Intense pigmentation, satin to pearl finishes (though I’m digging metallic finishes these days), smooth, creamy, moderately dense textures that aren’t too thick or too thin. If it applies pretty well on bare skin, I know it’ll be just that much better over primer.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Brands, first and foremost – MAC, Tom Ford, Chanel, Viseart, Pat McGrath (in any order) – I have to keep my brands in check otherwise it would be very problematic.
I’m a sucker for palettes and new releases (although I thought I didn’t fall for fomo anymore ?), so brands, new releases, palettes, and finishes – not necessarily in that order.
Eyeshadows ARE my weakness, specifically pre-made palettes. I probably have a couple of hundred palettes (no exaggeration) but only a half dozen single shadows and a few palettes that I created. Fortunately, there are brands from which I will not buy products and that list keeps growing.
Unique colors or color combos really draw me in. As well as eye shadows from brands I know I love (most I love tend to be consistent), which are typically heavy impact shadows!
I love when eyeshadows are creamy to the touch and are easy to blend… also any metallic that gives my lid a glossy look I swoon over.
Metallic finishes, duochrome effects, and shades of green that I don’t already have 🙂
I have a weakness for golden bronzey colors, it’s absolutely ridiculous. I am just not allowed to buy these colors at all anymore, I have enough to last me the rest of my life.
Nars singles (sometimes duos) and Chanel baked quads. I actually like medium pigmentation that blends really easily. The Chanel quads are so easy to use, you CANNOT screw up, the look always comes together.
Brands: there’s a few brands whose formulas I love and will collect their palettes. Also, there are brands I like but don’t collect for various reasons but will buy from occasionally. Texture/finish: I steer away from all matte palettes. Packaging: palettes that have terrible or inconsistent packaging.
I am also turned off when I feel attracted to only some of a brand’s offerings rather than all.
Unique colors! Most likely anything purple, green or earthy tones (mustard yellows and evergreens are always gorgeous). I have 101 orange warm tone colors, and frustratingly enough, none of the warm palettes I own have a true, pigmented red, so I keep an eye out for reds, as well as true burgundy.
I find it difficult to find eyeshadows these colors, and if a brand has these colors, there not pigmented enough or they’re a shade of safe.
Have you looked at Sugarpill’s Love+? It’s a seriously a true red and just wonderful!
Everything you said, Christine. I am drawn to bright intense colors these days.
Very evenly applying, well pigmented, but where I can still build it up type of formula for mattes. And yet, I’m enjoying my ABH Subculture Palette when the mood hits to wear some intense green mattes! For shimmers and metallics; bring on the rich as molten metal reflecting properties! I want those to give me full coverage, NO sheerness. With microglitter types, ie; Fenty Galaxy or UD Moondust, I will be applying those over glitter primer or with a damp brush on mobile lid only, so my only concern is that they can stay put using the aforementioned methods.
Oh – just about anything and everything. Eyeshadow is my one big weakness. Texture and finish-wise, Inglot’s Pearl and MAC’s Veluxe Pearl finishes are the type I love best. Colourwise….well, let’s just say it’s not surprising that I have a whole lot of dupes for Pat McGrath Sinful. I love those grungy bronze-y brown shades and shades with a hit of green in them – MAC Mysterious Influence or Inglot 419. And shades like ABH Vermeer, Gleam and Legend or MAC All that Glitters – those lovely and brightening lid shades – are bliss-bombs! Quads like Chanel Empreinte du Dessert or Clarins Forest….they just set my heart racing in their down to earth perfection. And I still have an old Hourglass Duo in Dune that is too beautiful for words. Oh, and the old Tarina Tarantino Dreamy and Emerald Pretty palettes. Seriously, I could probably go on for an hour or more….(I haven’t even touched on MAC’s Mega-Metals, Pro Longwear powder shadows or Starflash….how I wish they’d bring those beauties back).
Really cream like textures, whether they’re shimmers or mattes. They don’t have to be intense pigmentation since I’m not a makeup artist, so it’s nor a priority for me anyway. Just bound together really well and no excess powderiness.
