Urban Decay Naked 2 v. W7 In The Buff

Ahhh make-up, I do love you. I love you more when you are affordable. I love you more than that when I see cheaper versions of already existing palettes. After seeing the video thumbnail from LetzMakeup on the W7 'In The Buff' palette, I could see it was a dupe for Urban Decay's 'Naked 2.' I immediately bought one for me and one for my mummy in order to compare these almost identical palettes. 

Left: Urban Decay Naked 2. Right: W7 In The Buff

Each palette contains a range of cool toned eyeshadows in a spectrum of neutral colours from shimmering greys and browns to matte creams and a deep black. Both palettes are visually tantamount to each other.

Above: Urban Decay Naked 2. Below: W7 In The Buff

Top row from left to right: Urban Decay Naked 2 - Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.
Bottom row from left to right: W7 In The Buff - Buff, Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate, Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder, Onyx.

Seriously, did they fall out of the same factory? Ah, I could spend ages talking about this but that is another story entirely. Even the name, 'In The Buff' is a brazen homage to Urban Decay's Naked namesake. There are some small details that are different, but they are not excessive. The packaging of Naked 2 is superior as the tin casing is thicker and the insert for the shadows is sturdier. The brush with Naked 2 surpasses the quality of the brush from In The Buff. That being said, In The Buff is an ideal palette and one end of the brush can be utilised somewhat. Overall, these are minute character differences that are most certainly not distinguishable deal-breakers if you were to opt for the for the cheaper alternative. The product quality of In The Buff is impeccably comparable to and equally as pigmented and long-lasting as Naked 2. Just take a look at the swatches to see for yourself.

Top row from left to right: Urban Decay Naked 2 - Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.
Bottom row from left to right: W7 In The Buff - Buff, Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate, Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder, Onyx.

Even wearing separate palette colours on each eye is, in essence, undetectable. 

Left eye: Urban Decay Naked 2 -  Pistol (lid), Tease (crease), Foxy ( brow highlight), Blackout (liner).
Right eye: W7 In The Buff - Silk (lid), Chocolate (crease), Buff ( brow highlight), Onyx (liner).
Note - no primer or base colour on either eye.

Top eye: Urban Decay Naked 2 -  Pistol (lid), Tease (crease), Foxy ( brow highlight), Blackout (liner).
Bottom eye: W7 In The Buff - Silk (lid), Chocolate (crease), Buff ( brow highlight), Onyx (liner). 

In my opinion, both palettes are as equally beautiful as the other. However, the one major difference is  the price tag. Each of the three Naked palettes retails for £37/ $52, including the Naked 2.  For UK customers, Urban Decay Naked 2 is available in store and online in Debenhams and House of Fraser. In the US, the Naked 2 is available via Urban Decay's online store as well as many other retailers including Sephora and Ulta. Urban Decay is almost ten times the price of W7's counter-offering as it can range between £4.50 to £5.50 depending on the seller and postage costs. In The Buff is currently available (click here for more information) for purchase from local pharmacies throughout the UK and Ireland as well as from eBay, Amazon , Beauty Box Shop, Peacocks,  W7 Beauty Outlet and Xtras - my teenage make-up haven where I spent many Saturday afternoons purchasing Laval's entire lipstick collection. (Damson Crush, anyone?)  FYI, I still do that and I'm 27. Some things will never change. 

Both palettes are great for all make-up addicts and will appeal to novices and professionals alike. So, save your money and invest in some good quality brushes to aid your application of this palette, because let's admit it, the sponge tip applicator that accompanies In The Buff, belongs in the bin. But overall, In The Buff, you win.

Eyes: W7 In The Buff -  'Buff,' 'Sand,' 'Chocolate,' 'Topaz' and 'Onyx,' MUA extreme felt black liner, Sugrapill 'Poison Plum' and 'Dollipop' eyeshadows, MUA 'Royal Blue' intense colour liner. Lips: Left lip - MUA 'Pink Me Up'  lip liner, Tanya Burr 'First Date' lipgloss Centre lip - Right lip -  MUA 'Rendevous' Power Pout. Right lip - MUA 'Pouty Pink' matte lipstick.

MAC 'Club' Eyeshadow Dupes

MAC's 'Club' eyeshadow is a popular colour in beauty blogging land. Rightly so as it's duochrome appearance gives the most striking look on the lids. Depending on the natural contours of individual eye shapes and how it is blended, 'Club' looks like you have used a variety of shades on your eyes, rather than just the one.

'Club' - red-brown with green pearl.

Its’ duochrome effect (fancy make-up language for two colours in one) upon application makes it one of the easiest and quickest ways to achieve defined and smoky eyes. 

