How Do You Know If Urban Decay Makeup Is Fake

I know that all of you lot, my readers, are aware of the NAKED palette in one way or another. I think I can say it is now the flagship product of Urbn Decay, and i of their best offerings. Really, in the makeup earth, the NAKED palette is by far 1 of the best things that happened to girls in the history of history…

If you lot accept been living under a rock, the start NAKED palette was released by Urban Decay in mid-2010. The time it was first released, the blogosphere and makeup world exploded. Every one who loved makeup wanted this production, and for good reason. It was an Urban Decay production (so we're certain of the good quality) and it'due south a palette with the about useful and versatile shades a girl could enquire for. Moreover, if my observations are right, it is the first palette to contain just neutral colors and not combine crazy colors (like lime color and lemon yellow colour) with neutral colors. I used to see all sorts of girls' half used palettes and you would see the crazy colors untouched and the chocolate-brown color already showing the metallic pan it lies in. This is why it immediately went out of stock and it took a while before it came back in stock. Information technology also took a while earlier the product could exist easily purchased because for a long time, it was either out of stock or if there were even stocks, you would have to compete with hoarders and all.

Given that this is the strongest offering that Urban Decay has, and that this is a highly coveted product in the makeup world, information technology is a sad truth that there are many people who are making faux ones and selling them for the price of the existent ones.

To begin my story, I went with my mom to visit a family friend, and upon seeing me, this family unit friend easily me a box. When I opened information technology, it was a NAKED two palette. I was extremely happy as I had a new eyeshadow set, and for almost 2 hours I thought it was authentic until I gave close scrutiny of the product. I too owned a real NAKED 1 (I know it's real considering I ordered it from Sephora) then I was able to find what general differences the simulated one had with the real one.

To clarify, even when I realized that information technology was not authentic, I was still very happy considering I did null and yet got a 12-color eyeshadow set that's usable. I no longer called up the giver to tell her that it was not authentic considering I did not want to seem ungrateful and I didn't want to embarrass her. I besides had a feeling that maybe she bought them with the consciousness that they were not real, and probably bought them at a lower cost.

This post, is therefore, to protect those who plan to really buy an authentic one with their hard earned cash. I cannot really do anything concrete about those who brand simulated ones, but it bothers me a lot that they have the nerve to sell the false ones for the price of existent ones. For those who purposely buy fake ones to save money, I have nothing confronting them, merely I tin can say that they can use the same amount of money for authentic (and better quality) eyeshadows of another brand…

I am not comparing my real NAKED 1 and the fake NAKED two function past part every bit the ii are inherently different products, but these are some full general guidelines that you can apply regardless of whichever NAKED palette that y'all plan to buy. Please read on for more data.

I. Packaging

The real NAKED Palettes come with a 'nowadays.' NAKED 1 comes with a sample sized Eyeshadow Primer Potion in the original shade, NAKED 2 comes with a baby Lip Junkie Lip Gloss in the Naked shade, and NAKED 3 comes with a small binder containing samples of all their eyeshadow primers.

The NAKED 1 and 2 palettes are placed on this plastic base, with the nowadays in sight, inside an acetate box. But NAKED 3 comes in a cardboard box.

If you lot see the weblog mail service on this on mywomenstuff.com, this is how the NAKED two palette's packaging should be. Information technology should come up with a lip gloss and be contained in a holder.

EDIT: As of kickoff quarter 2014, Urban Decay repackaged the Naked 2 palette. The box now looks like the Naked iii'south box, only with a different number and unlike eyeshadows represented. There is no longer lip gloss in it, simply instead an eyeshadow primer sample pack similar in the Naked 3 palette.

Regardless of if y'all get the onetime or new packaging, please be guided accordingly. (shoutout to Ms. Vesna for pointing this out!)

NAKED 3'southward box should look similar this…

This fake one came in a weird paper-thin box and in that location was no lip gloss that came with it.

Ii. Outer Text

The outer text of all the palettes should be aligned to the embossed or the textured expanse of the palette. You can see the perfect alignment of the gold print on the embossed area of my existent palette, and the misaligned Urban Disuse print on my fake palette.

III. Eyeshadow Pigments

The real palettes come with super buttery, super pigmented eyeshadows. The reason why everybody'south going ga ga over this is one, the colors, and 2d, UD's long-known super blendable eyeshadow quality. The eyeshadows should be jam-packed in color and should be blendable too.