I love e/s and am always looking for new shades, textures, etc. I need more cooler toned shades, good pigmentation, easily blended and fade resistant. I wear a shimmer or glittery topper almost everyday so need to have a couple of those in almost every palette.
My favorite formulas are Coloured Raine, Marc Jacobs, Viseart and Dior.
Quality, blendability — if a color is outside of my comfort zone but it’s very good quality from a favorite brand, I may try it for experimenting. Especially if matte or satin. These days I prefer singles, duos, trios or quads because I have so many — too many — larger palettes.
Basically everything. 😛
My weaknesses are warm neutrals (that super warm mid brown is soooo flattering on me), everything ColourPop and Makeup Revolution, and glittery cream shadows.
Eyeshadows, next to lipsticks, are my biggest weakness. But they have to be the shades I would wear – cool toned neutrals, jewel shades and rich olives.
I want them to be of a satin, some slightly shimmery finish preferably.
They have to rate well here on this blog and be of excellent quality in terms of pigmentation and longevity.
I don’t purchase any DS eyeshadows anymore and I have learnt, from reading this blog, that every brand can put out a winner and also a dud.
Since I am more than covered with mattes… Duochromes, high shine shadows, micro glitter.
I don’t mind a tad of building up but I want strong pigmentation. And good layering capabilities, blending, etc.
Eyeshadow is my true weakness in makeup… So if a quality product with interesting colours is released… Well. ?
Duochromes ! Especially blues, pinks, purple and grays . I can never resist and love to play with them .
Intense! Everything you said Christine! I’ve fallen crazy with the rustic colors madness can’t get enough of it.
May i add, i really love Petal Pusher and Comfort Zone from WetnWikd. i find them great and plain beautiful!
A perfect matte green will get me on board with almost ANY brand in NO time. I don’t even mean “perfect” as to say that the formula is AMAZING and LASTS FOREVER — I just mean the actual color itself: I don’t want a lime green and I don’t want a teal or turquoise. I want GREEN — a perfect balance of blue and yellow. No brands ever want to give me that other than Inglot!
As for textures: Anything really smooth and buttery – I really like Inglot/Lorac/Urban-type textures, glitter shadows (i.e.: the Saem eco soul glitter pots), high metallic, duochromes.
As for colors I have a particular penchant for aquas, teals (especially with gold pearl), chartreuse, and pale cream-toned mattes (to highlight the brow).
I love shimmers and satins. I am not a fan of mattes. If a palette has more than 2 or 3 mattes it is an easy pass for me. I actually don’t use primer everyday anymore as I find with good eyeshadow formulas I don’t really need it. I like my powders to be almost creamy with good color saturation and easy blendability. My favourite formulas are the old MUFE shadows and I really like some of the UD palettes. I love shimmery yellows, golds and bronzes without glitter and fall out and beautifully done jewel tones scream my name.
Shine. Sparkle. Fairly natural-looking colors.
Shimmers and sparkles! Neutrals, brights, darks…I love the shimmers. I’m even okay with entire shimmer palettes and eye looks. I think it’s bs that we’ve been fed the line that we must have matte transition shades. It’s like a cult belief.
I agree with you about the matte transition shades.
Eyeshadows are my biggest weakness, period, especially palettes. A great pigmented, long-lasting formula is a must. Good quality brights, purples, blues, greens, and reds because they’re hard to find. Shimmers and unusual colors. Duo- and multi-chromes, especially ones with unique color combinations (i.e., brown with a teal shift is pretty common; orange with a lime green shift is less so). Excellent mattes. I don’t wear them a ton, but when I do, I want good ones, and they’re not so easy to find.
As far as brands, I have big weaknesses for Urban Decay and ABH, and for indie shadows.
My name is MacKenzie and I’m and eyeshadow addict. For real though, I have a serious love affair with matte eyeshadows, and I will collect colors with only slight variations in undertone because I just can’t help it. They’re just so versatile! However, I’m also beginning to appreciate metallics, shimmers, glitters, etc., and my collection is now home to several UD Moondust, Nabla Celestial, ABH Titanium, and MUG Foiled shadows. Basically eyeshadow itself is my weakness.
Intense pigment, jewel-tones, and duo chromes! Shift baby shift! And when they do, I’m on the palette or single like a dog on a bone.