I have already wanted a Naked 1 Palette. About a week ago, I’d had about half a bottle of my new favourite wine. Which is called Il Capo Pinot Grigio, if you care. And you should care because it’s wonderful.
So YEAH. After drinking the wine and feeling quite smug because I was celebrating my next 10 days off work. I was browsing through Amazon, and then for some reason, I decided I needed to get a Naked 1 palette STAT. I hopped onto eBay to see how much they were going for.
Naked 1 Palette
I’ve been thinking about getting about getting the original Naked palette for while now. I have Naked 2 and Naked 3 and now I’ve worn the hell out of them, I thought I should finally invest in the original.
When I got onto eBay, I was shocked at how many sellers we selling the palettes for around a tenner. There were even ones that had the 1, 2 and 3 all together for £30!
I checked out the listings and the photos looked legit. I’ve never seen an original Naked palette with my own eyes but they were also selling the 2 and 3. The photos looked like what I had. The seller had the brand name as ‘Urban Decay’ in the description and had loads of positive feedback. Other people who had bought the item left feedback such as ‘great product’ or ‘product as described’.
Falling for the scam
You know when you have that feeling of THIS SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? Well, I usually listen to those feelings because we all know that most things that sound too good to be true most likely are. But these particular feelings were drowning in a bottle of pinot, too busy gasping for air to be able to scream at me and tell me to stop being such an nobhead. So I was like LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL screw you I’m going to buy this and there is nothing to do to stop me.
So that’s what I did. I was feeling quite faithful in the human race that day. Like, why would someone list an item up as Urban Decay when it’s not? People are honest, right? People don’t like to con poor, innocent, impulse-buying idiots like me, right?
Well, turns out I was wrong. People are dicks, which is generally what I usually think every other day of the year. But I had a lapse in judgement. Because I was drunk. So I handed over my £11 and then carried my wasted self over to YouTube to watch cat videos, where I cried because CATS I CANT EVEN. Then I fell asleep.
Getting my Fake Naked Palette
The delivery of this item was FASSTTT. I didn’t expect it to come so quickly. That’s what she said. Wait, give me a second while I pull my head out of the gutter and remember what I’m talking about. Oh yes, the delivery.
So it came, I opened it and it was in this golden packaging that said 2015 edition on it, which I thought was weird. My other palettes also came with a sample of another product and the quality of the box was much better. It was also REALLY light and my other Naked palettes are quite heavy. However, I wasn’t sure if this meant anything as the other two are in a tin and this is a felt/cardboard packaging.
When I opened it, the shadows looked poor quality, like in the way they were put into the palette. The fill level of each shadow all seems to come up to different levels as if they’ve been glued in rather carelessly and they weren’t flush with the palette.
I got onto Google and searched ‘How to tell if a Naked palette is fake’ and surely enough, these things all came up. I also Googled the packaging of the Urban Decay original palette to find that it was totally different to what I was holding in my hands.
The Naked palettes are known for their pigmentation. I’ve always found their shadows to be quite creamy in texture and easily blendable. These obviously are not. They’re not AWFUL, but definitely on the lower end of the quality scale.
If you didn’t know better, then you could very easily mistake this for a real palette.
How to tell if your Urban Decay Palette is fake.
- The packaging. Search online for the original packaging of the palette you’re wanting to buy. If it comes in a cardboard box similar to the one above, it’s a fake.
- The free gift. Each Naked palette comes with some sort of free gift, like a primer sample or lipgloss sample.
- Pot fill. On the real palettes, all the eyeshadows will be filled to the same level, on the fake ones some will be deeper than others.
- The shape of the pots. When I googled the real palette, you could see the shape of the pots were a lot rounder on the edges, while the fake had harsher corners on the rectangles.
- Brush Quality. The Urban Decay brushes are great quality, if your brush looks cheap, then it’s probably a fake. On my fake brush, ‘Urban Decay’ was printed on the brush and the font size was ticker on the letters Urb than the rest of the brush.
- Price. If it’s cheap, then it’s probably a fake. Although I have seen some of these fake palettes being charged the same as originals, so be careful!
- Where you get it from. There will be certain sites that will be rife with fakes, like eBay for example. Your best bet is to buy your makeup from well-known sites and companies.
