Hi friends, happy week… day? This is my first time trying to post biweekly, and I’m so excited to be able to stay true to my word! I know not a lot of people even read my blog, and that’s okay, because the few people that do and continue to support me come to me with great ideas and questions, and we have awesome chats that give me so much happiness during a sort-of dark time in my life. I hope maybe makeup and beauty can be an escape for you, too.

I was originally going to start my “palette series” today, where I compare super sought after palette collections like the Naked collection from Urban Decay all against one another to help you decide if they are worth it or if one is better than the others etc. But I thought that today’s post should predate the series, just to give an idea in general on what to be looking for in an eyeshadow palette. I was sort of inspired to do this when I did a super short mini review on my instagram of the Royal Peach Palette.

(plus, like I’ve said a million times, eyeshadows are my favorite things and I love, love, LOVE to talk about them!)

Palettes, in my opinion, tend to be the biggest deal in the makeup world – brands pump them out often and with a lot of hype. They tend to be one of the priciest things you can invest in, with a high-end palette typically ranging from anywhere from $30 to $75 dollars. Just look at the much loved, much talked about Sweet Peach Palette from Too Faced and the crazy PR campaign it had when it re-released: a lot of money is spent by companies to get you to buy these things: so today let’s talk about how to figure out what is worth it, what makes up a good palette, and what kinds of palettes you should have in your collection.

First, before I talk about anything else, I need to give a quick finish guide and a quick little blurb about quality.

(this is an awkward photo and angle but it had all the finishes I wanted to talk about in one palette, so sorry about that!)

Eyeshadows, as we know, come in all different colors – but they come in all different finishes as well, referring to their textures and how they reflect light! These are the most common finishes you are most likely going to come across:

• Satin – Mildly/softly reflective, light shifts with movement, no glitter.
• Matte – No reflection, color is “flat” with no shine or glitter.
• Foiled/Shimmer – Highly reflective, may contain glitter, bright and shiny (some people consider foiled to be like a more intense version of a shimmer with highly reflective light shifting).
• Glitter – Contains glitter! Often a matte shade with specks of glitter thrown in, but can also literally just be a whole bunch of pressed glitter.
• Duochrome – Reflective, and color shifts with light from one to another.

This is not the best explanation and there are tons more finishes in the world, plus things like pressed pigments (basically concentrated color), and cream shadows etc. Again, just a mini guide. (ps, these shadows are from Makeup Geek!)

Another thing I want to mention is that in those swatches, (done finger to arm in one swipe, no primer) you can see that the shadows don’t crumble or fade off, they are highly visible and pigmented, and don’t need much building up at all. The second to last, burgundy shadow, though, does feel a little drier than the others and you can see it is not has bold as the others. Overall, this palette has a range of finishes, shades, and tones, and I believe I could easily get multiple looks with just this one palette without having to reach for another.

(To read a little bit more about quality, check out my “What To Look For In A Product Review” blog post.)

This leads right into what I personally look for an an eyeshadow palette – am I going to be able to get a variety of looks with just one palette? For me, I like to do highly detailed eye looks with crease colors and lower lash colors and glitter and multiple lid colors, etc! I like to look at a palette and immediately have inspiration for what I can create because of the variety given.

(side note – a post called “Anatomy of an Eye Look” is coming in the near future)

Besides variety, how do I feel about all the colors or finishes? Do I know I most likely will only end up using one or two colors, or out of (let’s say) 16 shadows is there only one that I am not all that crazy about? I will admit, I have been guilty of buying palettes for just one color in the past (don’t be like me), but if you’re not an over the top makeup addict like myself, then please stray away from doing that. Make sure you are going to get use from every shadow in a palette, especially if it is a pricey palette. Of coarse it’s okay to have favorite eyeshadows and to use one or several more than others, but don’t waste your money, especially when you can opt to buy single shadows instead.

For this reason, especially for a beginner, it might be best to stay away from a palette with TOO many colors as well. Too many shadows can be overwhelming and you might not know what to do with them all, where as a palette that is curated with fewer colors is designed for all those colors to work in coordination with one-another, and make it easier for you as the consumer to then use it (if you’re the kind of person that maybe just likes to use one color on the eyelid and call it a day, then this may be less important to you).

Let’s use the Morphe 35O palette as a prime example of what I am talking about: this is a palette with 35 colors, all warmed toned, with a variety of shades and finishes. However, many of these colors appear very, VERY similar and have just subtle differences. If you are new to makeup, or elaborate eye looks are just not your thing, then all of these shadows might be overwhelming and therefore a waste of money. If you DO like detail oriented looks, though, than those subtle differences could be extremely important to you. It’s all about your own tastes and styles.

