There are masses of copycat palettes around of all the iconic high-end makeup palettes, such as the Naked series by Urban Decay which has been recreated as Ucanbe Molten Heat Palette on AliExpress. Now I have bought versions 2 and 3 and love them, so wanted to test the dupe. I’ve ordered a bunch of products that I may or may not be able to use in my kit, but wanted to trial and do reviews. I honestly don’t believe that it is taking away from the original, because there are obviously knock-offs and the people who buy them generally wouldn’t be able to get the high-end versions for budgetary reasons.
Today I’ve also be tested the palette by Ucanbe Molten Heat Palette that is just different enough not to be breaching copyright or IP issues. The palette was $9AUD from AliExpress. The Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette that was the “inspiration” is $83AUD from Sephora.
The Original Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette
It’s not obvious on screen, but they look very different in the flesh. The original is a lovely tin palette in a high resolution image as shown below. The palette is in a metal tin with the shade names under the colours. The brush fits exactly in the brush space. Just from looking at the palette in store, the pigments are rich and creamy on the matte shadows and the shimmers are shiny and sparkly as you’d hope for an $83 palette.
[maxbutton id=”2″ url=”https://www.mecca.com.au/urban-decay/naked-heat-eyeshadow-palette/I-027807.html?cgpath=makeup-palettessets#start=1″ text=”Buy the Original Palette from Mecca” ]
The Dupe: “Ucanbe Molten Heat Palette”
Below is the dupe, from AliExpress, called Molten Rock Heat and comes in a matte cardboard box with a very similar cover and look, but without the embossing or foiled printing of the original Urban decay outer box.
Inside, the palette is cardboard, and there are 12 shadows, remarkably similar to the Urban Decay, but with no shade names.
The main difference I found was that the shimmer colours in the dupe weren’t as shiny. They didn’t give the oomph of the Urban Decay Palette. As far as pigment went the dupe is every bit as strong and blended well, there just wasn’t as much mica (the reflective material that adds shimmer) to the dupe. You could achieve the same look with the dupe but you needed to layer more of the shimmer colours to get the same effect.
[maxbutton id=”2″ url=”https://www.aliexpress.com/item/UCANBE-Brand-Makeup-12-Colors-Matte-Molten-Rock-Heat-Eyeshadow-Palette-Shimmer-Smoky-Naked-Eyes-Shadow/32830628532.html” text=”Buy the dupe palette from Aliexpress” ]
Final thoughts. As you can see from the cover image of Charlie at the top of the page, (shot by Michael kennedy Photography) it is possible to create a lovely golden eye shadow look with the dupe palette, but a. it doesn’t look as professional in your kit if you are a makeup artist; b. the shimmers lack the punch of the original and c. do you trust the AliExpress brand, which is made in China?
I looked into the ingredient list of the Ucanbe palette, and there is nothing that stood out as particularly toxic, but you need to remember that the regulations in China a different to the FDA in the USA or the TGA in Australia, and there are some ingredients used in Chinese manufactured products, that are not allowed in USA or Australian made cosmetics.
Products to Recreate Charlie’s Look:
- Velbella foundation in Bella Beige
- Velbella Blush
- YSL Translucent Loose Powder
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer
- ELF High Definition Under Eye Setting Powder
- Rimmel London Kate Moss Blush, Bronzer and Highlight Trio
- Eyelure Brow Pomade in Medium Brown
- Ucanbe 12 Shadow Paltte in Molten Rock Heat
- Dior Liquid Liner
- Kevin Aucoin Mascara in Black
- Eyelure Lashes
- Ucanbe Lipliner
- Harlotte Cosmetics Starkers Lipstick
