Ah, the never-ending battle to find that holy grail neutral eyeshadow palette. It feels like brands are constantly coming out with palette after palette, hoping that it becomes the new big obsession and beats out old favorites. 

While some of those aforementioned new palettes are strong contenders, I felt inspired to go back and compare the two eyeshadow palettes that arguably started this whole trend: the Urban Decay Naked palette and the Lorac Pro palette.

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Contender #1: Urban Decay Naked  – $54

Quick Palette Rundown:

• Costs $54
• 12 shadows with 0.05 oz of product per shadow
• 10 shimmer shades, 2 matte shades
• Shades fall into same color scheme
• Shadows have a warm undertone
• Mirror is included
• Magnetic closure
• Available at most beauty retailers (Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, etc.)

Urban Decay is well-known for their outstanding shadow quality, and the Urban Decay Naked palette is no exception. Each shadow is smooth and blends well on the eyes. The shade range covers pretty much every neutral tone, from light neutrals to deeper browns and blacks. Some standout shades from the palette are Virgin, Sin, Sidecar, Half Baked, Smog, and Toasted.

Below are the pros and cons of the palette (in comparison to the Lorac Pro) that stood out the most to me.

Pros:

• Comes with a brush
• Can purchase individual shadows
• Eyeshadows have more product & cost less per ounce

Cons:

• More expensive palette
• Less shade variety (12 shades)
• Consists of some in-palette dupes

All the shades were fantastic, but I was disappointed with the two darkest shades (Creep and Gunmetal). They weren’t as pigmented and were slightly chalky when swatched. Even though I swatched over them two or three times, they still didn’t look as intense as I wanted. The colors are still usable, but it was disappointing to see this quality in an expensive palette.