After I’ve reviewed a lot of palettes, one of the questions I get asked every so often is to provide recommendations for more of a do-it-yourself option. This post are some of my top picks for a cool-toned, neutral-themed “palette,” so-to-speak, though to balance, there should be a few more your-skin-but-better kind of shades (will depend on your skin tone) for highlighting, all-over, and transitioning. I chose shades that are permanently available individually that were under $20 each. I also skewed towards medium/dark shades, as the right shade of lighter/light-medium or all-over lid color will depend on skin tone. For some additional shades of browns (which I don’t have full reviews for/good photos, so they’re hard to include visually), also consider MAC Concrete, Mystery, and Copperplate.

1. MAC Typographic — a soft, blendable dark gray with a matte finish
2. Urban Decay Mushroom — a shimmery, cool-toned taupe
3. Make Up For Ever #79 — a deep, purpled plum
4. Inglot #326 — a deepened, cool-toned brown with reddish tones and a matte finish
5. Maybelline Tough as Taupe — a creamy, cool-toned taupe with a mauve tint–I know, you can’t stick it into a palette, but it’s such a great budget-friendly cool-toned shade
6. Inglot #434 — a shimmering, purplish taupe
7. Makeup Geek Galaxy — a cool-toned, shimmery gray
8. Inglot #350 — a cool-toned, light-medium beige with a matte finish
9. Inglot #324 — a light gray with a matte finish
10. Urban Decay Blackout — deep, dark matte black

What cool-toned neutral eyeshadows would you recommend?