DUPES? Makeup Revolution Iconic Smokey Palette vs. Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

Even as someone who loves affordable beauty finds, and knows I can get awesome quality without breaking the bank, the latest releases from high-end brands still get me swooning from time to time. Case in point: the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette. In years past, the Naked palettes that had been released never really excited me as much as this one. Even though Urban Decay’s eye shadow formula is one of my all-time-favorites, the shade selections always just seemed so dupe-able.

But when Naked Smoky came out, I had hearts in my eyes. My favorite eye look is a sultry smoky eye, and I loved the shades Urban Decay brought together in the gorgeous silver palette.

Then, I got a DM on Instagram from a follower asking about the Makeup Revolution Iconic Smokey Palette. After a few quick searches, I knew I had to have it and see how it measured up.

I’ve been a fan of Makeup Revolution’s eye shadows in the past, so I was excited to see a palette with similar shades at a fraction of the cost of Naked Smoky. They both have twelve neutral smoky shades inside that range from matte, to satin, to shimmer finishes. Both palettes lean cool-toned, and you can see in the photo above just how closely the shades match in terms of color, which would help you create the exact same looks at a way more affordable price.

A couple things to note before going into the shades: both palettes have large mirrors inside, but the Makeup Revolution packaging is a lot more space-friendly, being slimmer and more compact while having a taller mirror so you can see your whole face at once. Although, there’s no denying the beauty in the Naked Smoky packaging, with the embossed silver lettering and gray marbled design. They both also come with a double ended eye shadow brush, but Urban Decay’s wins this round with soft and dense bristles: one side being a smudge brush and the other side perfect for blending.

Now, as I started watching the shades side by side, I did notice some key differences. Above, the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette shades are labelled on the left, and the unlabeled shades belong to the Makeup Revolution Iconic Smokey Palette.

While in the pan, the shades look almost identical, many of the corresponding shades show up a smidge different when applied. The closest dupes I found in color were for Dirtysweet, Slanted, Smolder, Password, Whiskey, and Combust. The others had a noticeable difference in shade or finish, like the matte jet black in Naked Smoky matching up with the shimmery charcoal black in Iconic Smokey (something that actually disappointed me, because a matte black is a must-have for me in smoky looks!).

Both palettes offer awesome pigmentation, as you can see from the swatches. Urban Decay’s shadows are some of my favorite, like I said, with a buttery texture that goes on smoothly and blends out effortlessly. Makeup Revolution’s shadows hold their own and have a similar feel, although leave a little more fallout when applying. Something I’m willing to overlook, though, considering the color payoff is so great.

Now here’s a kicker: over my daily go-to e.l.f. Eyelid Primer, shades from the Naked Smoky palette actually started creasing sooner than the Iconic Smokey shades! How crazy is that?

Final verdict: If you can get over the very slight differences in the shades/finishes found in the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette ($54) vs. Makeup Revolution Iconic Smokey Palette ($12), you can definitely save the extra forty-two smackaroos to get an incredibly similar palette where you can create indistinguishable looks that deliver just as much smoky drama and last all day.