EYESHADOW HAS COME an awful long way from chalky plastic pans and sponge-tip applicators. *shudders*
It’s all fancy now with blending brushes and a variety of textures on offer. We’re spoiled for choice.
One thing that just won’t cut it anymore though? Patchy, poorly pigmented eyeshadow.
We demand buttery, full-bodied, one-swipe coverage thank you very much.
Now, depending on what you’re after, there’s something for everyone – and plenty which don’t break the bank either!
Here are our faves.
1. Juvia’s Place palettes (Beauty Bay)
A holy grail brand when it comes to shadow pigmentation, Juvia’s Place is finally available on beautybay.com, meaning no more customs charges. Un. Real.
These shadows need to be seen to be believed – ginormous pans with intense colour pay-off.
If you’re looking for something wild, go for the Saharan Palette (above). Fancy something more neutral? The Nubian Palette (below) is the one that started it all, with lots of warm-toned browns for you to choose form.
The best thing? All of Juvia’s Place palettes are under €33.
2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette (€51.40 on Beauty Bay)
Pricier, yes, but the quality of the shadows in this palette is unparalleled.
The nudes and pinks mean you can create a wide range of dynamic looks – this colour set is particular gorge on green eyes.
3. Violet Voss Holy Grail palette (£43 on Cult Beauty)
Now obvs, you will pay shipping plus the conversion rate on this (sorry) but it’s worth it for the gorgeousness, trust me.
Dreamy.
Violet Voss have a wide collection of palettes, but the Holy Grail has established itself as a holy grail product, unsurprisingly, for its flattering earth tones.
4. Melt Cosmetics’ stacks ($48 – $58 on meltcosmetics.com)
Melt Cosmetics is an indie makeup brand established by makeup artists Dana Bomar and Lora Arellano.
After working on counters together, the girls started their own humble line, Melt Cosmetics.
Initially, they produced highly pigmented matte lipstick bullets, but they’ve since branched into highly innovative magnetic eyeshadow stacks.
Neat, huh?
The colour impact on these is insane – and the shades mean you can create really colourful looks, as well as more toned down stuff.
5. Kylie Cosmetics ($42 to $52 from kyliecosmetics.com)
Say what you want about the Kardashians, the Jenners or otherwise – Kylie has not fucked about with her cosmetic offerings.
The stuff is good.
While each of her palettes has offered something different in terms of colour, one thing’s remained consister – the colour pay-off.
She’s released five in total, with another on the way to coincide with her birthday. But the star of the show has to be her recently released Take Me On Vacation palette.
6. Sleek Makeup palettes (from pharmacies nationwide; from €10.45 on Cloud 10 Beauty)
The kingpin among drugstore/pharmacy brands, Sleek probably have the widest range of colours for the lowest price point.
7. Jouer Cosmetics Skinny Dip Ultra Foil Shimmer Shadows Palette (€40.30)
Anything beauty guru NikkieTutorials is obsessed with tends to be very good – this palette is no exception.
The glamour … It’s too much.
Those lighter shades could also double as highlighters, if you were that way inclined.
8. HudaBeauty Rose Gold palette (£56 from Cult Beauty)
Instagram star turned makeup mogul Huda Kattan has established a serious line of decent products – notably her Rose Gold textured eyeshadow palette.
Expect fallout from the glittery shadows, but otherwise, this is pretty perfect.
9. Morphe eyeshadow palettes (€22.95 – €25.95 from Cloud 10 Beauty)
Some people love these palettes, others load them.
You can’t argue with the offerings though, given just how cheap they are.
10. Inglot Summer palette (instore and online from €40)
This is a cop out because all of Inglot’s eyeshadows are incredibly pigmented. This palette just happens to take all of the work out of it for you.
Nice and fresh for summer too!
11. Zoeva Cosmetics (available at Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty)
Really cheap and really good. The Cocoa Blend palette remains the brand’s GOAT though.
12. Urban Decay palettes (available instore and online from debenhams.ie)
This goes without saying, surely? Every female on the planet owns at least one Naked palette at his stage, after the brand caused a frenzy with its initial release of neutrals.
A quick run-down on each one:
- The first Naked palette has 12 warmer toned neutrals: 2 mattes, 2 satins, 5 shimmers, 2 micro-glitters, 1 sparkle and a 2-in-1 double-ended shadow & blending brush.
- Naked 2 has 12 cooler tones neutrals: 3 mattes, 8 shimmers, 1 micro-glitter and a 2-in-1 double-ended shadow & blending brush.
- The Naked 3 palette has 12 rose-hued neutrals: 2 mattes, 1 matte-satin, 1 matte with sparkle, 3 satins, 2 shimmers, 2 metallic micro-glitters, 1 metallic with micro-sparkle and a 2-in-1 double-ended shadow & blending brush
- The Naked Smoky palette has 12 smoky neutrals: 9 brand new shades, 3 exclusives from past palettes, 4 mattes, 2 satins, 2 micro-glitters, 1 sparkle, 1 metallic, 2 shimmers and a redesigned 2-in-1 double-ended tapered crease & smoky smudger brush
- Naked Heat is the newest addition to the collection, with 12 all new amber-hued neutrals. And a brush, obvs.
Blend to your hearts content and wave goodbye to your disposable income!