'Club' can be teamed using an array of colours on the inner corners and waterline. Here I am wearing MAC 'Vanilla' pigment on the inner corners with Avon 'Khaki' supershock gel liner on the waterline. It also looks stunning with iridescent golds, yellow golds, vibrant greens, olive greens and teals on the inner corner, lower lash line and waterline. Try it out for yourself and see what suits you. 

It's an eyeshadow that can be worn for every season and looks good on all eye colours. 

My eye edited using PicMonkey.

'Club' has a unique pigmentation which allows for its multi-tonal colours to either intensify or become muted depending on what is laid underneath it.

(From left to right) 'Club' without a base, 'Club' on top of  teal gel base (Avon 'Turquoise' Arabian glow eye pencil), 'Club' on top of a green cream base (MAC 'Moss Scape' paint pot), 'Club' on top of a black-grey cream base (MAC 'Blackground' paint pot, 'Club' on top of a metallic gold cream base (Sleek 'Gold Leaf & Pewter' molten metal). The top image was taken with a flash and the bottom is without. 

I uploaded a tutorial recently using 'Club' and a similar hued pigment from Inlgot. It has inspired me to raid my make-up collection to see what other duochrome colours I own that could be duped for this shadow. It turns out that I have quite a few.

My 'Club' dupes collection.

I should really begin with the original itself, shouldn't I? Then you will get an overview of what it is like. MAC's ’Club’ is a "red-brown with green pearl" colour and is perhaps one of my favourite MAC shadows.  That being said, out of the shadows featured and swatched, it is the patchiest in terms of colour pay-off. However, it is buildable and, when layered on top of a good shadow base, it should last for a good portion of the day/night. In comparison to the dupes, Club is prominently more brown than green. The greenish tinge does not seem too noticeable until placed on top of a black or teal base. At a price tag of £12.50/$15 (£10/$10 for pro refill pans) for 1.5g, MAC's Club is not the most affordable product on the market, but it is the most readily available to customers.

MAC's 'Club' as part of my own customised (and messy) quad of colours that I use semi-regularly which also includes Naked Lunch, Woodwinked and Satin Taupe. 

The first dupe is another MAC product. It is 'Blue Brown' pigment. It is very similar to 'Club' although with a hint more blue than green. In terms of opacity, it outdoes its pressed shadow predecessor in every way. 'Blue Brown' pigment does everything I want 'Club' to do and it is particularly beautiful when applied wet (Illamasqua sealing gel is my preference). As it is a pigment, it can be messy to work with so if you favour simple make-up application over colour pay-off then 'Blue Brown' is not for you. Again, it is not the most affordable as it currently retails at £17/$21 but it is more widely available. The full-sized pigment (the one photographed below is the charm size) is better value for money as you get 3g more product in comparison to 'Club' so it should last for years to come.

MAC's 'Blue Brown' charm sized pigment. 

The second dupe in the firing line is number '85' - one of the AMC pure pigment eyeshadow by Inlgot. When I first seen this in the store, I knew I had to have it. Bought it there and then - no swatch necessary. This is because I am infatuated with Club's dual pigmentation and must collect everything that remotely resembles it. I always heard and read about an old pigment from MAC called 'Green Brown.' I searched high and low for it, often typing its name into eBay, Amazon and other retailers but could only ever find sample sizes. Now I wish I had bought one because now samples seem to have disappeared. MAC, if you read this, please start making ‘Green Brown’ available again so I can feed the duochrome addiction. Anyway, enough rambling and back to the product at hand. This colour is what I imagine 'Green Brown' by MAC to look like should it ever come back to existence again. When first swatched it does not seem like much but believe me, it is beautiful. When applied wet, it glistens on the eyes and enhances the green hue of ‘Club’ when layered on top each other. It is a very finely milled powder and makes an alluring eyeliner teamed with the right products (again, Illamasqua sealing gel). Inlgot, once touted as the inexpensive and higher quality version of MAC, has now increased its price as it costs £12/£14, but it is available worldwide on their e-shop.

Inglot's '85' AMC pure uncut pigment. 

Breathe a sigh of relief as the remaining dupes are less expensive. Yaaay! But not all are available worldwide. Noooo! Sorry about that, but I had to include these little guys because some just might be available near you. 

