Review: L'Oreal Colour Riche La Palette Nude 1 and La Palette Nude 2

Purchased by Me 

By now, you've probably seen these palettes at your local CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Walmart, etc., or you've at least seen the "Coming Soon" sign in the permanent L'Oreal display at one of those retailers. I found both palettes a couple weeks ago thanks to a tip from reader Jennifer, who told me they had landed at Walmarts here in the San Diego area (thanks again for that, Jennifer!).

These new palettes retail for $15.84 at Walmart (in-store and online) but I've heard from some of you who have spotted them at drugstores like CVS for about $20. So it really depends on where you buy them, but remember that the drugstores run sales and offer store rewards on L'Oreal all the time (plus, there are often manufacturer's coupons for L'Oreal) so if you play your cards right, you'll NEVER have to pay full price as long as you're patient!

So let's take a closer look....

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Nude 1 and La Palette Nude 2

(retail: $15.84 each at Walmart, 0.62 oz)

Keep reading for my full review, swatches and dupe comparisons...

Since L'Oreal owns Urban Decay, it's no surprise that the shape of the pans, as well as the overall size of the palette, is similar to the Urban Decay Naked palettes. Also, for anyone who is thinking the price of the La Nude Palettes is quite steep for the drugstore, allow me to show you something:

Urban Decay Naked Palettes
0.60 oz for $54
PRICE PER OUNCE: $90

L'Oreal La Palette Nude Palettes
0.62 oz for $15.84
PRICE PER OUNCE: $32.26

Looking at it this way (math tells no lies), I think the price is pretty decent. Also, considering that the new Nonie Creme Colour Prevails palettes (masstige) are $59.37 per ounce, the L'Oreal palettes seem to be priced fairly. But again, if you're patient and wait for a 40% off L'Oreal sale at Rite Aid, Ulta, etc., and/or you use coupons or store rewards at the drugstore, this is all a moot point because you'll pay much less than $15.84 anyway!

Safety seal over opening

Mirror on inside of lid

Accompanying double-ended brush


Brush

This brush has soft bristles, but the overall feel is pretty floppy. I would probably only use this brush in a pinch, and only for blending. since it's not stiff enough for color application.

Sponge-tip applicator

So let's start with La Palette Nude 1:


Back of La Palette Nude 1 

There are four looks on the back of each palette, plus the ingredients list:

Made in USA

La Palette Nude 1

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(Swatches on bare skin)


1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(Swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance)

6, 7, 8, 9, 10


6, 7, 8, 9, 10
(Swatches on bare skin)


6, 7, 8, 9, 10
(Swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance)

La Palette Nude 1 contains three mattes and seven shimmers.

Here's a comparison to Urban Decay Naked 1:

As you can see, La Palette Nude 1 is not a shade-for-shade dupe of UD Naked 1, however it does evoke a very similar feel. Here are a few shades that stood out to me when compared to UD Naked 1:

Urban Decay Smog vs. #7


Urban Decay Sidecar vs. #9 


Urban Decay Sin vs. #10

I'd also like to point out that the brown mattes in La Palette Nude 1 are similar to the brown mattes in UD Naked 1 (no identical dupes though), and shade #2 in La Palette Nude 1 is similar to Stila Kitten. Overall, many of these shades are similar to well-known higher-end shadows (I'm positive there are some MAC and LORAC lookalikes here too). 

La Palette Nude 2:

Back of La Palette Nude 2


Made in USA

La Palette Nude 2

1, 2, 3, 4, 5


1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(Swatches on bare skin)


1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(Swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance)

6, 7, 8, 9, 10

6, 7, 8, 9, 10
(Swatches on bare skin)


6, 7, 8, 9, 10
(Swatches over Too Faced Shadow Insurance)

La Palette Nude 2 contains six mattes and four shimmers. Here's how it looks next to Urban Decay Naked 3:

Again, not a shade-for-shade dupe, but very much the same feel. Rose-golds and colors that play nicely with rose-golds. Here are a few shades that stood out to me when compared to UD Naked 3:

Urban Decay Liar vs. #2 and #7

As you can see, you get two rose-gold shimmers (medium and dark) in the La Palette Nude 2.

