Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palette – Shade: BUSTED from NAKED 2
£39.50
In terms of presentation, the palette looks beautiful. There’s 12 shades to choose from and they’ve been coordinated so that they can all work together. The best shade for me was Tease. It has a matte effect which sits really nicely and looks much tidier than the glitter shades.
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This is the only matte shade in the palette so It’s worth researching the type of eyeshadow the palettes offer before purchasing to make sure it suits your preference. The shade I’ve used here is BUSTED, and although it’s a little darker than what I’d normally go for, it is a beautiful shade.
It was also really easy to apply and lasts all day. However, if you’re twitchy when applying it like me and suck at blending, then cleaning up any errors can be quite difficult if you don’t fancy starting from scratch.
On the upside, it doesn’t leave a dusty shadow like many other eyeshadows do and is renowned for how good it is for blending. Whilst the colours are buildable and offer really good coverage, the glitter loses its sparkle when blending unless you dab on a little extra at the end.
Whilst the result still looks great, it does mean you’ll run out sooner, and with a retail price of £39.50, it may be worth opting for a cheaper alternative.
Rating: 4/5
Natural Collection Eyeshadow – Shade: Crushed Walnut
£1.99
In its pot, this shade is almost identical to BUSTED from the NAKED 2 palette in colour, although at £1.99, comes at barely a fraction of the price.
Once applied, the colour was a lot lighter than I’d expected, although its subtlety instead worked in its favour as the colour was actually really nice. However, it was very dusty and so coverage was poor. With it being so easy to smudge, the colour faded pretty quickly, eventually only remaining in the creases of your eyelids which isn’t a great look on anyone.
For those prepared to reapply once or twice during the day, this budget-friendly alternative isn’t such a bad choice.
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Rating: 3/5
Pretty cheap - Eyeshadow
Whilst we gawk over air-brushed inner-beauty campaigns, a genius spinning on an office chair somewhere has just come up with the next gimmick.
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In a market where consumers prioritize brands over innovation, it’s easy to correlate quality with a price tag. Whilst it’s usually true that ‘you get what you pay for’, with the hunt for ‘dupes’ becoming increasingly more popular, there’s even more reason to experiment with new affordable brands.
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To work out just how superior these glossy brands really are, I’ll compare two products, one big brand and one budget bargain.
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Hypothesis? “The more expensive the make-up, the better you’ll look.”
£40 for something that you’ll wash off in 10 hours does seem a little pointless, although the price difference isn’t as drastic as it first seems.
Ultimately, Urban Decay are giving you 12 harmonious shades (that equally dazzle on their own) simultaneously . 12 of Natural Collection’s budget eye shadows would still cost you £24.
Considering the quality of the palette and the distinctiveness of each shade, I’d argue that extra £16 was worth it.
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Written by Rebecca