Recently HUDA BEAUTY released their much anticipated first eyeshadow palette. It’s turned out to be somewhat controversial for a number reasons. First of all it’s pretty expensive at $65. Not to mention the $20 shipping charge from Dubai to America. Secondly the launch didn’t exactly go smoothly, to say the least. It was typical of what happens when a smaller brand releases a hyped up product and their website isn’t prepared to handle all of the traffic… the launch was delayed a few times, the website ran extremely slowly and crashed several times and the palette ended up selling out in a matter of days. And now that paying customers are receiving their palettes, the reviews are mixed. 

I posted my review and swatches a few days ago, if you’d like to see my thoughts. My feelings are as mixed as the reviews. I like the palette but I hesitate to recommend it for a number of reasons. The packaging is very flimsy and not what I’d expect from a $65 palette. And I’m also not sure that it’s worth its price tag but the biggest reason that I can’t fully recommend it is the metallic shadows. It’s a tricky formula and people seem to either love it or hate it. The formula ranges from difficult to impossible to apply with a brush depending on the shade. Personally I don’t mind using my fingers but a lot of people hate it. I keep my nails pretty short because I’m a mua but I know what a pain in the ass it is to use your fingers to apply eye makeup with long nails. If you don’t end up gauging the shadow pan when picking it up, you still have a 50% chance of impaling your eyeball when you’re trying to apply it. I’ve also heard complaints about it being unsanitary. I’m planning on doing a post next week about how I sanitize my makeup. The matte formula is decent, IMO but it didn’t blow my mind. And the whole palette is easily duped. So for these reasons I’m advising everyone to wait until it comes to sephora so that you can swatch the shadows and see for yourself. I would hate to influence someone to buy this palette and have them end up hating it. But don’t you worry guys! In the meantime I’ve got you covered with dupes! 

In all the photos the dupe is swatched first and the Huda swatch is second. These are not all exact dupes but they were closest colors that I could find that were sold individually. Later I’ll be comparing the Huda palette with the ABH MODERN RENAISSANCE palette. I’m certainly not suggesting that you buy all of these suggestions but you may only be interested in a few of the 18 eyeshadows in this palette. Or you may find that already have some of the dupes in your collection.

ROW 1:

The MAKEUP GEEK FOILED EYESHADOWS and ABH TITANIUM FINISH SHADOWS aren’t exactly the same as the HUDA metallics but the formulas are at least comparable. 

• Dubai and ABH Brownie- Dubai is a shade darker and maybe a smidge more olive
• Fling and MUG Curtain Call- Fling is a bit brighter than Curtain Call. It also has a smattering of fine gold glitter which Curtain Call is lacking 
• 24K and MUG Fortune Teller- Fortune Teller has a smoother finish and pulls more ‘antiquey’ than 24K. Antique meaning it has a bit of greenish cast 
• Rose Gold and ABH Henna- Henna isn’t an exact dupe for Rose Gold. It’s maybe a shade more red and it’s not glittery. If you mixed Henna with pink glittery shade that you already have it your collection like maybe Colourpop Sequin or Nars Outer Limits (really almost anything pink or peach with glitter would work) you could create a perfect dupe.
• Trust Fund and MUG Flame Thrower- Flame Thrower is more red than Trust Fund. A better dupe would actually be Sugarpill Penelope or Mac Copper Sparkle
• Angelic and MUG Wildfire- Wildfire is currently only being sold as a loose pigment (mine is pressed) but it’s a near dupe color dupe for Angelic.

ROW 2

• #Blessed and City Color Cleo- Cleo is lighter and little more gold (save $$$ at City Color with the code: BEAUTYCULT)
• Bossy and MUG Cherry Cola- Cherry Cola is a little darker and Bossy is a bit more brown.
• Flamingo and MUG Simply Marlena- Simply Marlena has some shimmer to it but the glitter doesn’t really adhere to the skin. It’s more like a satin finish whereas Flamingo is matte but they’re almost the exact shade of pink
• Shy and MUG Cupcake- Cupcake is more mauve than Shy
• Bae and MUG Mirage- Bae is a yellowish cream matte. Mirage was the closest thing that I had that was sold individually but you probably own a similar shade in one of your palettes 
• Moon Dust and MUG Magic Act- Magic Act is darker than Moon Dust

• Black Truffle and Saucebox Black Widow- Both of these are matte blacks. They look a little shimmery in the swatches but I think it’s just because I’ve got glitter oozing from my pores at this point. Any matte black would work but Black Widow is my favorite 
• Suede and MUG Faux Fur- Suede is slightly more brown than Faux Fur
• Coco and MUG Americano- these two are pretty close. Coco looks darker in the photos but I think I might of used a little more pressure when applying it. You could use almost any dark warm brown as a substitute.
• Maneater and MUFE Morello Cherry- these are near perfect dupes but Morello Cherry has a superior formula. There’s several other dupes for Maneater that come to mind… Melt Lovesick, ABH Venetian Red (MR PALETTE), KVD Bloodmilk  (SERPENTINA), the matte red in the LC VENUS palette etc
• Henna and MUG Sidekick- Henna isn’t a teeny bit more red but they’re pretty darn close. ABH Blazing would also be a good dupe 
• Sandalwood and MUG Tan Lines- these are both warm browns with subtle yellow undertones. I think they’re close enough that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart on the eyes 

And there you have it! Dupes for the whole palette! I hope you guys found this helpful and that you already have some of them in your collection!