Saturday's Swatches: Chi Chi NUDES vs. Urban Decay NAKED

NEUTRALS, NEUTRALS, NEUTRALS! There are never too many neutral palettes for one, especially one that looks like it could possibly be a dupe to the famous Naked eyeshadow palette by Urban Decay (swatches here).

After seeing Chi Chi's NUDES Eyeshadow Palette featured by many other bloggers, I've been meaning to hoard it home just to swatch and see if it really does compare to Naked 1. But the problem is... I've figured that since I'm not an eyeshadow user, it'd be such a waste of moola to whip out $19.95 for a palette that I'll swatch once and won't ever look at again.

Well... GUESS WHAT?

I've got the palette anyways -- and it was at a flea market where a lovely lady was selling it for only $2! Brand NEW, still in box with everything else! Actually, there wasn't anything else really, besides the palette. Ha.

I've had it in the stash for a few weeks now and I've been meaning to put up this swatch post sooner, but some of the more exciting products kept coming so I've prioritized those first -- such as Australis' Pout Pastes. For this week's swatch post, I was actually tossing between this palette (again!) and Australis' Go Long Longwear Lipsticks. Eep! But I've figured that I better give my readers a "break" from features of Australis. Therefore, I will stop posting about Australis............................. until my next post. LOL. Mad break, yes?

Anyways, enough talking about Australis in a post that's supposed to exclude Australis. Oops. I think I've just did it again :P

OK. Back to this Chi Chi NUDES Palette for real! As you can tell, today's post is just a comparative swatch post so there will only be fewer words and more photos!

Here are photos of the two palettes side by side with the Chi Chi NUDES palette on top and the UD NAKED palette on the bottom:

At first glance, the shades from both palettes surely do look similar, but at a closer look, you can definitely see the slight variations between the shades.

 Chi Chi NUDES swatches (slightly wet swatches)

(top-bottom) Chi Chi NUDES, Urban Decay NAKED (slightly wet swatches)

I've also got close-up swatches to share with you, but I'm super sorry because the lighting is quite inconsistent! I'll have to blame this on the sun for heading to snooze too quick..

NOTE: These swatches were swatched with a heavy hand AND slightly wet too. Chi Chi's swatches are on the left, Urban Decay swatches are on the right.

READY?!?!?!?!?! ^_^

1. Chi Chi #1 vs. Virgin -- Virgin is a bit more peachy/beige whereas Chi Chi is more of a "pure" white.

2. Chi Chi #2 vs. Sin -- Chi Chi's #2 is also a bit off here, but its finish is soooooooo pearly, just like Sin! It seems to have more shimmers than UD's Sin, actually.

3. Chi Chi #3 vs. Naked -- Chi Chi #3 is a bit more satin in terms of finish whereas Naked is matte. The colour is also a bit off, and its tone is also lighter!

4. Chi Chi #4 vs. Sidecar -- Chi Chi #4 is more gold-toned with a high pearl shine, UD's Sidecar is more bronze with shimmers.

5. Chi Chi #5 vs. Buck -- Very visible difference here! Chi Chi #5 is more puce-toned where as UD's Buck is more tanned with yellow undertones.

6. Chi Chi #6 vs. Half Baked -- #5 here, is more orange-toned.. looks bronzey whereas Half Baked is just gold.

7. Chi Chi #7 vs. Smog -- is the most identical of the bunch!

8. Chi Chi #8 vs. Darkhorse -- #8 looks a bit more paler and the pigmentation is nowhere comparable to Darkhorse.

9. Chi Chi #9 vs. Toasted -- Chi Chi's dupe for Toasted is almost identical, but at a closer look, it's more warm-toned than 'Toasted'.

10. Chi Chi #10 vs. Hustle -- Another dupe of the palette here. #10 is almost identical or may even be identical. I need a few more pair of eyes please.

11. Chi Chi #11 vs. Creep -- Creep is darker here with more visible shimmers. Chi Chi's *attempted* dupe is lighter in terms of colour and has a visible metallic sheen.

12. Chi Chi #8 vs. Gunmetal -- There's a noticeable different here too! Chi Chi's shade is more grey-toned, whereas Gunmetal is a slate-grey with a slight blue undertone.

That's it! I've used this palette once on my Mum and to be honest... even with a primer, the pigmentation of Chi Chi's NUDES doesn't compare to Urban Decay's NAKED -- this applies to the darker shades too. However, the eyeshadows still remains to be smooth and silky when swatched, so nevertheless, Chi Chi's NUDES is definitely an eyeshadow palette to look at if you're in the mood for a NAKED dupe. Most shades aren't spot on, but it's still a nice palette to add to the neutral collection.

What do YOU think of Chi Chi's version of the NAKED palette?

Will you be looking into this palette?

The only eyeshadows I use from the NAKED palette are: Virgin, Sin and Half Baked -- so I'm actually not looking for a NAKED dupe. I'm ony after dupes of those 3 eyeshadows and Chi Chi's dupes to those three are pretty well done in terms of finishes. The colours are a tad off, but not THAT noticeabe when applied :P


Chi Chi NUDES Palette, $19.95 @ Myer, Target, GLOSS stores.


Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.

Saturday's Swatches: Urban Decay NAKED Palette

First of all, don't mind me for calling this a 'Saturday' post. It was suppose to be up yesterday, but somehow didn't publish as scheduled! Anyways, we all know that this NAKED post itself is pretty late to the party..

By now, you should have already known of the famous NAKED Palette by Urban Decay. It's one of the most well known neutral-eye palette in the beauty world, consisting of 12 wonderful formulated eyeshadows!