So next up is Make-Up Academy MUA – ‘Shade 12 Pearl’ eyeshadow. This is a soft, velvety and highly pigmented shadow. It's like MUA studied 'Club' and just improved upon it in terms of chromaticity. The green in this shadow is more obviously detectable and the brown contrast has an extra bronze dimension to it. Even though the colour pay-off is better than MAC's Club, the longevity is not so much. Of course you can use a primer to keep it lasting all day (MAC's Moss Scape paint pot does the job rightly).  It costs just £1 for 2g of product and MUA ship to a plethora of places. Just contact them to ask if they ship to your part of the world. Not much else to say about this eyeshadow other than it has gorgeous satin finish and will intensify the natural colour of your eyes.

MUA's single eyeshadow in 'Shade 12 Pearl.' 

***Update: One dupe which I have that I did not include when I first wrote this blog post but discovered in my make-up stash recently is the Accessorize single icon eyeshadow  in the shade 'Rich Earth.' The beauty line from Accessorize has somewhat disappeared over the years. It used to be available in Superdrug and then later on their website for huge discounts. When I bought 'Rich Earth' it was around £3/£4 and when I filmed my make-up dupes video to check the availability it was going for £1.30. If you want 'Rich Earth' I'd suggest hunting on eBay, Amazon and beauty blog sales. It is unbelievably pigmented and probably my favorite of the 'Club' dupes bunch. ***

Accessorize single eyeshadow in 'Rich Earth.'

Now onto trios, quads and palettes. The next dupe is a colour from the Make-Up Academy MUA – 'Innocence' eyeshadow trio. It is no longer available on their website but it is available in Superdrug for £2.50. It has a rich, metallic sheen but it not as creamy in application as its' single shadow counterpart. It is still a beautiful shade and wears weal throughout the day (my mum is a fan of this one too). The great thing about this being in a trio palette is that you can increase the multi-tonal shades with the remaining blendable and complimentary shades that come with it. 

MUA's 'Innocence' trio. 

Next up is an intensely pigmented mocha eyeshadow quad from Famous by Sue Moxley aptly named 'Café Culture.' It is currently unavailable to buy from retailers but you may be able to stock up from eBay and Amazon. If you did manage to get your hands on this palette when it was available then you would know how appealing it is to have. Out of all the dupes so far, it is most similar to MUA's 'Shade 12 Pearl' in its texture and saturation. I think I paid less than £6 for this cute little quad so it was well worth the investment for the 'Club' dupe alone. This quad is a fantastic addition to any make-up collection as it contains other shades that are comparable to MAC in colour and consistency but definitely not in price. 

Famous by Sue Moxley eye collection in 'Café Culture.' 

This is the last in my 'Club' dupe feature and it is the Wet n Wild ‘Comfort Zone’ eyeshadow palette. I got this palette during the summer of 2012 whilst on holiday in Naples, Florida so it is not readily available in the UK and Ireland. Luckily, for my fellow American citizens, this stunning 8 colour palette is still available to purchase from a range of US retailers including Walmart, Walgreens, Ulta, CVS and Kmart (oh God, this only fuels my desire to live in America) and will cost around $4.99 for 8.5g of product. What a bargain! The 'Club' shade in this palette is leaning more towards the reddish gold spectrum than the reddish brown but still a very pretty colour.

Wet n Wild 8 pan palette in 'Comfort Zone.' 

Below you will see swatches of these boys.

(From left to right) MAC Cosmetics ‘Club’ eyeshadow, MAC Cosmetics ‘Blue Brown’ pigment, Inlgot ‘85’ AMC pure pigment eyeshadow, Make-Up Academy MUA ‘Shade 12 Pearl’ eyeshadow, Make-Up Academy MUA‘Innocence’ eyeshadow trio, Famous by Sue Moxley ‘Café Culture’ eyeshadow quad, Wet n Wild – ‘Comfort Zone’ eyeshadow palette. The top image was taken with a flash and the bottom is without. 

I'll go one step further and even give you a glitter option. Oh my... it is too dazzling for words! It is the Lit Cosmetics medium cut glitter in 'Soul Sister.' If 'Club' were a glitter, 'Soul Sister' would be it.

"No glitter, no glory," 

The above picture does not do this exquisite colour justice at all. It has autumnal flecks of gold, bronze and green are perfect if you want to dramatise your 'Club' eyeshadow in order to make it suitable for evening wear - just like I did for this year's NYE.

MAC's 'Club' with Inlgot's 85 AMC pure umcut pigment on to, finished off with Lit Cosmetics 'Soul Sister' glitter. 

I have discussed eye decoration for ages now, so what about your complexion? I find the best way to complement these earthy tones is with corals, peaches and soft nudes for both cheeks and lips.

Peaches & cream complexion with sparkling earth-toned eyes.  

Make-up looks using ‘Club' and other similar hues can also look fabulous with pink lips...

