I fell in love (all over again) last November when I first saw Naked 3 filtering through on various blogs, and I wittered on about it so much it ended up being presented to me on Christmas evening – my boy is definitely a keeper! I’m not going to bore you with another review of the palette, nor a stream of swatches (though for reference, the best swatches I’ve found are here) but what I am going to do is show you some alternatives. I love my Naked 3 palette, and I’ve recently fallen even harder for my new addition of Naked 2, but I’m a student. I’m poor, tight about money, and £37 is scarily expensive for makeup. So I’ve dug around a little and found a few easy-to-get-hold-of alternatives to the iconic palette.
If you are an obsessive reader of beauty blogs you’ll probably have seen the complete and utter let’s-not-even-try-to-pretend dupe of Naked 3 from Makeup Revolution (photo from Miss Budget Beauty - her review is great too!). I haven’t tried this yet, as I’ve yet to see the brand in the flesh and I refuse to pay postage on a £4 item. And I’m not desperate to spend enough to reach the Free Delivery threshold. From all accounts it’s pretty damn good for the price, so for an exact copy I’d point you in that direction! I’m all about things I can actually go and swatch, so here’s my picks…
For a really compact Rose Gold look, the easiest one is
Bourjois’s Trio in 05 Rose Vintage. This is definitely the pinkest out of all the shadows, and is probably even pinker in tone than the Naked 3. I actually find this quite difficult to wear unless I have a pretty decent tan. I’m not won over on the quality either – its a little chalky and the color payoff is poor, but for throwing in your handbag for retouches at an event, it’s small and cheap enough to get away with.
My favorite of the alternatives has to be the Exposed palette from Monsoon – its just gorgeous! You can see swatches and read a better review here, but in short there are 32 colours for £10 (and remember student discount!), a wonderful selection of neutrals and some bolder shades, and the payoff and butteriness is some of the best I’ve come across for a palette of this price and size. I am pretty sure that these have been discontinued, though they are still available in the odd store so I’d keep your eye out. I managed to get two a few months ago – its a great size for slipping in your work desk for unexpected nights out!
Finally we have a few Sleek palettes. Sleek is my favorite high-street brand for eyeshadows – they are what I used solely until I discovered Urban Decay, and I still reach for their most neutral palette often. Now none of their palettes are particularly close to Naked 3, but I have found their lovely limited edition Vintage Romance palette from Autumn 2012 to have some pretty lovely Rose Gold tones in – the wear time is excellent on these, as is the pigmentation. I find this palette to be great for taking away on holiday as it covers all bases – neutrals, brights, smokey etc. I can’t mention Sleek palettes without professing my love for their
Au Natural – this is the palette I’ve used most in my life (I’m currently on my second after hitting pan on pretty much every shadow), its generally the first thing I’ll grab if I’m unsure how to do my makeup, and its pretty similar to Naked 1 & 2, just its completely neutral and will suit both warm and cook skin tones. Definitely worth the money!
So that’s it, my picks of where you can find alternatives to Naked 3.
Have you found any good beauty dupes recently?
