On the drive to the NKOTB/TLC/Nelly concert in San Jose last week, my friend and fellow makeup lover Marisol asked if I would mind us making a pit stop at a Walmart down there to see if they had Maybelline’s new $10 The Blushed Nudes Palette.
She said that she’d looked all over for it up in the North Bay where we live to no avail, and that the closest place she could track it down was the Walmart right next to the concert venue.
A $10 dupe for Urban Decay Naked 3?
“Do you mind if we swing by?” she asked.
Uh…do I mind stopping by a store with a huge beauty section to look at makeup?
I said I didn’t.
Marisol said that she heard the palette was a $10 drugstore dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.
“Of all the people I know,” she told me, “I thought you would understand.”
I did. 🙂
With a $10 dupe for Naked 3 on the line, shirtless Jordan Knight would just have to wait, LOL!
When we got to the Walmart, we made a beeline for the beauty department, where we found two Blushed Nude palettes in stock. I took it as a sign from the makeup gods that I needed to bring one of them home, and Marisol did too. She snagged the other one.
Forget about buying an overpriced New Kids t-shirt at the concert. This would be my souvenir instead. 🙂
The Blushed Nudes Palette by Maybelline: 12 eyeshadows in rose gold shades
With the rose gold packaging and 12 eyeshadows in rose gold shades, The Blushed Nudes looks a lot like UD’s $54 Naked 3 palette… Right? The resemblance is uncanny! For this one, it’s pretty easy to see where Maybelline got their inspiration.
Eyeshadow Trickery 101
But while very similar, there are some pretty big differences between the two.
Like first, the price. One is $10 and the other is $54.
That’s huge.
Second and third, the levels of pigment and shimmer. The Urban Decay Naked 3 shadows contain much more pigment and pearl. With them I think you definitely get more intense color and shine on your lids, but you can get there with the Maybelline Blushed Nudes eyeshadows. You just need to resort to a little makeup trickery.
Like you could…
- Basically, use more. You can build up the Blushed Nudes shadows in layers, but you’re probably looking at using two or three times as many as you’d need with the Naked3s. Maybe five or six total layers with the lighter shades.
- Intensify the colors by applying them with a wet brush.
- Use your fingers instead of a brush, so you can really apply some pressure directly on your lids.
Of course, none of this is necessary if you actually want a softer, hazier eye look. Most of The Blushed Nudes shades are fairly sheer, so if that’s your agenda, your regular brushes would do you just fine.
Where are my mattes!?
And then there’s the whole matte situation… You get three matte shades — matte beige Strange, light matte pinkish taupe Limit and matte purplish taupe Nooner — in Urban Decay Naked 3, which are very handy as transition shades.
The Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette, on the other hand, has only one matte, a sheer pinkish taupe that looks like UD’s limit (only sheerer). I tried using it as a crease color…but I wasn’t too crazy about it. I had to use hella layers (I’m talking five or six) to have it really register on my medium skin tone, and even then I still couldn’t see it very well.
It may not be an issue for paler princesses, or if mattes just aren’t your thing, but if you’re around my shade (I’m a MAC NC42) or darker, or if you’re just all about that matte crease life, it’s something to consider.
Still, with the money you save on this $10 palette, you could then spring for a couple of additional matte single shades.
What about the wear time and formula?
The wear time isn’t bad at all. These shadows last about seven or eight hours on my combo lids, and as for fallout, I only see very little.
Oh! — I do notice that with a couple of the Maybelline Blushed Nudes shades, like the dark purple shimmer in the bottom row on the far right, my eyes will water a little (but that’s a sensitivity of mine that I have with a lot of purplish and burgundy shimmery shadows), which doesn’t seem to happen when I wear Naked 3.
It’s not terrible, and I can still wear them, but it’s a bit annoying.
The verdict: Should ya go there?
I guess the big question here is, “Do friends let friends buy Blushed Nudes?”
Yeah, I think so. I do think that you get better quality with the Naked 3 palette and more pigment and shimmer, but The Blushed Nudes palette by Maybelline is still pretty darned good for $10.
