the packaging - they all look major gorgeous! Well, now I know that photos can be deceiving. I'm not that disappointed with the eyeshadow shades, but the lip colours, oh man, they are not stellar at all.
Packaging: Simple and classic with a sturdy brown casing that's easy to open. I don't understand the see-through thingies though. You have 20 gorgeous shades but you are only displaying 10? I'd much prefer it if NYX just exclude the weird see-through things and add more oomph by changing the casing to a metallic brown/faux leather brown with the logo emblazoned on it. However, cannot complain too much because it's not that bad lah.
The pull-out lip palette is quite filmsy though. A lot of times, the lip palette will just slide out on its own because of how insecure the bottom palette is, and I'd have lipstick all over the side of my right hand.
 |
| Eyeshadow palette photographed under normal sunlight condition |
 |
| Eyeshadow palette photographed with camera flash |
 |
| Lip palette photographed under normal sunlight condition |
 |
| Lip palette photographed with camera flash |
 |
| Swatches of first row of eyeshadows - photographed with camera flash |
 |
| Swatches of second row of eyeshadows - photographed with camera flash |
Eyeshadow palette
Pigmentation: Most of the eyeshadows were decently pigmented. The black eyeshadow is extremely powdery and not as pigmented as expected. Generally, the golds, browns and taupes are fantastically pigmented. The matte shadows are powdery but still workable. The blendability of the shadows range from very easy (the shimmery colours) to hair-pulling challenging (that black..just kill me).
Application: I have this palette for almost 1.5 months now and I keep reaching out for the lighter shimmery browns and golds, and that's simply because they apply beautifully and the texture of those shadows are just perfect. I like how the shimmery shades contain almost no glitters - this means no weird glitter residue on your under-eye area. The matte nude-peach shade (first left of first row) is so amazing as a brow highlighter that I have already touched pan on that shade. If you are still a beginner in eyeshadow application, I'd advise you to stay away from the dark shimmery grey and shimmery black though - these shades are fallout champions and you need to be extra careful during application.
Longevity: I used the NYX eyeshadow base before applying the eyeshadows and they lasted the entire work day (9am-7pm). A little bit of fading at the end of the day, but nothing too significant.
General overview: Great palette with a wide range of shades and almost superior longevity. The darker shimmery shades are a pain to work with but not something totally unmanageable.
 |
| Swatches of lip palette photographed with camera flash |
Lip palette
Pigmentation: 25/75. 25% woah pigmented and 75% barely there. Those nude lip shades look so gorgeous on the pan, but they are non-existent on the lips. I don't get it seriously. The fiery reds are stellar, and I prefer the cool-toned red more because it matches my skin colour better. Another shade that I don't get is the crazy shimmery pastel pink on the far left. Maybe it's just me, but I cannot imagine myself or anyone wearing this shade at all. It's in-your-face shimmery and it's only suitable for .... a costume party or something along that line.
Application: The 25% that are more pigmented applies dreadfully. When you are layering the lip shade to get a more intensified colour, streaks will appear and basically you look like you have crazy dry lips. I used the lip brush that came with the palette to apply and I think it's a combination of the medicore lip brush and queer lip colour formulation that caused the streakiness. NOT A FAN.
Longevity: What longevity? The nude shades were barely there to begin with and after 2 hours, I think I ate all the lipstick up already. The reds performed better but they get quite dry after a while (I think being in an air-conditioned room affects the performance, so let's give the reds the benefit of the doubt).
General overview: A let-down, especially when the actual NYX lipsticks have amazing pigmentation and formulation. If this palette were sold on its own, I definitely will not purchase it.
Will I buy the NYX Nude on Nude Palette again? Maybe not. The eyeshadow shades are great, but the lip palette really brings the quality down. Moreover, I like to find more nude/neutral palettes in the beauty market, so perhaps it's time to move on to another brand? Maybe Lorac next? HEE.
Thanks for reading guys! Hopefully this post has been helpful! Have an amazing amazing AMAZING week ahead! :)