A soft bronzed complexion, matte pink lips with 'Club' and 'Soul Sister' applied as eyeliner. 

And red lips.

'Club' teamed with a dewy complexion and satin red lips. 

There are plenty more dupes out there in our sea of make-up which I don't own (yet), but I have come across them in videos and reviews, so you may want to check them out if you do not own them already. They include - Too Faced single 'Petals To The Metal' eyeshadow ($16), Illamsqua 'Fervent' pure pigment (£16.50), Prestige 'Hocus Pocus' eyeshadow  ($9), Makeup Geek 'Insomnia' pigment ($6.99), Motives Cosmetics 'Heavy Metal' pressed eyeshadow ($12.50) and  the one I am coveting the most - the Ellis Faas 'E305 Holographic Bordeaux' eye lights (£26). Please note that the prices for each are from companies’ respective websites so prices may vary depending on your country's currency and the retailer's shipping costs. 

My Make-Up Story

Like many girls, I have been fixated with make-up from a very early age. In awe, I used to watch my mum apply her eyeliner and have been obsessed ever since. 

My eternal inspiration for all things beautiful. 

I rifled through my aunt’s make-up basket, who coincidentally does not wear make-up at all anymore (I wonder if she knows this one of the reasons for my adoration) and the obsession naturally developed as I grew older. On non-uniform days at school, I wore make-up (against school policy but I loved breaking the rules). I remember wearing a pink and purple smokey eye on one particularly day, having been influenced by J-Lo's purple smoulder from Ain't It Funny). I'm pretty sure I accidentally used a blusher rather than eyeshadow. Multitasking before I even knew it was a thing. 

Uncanny resemblance. 

When I left school I  pursued a career as a nurse in London. However, this was not for me so I returned home and explored other avenues which included beauty, make-up and YouTube learning. Aspects of my private life fuelled my previous adolescent desire to become immersed in a technicolor explosion and so I began to teach myself about make-up, nails and beauty. I combined this with becoming a member of hobby groups and online forums where I met people with similar interests. 

I think I suit being an old lady. Just call me Doris.

My second 'date' with my husband was practicing a special effects ripped arm on him. 

In my early 20s, YouTube make-up gurus were just beginning Enter a plethora of inspiration, ideas, looks and creations for me to learn from. I learned more from this online hub of social interaction and so I began to share my passion for make-up on various social networking sites, such as Bebo and Facebook where there was instant access to beauty, make-up and style communities. It was like going to make-up school but for free and learning was at my own pace. Though I wouldn't encourage any budding artist to just learn from YouTube, you actually need to go put make-up on real-life faces in order to build your professional portfolio and put the dream into a reality. What makes you a competent make-up artist is gaining awareness and expertise on skin care, brands, products, seasonal trends, modern make-up, beauty for different age groups, knowing your client’s needs and knowing a little about each type of make-up artistry available. It’s about evolving as an artist and expanding and sharing your knowledge that makes you one of the greats. There are separate artists for separate industries which may or may not require formal training including, theatrical, film & television, wig making, restoration airbrushing (in mortuaries), prosthetics & special effects, weddings & special occasions, fashion, runway & editorial. Pat McGrath, one of the most influential make-up artists in the world had no training in make-up and look where she is today.

It’s not all about make-up though. Anything beauty related has fascinated me. As the years went by, I networked with professional, amateur and novice make-up artists, photographers, models, hairdressers, stylists and began putting together creative teams to do collaborative photo shoots in a variety of locations. 

Photographer - Matthew McHugh, Model - Cassy Lee Gillespie.

Bebo's  popularity was at its peak during this time and I met like-minded folks wanting to informally experiment with make-up and photography. My first encounter with a photographer was with a sweet-natured, talented, and humble photographer called Yvonne. Her images of dereliction, landscapes, urbex and animals were beautiful, charismatic, artistic and culturally competent, which resonated with me. We decided to do our first shoot together. It was the first time for both of us to collaborate with people and we both felt shy. I persuaded some friends into modelling and even managed to have my boy-crush at the time agree to be a model for the day (albeit he backed out but then made up for it the next day with a sort-of-semi-date-thing. Oh I should mention, he is now my future husband). The experience of this first shoot at the Catalyst Arts Centre was low-key, exuberant fun - sentiments I try to incorporate into collaborations I have done since. Ok, my make-up application was an unblended, disjointed motley array of chromaticity and texture but I did it and I loved it.

Photographer - Yvonne Martin. Model - Eleanor Downey (my friend since Primary 1).

Since this first shoot I involved as many people as I could from everywhere - college, grammar school and even primary school. 