PRICE: $10
AVAILABILITY: Available now online and at drugstores and Walmart
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Speaking of things that are pretty darned good
I’ve had this song stuck in my head for the past two weeks! — and now I’m on a mission to get it stuck in yours too, LOL!
At the concert, TLC closed their set with a song called Meant to Be, which they recorded for their TV movie, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.
It’s a sweet song about friendship and being there for each other, and it’s a little bittersweet at the same time…
Anyway, I think you’ll like it. 🙂
This goes out to forever…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
“shirtless Jordan Knight” gives me life. 😉 I hope you had a good time at the concert! I’ll be lovin’ NKOTB forever…
As for the eyeshadows, they’re pretty, but probably too sheer for my taste. Thanks for the review!
Daisy!
Jordan has been eating his lean meats and veggies and doing his crunches. Observe: this pic here and this pic here. OH MY HEAVENS!
“OH MY HEAVENS” indeed! Thanks for the pics, a great way to end a Monday! 🙂
I just got sweet soul from that song!
So shirtless Jordan Knight was waitin’ on the Blushed Nudes?!
Really, this is a nice palette for the price. Maybe pat a little Chanel New Moon Illusion d’Ombre on the outer edge of the crease?
And I’m tellin’ ya, girl, the Whole Matte Situation and other chapters are begging for an e-book by you!
You already wrote the intro in this post!
Isn’t it so sweet? It gets stuck in your head…I’m singing it now. We should do a duet. I’ll do T-Boz’s lower parts. You can cover Chili. 🙂
This made me tear up a little because I just got the Naked 3 Palette 🙁 But I really like Nooner & Limit, so its all good I guess! 🙂
I’m covered since I have Naked 3 but it does excite me to see drugstore brands, other than NYX, coming out with eyeshadow palettes. 🙂
These new palettes from Maybelline look so practical for day to day use! Since I’m so pale, I actually prefer less pigmented powders, so I can build them up and not look like a clown right away 🙂
It’s a shame those good products will probably never arrive in Brazil. The only things we get here is either the cheaper, simpler, low-end lines (like those Baby Lips balms, and so on), or the top, luxury brands at Sephora, but then you’d have to spend a sh’tload of money for the Urban Decay palettes – something absurd, when you convert to Reais + (neverending)taxes.
Not to mention the fact that the very pale shades (and also very dark) are never available. Even at the MAC counter they tried to match me (a very pale, at least to Brazilian standards) to a foundation 2 shades darker. So sick of this current fashion in which people have to “slim” their faces down, mimic a “sun-kissed” look they don’t even want (I don’t ever, ever sunbathe), while people of color are almost coerced by media to straighten their hair…
Ok, I really got carried away here. A complaint about the lack of makeup in the extreme ends of the skin color spectrum became a protest against “beauty” standards 😛
Super helpful review Karen and it looks GORGEOUS on you. I suspect itll be a bit longer before i see this here in Canada, but I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled!!
Thank you for this review, it was fun to read, I just love your writing! But really it’s too bad the quality doesn’t meet. However, it’s great for someone who wants to try on pinky shades before buying the 60$ one. I think the makeup revolution dupe is a much better quality and deal but this one does not come in drugstores.
Oh yes, this looks like a great dupe for the Naked 3 Palette indeed!
Wow, they look super close so folks with a little less cash and a little extra time could totally make it work! I try to stay away from shimmer with my aged lids but something about summer makes me kind of crave it a bit. 🙂
Letting a shirtless Jordan Knight wait? Not for a palette!
I added this to an online order to get free shipping. It’s not just you: The matte shade is TERRIBLE. It barely shows up on me, even with primer, and I’m super-pale. The rest are pretty good with primer, especially the bottom row. I prefer shimmers, so I do’t mind the absence of mattes. I think the taupes and the sparkly purple shade are the best.
Thanks for the review! I’ve been looking for the Maybelline Rose Gold for a month now! It seems like their TV ad is working! I have their other UD naked knockoff and I love it so I’m really dying to pick up this one! I’m so happy that my search led me to your review!
xo
Kara
http://www.thebostonista.com
PS: I’m adding you to my blog’s lovely links page! xo