So yes, I got a fake. Sad. If you want to get a cheaper version of the Naked palettes, then have a look around at some popular dupes, that are similar shades but don’t try to rip the Naked palettes off completely. Makeup Rev and MUA have some great ones. Or get a real Naked palette from somewhere you can trust, like Boots.
Have you ever been tricked into buying something that’s fake?
*Edit to add: After a long dispute, I finally got my money back from the buyer, though I first had to contact the buyer myself and wait for the resolution centre to expire before eBay got involved. Also, I seemed to be linked to a Facebook page or group and getting some traffic from there, I’d love to know where I’m linked if someone would let me know in the comments 😀
Teehee, bless ya. This made me giggle, but I’d probably do the same! Yep, I’d defo rather stick with dupes from MR or MUA. Oh well.. it;s pretty still! haha xx
This is why we should take away all spending privileges when you’re drinking haha! You should have checked in with your beauty guru buddies before purchasing this! What ya like! Ah well, we all learn this lesson the hard way and I doubt you’ll be doing that again any time soon! That fake palette looks awful, I’d be scared to put it anywhere near my eyes, being a fake I can only imagine what nasties they’ve put in those shadows!
Sarah 🙂
Oh no way! 🙁 For Christmas, someone bought me a “Naked smoky” palette – what should be ‘Black Market’ is spelled ‘Blaco Market’, which is a real give away 🙁 x
Viva Epernay
I didn’t know that there were fake palettes out there – thanks for alerting us and I’ll know what to look out for
This is scary and the reason I never buy make from eBay. I am reluctant to buy even from amazon for the same reason. I wouldn’t use it if I were you, they can contain dangerous stuff in them. What a shame.
Wow I never trusted in shopping on ebay so sorry you got dupe but we live and learn thank you for sharing your experience and informing us of the idiots out there who are taking advantage in making a buck and fooling others to believe they buying the legit brand. Shame on them.
Aww no so sorry you got a fake one! Hopefully you paid through paypal and can get your money back!
Just as well that you figured out quickly it was fake – can you imagine if you’d not known and used the products? Who knows what they would be made of?! Especially for something you put near your eyes.
At least you got a funny story out of it and hopefully helped others who might have accidentally done the same thing.
I think getting a dupe is a great idea – not all of us can afford the price of a Naked palette but we also want the shades they consist of..
Candice
How annoying! I once got totally conned trying to buy a Coast dress (that I was supposed to be wearing as a bridesmaid for my sister’s wedding) in a bigger size. It looked like a dodgy site but I was desperate! When it arrived all the girls in the office had such a laugh – there had been not even the smallest attempt to match the dress, it was a different colour and a ‘bought off the market stall’ cheap polyester number. In hindsight it was quite funny, not so much at the time!
Hahaha! I’m sorry, Corinne, I know it’s not funny and you wasted your $$$ buying a fake but the way you wrote your experience made me LOL! I always buy from Sephora and avoids buying from eBay because there are way too many fakes out there.
Aw this is a shame! I’ve never bought anything fake myself but I once received some makeup for my birthday from friends that was! I got suspicious when I noticed a spelling mistake on the packaging and then went into a store where they confirmed that it was fake! Funnily enough the quality wasn’t actually that bad although dread to think what might have been in it!
Amy xx
Such a great article! I’ve been fooled with MAC products at the beginning of my makeup artist career. 🙁 I’ve bought a set of brushes (they turned out to be the worst brushes I’ve ever touched) and some mono eyeshadows (with a smell of kids paint for art class 🙁 ).
Would you mind if I refer to your story in this post of mine? I have a paragraph talking about the dangers of shopping makeup from unreliable sources and your post would be a really great match.
What a shame that you bought a fake but this was seriously such a great post, really well-written and super funny (even if the actual incident wasn’t!) Thanks for the great post and tips! XO -Kim
http://www.thethirtysomethinglife.com
What a shame that you bought a fake but this was seriously such a great post, really well-written and super funny (even if the actual incident wasn’t!) Thanks for the great post and tips! XO -Kim
http://www.thethirtysomethinglife.com
Oh no! That’s so annoying! Is it totally unusable?
Hahahaa, OOPS! These things happen. I probably would have done the same.
