Urban Decay Smoked VS ELF Smoke Prism Eyeshadow Palettes

Hello again readers!

This is more of a fun post, rather than a full-on review. I was going through my collection and picking out things that have gone bad (which I try to do relatively often) and I took notice on some similar shades in my Urban Decay Smoked palette, and my ELF Smoke Prism Eyeshadow Palettes. I thought that it'd be fun to put them together, and compare the shades.

First off, the packaging for both are great in their own ways, The UD Palette is larger (as it holds more shades!), with a cloth coating and a zipper opening. It's a bit of a hassle to have to unzip it and re-zip it (especially if you *think* that you're finished with your look, only to notice you didn't blend a shadow far enough and it doesn't match up.

The ELF palette is much more sleek, and easier to access. It's smaller, with a matte black plastic packaging. They both have mirrors, but the elf mirror is the entire length of the palette, making it better for the space.

The UD palette has a total of 10 shades, where six of them are shimmery shades, and four of them are matte. The ELF palette has 6 shades, all in a shimmery metallic finish.

The UD palette is better for creating a variety of looks without having to pull in shadows from other palettes. With the addition of the mattes, there are shadows to add definition, transitions, and overall a better look compared to the ELF palette, which I feel needs other shadows pulled in to make the look complete.

The only shadows that I found truly similar were the jewel tones, which are the reasons for this post in the first place. Both palettes have jewel toned violets, blues, and greens

In comparison, the UD shades are more intense, and have a deeper color to them, while the ELF shadows are more muted. It's one of those things that I don't reach for jewel toned shadows often, but if I did I would want them to be incredibly intense.

Both shadows are good quality, easy to blend, and feel really smooth to the touch.

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The UD Smoked palette is unfortunately being phased out. It's a shame, because this is the first mid-ranged palette that i ever wanted to get my hands on, it's the palette that's held my interest for the longest amount of time. It was more expensive (originally $50, down to $30, and you can still find it for $20). Most of the shadows can be bought in singles, which is great if there's only a shade or two that you're interested in.

The ELF palette is a lot more affordable ($10, but if you wait till ELF has a 50% sale you can get it for $5 like I did!) and has a lot more shimmery shades to make really interesting smokey metallic looks.

If you're someone that craves those deep jewel tones, check out the UD singles, they're really interesting and really great pigmentation.

If you're someone who doesn't reach for jewel tones often, or prefer a more muted look, invest in the ELF palette.

Thanks for reading!