I decided to jump back on the blogging bandwagon as I have so much new products to blog about but today, we shall talk about Maybelline's 'The Nudes' eyeshadow palette!
When I first saw this on the shelf at my local drugstore, it gave me the impression straight away that the combination of colours were like a dupe for the more high-end Urban Decay Naked palettes.
Whether they are an exact dupe or not, I cannot guarantee seeing as I unfortunately do not own any of the first three from the Naked collection (what I thought was the Naked 1 palette a few years ago, turned out to be fake because I was oblivious to the trend of selling fake cosmetics on eBay). I do however have the Smoky one which I will review in another post and link it here once it's complete.
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| Front of Maybelline The Nudes palette |
A little bit about the packaging: its sleek plastic case feels sturdy and clicks securely closed in front. The thickness is comparable to that of an iPhone I'd say? It does not contain a mirror which would have been nice but is not that important when I can keep a seperate cute compact with me.
As with most palettes, this had its own sponge applicator which was dual ended - one end was a bit thinner and more precise than the other end so I find that this can come in handy for when you want to smoke out the lower lash line.
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| Back of Maybelline The Nudes palette |
Maybelline provided a handy guide on the back of the palette for those who would like some ideas on which colours to combine. The colours can be divided into either 'quads', 'trios', or 'duos' so there is a variety of looks you can do with this palette!
What's good about this palette is that it contains matte as well as shimmer finish eyeshadows. There are also cool tones and warm tones; a bronze, champagne, and black shade too if you want to aim for that smoky eye!
Onto the swatches: below are two pictures showing the shades with and without a shadow base (I used MAC's Soft Ochre paint pot as it was the only one near me at the time. I know it contradicts the 'drugstore' part of this blog but you should get a similar result with any favourite eye primer/base of your choice).
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| Maybelline 'The Nudes' swatches without shadow base |
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| Maybelline 'The Nudes' swatches with MAC Soft Ochre shadow base |
I'll be honest: not all of the colours came out pigmented and it took a few swipes to try and get a visible swatch. They show up much better when applied on top of the shadow base I used so a base is definitely needed for some of the shades! What I've also noticed was that some of the shadows came out a bit chalky and had some fallout because they're a bit soft so application would be easy but a bit messy.
Pros:
*Affordable
*Some of the colours do pick up well without needing primer/shadow base
*Variety of cool vs warm tone shades
*Contains a black shade which is great for a smoky eye
*Packaging feels sturdy and comes its own dual ended sponge applicator
*Contains 12 different nude shades so it gives you that flexibility of different looks
Cons:
*Some of the shades have a chalky texture
*May produce fallout because they're soft
*Some of the shades are not as pigmented as others so need several applications
*Palette does not contain its own mirror (not a major con but would have been handy)
For an affordable price of £9.99 at UK retailer Boots.com, this is a decent palette to travel with if you're looking for some neutral/nude shades and the optional smoky eye look!
Until next time,
Ciao! :)
Anna Cubana (a.k.a. ArtisticallyCurious)