Great guide on spotting a fake one – I’ll use it next time 🙂
Lyndsay | Fizzy Peaches Travel & Lifestyle Blog
I had no idea you could get a fake Naked Palette, to be honest. And I have to say, it looks pretty real, at least at first sight!
113-things-to-say.blogspot.com
I wanted one for a while, but I don’t feel like spending 30 pounds for something I will rarely use so I had a look at amazon and other sites of the sort but none of them ever convinced me.I am really sorry yo had to go through this when you could have spent the money on a Makeup Rev or something to get a much better quality palette. Anyway thanks for the tips! Amazon is always tempting as they have prime and one can avoid paying the enormous delivery fees
Oh no what shame, why people sell rip of products I don’t know it’s really shady. Hopefully you can still find a use for it Lucy x
Oh, woah! I didn’t even realize there was a Naked palette black market haha. At first glance I can definitely see how people would fall for it.
For this exact reason I rarely buy from ebay. I would rather save up and buy the original from the actual company than risk paying for a fake. Its just far too easy these days to get scammed into buying a fake
I’m sorry that you got a fake! That is annoying! I bought my work colleague this (real) palette as a leaving present as I knew she loved them and was shocked at how expensive it was as my own UD palette was much cheaper (not naked) a few years ago.
I’ve not bought anything fake for serious money-I picked up some men’s Loakes brogues in a chazzer which we realised were fake since the label looked different to my husband’s other ones but since I only paid £3 in a charity shop,,I wasnt too bothered. He still wore them!
You have such a funny writing style. I always enjoy tales of drunk Corinne!
This happened to me!!!
I bought the lorac mega pro palette last year and because I’m trusting (stupid) and wasn’t familiar with the brand I thought it was legit!!
But even an innocent like me knows somethings dodgy when lilac is spelt ulac
Bex x
That’s a bummer! I never would have thought to check about fake palettes…
Wow I din’t even know fake versions of the Naked palettes exited but I do now. That really bites but thanks for passing on this useful info on the counterfeit palettes. I guess some things are too good to be true.
I once bought a Lancome mascara emoty inside..
empty*
That’s a pity it’s really a bad palette((( I have never seen fake Naked palettes))
http://fairyland111.blogspot.com/
Another thing I noticed is that your brush is only one sided while the Naked palette brushes have two ends. I’m sorry about your experience but it was very kind of you to share your (funny) story with us. A lesson we can all learn from in the future!
I bought two Mac lipsticks from a legit looking site at Christmas, they took there time to arrive and they are fake. The packaging is really good but its really obvious when you swipe it. there basically no colour, and the texture and smell is off. It’s like the fake ones you ge for little kids. £15 down the drain, I don’t know what to do!
I actually like buying these things in store because of this. But if impossible (and being in Portugal makes it impossible sometimes), I like to go on the original site. I’m just very skeptical when it comes to things like this. I’m always scared I’ma get lied to – especially online.
But I totally see why you bought it (duh, it would have been so unexpensive if true?????). From now on though I do hope you are more careful love!
Ella x
Well, think that as least you didn’t get a fake one for the original price! It would have been much worse, right? These people, seriously, what’s the point of doing this to others??
Aww no! Bless you 🙁 It’s so easily done though. I don’t think I ever have bought anything fake, yet *touch wood*! But these con people are so good at making things look very similar, and especially when you are buying online, it can be hard to tell! xo
Love that you still made this post humorous! I’ve never bought a fake, luckily. I know which websites to go on to buy authentic and legit makeup. eBay is a huge no no for makeup to me, I don’t mind their cheap brushes and so. I find the box of this rather strange – 2015 edition? It’s not as if the packaging is made to look any different! Such a shame you bought a fake but thanks for sharing how to spot one xx
Jasmine || http://www.blogsallbeautyy.blogspot.co.uk
That sucks you got a fake one, thanks for sharing so we know what to look out for!
I really enjoyed reading your post, it was really funny, informative and well written! X
I can’t believe that happened! It sucks! I’ve never bought something that was fake before *touch wood* and i hope i never will, i’m totally gobsmacked
lovely post though,
Daizy | http://www.ZyaandDaizy.wordpress.com
This post made me laugh a bit because I can totally see me getting drunk and doing the same thing!
So sad that people scam others like that, but I guess we can’t trust everyone.
http://Www.justbeingbrooklyn.com
First of all, I want a bottle of that wine in my life ASAP!! Secondly, thanks for the heads up on what to look out for- good looking girl!
