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Monday, November 17, 2014

Review: Ulta Nude Eyeshadow Palette

Back at the end of October, Ulta released their new Nude Eyeshadow Palette. I posted about it then and I couldn't get it out of my head (I'm such a sucker for nude eyeshadow palettes...I must have them all!). So I ordered one from the Ulta site shortly after my intial post (I haven't been to an actual Ulta store in a while so I'm not sure if it's also available in-store).

So let's take a look...

Ulta Nude Eyeshadow Palette
(retail: $12, 0.45 oz)

The palette comes wrapped in a plastic safety seal:


For perspective, here is the palette compared to a Revlon Moisture Stain. You can see that it's about an inch longer than the Revlon lip color:


Made in China

No mirror

As you can see, the colors in this palette have a quilted design, and there are no plastic dividers separating one color from the next:


First five shades swatched over Too Faced Shadow Insurance:



Second five shades swatched over Too Faced Shadow Insurance:



The first half of this palette consists of lighter shades while the second half contains deeper shades. All of the shadows in this palette pretty much have the same finish. They are all quite shimmer and, over primer, many of them are almost metallic. There are no obvious repeats here--each color is pretty unique compared to the others. Overall, this is a very warm-toned palette so if you prefer cooler tones, you'll probably want to skip this one. And if you don't like shimmers, this palette is definitely not for you. 

A few of the shades contain some fine, sparse sparkle, but there are no glitter bombs here. I've worn all of the colors in this palette in various combinations and you know what? I'm far more impressed with this palette than I thought I would be and it has exceeded my expectations.

First of all, there is little to no fallout when you're picking up color with your brush. It's almost strange, because I'm so used to seeing some fallout in my eyeshadow palettes, but there really is no mess at all even after using several shades to create an eye look. Another thing I like is that I only need to swipe my brush back and forth a few times against each strip to pick up enough color. The pigmentation, for a palette like this, is quite impressive. And the colors don't turn muddy when blended together--they stay quite vibrant. Also, the staying power over primer is better than I thought it would be--I can get about 6-7 hours before I see some fading.

I also want to mention that I have worn these shadows without primer as well, and they are softer--and less shimmery--without primer. So I like that you can control the shimmer a bit if you so choose. 

And because I (along with some of you) thought that this palette kind of looked like a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, I wanted to show you what the colors look like blended:


For the swatches above, I used my e.l.f. Small Stipple Brush and brushed it back and forth against the first five shades (top swatch) and then brushed it back and forth against the second five shades (bottom swatch). As you can see, the first five shades create a light pink highlighter type of color. The second five shades create a bronze-y higlighter type of color. On the skin, these blended colors aren't dramatic--they're nice if you're just trying to add a warm sheen to the skin. I've worn both combinations on the tops of my cheeks and they're subtle, but quite pretty. 

FINAL VERDICT: Is this palette worth $12? No, I think the price point is too high. But since this is an Ulta house brand palette, that means it will be on sale constantly, and you can use the $3.50 off a $10 purchase coupon (which Ulta has on their homepage all the time) with this product to at least bring it down to $8.50. I think that, instead of $12, the retail price should have been around $7.99--I would probably say that it's worth a purchase if the price was in that ballpark. However, if you're a shimmer fan and you're drawn to the colors in this palette, I would definitely consider waiting for the next sale (and/or use the Ulta coupon) and give it a whirl. I was afraid that this palette would be a fallout-heavy, glittery, sparkly mess, but it really exceeded my expectations. Little to no fallout during application, easy to apply, easy to blend, nice pigmentation and no color repeats within the palette. Plus you can use it as a subtle highlighter. You must love shimmer and you must love warm-toned eye colors to really get some use from this one, but if you love both of those things, then I think it's worth considering when you can get it on sale and/or use the Ulta coupon.

Do you own the Ulta Nude Eyeshadow Palette? Do you agree (or disagree) 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.
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20 comments

  1. I actually love shimmery, metallic eyeshadows. I am thinking I might need this. It looks to me like the physicians formula eyeshadow/highlighter combo thing that comes in a box.

