Collection Eyes Uncovered vs Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics

I'm sure you've all heard the hype surrounding the new Collection Eyes Uncovered pallets. They've been getting a lot of love online and respected bloggers such as Amelia Liana have even said that they rival Urban Decay shadows. Careful Miss Liana, those are some big claims...
Being a huge, huge fan of the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics pallet, I couldn't resist getting my hands on a potential "dupe" to put to the test. Especially if said dupe is going to mean repurchasing at a fraction of the cost in future. Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics: £25. Collection Eyes Uncovered Pallets: £2.99 (usually £3.99). Seriously, it's a staggering difference.

(Urban Decay on top, Collection on the bottom.)

I own rather a lot of eye shadows, most in pallet form, so despite the pleasing price tag I did the sensible thing and only bought the one Collection pallet; "Nude" the one most comparable to my Urban Decay Basics. Most comparable indeed... The pallets are also available in Nude Grey (a little shimmery for me), and Nude Bronze (gorgeous looking).
With six strikingly similar shades, Collection honestly looked like it was going to knock Urban Decay out of the water (water? park?) when I compared them at home. Collection had definitely taken a more shimmery route, with only the darkest two shades being a satin finish, whereas Urban Decay chose to keep things all matte for both their Basics pallets.

(Collection shades from L-R: White Chocolate, Buttercream, Biscuit, Chocolate Milk, Brown Sugar, Espresso) 

(Urban Decay shades from L-R: Skimp, Stark, Frisk, Cover, Primal, Undone) 

When swatched on the skin and worn on the eyes, the differences in the pallets become much more apparent, and our Collection Eyes Uncovered shades warm up considerably. The shades Biscuit and Chocolate Milk look like they'd be better suited in the bronze pallet, but that might just be my fair skin talking. The first shade, White Chocolate, also turned out to be useless. Even swatched on my boyfriend's very olive forearm, I just couldn't get any colour to show up. Now, if I had a totally unusable/dud shade in a more expensive pallet, I might feel a little conned, but for £2.99 I'm really not bothered as the pallet had outdone my expectations already.  Buttercream and Brown Suagr ended up being my favourite, with the pinky champagne all over the lid and Brown Sugar the cool taupe to define the crease. I've smoked Espesso along the lash line a few times too and it really deepens the look.
So which one is better? Well, I must admit that I don't find the lasting power on the Collection Eyes Uncovered pallet matches up to Urban Decay. The two really shimmery shades, Buttercream and Biscuit fade in intensity throughout the day which is something I don't find with Urban Decay. The Collection Eyes Uncovered are also less pigmented, but not badly pigmented at all. Both pallets are smooth and buttery, making them super easy to blend. Both pallets have a great shade range, with colours that flatter and work well together. Both pallets have classy packaging and are small and convenient to travel with. But only one pallet has the gloriously affordable price tag, and therefore I've got to say overall... Collection wins!

Whilst I still reach for my Urban Decay Basics 2 pallet more often, that's only because I have both pallets available to me. If you don't, then Collection is hands down the one I recommend you pick up. It'll cost a fraction of the price, create incredibly similar eye looks, and did I mention, cost a fraction of the price? If you end up reaching for the Collection Eyes Uncovered Pallet every day for six months, then maybe you should think about sticking a longer lasting Urban Decay version on your Christmas list, but don't rush to spend a large chunk of money on something you can easily dupe. Especially when many makeup junkie's will be pleased they only spent a measly £2.99 when, in a few weeks time, they're completely obsessed with a brand new pallet anyway...