Wet n Wild Spring 2013 Limited Edition Coloricon Nude Awakening Palette vs. Urban Decay Naked Palette

Purchased by Me 

A huge thank-you to reader Crissypo for emailing me when she spotted the Wet n Wild Limited Edition Spring Forward display at a CVS here in San Diego. Thanks to her, I was able to pick up the last two palettes in the display. Thank you once again, Crissypo, for your thoughtfulness and willingness to help me get my hands on these!

Wet n Wild Spring 2013 Coloricon Eyeshadow Palette in Nude Awakening

(retail: $4.99, 0.3 oz)

It took me a while to do this comparison, but I FINALLY have it for you today! I'm so sorry for the delay, and I hope that some of you will still find it useful.

For those unfamiliar with the Wet n Wild Spring 2013 Limited Edition Spring Forward palettes, you can click here to view the interactive map to see if these have been spotted in your area (there's also a link at the top of this blog for your convenience).

NOTE: For those of you unable to find this palette locally, you can order the Nude Awakening and Going In The Wild palettes together for $15 total here. You must order both--this website does not sell them separately (a huge thanks to several of you for the heads-up about this!). I will be reviewing the Going In The Wild palette in a separate blog post next week.

Here are all eight shades swatched on bare skin (no primer):

First row (left side of palette), no primer

Second row (right side of palette), no primer

And here is a comparison of these eight shades to some of the shades in the Urban Decay Naked Palette:

FIRST ROW (LEFT SIDE OF PALETTE):

All shadows swatched over Prestige Primed & Ready Eye Primer:

UD Virgin vs WnW: As you can see, UD Virgin has more shimmer to it, and it's more opaque as well. The WnW shade is more of a satin-matte finish and it has more of a transparent, luminescent quality. When on the eyes, the WnW shade has a surprisingly nice level of pigmentation (even without primer). It's just hard to see in my pics because this shade is so close to my skintone.

UD Sidecar vs WnW: I don't really think of Sidecar as an orange-y shade, but it looks really orange when swatched next to the WnW shade. They both have the same level of shimmer and pigment, but the WnW shade is definitely cooler-toned. 

UD Buck vs. WnW: These are both mattes, but the WnW shade doesn't photograph as well in swatches and it looks much more even and less spotty when worn on the eyes. It's a surprisingly smooth, buttery, matte brown that's a hair lighter and a hair cooler-toned than UD Buck, but when worn side-by-side on the eye, I can barely tell the difference.

UD Darkhorse vs WnW: Darkhorse is a bit deeper and a darker, but I actually prefer the WnW shade! It's not as dry as Darkhorse and it looks a bit greener and less muddy on the eye after blending.

SECOND ROW (RIGHT SIDE OF PALETTE):

UD Toasted vs. WnW: It's hard to compete with Toasted (in my book) but even though the WnW shade is a bit lighter and warmer, I think it's a nice alternative. It's got the same level of shimmer and the pigmentation is great as well.

UD Hustle vs. WnW: To put it bluntly, the WnW shade kicks Hustle's booty. To me, Hustle is hard to work with (it's not very pigmented and it goes on spotty) but the WnW version is rich, buttery and smooth to apply. It also has better pigmentation than Hustle (but it is a tiny bit warmer than Hustle).

UD Gunmetal vs. WnW: If you want a deep, rich, super-pigmented steel-gray, then Gunmetal is the way to go. The WnW version is a softer gray and just doesn't have the intensity of Gunmetal. It also doesn't have the same level of pigmentation as Gunmetal.

UD Creep vs. WnW: Two totally different shades when swatched. Creep is a deep, rich matte black with sparkle and the WnW shade is a shimmery black with sparkle. Both shadows are on the dry side.

SUMMARY: I'd say that five of the shades in the Wet n Wild Nude Awakening Palette are very nice alternatives to five of the shades in the Urban Decay Naked Palette. If you're looking for a shade-for-shade alternative to UD Naked, you won't find it here but, at just $4.99, you can certainly have five nice alternatives to Urban Decay Sidecar, Buck, Darkhorse, Toasted and Hustle. I wouldn't call any of these shades exact dupes, but they're similar and, when worn on the eye, some of the Wet n Wild shades are very difficult to distinguish from the UD shades. As always, Wet n Wild shadows always work better when worn over primer, but you probably already knew that! For five bucks, I'd say that if you don't already own the Urban Decay Naked Palette, this would be a nice palette to have. There are some shades here that work for daily wear, and also for more dramatic looks. When worn over primer, most Wet n Wild Coloricon shadows last all day for me (eight hours or more) and these are no different.

Do you already own the Nude Awakening palette? Were you able to find it locally or did you have a friend, relative, swap buddy, etc. buy it for you? If you already own it, do you agree with my assessment? I'd love to hear from you!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.