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  2. Wow thanks for this post, G. I was really thinking about getting this back during the sale and I ended up getting the Ulta Contour Kit instead to review on my blo. Now I'm really glad I didn't get this, it didn't look like it was gonna be THAT shimmery in their ad on their site. I definitely agree the price point is too high... for an all-shimmer palette, I'd rather use the Physicians Formula shimmer strips. I was hoping this would be more of a dupe for any of the Naked palette colors, but it doesn't seem that way.

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  3. I actually saw this up by the cash registers when I was at Ulta on Saturday. Not exactly on the counter, but near checkout where they have the big permanent display of mini things etc. Not sure if the stock it anywhere else. Didn't purchase it just did a tiny shopping trip of a Gwen OPI (comet in the sky, I think is the name...which is stunning) a turban that can be worn multiple ways, and another Revllon HD lippie (Rose.) Oh, and my B-day gift, that I haven't tried but is a great value...this year is a full size CKone mascara ($18 value!!!)

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  4. Thank you for the review and the gorgeous, detailed swatches!

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  5. *B-day gift free from Ulta I meant to say. So to everyone who shops at Ulta make sure they have your e-mail linked to your card so they can e-mail the coupon containing the barcode to redeem the gift...mine wasn't hooked up w my card so if I didn't say anything I wouldn't have gotten my gift as easily as you do at Sephora (you cannot just show them your card at Ulta.)

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  6. They're SO shiny! I actually really like this, and I've been strictly a fan of matte shadows as of late.

    I do, however, like the idea of swirling it all together! Reminds me of the Mark Touch and Glow Shimmer Cream Cubes.

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  7. $12 isn't bad for how much you get. It's $8 for a Loreal quad and $15 for the Physicians Formula shimmer strips.

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  8. Really, I think I have seen enough shiny. super shimmery, nude eyeshadow palettes. This is Ok if your 15 years old. It's simply too harsh for adult women. There is absolutely nothing "nude" about this palette. It's all disco

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    Replies
    1. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but please try to keep in mind that there are many of us here who are far from 15 who still wear and love shimmery, glittery and metallic finish shadows. You may feel that these are "harsh" for you, which is perfectly fine, but this is certainly not the case for all "adult women". Thanks!

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  9. Even though this one may have more color it reminds me of the PF Warm Nude pallette that you reviewed in the summer that I bought and love. Thanks for this review G.

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  10. Way too much shimmer and shine in these. They don't seem to have much pigment either. I think this might be a good starter set for someone just getting into makeup but certainly not for me.

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    Replies
    1. As I said in my review, I actually think the pigmentation is surprisingly good in this palette--especially in the darker shades. Hope that helps! :)

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    2. I agree. Pretty but not for me plus I have the PF one and all three UD nakeds now so I am set for awhile, if not life based on how slow I go thru most palettes!

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  11. Would you please recommend a drugstore matte palette. I love shimmer colors, but i have droopy eyelids so can't use them. Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. I cannot think of an all-matte drugstore palette that I would recommend, BUT, the matte shades in the Wet n Wild 5-pan palettes are fantastic. Here's my full review:

      http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2014/01/review-swatches-wet-n-wild-coloricon-5.html

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    2. I wish there was but the only DS mattes I can think of were by Physicians Formula, 3-4 pans I believe. Assuming they are still around, Canyon Classics was one of them IIRC. If you can spring for higher end, IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty matte palette is lovely. Or maybe the UD matte Naked Basics sets but sadly, drugstores are WAY behind when it comes to matte e/s options :( they need to get with the program. Not all of us want to sparkle all the time.

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    3. Thanks. I've found and bought the PF one. Great recommendation.

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  12. I think this might be a dupe of a Bobbi Brown product. I remember seeing an eye palette that looks just like this, no it wasn't the shimmer brick, I've seen those too. lol It also reminds me of PF's palettes and those don't work for me either. I just can't do metallic shades, but if you like PF's palettes but think they are a pain in the butt to get your brush into the tiny sections, this might be great for you and a cheaper option.

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  13. Everything about this palette reminds me of the LA Girl 10 Color Eye Palettes which are $4.99 on drugstore.com.

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    Replies
    1. Totally. I've seen those and others similar in Rite Aid.

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