Powder Eyeshadows (Under $10) | 2017 Editor's Favorites
Best of 2017
Powder Eyeshadows (Under $10)
As 2017 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect back on the products I’ve reviewed during the past year and share with you my personal favorites. ColourPop blazed into 2017 with the release of powder eyeshadows, which I’m sure many were happy to see, and they really did not quit when it came to releasing more shades throughout the year. It’s no surprise that ColourPop dominated this year’s favorites! That being said, let’s not forget how amazing Coloured Raine’s recently released singles were.
What were your favorite affordable, single eyeshadows this year? Share your favorites in the comments below!
P.S. — View swatches of my favorites here!
ColourPop Glass Bull
ColourPop Glass Bull Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a medium, pinky-plum base with blue-to-teal shifting shimmer. It had semi-opaque... Read full review.
ColourPop Dragonfly
ColourPop Dragonfly Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a medium-dark taupe-brown with warm, rosy undertones and a frosted sheen. The... Read full review.
ColourPop Snake Eyes
Snake Eyes is a light-medium, golden taupe with moderate, warm undertones and a frosted finish. The consistency was drier, somewhat prone to fallout,... Read full review.
ColourPop Two Birds
Two Birds is a bright, medium-dark orange-gold with strong, warm undertones and a metallic finish. The texture was more loosely-pressed in the pan,... Read full review.
ColourPop Paper Crane
ColourPop Paper Crane Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a dark, coppery brown with warm undertones and a metallic sheen. The consistency... Read full review.
ColourPop Crown Jewel
ColourPop Crown Jewel Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a dark purple with subtle, warm undertones and a frosted finish. It had opaque... Read full review.
ColourPop Rose All Day
ColourPop Rose All Day Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a light-medium, golden green with warm undertones and a sparkling, metallic... Read full review.
ColourPop Tiny Tangerines
ColourPop Tiny Tangerines Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a medium, bluish-teal with cool undertones and a metallic finish. The... Read full review.
ColourPop Lil' Boat
ColourPop Lil' Boat Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a slightly muted, medium-dark brown with warm, red undertones and a matte finish. ... Read full review.
ColourPop Sea Stars
Sea Stars is a medium, caramel brown with warm, orange undertones and a matte finish. It had excellent color payoff that applied well to bare skin... Read full review.
ColourPop Board Shorts
ColourPop Board Shorts Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a medium-dark, golden bronze with warm undertones and a sparkling, metallic... Read full review.
Anastasia Rose Gold
Anastasia Rose Gold Eyeshadow ($12.00 for 0.06 oz.) is a medium-dark copper with warm undertones and a pearly sheen. The pigmentation was fully... Read full review.
Coloured Raine Date Night
Coloured Raine Date Night Eyeshadow ($6.99 for 0.064 oz.) is a dark plum with warm, brown undertones and a pearly sheen. It had rich, opaque color... Read full review.
Coloured Raine Passion
Coloured Raine Passion Eyeshadow ($6.99 for 0.064 oz.) is a rich, medium-dark red with warm, copper undertones and a metallic sheen. It was... Read full review.
ColourPop Side Tracked
Side Tracked is a light-medium brown with warm undertones and flecks of gold micro-sparkle over a matte finish. I didn't feel like the sparkles... Read full review.
ColourPop Boxer
ColourPop Boxer Pressed Shadow ($5.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a medium-dark, bronzy brown with a frosted sheen. It had rich, opaque color payoff with a... Read full review.
ColourPop Up and Up
ColourPop Up and Up Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.042 oz.) is a muted, medium green with cooler undertones and a warmer, golden sheen. It was... Read full review.
ColourPop Sideline
ColourPop Sideline Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.042 oz.) is a medium-dark olive green with warm, brown undertones and a pearly sheen. It had... Read full review.
ColourPop Pep Talk
ColourPop Pep Talk Pressed Powder Shadow ($5.00 for 0.042 oz.) is a light-medium, golden peach with warm, orange undertones and a metallic finish. ... Read full review.
ColourPop Pinky Promise
Pinky Promise is a rich, cranberry red with warmer undertones and a metallic sheen. The pigmentation was fantastic; opaque and true-to-pan in color. ... Read full review.
Coloured Raine Hot Cocoa
Coloured Raine Hot Cocoa Eyeshadow ($6.99 for 0.064 oz.) is a medium-dark brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. The pigmentation was opaque,... Read full review.
Coloured Raine Native
Coloured Raine Native Eyeshadow ($6.99 for 0.064 oz.) is a rich, medium-dark coppery brown with warm, red undertones and a matte finish. It had rich,... Read full review.
Coloured Raine Vintage
Coloured Raine Vintage Eyeshadow ($6.99 for 0.064 oz.) is a rich, coppery red with warm undertones and a frosted sheen. It was intensely pigmented... Read full review.
ColourPop Come and Get It
Come and Get It is a medium-dark pink with strong, more contrasting golden shimmer that gave it a more metallic finish overall. The eyeshadow had a... Read full review.
ColourPop Save It For Later
Save It for Later is a medium-dark gold with warm, bronzy undertones and a metallic sheen. It was richly pigmented with a smooth, cream-like texture... Read full review.
ColourPop Top Notch
Top Notch is a medium brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. It was richly pigmented and had a smooth, velvety consistency that was just a... Read full review.
ColourPop Note to Self
Note to Self is a slightly muted, medium brown with subtle, warm undertones and a matte finish. It had excellent color payoff that applied evenly to... Read full review.
ColourPop Paper Tiger
ColourPop Paper Tiger Pressed Shadow ($5.00 for 0.035 oz.) is a brighter, medium mustard yellow with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had good... Read full review.
