Don’t laugh, guys, but I’ve turned into the person who maps out a detailed plan for how her makeup collection will look in the next year!
A little backstory before I get to today’s question/topic. I finally purged all that old makeup I’d been holding onto for way too long, and now’s the time, I feel, to be more intentional about what I keep on hand. I really want this next iteration of my collection to be thoughtful and useful. I want to love everything. No dead weight!
Anywho, this got me thinking about eyeshadow, and whether or not palettes or singles are the way to go.
What do you reach for more often, and what’s more useful for you? Is it a palette? Or a bunch of individual singles? I’m curious to know your thoughts.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Singles or make-your-own palettes. I don’t want ANY shadows that I don’t use! I also have a very strong olive undertone, so I try extra hard to make sure that the shadows I buy look good on. I told you a couple of weeks ago that I bought some caviar sticks (after looking at one of your posts). I ended up buying the shades Wild Rose (looks like a coppery rose gold on me) and Rose Thorn (which looks like a cocoa brown). I also like to completely use up my makeup as much as possible, so that’s another reason I try to buy less. Empty products can be just as exciting as buying new ones! (Plus, you get to buy more!!!)
Hi Kimiko,
I adore Rose Thorn–such a great color! I’m looking forward to having a more streamlined collection so I can actually finish stuff (crosses fingers).
What are your go-to eyeshadows for your olive undertone?
I usually wear champagne-y pink, taupe (but it must be more gray than brown), cool burgundy (because warm burgundy goes absolutely orange on me) and virtually any shade of purple. (I am quite fond of dark purple. The caviar stick in plum is so good for me!)
I have Plum, too, and love it. I know it’s not an eyeshadow, but if you don’t have it yet already, you have to try MAC Prunella Eyeliner. It’s the best!
Thanks for the recommendation! Going to look at swatches of it now! 😁
I have swatches, so here ya go. Also, I can’t believe this post is almost ten years old, OMG!
Thanks SO much, Karen!!!
You’re welcome!
For me, I’d say palettes all the way. In fact since I got Urban Decay Naked 2 I’ve hardly touched my singles.
Definitely palettes. I have a hard time putting colors together and that solves the problem. It also gives me a chance to try colors that I would not necessarily purchase on their own.
That’s so true, Colleen. There’s something really nice about having all the colors picked out for you!
I like them both, but for day-in-day-out wear, I prefer palettes. I like well thought out quads or quints. A cohesive color story that suits my coloring and makes sense, can do the heavy lifting when it comes to creating myriad looks. A good palette means I only need to add a bit of eyeliner (unless the palette has a deep shade suitable for lining) and mascara and Voilà! my look is complete. When I’m in the mood for special effects, more pizazz, or a splash of color, I prefer singles that can be used to amp up my look. 😃
Hi Eileen,
I’m starting to think smaller palettes are the way to go, too. Between four and six shadows seems to be my sweet spot!
Overall, I prefer palettes as long as they are well curated and no more than 12 colours in a palette. Probably prefer 8 at most. However, there are some single shades that are not available in palettes and these are what I call the ‘bespoke’ shades and these are usually from NARS. I like to use some of these single colours over colours in palettes to create a new colour. I think this is the fun part of makeup.
Mixing and matching is fun. I will always be a sucker for the NARS shadows from the permanent line! Which ones are your faves?
The NARS singles that I have kept after a big declutter some time ago are Euphrate, Lasha, Mississippi Mermaid and Mykonos (cream texture). I have to admit I haven’t used them for a while as I wasn’t interested in much eye makeup during lockdowns! Have to revisit.
For daily eyeshadow I am such a one and done person. So singles. However, for going out at night I do like a beautiful quad. I’m currently loving Charlotte Tilbury Walk of Shame quad. Like you, I need to purge some of these palettes because I don’t use 80% of the colors.
Hi, Renee! I used to love doing multiple colors for daily makeup, but I’m at the point now where all I can really handle is one or two shades at the most. I looked up your quad and it’s so pretty!
Space is limited in our 115 year old Mission Bungalow so I keep my makeup collection small – this means palettes for eyeshadow (with the exception of my MAC Extra Dimension Shadow singles which I keep in my Mad Hippie bag with the M.H. Vitamin C Serum, liner and lip/cheek stains). Current favs are my Ilia one (not the one pictured in your post, the other one) and the Jane Iredale Naturally Glam one. I was thinking “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” for her next one, but after seeing Solar Flare . . . . .