Review & Comparisons: Wet n Wild Fall 2014 Limited Edition 5-Pan Coloricon Eyeshadow Palettes

Press Sample

If you're still looking for the Wet n Wild Fall 2014 Collection, including these 5-Pans, I want to let you know that in the past week or so, there are been MANY new markers left on the sightings map HERE. So it looks like this collection is starting to get wider distribution, which means you don't have to give up hope of finding these if you haven't spotted them yet! Thanks so much to everyone who has taken time to leave markers on the sightings map--you are helping so many of us by doing so. And don't forget to keep checking the map...I'm approving new markers daily.

I received all four palettes in the Fall 2014 Collection for review, so I wanted to swatch them for you, share my thoughts about each palette and also do a quick comparison of the two "Melrose" palettes and the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. So let's get started!

Wet n Wild Fall 2014 Limited Edition Coloricon 5-Pans

(retail: $3.99 each, 0.21 oz)

NOTE: I want to remind you of something I mentioned here a few weeks ago. Wet n Wild has reformulated the Coloricon 5-Pans Palettes, beginning with the Fall 2014 Collection and the Halloween 2014 Collection. This reformulation has made the texture and pigmentation of some of these shadows more in line with the original WnW trios and 8-pans we all know and love. My contact at Wet n Wild let me know that the original Coloricon 5-pans that debuted in at the beginning of 2014 will also be reformulated moving forward.

Melrose at Night

Many bloggers have swatched these palettes over primer in their reviews, so I thought I would show what these palettes look like WITHOUT primer, to give you a better idea of their initial pigmentation without the lovely boost that primers give. Melrose at Night is a cool-toned neutral palette and most of the shades have good pigmentation without primer (although they are of course even better over primer). The pale mauve color on the far left looks matte without primer but, over primer, there's a silver sheen that comes out (you'll see that in a minute). None of the colors in this palette were dry or hard in texture, but I did have some fallout with the pink crease shade (it has some chunky glitter that you can't quite see in my pic).

Smoke and Melrose

Smoke and Melrose is a warm-toned neutral palette. A few of the shades work without primer, but I think the majority of the colors here really benefit from the use of primer. The coppery-bronze shade on the far right is more vibrant in person and the pigmentation is great even without primer. The brown shade in the middle is particularly creamy and so lovely to work with. My swatch doesn't do it justice, but I think it's worth the cost of the entire palette. I cannot seem to stop wearing it.

Angels in Aubergine

Angels in Aubgergine really surprised me. I thought that I would fall hard for that salmon color, but it was the burgundy that stole my heart. As you can see, it's super pigmented even without primer, and it has that buttery texture that you find in the classic WnW shadows. The gray crease shade on the far right was a disappointment though--I found it to have a dry, hard consistency that made it difficult to work with, even over primer. The matte black in the middle was NOT dry or hard though--it was quite pigmented and pretty buttery as far as matte blacks go.

High Wasted Jeans

High Wasted Jeans was the biggest disappointment for me in this collection. Only two of the five shades were pigmented without primer (see the two on the far left) and the other three had a dry consistency that translated to patchy application. Unless you are looking for a good metallic silver, I would probably skip this one. 

NOTE: For the following swatch comparisons, I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance underneath ALL shades.

Wet n Wild Melrose at Night 
vs.
Urban Decay Naked 3


Melrose at Night 

                   

I couldn't find any truly similar shades in the UD Naked 3 palette for the WnW colors you see above. Nooner looked more similar to the WnW browbone shade than UD Limit did, but really there's nothing similar between these two colors. And the cream color in the WnW palette really looked nothing like UD Strange, which is the only light cream shade in the Naked 3 palette.

I think that the WnW eyelid shade above is noticeably warmer than UD Factory, but UD Factory does have a warm undertone to it that's similar to the WnW shade (you can see that better if you look toward the bottom of my swatch above). The definer shade in the WnW palette is quite similar to UD Blackheart but it doesn't have as much glitter.

And finally, the crease shade in Melrose at Night is very, very similar to UD Dust. I can barely tell them apart in person.

Wet n Wild Smoke and Melrose
vs.
Urban Decay Naked 3

Smoke and Melrose

The WnW browbone shade is quite similar to UD Nooner, although Nooner is a tad darker and browner. the WnW base shade has a bit more orange to it than UD Burnout, which is more pink. 

The WnW eyelid shade is deeper  and more brown than UD Liar, but they are pretty similar in person. I could not find a shade in UD Naked 3 that even remotely resembled the WnW definer shade in Smoke and Melrose. I swatched it next to UD Blackheart because Blackheart has some reddish glitter in it. But they're absolutely nothing alike. 

And finally, the WnW crease shade is more of a coppery shade, while UD Trick is more of a rose-gold shade. The shimmer level is the same in both colors though.

FINAL VERDICT: My two favorite palettes in this collection are Smoke and Melrose and Melrose at Night, but I do not believe that they're exact dupes for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. If you don't own the UD Naked 3 palette, you can definitely achieve some similar looks using these two WnW palettes though. I think they are nice, budget-friendly options that can give you the same feel as UD Naked 3. Aside from the two "Melrose" palettes, Angels in Aubergine is also worth considering--the burgundy shade alone is worth the price of the entire palette to me. I would skip High Wasted Jeans though, unless you're looking for a good metallic silver shade (the one in this palette is quite good). But I find the majority of shades in High Wasted Jeans to be a bit dry and patchy. As for the overall reformulation of these palettes, there IS a noticeable improvement when compared to the original, permanent 5-pans. Not every shade in every palette is a winner here, but the stand-out shades in each palette REALLY stand out, and are quite reminiscent of the older WnW shadows we know and love (smooth, buttery and very pigmented).

Again, if you're still looking for the Fall 2014 Collection (which also includes these lipsticks and nail colors), don't give up hope just yet! We've had lots of new sightings this week on the sightings map HERE and it appears that more and more retailers are getting these displays.

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.Blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews. For more information, click here.