To compare, I swiped the eyeshadow with my finger and applied it on my arm, and repeated the swipe process iii times for both the real and simulated one.

You can see that on the left, even towards the bottom of the photo, you can still see that the real one yet packs a lot of color. The fake one, on the other hand, is already faded towards the lesser of the photo.

Iv. Eyeshadow Pot Make full

In full general, if you discover the NAKED 1,two,3 together, you would discover that in 2 and iii, some pots are seated deeper than others..

BUT as with any other eyeshadow make, the pots should more or less exist equally filled. All of them should more or less exist filled to the brim, every bit what you lot see right now in my real palette. If you look at the pots, y'all can see that each eyeshadow reveals the same amount of surface area of the pot, meaning that the palette is evenly filled.

And so expect at my imitation one. You can come across that the leftmost color is just half-filled, the second two thirds filled, while the tertiary color from the left is near filled to the brim. UD will most certainly not let a product of this quality to be sold to the public.

In general, too, the way that the pans are placed on the palette can assist spot a false. Real palettes have the pans placed in such a way that they all look evenly placed.

Only on the fake one, you can come across that bated from the pans themselves being unevenly filled, some pans also sit lower than the others, unlike the real one. Like the plastic shell is uneven, or maybe some pans were glued with lots of glue while others had significantly less gum that the effect is something like this.

5. Brushes

Brushes are also sold by UD separately, so y'all tin can expect that when you lot buy a palette, you would also be receiving a loftier quality eyeshadow brush. They do not put in random cheapy cheapy foam applicators or poorly constructed brushes…

You tin see that my real brush's metal holder part has one smoothen line (as in the line where the hairs are 'squeezed' into the apartment shape of the brush), and that sideways it looks rounded.

If y'all go to Sephora.com and look at the zoomed in photograph of the brush of the NAKED 2 palette, it'southward supposed to come with one cleanly washed line to crimp the hairs in place. Moreover, the color is bronzy and the castor hairs are a bit long.

Meanwhile, y'all can see that the faux ane comes with two strong, uneven lines to hold the hairs in. And that sideways, there is a paring in it. It's as well not bronzy in colour, and the brush hairs are not as long as they should exist.

Though this is not something that yous volition immediately see, the existent palette's brushes come up with more than element-resitant text. I had just been using the fake brush for near half a year and yet the text is more erased than the real castor that I had been using for almost two and a half years.

VI. Pressed-ness

I don't really take a better for pressed-ness and then I will only explain farther. So basically the real ones come with eyeshadow powders that are pressed really well that they do not easily flake off or get carved off in example my nail accidentally scratches the eyeshadow. The following photos bear witness what happened after I had accidentally scratched the palette, and the other scratches that have been in it. It is less pigmented than the existent one and however much softer in structure that it easily gets displaced and gives off a lot of fallout when applied.

Seven. Text on the Palette

This is also not an hands seen sign, just real palettes have the eyeshadow names printed well on the palette that they are able to withstand daily use. Moreover, they are able to withstand information technology when wiped with rubbing alcohol. My fake palette's letters fell off on their own fifty-fifty if I had purposely avoided the messages when cleaning with booze, which is a big divergence to my real palette's lettering that is still strong as e'er fifty-fifty after I had cleaned the palette with rubbing alcohol and baby wipes a gazillion times since I got information technology.

The more than obvious sign, though, is that the fonts and colors used in fake ones' texts are commonly tackier-looking than the existent palette's… If you feel weird about the font or writing of the text, chances are it is imitation.

Viii. Eyeshadow Pot Masses

This is not a visual sign, but if you doubtable that you take purchased a fake one, you can endeavour this process.

UD'south website says that each eyeshadow is 0.05 ounces. I recorded the mass of the whole real palette (4.65 oz) and took out one of the eyeshadows (the 1 that I had used the to the lowest degree so that its mass would be the closest to an unused unit's mass), and weighed the whole affair again. This removal led to a 0.15oz decrease in mass. Basing from this information, I am assuming that the eyeshadow powder itself is 0.05 oz and that the eyeshadow pot is 0.10 oz.

