Makeup is an expressive art form. Blending matte browns and glistening golds, champagnes, and bronzes onto our lids in countless configurations can feel just like painting a landscape.
As a self-proclaimed eyeshadow connoisseur, I own over 30 palettes. It’s the playful palettes that make my makeup-obsessed heart squeal the loudest—collections of colors, particularly bright shades, in an array of finishes, including shimmers, satins, and mattes. (Bonus points for any glitters and iridescent tones.) I don’t have a singular look or aesthetic anymore, instead incorporating a wide range of palettes.
Through my career in beauty, I’ve discovered new products and learn makeup artist techniques, and my passion for all things eye makeup remains strong. But trying to narrow down my favorites is like trying to separate my soul into pieces. OK, perhaps I’m a bit dramatic, but I would compare it to picking just one outfit from your closet and declaring that it’s your “favorite.”
I haven’t yet tried every palette in the world (though I’m happy to make that my life’s calling), but I’ve lost count of how many I’ve picked up, played with, and fallen for over the years. Of all the eyeshadow collections I’ve tried, though, these are my four all-time favorites. There, I said it.
Huda Beauty Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette ($32, hudabeauty.com or sephora.com)
As you’ve probably gathered by now, I’m not big on “plain” makeup, so I don’t own many nude palettes—to me, they’re usually far less exciting than their brighter, more vibrant counterparts. That said, Huda Beauty did it right with its Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palettes. With three different palettes curated for light, medium, and deep skin tones, it takes into account how the colors will look on the people who are wearing them rather than simply how they’ll look next to one another in the packaging itself.
When I do reach for nudes, this is one of the few palettes I’ll consistently pick up. I love the warm undertones of the pinks, tans, reds, and browns. With four shimmers and five matte tones, there are a remarkable number of eyeshadow combinations.
Try it if…you want a versatile palette in easy-to-blend, neutral shades.
Juvia’s Place Culture Palette ($38, juviasplace.com)
Juvia’s Place first enamored me in the mid-2010s when I first saw beauty YouTubers recommending the brand, and I’ve been hooked ever since. The brand accounts for about a third of the palettes I own, and I have to give a special shout-out to the Culture Vol. 1 Palette. As an eyeshadow maximalist, I never travel without three or four palettes, and this 30-pan palette is always the first one in my carry-on.
It has an incredible selection of rainbow shades in matte, shimmer, and duochrome finishes, all with names that reference people, places, and objects that are significant in West African culture. Kobo is an older form of Nigerian currency, but in the palette, it’s a punchy hot-pink shade that any Barbie would obsess over. Shekere is a West African percussion instrument made from gourds; inside the palette, it’s a vivid matte blue tone. And then there’s Calabash, which references a fruit that is both eaten and used in creating instruments, bowls, and other tools, reimagined as a multidimensional pink glitter with flecks of blue, green, and red.
Try it if…your life and your makeup collection could always use more color.
Dose of Colors Cutting Edge Eyeshadow Palette ($34, doseofcolors.com)
If purple is my first favorite color, green is my second, which is why I keep the Dose of Colors Cutting Edge Eye Shadow Palette close at all times. The palette comes with a set of five brown, gold, and green hues that work cohesively together for any green smoked-out or shimmery look. Three shades—Edgy (mustard green), Sundown (copper), and Cameo (khaki green)—are matte, while the other two are more metallic shadows, Top It Off (golden shimmer) and Rule Breaker (olive shimmer).
With only five colors, this palette may seem like a narrow selection at first, but the perfectly coordinated shades and multiple finishes give it a ton of versatility. Try playing around with different eyeshadow styles, like a halo, a cut crease, or a smoky eye.
Try it if…you prefer a curated set of shades and love to get glamorous.
Yva Expressions Magical Guardian Glimmer Duochrome Glitter Palette ($35, yvaexpressions.com)
I discovered Yva Expressions while scrolling on TikTok, and was immediately enamored by the shimmery duochrome shadows and the fact that the brand is Black-owned and anime-inspired. As a Black woman who loves anime and eyeshadows that glimmer in the light, the Magical Guardian Glimmer Duochrome Glitter Palette immediately called to me.
This super-popular palette is decorated with three anime characters on the front, and once you open it, you come face to face with eight kaleidoscopic hues that I love swiping onto matte hues from other palettes (namely Juvia’s Place Culture Vol 1 and Vol 2). My two current faves from this palette are Neptune, which features a pink and purple shift, and Mars, a stunning pink with an orange shift.
Try it if…you want makeup so bright and shimmery, you’ll feel like you’re floating in a nebula.
The post After Testing Dozens of Eyeshadow Palettes, These Are My All-Time Favorites appeared first on The Daily Beast.