Rhenicia | Beauty By Rhenicia
Ah hun, so sorry you got conned! Just to help others out though, another tip is to look at the brush. The UD one is double-sided, but I’ve found lots of the fakes only have bristles on one side.
Great post! I’ve ended up doing something similar before but with a different brand and well, lesson learned. At least you know for future reference!
ahh I’ve read and seen youtube videos of people getting fake palettes. They look so really in the pictures but when you look closely you can def tell the difference. So sad you got a fake one doll. I def agree to find dupes with other brands and stuff.
xoxo dazzlemxo
dazzlemxo.blogspot.com
So sorry to hear that! You know what, you can take your money back!
Open an ebay case and report the seller. Ebay provides support and money back to customers.
I got my money back from a fake Chanel parfum.
(Let me know if you want help with that).
x
Stella from a Looks & Travels
oh dear ! Idiots are everywhere and I found a lot of them on eBay actually , I never trust anything that look too good to be true like that one time I found a ‘genuine’ Chanel hand bag (second hand) on eBay for like £30!! yeah right ! but to be honest with you you just need a bit of wine to forget and …Boom it’s too late. Sorry about that but at least it became a very good post 🙂
That’s a really convincing fake as well! (except for the box)
I bought my Naked 3 off eBay and am forever paranoid about it, even though I’m pretty certain that it’s real (I spent £30 on it though). I don’t even trust myself to buy Real Techniques off eBay these days!
The ‘how to spot a fake’ tips are really handy though, great post 🙂 x
Oh dear! At least you’ve remained in good spirits about the whole thing 😉 buying makeup off eBay is such risky business I think it’s always best to just bite the bullet and buy the original from a trusted seller…even it means living off pesto pasta for the rest of the year because you can’t afford food! X
I didn’t even realize fake makeup was a thing. Why would anyone go through so much trouble to create these fakes?
Haha oh no! It happens to the best of us! I bought a fake Bare Minerals Ready Foundation from eBay once (no wine involved in the purchase), that’ll teach me to try and save a few pennies!
Have you bought the Naked palette now? Xx
I was given a Naked 3 palette for Christmas, and started having the same doubts as you – and after researching it I’m pretty sure it’s a fake.
I can’t bring myself to tell the person who gave it me, I just hope they didn’t pay full price for it!
It’s all experience to remember for the future though
Nicky X
Teaandtakeaways.wordpress.com
Ahaha! This made me laugh! At least you can laugh/drown yourself in wine over it! I bought a fake LiLash from Amazon last year and lost a good bottle of gin and almost my eyelids over it! I now always email the brand if it seems too good to be true, they’re normally pretty good at steering my cheap-deal-hungry self the right…I mean more expensive…way!
Beth xo
i had no idea about these little warning signs…great post :3 x
Quirks & Queries
I love posts like this. I have bought a fake before by accident, and even worse – we own a brand and people often rip off our product. However, my view is that it must be good if people want to rip it off. My fiancé thinks the opposite and gets really annoyed! Xx
It’s very easy to be conned out of your money, especially when it’s hard to tell if a product is fake or not. I’ve decided to avoid Ebay and Amazon when it comes to a makeup shop, I think I’d rather have the real deal if I’m going to spend my savings on it. x
I love posts like this. I have bought a fake before by accident, and even worse – we own a brand and people often rip our products off, selling them on Ebay. Personally I take it as a compliment (although not ideal), but my fiancé gets a little annoyed. Xx
The exact same thing, including the wine (I had Cabernet!) happened to me too! I had no idea there were Urban Decay fakes! Got Naked 2 and 3 on eBay for $40!! After using Naked 2, just for once I realized there was something weird about it. Checked the blogs, kaboom! Darkside was spelled “Darksioe” etc. I was so embarrassed for being such an idiot, for thinking I could score a Naked palette for 1/3 the price!
I called urban decay & sent them the products… confirmed fakes! They told me their lawyers were going to sue the seller on eBay?!
Lol oh wow! I love that you’re able to laugh about this. I usually avoid eBay at all costs. I’ve heard too many stories about scammers. I didn’t know there were companies selling fake cosmetics! I must thank you for the giggles and an informational post.