Now, the faux eyeshadow (this is also the one I used the least in the whole palette), which if real is also supposed to weigh 0.15 oz (because UD'southward website also declares that NAKED ii's eyeshadows are 0.05 oz), only weighed 0.ten oz. Had it not been for the extremely uneven fill of the pots, I would take causeless that UD but used a lighter fabric for their pots in this palette. Just meh, information technology's and then uneven that this eyeshadow pot that I took out did non meet the mass standards a UD NAKED eyeshadow is supposed to have.

Ix. Attachment of pots to palette

Real palettes would be stuck on super efficiently onto the palette that a lot of effort would be needed to depot it. Information technology took me almost 5 minutes of tugging just to depot from the real one, and less than five seconds to depot from the fake 1.

By the time I was able to depot the real one, the palette already got a bit warped. It really is glued soooo sturdily onto the base.

If you suspect that what y'all bought is false, yous can attempt to depot i to see how well glued it is to the base. Simply try shucking it with a knife gently and come across what happens. A fake eyeshadow pot is bound to come off even with just gentle effort. To prevent eyeshadow cracks and spills, just pour rubbing alcohol on the shadow before conveying this experiment out.

X. Eyeshadow 'warts'

My real palette has never had eyeshadow 'warts' or bumps on the eyeshadow surface when I use my finger to affect the eyeshadow…

No, those are not giant glitters simply warts hahahahah

XI. Identify of Purchase

For those who plan to buy them in the Philippines, past all means, not in Greenhills. NO NO NO because 99% of the palettes in that location are fake. I cannot tell you how many sellers claim that their products are authentic even when they're not– they do not even have the honesty or heart to say thay they sell 'Class A' or 'replica' appurtenances! They even have the nerve to sell those for 1600 to 2500 pesos!!!

Equally for online, even if information technology is pricey at 3600 pesos (even when it'south simply supposed to be 2200), I retrieve I tin say confidently that Zalora and Lazada both sell real ones… There will exist a lot of FB resellers, and all I tin can say is endeavor your best to google the seller online and attempt to find blog entries or feedback about the seller. Remember that anybody can use images of the real palettes but send out the bootleg ones…

For those who plan to purchase online from a United states of america standpoint (if yous want to brand pabili or to join someone's balikbayan box), buy only from Sephora.com and from UrbanDecay.com as these are the two reliable authorities to go your palettes from. Exercise not buy from Amazon or East-bay every bit there is a large chance that the palettes are simulated. The following are screenshots I took of stuff on Amazon…

This ane came in the same imitation box mine came with, and yet the seller even had the nerve to sell it for $65 even when the real ones price just $52.

At to the lowest degree this seller had the heart to sell it for a lower price, simply all the same, with that amount of money you can buy the real eyeshadows of other brands, or another eyeshadow set of UD…

This person likewise had the nerve to sell it for $59.95 fifty-fifty when it'due south nigh likely to be fake…

Always be careful of these kinds of situations…

XII. Pricing

This will utilise to the Philippines only, I guess…because you have just seen that sellers on Amazon sell the fake ones at prices even college than the real ones… Normally the fake ones are sold at 1500-2500 pesos, and the existent ones normally retail here from 3200-3800 pesos… If you are buying a palette and you do not have super VIP status with this seller or store and the cost seems to be as well low, information technology must be fake…

I don't think that in that location is any reason for them to sell the real ones beneath the SRP of 2200, and I don't think that they accept the ability to buy from the manufacturer of these palettes.

If I am not mistaken, UD has its ain manufacturing division, and even though it didn't, expect that the contract volition include that the manufacturer is prohibited to resell the products to other buyers. And even in the unlikely event that the manufacturer does agree, I doubt that they volition willingly entertain small orders and requite out super low prices…

Be very careful of the terms class A, replica, SG version, equally these are all just fancy terms for fake. At the aforementioned time, do not be fooled by claims that they have a contact at the factory, or that there are overruns, or that somebody knows somebody who got them cheaply from the within. All those are false claims made just and then they can brand a sale.

Xiii. Overall Feel

You can feel the real one from the simulated one. I tin't explain it, but I get this funny feeling when I see the imitation ones… Ever trust your gut when shopping, and when in doubt, call up it over or don't push button through with the transaction anymore…

This is not an apples to apples comparison equally this is a real naked 1 and a fake naked two, but in general, there really just is a difference in overall experience. Urban Decay products should feel luxurious and should come in really high quality. If it feels tacky or funny, it must be imitation.