ColourPop and Coloured Raine have fantastic, affordable eyeshadows that really put most of the HE brands to shame.
I tend not to purchase singles, the one I use the most is the L’Oreal Infalliable eyeshadow in Golden Emerald. That is a great range.
The Infallibles have been one of the few exceptional powder eyeshadows from a typical drugstore brand! Periodically, I’ll try a powder eyeshadow from those mass brands and just remain disappointed!
Generally, all/most of the DS eyeshadows are pretty awful. The Infalliable range was an exception and why L’Oreal did not make a palette from them is definitely a missed commercial opportunity.
I agree, for DS that’s easily available they are the best!
Spread out between their palettes in addition to singles I bought separately, I have most of the ones you picked from ColourPop! They seriously have hit the ground running when it came to their powder eyeshadow formula!
Me, too, Nancy! Really love my CP shadows 🙂
Given that it’s CP, it’s not a surprise that they inundated us all with the new formula!
Ummmm….sponsored much????
At least try to hide the fact that you’re probably ok morning one or two brands….
I don’t do sponsored reviews. I always disclose whether something was sent as a sample or if I purchased it myself – the majority of Coloured Raine eyeshadows I have purchased myself. I purchased many of the ColourPop eyeshadows listed on this post as well. Any sponsored posts are clearly marked as “Sponsored” right in the title of the post.
For single eyeshadows under $10, there aren’t that many I personally tried and reviewed this year that were under $10 outside of these two brands 🙂 MAC and Makeup Geek eyeshadows could have made the list but they did not put out any new, impressive ones this year (that were permanent). I picked my personal favorites – ones I would use again and again – and I didn’t limit myself to trying to pick a variety of colors, finishes, or brands.
Perhaps you could share your own favorites? That would certainly be more constructive + helpful if you could make suggestions of brands or shades I missed that maybe I could check out next year 🙂
I never ceased to be amazed with how professionally and calmly you respond to even the rudest of comments, Christine. You’re amazing.
She doesn’t do sponsored reviews, and for the under $10 category, there’s not much new stuff out there for this particular price point. No reason to take this so personally.
I’ve been following Christine for several years now (although I rarely post) I believe that her and Isabella from Musings of a Muse are the two most unbiased bloggers out there. If you start following her, you’ll see this for yourself.
How I wish both of these brands were readily available in a store somewhere near me! The only “under $10 singles” I can think of are those from MAC in the pro-pans and I don’t think any of those is a new shade for 2017; so far as I know, they’re all ones that have been around for quite some while.
There aren’t that many singles under $10 by brands – I think a lot of your typical drugstore brands tend to do more seasonal palettes vs. singles, though some of them do have a standalone single range. I know Wet ‘n’ Wild just redid their singles, but I haven’t yet tried but hope to try in 2018 (I have them, as I bought them along with the quads/palettes, but one arrived broken so I had to wait for that to get resolved before photographing).
I can think of MAC and Makeup Geek – I can’t recall at the moment if either brand even released permanent single/pans this year! Sephora’s singles were $10 but that line seems to be on the way out (I thought that for awhile, so I stopped considering it for something to buy for review, but they’ve hung around longer than expected!). Oh, City Color, but I don’t know if they released any new shades of their Shimmer Shadow (quite good).
You can get Anastasia/BUXOM for under $10 each if you buy in multiples, but their retail price is $12 each.
Here in Canada, Sephora shadows (except for the ones on sale which happen to be the ones on their way out) are $13 but I am thinking that for questions like this one, given the exchange and all, we Canadians can use $12 as our benchmark for $10 US products. I find it sad and also confusing that they discontinue so many of their shadows – even some of the more recently released ones. I wanted to buy “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and it’s gone entirely – not even in their “sale” section. A lot of their really excellent shades have been put in the “sale/on the way out” section. Anastasia Beverly Hills shadows are $16 each and about $14 when purchased in groups of 4 with the “free” empty palette thrown in (my problem is that I already have most of the shades I really like and would be hard pressed to find 4 that I want and the same holds true with Buxom….I’ve got pretty much all the colours I want/like/need but those shadows are a really good value here – roughly $8.50 when purchased 6 at a time and the palette thrown in, also for “free”).
Love colour pop shadows. Morphe has really good shadows as well. Karity has great ones as well.
I had heard that Karity eyeshadows were really chalky – what shades did you have good luck with?
I’m loving the ColourPop singles. I still haven’t tried Coloured Raine’s. I hope to soon. I’m also very happy with the Coastal Scents Hot Pots I bought for the first time this year (I’d only bought palettes before). I stuck with shades that got 4-5 stars on their website, and CS’s customers did not steer me wrong.
I’m also very pleased with the loose powder eyeshadows I bought this year: Apocalyptic Beauty, Notoriously Morbid, Fyrrinae, Darling Girl, and Black Beauty Cosmetics.
So many new favorites this year! Eyeshadows are my weakness. Also, these are all new purchases for me this year, but may not have been released this year.
CP 143 and Tiny Tangerines
Fyrinnae pressed Trick or Treat and all of their new, loose exquisits
Clionadh Cosmetics Calx and Pangaea
Beauty Escape Cosmetics Cepheus and The Huntsman
Darling Girl Cosmetics The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs (loose)
Looxi Beauty Aquarius, 79 and Omega
My Pretty Zombie Dance, Doll Boy! (loose)
Makeup Geek Backlight and Chickadee (not new releases, but new to me)
Devinah Cosmetics Oracle