In my experience, the eyeshadows are highly pigmented, smooth, soft, silky and non-chalky. Unfortunately, I am not a regular eyeshadow user [at all] so I haven't worn these eyeshadows enough to give you a detailed review of how long-wearing it is..... despite having this in my collection for more than a year already.

On a daily basis, I do reach out for this palette for err.. two shades in particular.

One of them is Virgin (a light ivory with a slight frosty sheen) which I use for highlighting the brow bones, cupid's bow and my nose! Sometimes on my cheekbones too because I just love that very slight frostiness it has which stands out to look like an 'intense highlighter', but isn't [at all] overly shimmery.

Next up is Half Baked is my favourite from the bunch! It's a beautiful metallic coppery gold which I use alone as a sweep over my eyelids to brighten up my eye area... works every time! My eye area instantly looks brighter, less dull and warmer. Brings my eyes back to life... if that doesn't sound too dramatic.

Besides those two, I don't use any other shades from this palette... which, to be honest.. is a waste of a wonderful neutral palette!

I know that some people call this is their perfect neutral palette with the perfect combination of colours and finishes, whereas some say that this palette doesn't have enough mattes for their personal liking.. I can see why though! It only has two matte shades: Naked and Buck. I'm keen to hear your opinion on this!

OH. And and! This palette used to come with a 24/7 Glide-On Eye Liner, but UD decided to change it up back in 2011 so it now comes with a small-sized Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer which makes me wonder...

Do you prefer the NAKED Palette with the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Liner or the UDPP?

Which are your favourite NAKED shades?

I personally prefer the NAKED Palette with their 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner only because I don't wear eyeshadows so eyeshadow primers are unnecessary for me! However, it's quite hard to find affordable eyeshadow primers here in Australia, so with the mini-sized UDPP, it's definitely a bonus for those with oilier eyelids (or struggles with their eyeshadows creasing) and not to mention that a good eyeshadow primer will keep any eyeliner in place!


If you're a keen bean for the Naked Palette, Beauty Bay has it for $AUD55 with free shipping.

Recent Haul (Maybelline, L'Oreal & Urban Decay)

*This post was written a two weeks ago*

I've hauled these items sometime in the last month and never actually shared on my blog! Below is pretty much a collective haul which may also be my last haul in a while as I'm extremely satisfied with my current make-up stash after items from IMATS Sydney and goodie bags from Australian Beauty Blogger Weekend!

So about a month ago, Priceline had an awesome deal on Maybelline which was 'Buy 3 face products for $30'! Woooooo! I've always had a few things I wanted from Maybelline, but never picked those items up because they are quite pricey for me (professional gambler here!), ranging around $20~$30. Pretty pricey if you think about it!

On my list.. I've always wanted to own their Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Foundation (powder form) since I'm running low on my American Beauty Mineral Powder. So far so good, I say. The powder hasn't caused my skin to react negatively or anything and provides a decent coverage too. Normally, this powder foundation is already $25~27.

The second item I knew I had to grab from Maybelline is their Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector, which is a double-end pen consisting of a concealer and a highlighter. This concealer has ALWAYS been a favourite concealer for under-eye bags! It covers my eyebags complete, lightweight (unlike cream concealers), don't sink into my fine lines and is SO handy for its 2-in-1 packaging. Definitely a steal since this concealer retails for approx $17.

The last item of the three-for-$30 deal is their 24HR SuperStay Foundation, which I bought since Pinkiecharm from YouTube has raved much about it. I'd say we share similar skin conditions though my t-zone does look shiny, but is actually flaky and dry. I blame this on Roaccutane. This foundation so far serves to be great, I'd say it's the 'younger' sister of the Revlon Colorstay foundation, but I'll do a more detailed and further review soon! This stuff retails for at least $20, I believe.

As you've calculated Asian-ly (hehe), the three face products above would cost me at least $60! Therefore, being able to purchase these 3 items for $30 is one of the most awesome deals Priceline has ever offered!

The next item I've got is from CosmoCosmetics, which is a discounted make-up store located in Liverpool Westfields, but you can also find them at Stocklands in Wetherill Park!

I just happened to stumble across their store and saw this primer for $10 ONLY!

It's the L'Oreal Studios Secret Magic Perfecting Base Primer! I believe this has been discontinued and they now have something similar in their normal L'Oreal line called the 'Base Magique Primer' which is identical in packaging and consistency.. just not entirely sure if they've changed anything about the formula or whatever... But I have no problem with this primer. Especially when it's for $10 and not $39.95!

Lastly, I've finally got NAKED!

Shoo! I'm speaking of the all-time raved Urban Decay Naked Palette! I've bought this from BeautyBay for $65 including shipping and oddly, their site states it'll take 7 days to arrive, too bad it took a whole 30 days for it to arrive, so I don't think I'll order from them anymore (unfortunately) though their customer service was awesome.

I still don't know why I've ordered this palette when I don't even use eyeshadows to start off with! And that goes to all the eyeshadows I haul! Hahaha! I just enjoy collecting them and believe one day I will eventually get to that stage to use eyeshadows....

At the moment, I enjoy being 18 and I personally think eyeshadows ages me a tad.. Yes... I'm also covering up for my crappy eyeshadow skills! Hehehe.

Well, back to the eyeshadow palette! It comes with a mini-sized UDPP and a brush now instead of the Urban Decay eyeliners! Apparently, it's because the ingredients used to make the eyeliners are quite rare and hard to find, therefore the palette is out of stock all the time. But now that they've replaced it with a brush, it's gonna always be in stock! Yay?

I still wished it came with the eyeliner though...

That concludes this haul post! You won't be seeing haul posts for a long while now! Boo!