Wet n Wild dupes of the Urban Decay Naked palette (and a bonus CoverGirl dupe!)

Once or twice a year, I allow myself to splurge and pick up a higher-end product that I've reeeeaaally been wanting and can't seem to push out of my mind. This year, I caved and purchased the Urban Decay Naked palette which, arguably, has been the most talked-about palette of 2011. As many of you know, I live in earthtones, so I knew I'd get a ton of mileage out of it.

But if you can't afford the Urban Decay Naked palette (retail price: $48), I want to let you know that there are some pretty impressive dupes in many of the Wet n Wild palettes which, as you know, retail for just a few dollars a piece. In this post, I'd like to show you some of the closest matches I've found.

NOTE: when referring to a shade in a Wet n Wild palette, I always count the colors from top to bottom like this:

(enlarge the following photos to get a better look)

First up, Urban Decay Half Baked:

UD Half Baked is lighter than both the 3rd shade in The Gilded Age trio and the 3rd shade in the I'm Getting Sunburned trio, but I think both of the WnW shades are in the same general ballpark as Half Baked (super shimmery bronzes).

 

Next, Urban Decay Gunmetal:

In person, the 6th shade in the WnW Lust 6-pan is actually VERY close to UD Gunmetal, though my pics seem to bring out their differences. They've both got that charcoal-black shimmer thing going on and, on the lid, it's hard to tell them apart (especially if you're using them as crease shades).

Next we have Urban Decay Toasted:

Neither the 1st shade in The Gilded Age trio nor the 2nd shade in the Comfort Zone 8-pan is a full-on dupe of UD Toasted, but both seem to have the same kind of warmth and shimmer, so I included them both so that you could be the judge as to which one is closest. 

Since I am absolutely in LOVE LOVE LOVE with the 1st shade in the Gilded Age trio, I thought it might be helpful to see it swatched next to some other shades in the UD Naked palette:

Here it is next to UD Sin. Swatching it next to Sin makes it look lighter--it's really a little chameleon and I find that this shadow seems to kind of take on the shades it's worn with.

Here it is next to UD Sidecar:

Swatched next to UD Sidecar, it looks browner than it does when next to Sin, and less peachy than it does when swatched next to Toasted, don't you agree?

Next, we have Urban Decay Smog:

I think that the 3rd shade in the WnW Comfort Zone 8-pan can be considered a True Dupe of Urban Decay Smog. In person, it's nearly impossible for me to tell these two shades apart. They have such similar undertones, and the level of shimmer is identical. At this point, I'm probably not the first person to have come to this conclusion, so I apologize if this is old news to some of you, but it makes me very happy to share it with those who may not already know!

Next we have Urban Decay Virgin:

Now obviously the textures of these shades are worlds apart from each other. UD Virgin is a satin, while the 4th shade in the WnW Lust 6-pan is a matte with fine silver sparkle. However, the colors are so close that I thought I'd include them, just to give you an idea.

Next we have Urban Decay Creep:

I deliberately made these photos blurry because I wanted you to see the sparkle running through both shades (enlarge the photo to see). Both of these shades are VERY matte, and they both have sparkle running through them. But as you can see, the biggest difference is that the shade from the WnW Petal Pusher palette has more blue in it, while UD Creep has more of a charcoal feel to it.

 

And finally, when I was playing around with my CoverGirl Shimmering Sands eyeshadow trio for an unrelated future CoverGirl post, I discovered this little gem:

Even though the first shade in the CoverGirl Shimmering Sands trio is satin in texture, I find that when I apply it without primer, it looks quite matte. I think this shade closely resembles the matte shade, Naked, in the UD palette!

I hope my swatches are helpful to those of you who might be looking for more affordable alternatives to the Urban Decay Naked palette!

Do you own any of the Wet n Wild palettes that I've mentioned in this post? How do you think they compare to higher-end shadows?

The Wet n Wild palettes mentioned in this post were given to NouveauCheap.blogspot.com by the brand for previous reviews. The Urban Decay Naked palette and the CoverGirl Shimmering Sands trio were purchased with personal funds.