Urban Decay 'Naked' vs Maybelline 'The Nudes'

Neutral palettes really took the beauty world by storm last year and although the trend seems to have died down, I've still noticed quite a few new options popping up. It's been refreshing to see more readily available and affordable brands release their versions over the past few months. The number of different palettes has gotten a little overwhelming, so today I'm comparing two quite popular options- Urban Decay's Naked palette and Maybelline's The Nudes palette.

Price
The Naked palette retails for $83 for 17g of product ($4.88/g), while The Nudes is available for $25.95 for 9.6g of product ($2.70/g).

Shade range
Both palettes contain 12 shadows. The Nudes palette has a few more matte options and cooler hues, while majority of the Naked palette leans warm and has only two matte shades. That said, there are a few I thought resembled each other. Here they are in a side by side comparison, swatched without primer.

UD Smog - Maybelline | UD Darkhorse - Maybelline

UD Sidecar - Maybelline | UD Half Baked - Maybelline

UD Naked - Maybelline | UD Strange - Maybelline

UD Creep - Maybelline

So while some shades appear similar in the pan, they actually appear quite differently when swatched. Though the difference might not be as apparent on the eyes, I probably still wouldn't label any of them exact dupes. 

Quality/Application
I find Urban Decay shadows are easier to work with, as they are much softer in texture and apply with solid colour pay off. That isn't to say the The Nudes palette is bad, although I will say the matte shades required much more work to achieve the same pigmentation on the eye. Overall, the shadows were just a little stiffer. 

The Verdict?
These two palettes are actually quite different upon investigation, and if you're anything like me, this justifies owning both. I personally prefer Urban Decay's version, just because there are more shades I find myself gravitating towards. That said, it comes with a pretty hefty price tag and you would definitely be able to achieve similar looks with the Nudes palette.

Have you tried these two palettes? If so, let me know which one's your favourite.