 Photographer - Jaclyn Lindsay. Model - Emma Tully (both primary school pals).

Make-Up Artist - Dana Kane (school friend and big sis in the make-up world). Model - Debbie Hughes Johnston.

Networking like this expanded my circle and I was fortunate to be involved with charity events and local fashion nights.

Photographer - Michael Kerr for Platfrom. Model - Mandy Soto.

                                                                   Photographer - Michael Kerr for Platfrom. Model - Mandy Soto.

This then led to many provocative and imaginative collaborations.

Model - Rachel Tracey (school pal).

However, even though I consider myself a make-up artist, I am not a professional MUA and I do not work as one. I never pursued it in a vocational manner. I consider make-up as a form of escapism. For me, make-up is a hobby, a passion, a keen interest.  Ok, more like an obsession, a sufferer of make-up mania. If ever there was a neurosis for make-up, I'd happily be a member of the injured party.  

Patient details: Neala, 28, manic make-up neurosis.

I stopped collaborating for the most part just before I started my law degree and in my spare time I would organise my own make-up  shoots as a one woman show. 

Models: Rebekah Guilar, Rachael Guilar, Stephanie Morgan.

I prefer the comfort of being in my home, making up familiar faces and taking pretty pictures for the person to have as keepsake reminder that they are forever beautiful. I suppose you could call it make-up therapy.

Model - Mori McKnight (school chum and beauty blogger).

Now, people from my school and college days want to be involved in some way with this industry. Whether that is to be a model for the day or just receive make-up tips. Some even have qualifications and aspirations to be make-up artist which I find very inspiring.

Model - Nicole Liddy (college buddy and aspiring make-up artist).

And now I have taken baby steps into beauty blogging and vlogging. This is something I aim to incorporate into my future career along with developing make-up therapy and artistry as it combines my favourite thing to talk about (make-up) in the place where I feel I can do my best and achieve my goals (home). 

From my guide to bridal make-up. 

As for brands, I don’t have one in particular that I get absolutely everything from. I find myself preferring products from several brands rather than one brand's entire collection. I love Chanel foundation, MAC pigments (the old formula), Max Factor mascara, MAC lip liners, Sleek lipsticks, Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes, Real Techniques brushes, Barry M nail paints and Illamasqua blushers. Even still, it depends on the colour, the longevity and the price. Having said that re: price, I do have my eyes on some expensive Ells Faas products, which I have hinted to my future husband that I need for our wedding day. Yes, I need them. Ok, that is a lie, I want them but I know I'll more than likely use some old faithfuls for the day (Sleek Oh So Special and Chanel vitalumiere), I just need to satisfy the make-up neurosis. It's kind of like that Snickers ad with your man in the blue shirt acting like a diva. I'm the Joan Collins of make-up shopping. 

"Better?" "Better."

When it comes to make-up, it’s hard to find something I don’t like. Although it’s rare for me to dislike an entire look. One trend I never understood is permanent make-up. Why put yourself through that for something that may end up a disaster? I enjoy the whole make-up application process, it is one of my favourite times of the day. But I suppose it would be nice to sometimes just roll out of bed looking like this:

Queen of Selfies 

All in all, I have a huge passion for beauty and adore everything about make-up and nails - anything aesthetically pleasing really. It can do anything for a person from transforming what they naturally look like – to simply highlighting the features they already have. Personally, I like to have fun with it and I like that you can be inspired by anything or anyone to create a look. I also love make-up throughout the decades and I enjoy watching others re-create timeless looks. You can be as artistic and self-affirming as you like or play it down. You can look like your favourite Hollywood star, your favourite singer or even a character from a film just by make-up application. I like being extreme with make-up as well as being low-key. It depends on my mood and what look I want to achieve that day. I like how make-up can make you look very-well groomed or messy and asymmetrical. I love how make-up has an entire history – from Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti’s kohl rimmed eyes to Queen Elizabeth of the Tudors’ alabaster skin and cherry bitten lips to the. I also love the cultural diversity of make-up such as the Geisha girls of Japan to the Coco Chanel inspired flapper style of 1920s America. Make-up even has connections with social and movements. The anti-Vietnam war rallies and Black power shaped what was considered beautiful in the 60s, along with psychedelic movements of the decade. Nowadays, anything goes really – history repeats itself, people adopt their own signature style of make-up and brazen displays of colours are widely used professionally and by men and women alike. I find that no make-up is bad make-up, and if I haven’t said it enough already, I love it – I LOVE IT ALL! 

A ten year make-up expansion compacted into three photos. Aged 17, 22 and 27.