How to be Naked for Less--With Swatches!

Hi Lovelies! You may remember last spring I posted about a cheaper way to get the Urban Decay Naked 2's looks! I recently had a comment asking to swatch the UD shadows with some of the dupes in the NYX Caviar & Bubbles palette! So, here it is! Sadly, NYX doesn't name their shadows so you'll see the UD ones named with the NYX one next to them. All pictures are done without flash for a more natural lighting look. You'll notice that why not exact matches, I still think they're close enough to work:) Let me know what you think and if you've found any other dupes for the Naked 2 Palette!:)

How to be Naked for less!

Hi Lovelies! Remember when the Naked2 palette came out? Remember how it seemed like EVERY GIRL IN THE WORLD was buying it and almost every beauty blogger was doing reviews/swatches of it?

Then there was the price tag... $50... *sigh*... and sure, you could rationalize and say welllll for 12 colors, that's only like $4 per color... so it's not that bad...

But let's be honest, especially if you're looking for beauty on a budget, that is just a big chunk of change to throw down for one product. Even if it is a product you just *know* you'll use EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE if you buy it!

Well, that's how I rationalized it (and really, I have been using it pretty much every day;) but still, is there a cheaper way? Or a way to get the same look for less?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I may actually have a partial solution if you don't want to throw down the $50 but still want to have the fun neutral looks that other girls are doing with the Naked2 Palette.

May I present to you Caviar and Bubbles by Nyx! ($10)

So here are some of the basic comparisons: Nyx is definitely a smaller palette than the Naked2. It comes in a smaller case that you can easily throw in your purse; whereas the Naked2 is bigger.

Almost all the colors are very similar. Naked2 has two more; and the Nyx one has a pink-ish and a white (which Naked2 does not) but the browns, neutrals, and blacks are very comparable.

Naked2 comes with the fancy double ended brush applicator; Nyx comes with a double ended sponge applicator. I prefer the brush.

You're probably wondering about the big question right now though, how do the products actually compare!? Well, I still think the Naked2 colors are deeper/richer and have more shimmer/shine to them. They just appear more vibrant when applied. However, the Nyx ones are not that much different.

For about a week, I would do one eye with Naked2 and one with the Nyx shadows. When blended, you could hardly tell a difference. Can you tell which eye is which?

.....

The one on the left is Naked2 and the one on the right is Nyx! But it's pretty close, right?

So conclusions? I'm still glad that I have the Naked2 palette; but I do think the Nyx is a decent buy to replicate many of the Naked2 looks! If you don't have the $50 for Naked2, I'd definitely encourage you to pay the $10 to pick up the Nyx one. And even if you already have the Naked2, it doesn't hurt to have the Nyx lying around. Because of the size, you can throw it in a little purse if you're going out and may need to touch up your eye makeup later:)

Have you tried the Nyx shadows? Have you found any other cheaper versions of the Naked2 colors?:)

One more haul--ULTA!

Okay! One more big shopping trip to share with you all! Then it's time to use all this amazing stuff and tell you how fabulous (or not;) it all is!! (you are all guaranteed reviews for AT LEAST the next month! hahahah:)

Tonight I went to Ulta, and as soon as I walked in they had their whole display of Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 Palettes. Now, for anyone who has been following my blog for any length of time, you know I'm definitely all about the more inexpensive makeup brands. A lot of my makeup is e.l.f., Wet 'n Wild, Hard Candy, etc. I figure if I'm gonna buy a lot, I don't want to go broke.

But.

There it was.

In all its splendor.

And everyone has said such great things about it...

And now I own it.

So, not wanting to let all you lovelies down, I knew I needed to *invest* in some other products to rate, review, and compare. And around the store I went. I picked up:

Illuminating primer!

Which one will make my lashes fuller?

These both have the little round applicator

 Then this product caught my eye! I have never seen, heard, or have any knowledge of it, but it looks amazing! (if it works)

Spray foundation?! Airbrush-"like"?

Now, I had also purchased a small $10 NYX palette that had similar colors to the Naked 2 (I wanted to compare). But after leaving the store I realized the palette *in* the box (Jazz Night) was NOT the one advertised *on* the box (Champagne and Caviar). So, when I went to return it, I somehow ended up buying this in its place:

 

So yes, now I will be reviewing both of them. My first ever real "expensive" eyeshadow. I'm excited and kinda nervous!:) 

And that's about all the shopping I should be doing for a while! Many, many reviews and comparisons to come!!