Urban Decay Nooner vs. #3


Urban Decay Mugshot vs. #5

There are other shades in this palette that are similar to shades in UD Naked 3, but no exact dupes.

Full disclosure: I have never really liked L'Oreal's powder eyeshadows (with the exception of the Infallibles, of course). Seriously, I've been buying L'Oreal powder shadows off and on since the 80s and, with very few exceptions, I have not loved any of them. So I had zero expectations here. That said, here are the most important things I'd like you to take away from this review:

• All twenty of these shadows have a nice, smooth, silky consistency. None of these shadows are chunky or grainy. Some are of course better than others, but I really can't say that there are any absolute duds here. This REALLY surprised me, given that there are two matte purples in Nude 2, and you know purples are notoriously difficult. One or two shades in these palettes are a tiny bit stiff, but all of these shadows blend nicely, are easy to work with, and appear quite vibrant and pigmented on the eye when worn over primer (looking at my swatches, you can see that most of these shades aren't mind-blowing on bare skin). I would not suggest wearing any of these shadows without primer, but I'm guessing that you pretty much wear primer with all of your drugstore shadows, right? Also, wear-time over primer is great for me (7-8 hours before I notice fading/creasing). 

• Let me again say that I have never really cared for L'Oreal powder shadows (Infallibles aside). But I love these shadows, and I loved them even more after I really started to play around with them. Some of these shades might seem disappointing on first swatch, but please be aware that you need to get some of these going a bit before their true beauty comes through. So if you swatch one and think, "G. lied to me!" just keep going. Swirl your brush a few more times, and hopefully once you break the seal, so to speak, you'll see the true beauty of these colors. Also, I do want to point out that some of these shadows kick up a bit of dust in the pan when you're picking up color. Mostly this occurs with the mattes, but like I always say, that's the nature of mattes.

• If you love the UD Naked palettes but don't necessarily like the chunky glitter, fallout, and intense metallic finishes of some of the UD Naked shades, then you might really love the La Palette Nudes. No chunky glitter here, and no intense metallics (some are pretty shimmery over primer, but not really metallic). Also, I think that some of the shades in the La Palette Nudes actually have a BETTER consistency than a few shades in Naked 1 and 3. And if you like rose-golds, you'll love that there are TWO rose-golds in La Palette Nude 2 (both are beautiful). 

• A few of you have mentioned that, in terms of dupes, the La Palette Nudes are probably more similar to the YSL Couture Variation Palettes ($95 each). I can see the similarities for sure (black packaging, ten shades per palette, similar color schemes) but I do not own any of the YSL palettes, so I can't do a comparison for you. BUT, L'Oreal owns both YSL and Urban Decay, so it's not a stretch to see why there are similarities in both.

FINAL VERDICT: If you love warm or cool nudes (mattes and shimmers), I think these new palettes are worth considering, even if you already own UD Naked 1 or Naked 3. As someone who owns Naked 1 and 3, I am absolutely delighted with these L'Oreal palettes and I find that I actually prefer the texture/consistency of some of the L'Oreal shadows over some of the UD Naked shadows (some of my UD Naked shadows are a little bit dry and grainy, and that's not an issue with any of the L'Oreal shadows). Do I think these take the place of the Naked palettes? No. I look at them more as "extensions" or "companions" to the UD Naked palettes. So if you can't get enough of these types of colors, or you do not already own Naked 1 or 3, then I think you might enjoy these quite a bit. Just remember to wear eyeshadow primer, since these shadows really come alive over primer.

Do you own either of the La Palette Nudes? If so, I would absolutely love to hear if you agree (or disagree!) with my assessment!

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