The best budget neutral palette – I Heart Makeup Naked Chocolate Palette (£7.99)
I know lots of people love their Urban Decay Naked Palettes, but for me, there is one palette I would recommend to people, who don’t have that sort of budget but still want great quality. It has to be the I Heart Makeup Naked Chocolate palette! This is a palette which looks pretty basic and monotonal but when you start to play with it you will find the possibilities are endless. Not only do you get a good amount of looks out of this, the quality is by far the best I have used in a budget brand, in fact, in my opinion better than some of the higher end counterparts. The shadows are super blendable and pigmented, including the mattes which is not always easy to come by in budget palettes. Every shade is usable and you don’t get repeats or duds.
As you can see from the photo, this is a well-loved palette, so much so that I may have to repurchase due to it being broken. Whilst I have so many neutral palettes this is the one I tend to reach for when I am going to a fancy event, or I want my eyes to be their best. And to top it all off, it does have a very subtle cocoa scent, especially the more you use them, the more you can smell it. Admittedly, this is the palette I wished the Urban Decay Naked 3 was.
The best all matte palette – Stila Eyes are the Window in the shade Mind (£30)
Looking at this Stila palette you might think you have seen it somewhere before, and you’d be right. It’s not because it is a palette that people talk about but I have found that when the Urban Decay Ultimate Naked Basics Palette came out, the shades were almost identical. At the time that palette was so overhyped and I knew I had seen the shades somewhere before so when I pulled out this palette to use I noticed similarities. So much so, when I visited Selfridges on a Vlogger day out I took this palette (and a few other items I felt might be dupes for higher end brands) with me to test them out. They had the Urban Decay Ultimate Basics palette on the stand and I swatched them side by side and there was hardly any difference, besides the fact the Stila one had been out 18 months at least before it was released.
This palette to me is my fail safe palette. Every look I create is outstanding and it has all your needs for cool toned, warm toned and just all round every day looks. The shadows are not powdery but instead very smooth in consistency. The finger swatches are ok but this palette definitely performs better using a brush. Super blendable and buildable, but with great pigmentation and the price tag isn’t too bad for what you get. If you are looking for an all matte palette that will be a firm favourite in your collection look no further. There is often offers on these palettes so look out for them when you can.
The Luxury Brights palette – Viseart Editorial £64.00
I hear you gasp at the price of this palette and believe me, it wouldn’t be in here if I didn’t think this was one of those ‘get what you pay for’ items! This palette is exceptional and one of those that works alongside your collection. I know it’s extravagant to have a palette that doesn’t give you a complete look, but the pigmentation and performance of each and every one of these eyeshadows, will make any bright coloured eyeshadow wearer weep with joy.
This again is an all matte palette so it makes it very unique, but the consistency in how each one of these performs is incredible. I love playing with colour now and again and I find it’s particularly hard to get oranges, yellows and purples to show up true to colour but these are beyond perfect. They are quite hard to touch, they don’t have that buttery quality that some palettes have, but the shadows are not difficult to swatch or use, they just feel different. In a way it helps with less fallout, although there is still some. These Viseart palettes are just so ridiculously priced but if you do manage to get your hands on one you won’t be sorry. WARNING: Some of these shadows do leave a stain because the pigment is intense so my advice would be to use a good eye primer.
The quick and easy palette – Avon True Colour Eyeshadow Quad (£9.00 however regularly under £6)
A blast from the past - Avon! Who’d have thunk it? Although Avon is very much going strong, you rarely hear about their products on the beauty blogging scene. Maybe it’s an age thing or just availability but I have many of their products and there are some hits (and some misses). This quad is my overnight essential. If I am away with work and want to chuck a reliable eye look in my bag I often grab this. I only have the one palette, but they have over 10 in their collection, with more limited edition palettes coming out regularly.
For me, if you are someone who either doesn’t wear eyeshadow often, feels overwhelmed by the larger palettes, or doesn’t want that intense pigment and prefers to build it then these are for you. They have a number on each shadow and a graphic on the back that helps you to place the shadow in the right areas on the eye (if you wanted to do that) and then they can equally be used one shade at a time or however you fancy. This palette is no longer available but there are similar ones. The shimmer is so lovely in here giving an almost wash of colour or if you want it to be ultra metallic it can build up to that. The eyeshadows are good for the price, you get pigment and you also get a little fallout but it’s nothing major. I wouldn’t put them on par with the other palettes mentioned but I do really enjoy this and it would be great for someone just getting in to experimenting with shadows.
The best eyeshadow formula ever! Makeup Addiction Cosmetic Flaming Love and Meadow Palette (£26-£29)
I know I have cheated and there are two palettes mentioned here but they are just so spectacular I couldn’t just choose one. As far as I am concerned Makeup Addiction Cosmetics, which originally sold lashes and brushes, have cracked the best eyeshadow formula. You might ask why so I will break it down for you:
- They feel creamy and smooth, you’d think they might be a little bit wet but they are not
- They are all highly pigmented, even a gentle touch and you get the colour pay off
- There is NO fall out. Not one tiny bit. You swirl your brush in the pan and no extra eyeshadow dust flies up and around your palette. You don’t have to tap them off before adding to your eye as it won’t drop on your face. Each small tiny piece of eyeshadow will go from your brush and on to your eye
- You can use a brush, your finger, a cotton bud, anything and you will get the same result
- The shade selection is so unique and for me, they have the ideal Cadbury purple shade which shows the way it ought to
- You will never look at another eyeshadow the same once you have used these. They are game changers.
Amazingly you get 8 shades in large pans (the size of blusher pans) and they are all removable and the palettes are magnetic meaning you can either put them in your own customisable palette or you can switch them about creating new looks. They are in super slim (and super cute) packaging which also has a mirror and all this amazingness is under £30.
There you have it, my top 5 (well 6) underrated palettes that I feel are completely off the beauty community radar but should definitely be tried out. Are you inspired to try any? Do you have any of these and agree / disagree with my thoughts? Have you got any underrated palettes you think we should know about?
I’ve loved writing this post for Stephanie’s blog Hope Freedom Love and hope you have enjoyed it too. If so please check out my other posts on my blog or pop over to my channel for regular beauty videos.
Leah x
