Product Description
What it is: Maybelline The Nudes is a neutral eyeshadow palette that includes a mix of warm/cool shades as well as matte/shimmer finishes. There are a total of 12 eyeshadows, 5 are matte and 7 are shimmer. The color family overall is most similar to Urban Decay’s Original Naked Palette with a large majority of the shades being in the taupe and bronze families.
Price/Quantity: Retail prices hover right around $10.00 USD and you get 9.6g/0.34 oz of product.
Availability: Ulta, Target, Walmart, Fred Meyer, CVS, Walgreens, Amazon
Colors/Finishes: By row, from left to right:
Top Row:
1. Pinkish-white shimmer with blueish-white glitter
2. Shimmery cool taupe
3. Matte light yellowy cream
4. Golden bronze shimmer
5. Matte light taupe
6. Matte dark taupe
Bottom Row:
7. Slightly warmer taupey bronze
8. Matte chocolate brown
9. Light golden yellow shimmer
10. Rosy brown shimmer
11. Light peachy shimmer
12. Matte black
Packaging: The packaging seems decent, fairly sturdy, easy to open and close and it stays closed securely. There is no mirror and there is a small sponge-tip applicator included. I like that you can see all the shades through the top of the palette. On the back, they included several shade combination suggestions for looks.
Smell/Fragrance: No discernable smell or fragrance.
Performance
Application: The shadows require some layering and extra time blending and look slightly better when applied over a primer. There is some fallout but it’s minimal. To get the most color payoff on the lid, I recommend using a flat eyeshadow brush to pat the color on both before and after blending.
Texture: Texture varies for all the shades. The mattes are drier and pressed more firmly into the pan while the shimmers generally are softer and easier to work with. There wasn’t a whole lot of powder kicked up in the pan after using a brush to pick up some shadow. These weren’t nearly as smooth and buttery as the eyeshadows in my Urban Decay and Lorac Pro Palettes but they were definitely still usable.
Pigmentation: In general, the matte shades were less pigmented, drier, and harder to blend. The matte black was the worst offender. The matte yellowy cream on the top row was actually pretty good, though, and the color was nice for cancelling out a bit of redness on the eyelids and brow bone. The shimmery shades had much better color payoff but when blending a lot of the pigment would easily be sheered out so, again, layering was key.
Longevity: Without primer these lasted about 3-4 hours before they started creasing and looking patchy. Wearing these over a primer increases wear time by 1 – 2 hours.
Overall Opinion
Pros:
- Mix of warm and cool-toned shades
- Mix of shimmers and mattes
- Reasonable price for 12 eyeshadows
- Lasts most of the day with the help of a primer
- Not much fallout
Cons:
- Pigmentation is just okay overall
- The matte shades had the worst pigmentation
- A bit patchy during application – requires patience when blending
Worth Buying?
This palette has everything you’d need for an “everyday” type of look. If you are on a tight budget and/or don’t mind putting in a bit of extra effort applying your shadows, it’s a viable option. It has it’s drawbacks but you can certainly make it work. For someone who is into higher end eyeshadows and already has an Urban Decay Naked, Lorac Pro, or similar neutral palette, I don’t feel this would add any value to your collection.