I feel like I also need to take a moment to talk about “themed” palettes, also sometimes referred to as “gimmicky”. I’m going to, again, refer back to the Sweet Peach Palette by Too Faced. This is obviously a themed palette – it has peachy tones, all the names of the shadows have to do with peaches or the south, it has cute, feminine peachy packaging, and of coarse, it literally smells like peaches. It also came with a whole line of other peachy products including blushes and lip glosses (they even released sweet peach emojis!). Surely, there is a theme here, but many people also argue that it’s a gimmick – that all these cutesy things are supposed to draw you in, and therefore get your money. However – I do think this is a well rounded palette: it has shades that are different and a variety of shadows that all could work well together. I could most definitely get multiple looks out of this palette, and Too Faced tends to have good quality shadows with their tin palettes (holiday palettes, not so much), and, to me, they do these cutesy-themed palettes well. So in this case, the “gimmick” works for me – could it have easily drawn me in to a bad purchase though? Absolutely, so be careful when buying themed palettes for this reason.

Themed palettes can be tricky, though, if you’re unsure how you would use them. Above are some more palettes that I considered to be themed more-so than gimmicky: all neons, all glitters etc. These types of palettes are what I would (personally) consider to be supplementary palettes: meaning you would definitely need to use these in conjunction with other palettes in your collection to get a full look. While that is okay with me, as someone who hoards palettes (again, don’t be like me), if you’re looking to only spend money on a few key things then these might not be worth it to reach for at the store.

(all above palettes from Urban Decay, and I’m not picking on them, I think they are great and also great quality, you just need to know how to use them)

Above is the Tarte Tarteist Pro Amazonian Clay Palette. This palette, to me, represents what I would consider a well-rounded collection of eyeshadows. It has mostly mattes, with four foiled/duochrome shadows, but I like how the colors are arranged (you could easily go down each row to get one full look) and the variety it contains. Plus, the quality is worth the price tag, and the shadows blend beautifully.

I would also, equally, recommend the smaller and more affordable Maneater Palette from Tarte as an example of a well-rounded palette as well. Shimmers, reds, browns, highlight shadows, and there are not too many shadows for it to become overwhelming, but enough to get multiple, different looks.

I’m going to leave this blog post with my overall thoughts on building up a palette collection: while I clearly have like an obsessive problem collecting palettes, I honestly think the average, everyday makeup lover only really needs 5 to have a complete collection:

• A Neutral Palette: warmer brown and red tones – best for everyday
• A Smoky Palette: darker greys and blacks, maybe even with blues and purples, for going out or edgier looks
• An All-Matte Palette: not only to get a complete look from, but also to be used with your other palettes to grab a color that another palette might be lacking.
• A Colorful Palette: again, to be used with other palettes so you have the option of having a pop of color every once in a while, or just to experiment with color.
• A Fifth Palette That Sums Up Your Style: Maybe you like rosy blush toned palettes (like the Naked 3), or you want a palette of all shimmers (like the Foil Eyes Palette from BH Cosmetics). Basically, this fifth palette is your fun, expressive palette!

I would also suggest trying not to buy too many repeating themed palettes, like you really don’t need multiple palettes with all similar colors in it (like two smoky palettes or two neutral palettes). If you look at a palette and think “hmm, I already own shadows like these” then probably don’t waste your time or money with it, unless those are your absolute favorites and you can’t get enough of them. I personally love rich, warm red tones, so I tend to gravitate to those types of palettes, ya know? Also, I tend to repeatedly buy from brands I love (like Kat Von D) just because I love their quality, and after a while you’ll start to figure out what brands make your favorite shadows as well, which could maybe justify buying an extravagant or limited edition palette from them that you might not need.

All of these thoughts and opinions are just my own, and at the end of the day makeup is completely personal and self-expressive and you can wear it however the hell you want. Also, I want to mention that I know I suggested basically all high-end makeup in this post, but of coarse all these tips will work with more affordable drugstore options too!

One more time: just because I am a banana-sandwich crazy makeup hoarder, doesn’t mean you should be too. No one, I repeat, NO ONE, needs to own the amount of makeup I own: but (without getting into too much detail) I used to have some terrible habits in my life that I used to deal with my emotions, and during my healing I found makeup as a way to replace some of those bad things and as a way to express and take care of myself. It’s why I blog about makeup, because I love it.

Anyway! As always, I hope this post helped you and inspired you in some way! If you have any future post suggestions make sure to let me know, and thank you for all the support! Have a great rest of the week, and I’ll see you this weekend for another post!

-Lacie ❤︎❤︎❤︎