There aren’t any singles that I currently use on the regular (not that there’s much I use regularly, haha), but I definitely don’t have a lil’ quad made up of basics or anything at this point. When I pull out singles, it’s usually because I have a color combo I want to do that isn’t in an existing pre-made palette, so I’ll grab my Sydney Grace singles (since there are so many) to do that idea in my head.
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There are two singles I use on a fairly regular basis. (1) As a primer for an evening smoky eye, I use Urban Decay Foxy to set MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. (2) I use MAC Grain on my lids very often because it’s usually a better lid shade than anything in many of the palettes I own. Other than those two, I try to do an all-singles look about once a week or so.
I have a lil workhorse 4pan I made from Mac– Shroom, Omega, Patina and Charcoal Brown.
Because I work with single eye shadows all the time, I’m very familiar with my collection. So, I’m not sure how to answer your question. I don’t think in terms of what palette to reach for. I think in terms of lid color, contour color, outer corner color, etc. And always in terms of color story. Sometimes i think in terms of formulas, like a cream and topper look. I am stumped how to answer this question. Selecting from a range of singles or selecting one palette from a collection of palettes? I think in terms of selecting a color story from a range of singles.
My fam of singles are all cool-toned, so it isn’t difficult to find a color story. All my shadow colors tend to go with one another, but I can always create a different look — smokey, one-wash, monochromatic shades, one-punch of color with an otherwise neutral look, etc., etc. Again, I’m stumped how to answer this question.
I have a little drawer full of palettes and some are pre-made brand palettes and some are just my smorgasbord of singles in palettes I made myself. When I go to do my makeup for work I just reach for a palette and roll with it. If I pull out a colorful one I’ll just pick another (usually they are on separate sides of the drawer so that isn’t an issue). Today I’m actually wearing some of my singles because I opened it up and thought “oh that looks pretty” and since I have everything I need in each of my singles palettes (brow bone, crease, lid, outer v deepener, liner shade, etc – obviously I like larger singles palettes… all mine are about 12-24 or so) I can always create a work appropriate look. For going out looks which are definitely more “fun” I almost always reach for pre-made palettes, sometimes my CP palette I made that is super colorful and fun so I can challenge myself, and on occasion I will bring in a super shock (technically a single right?) or break out my duochrome single. Usually easier to just use a pre-made though.
I use an old (but still good) Burberry single (Trench) as a base after applying eye primer. This is used no matter what else I use.
I then use 3 SG singles to deal with the deep-set aspect of my eyes (move up the crease, transition and deep crease). The only time I don’t use these 3 shades is if I’ve got a good standalone palette (which is rare).
After using any palette or singles for lids and crease, I always use a UD single (Laced) to buff out the edges of the outlying colors, lessen the darkness of the deep-set area, and cover the blackest area that has no shadow in it at all.
So basically, for the most part, I use singles as either a base for applying other products, to deal with deep-set issue, and to clean up and buff out at the end.
It’s all I use, currently the only palette I have is a Dior quint. But to be fair my daily shadow is a single cream shadow, it’s easy and works for me and my style.
Wait, I’m not good with words today. I use a single cream shadow for a daily look but I do have a handful of different single colors. I think my last post made it sound like I only own one cream shadow.
Since they are the only ones I have, I use them everyday I do eye makeup! My custom made palette makes my life so easy selection and storage wise, and I love planing the next shade to purchase.
Not as much as they *should*, considering how many I have. I’ve got to change that ASAP because other than MAC Orb, Kid, Haux and Soft Brown, most aren’t getting utilized to their fullest potential. I tend to use my premade palettes far more often. This has led to neglect of some phenomenal and beautiful shades in my stash.
I only use singles, but I also depot all my palettes. 🙂 Wouldn’t have it any other way. I wish more palette manufacturers would be as considerate as Colourpop when it comes to making palettes that are easy to depot.
Nothing routine about my singles actually. They’re there for the rare occasion when I want to play around with combos. I should probably stop buying them.
Almost all the shadows I own are singles, and I have them in small nine-pan magnetic palettes and rearrange them into a capsule collection for each month, season, or mood or whatever I feel like. I gave up on palettes because there’s always something I don’t like or can’t use, so I rather put together my own! I also see a lot more clearly what kind of shades I go for and what might be missing from my collection this way.
I don’t do a full look with singles very often. I use ABH single in Love Letter as my brow powder. Other than that, I mostly use a single when I need a certain shade that is not in the premade palette I’m using at the time. For example, when I need a good crease shade that’s light enough, a matte bright, a brow highlight, or I want a special color/finish on my lid.
My singles tend to be bright colors, mainly greens and blues, and I tend to wear that type of look only in summer. I guess it’s a holdover from when I used to tan. If it’s summer, I use them almost daily, combined with some old neutral singles from my corporate days. The rest of the year I pretty much don’t use them at all.
I tend to use single shadows to fill a hole in any given palette that I am using. A lot of palettes don’t have a light enough, matte shade for a brow bone shade or a transition shade that works with my look. I also use singles if I am doing a monochromatic look and I have a group of singles that work well for that. I love green shadows and purple shadows so I have quite a few across several brands. It is easier to grab those than hunt through palettes to find a group of greens, etc.
I only use single eyeshadows when I make a conscious effort to do so because normally I would reach for a palette. It helps if I have a few singles, as I do with the City Color singles, in co-ordinating shades so that I can use them all for a look.
Or I may pull out a single to work with a couple of other shades that I want. For example when I use Tiana from SG – I really don’t have that shade in a palette, so I will use that with those from a palette.
I own a couple of custom Sydney Grace palettes and a small handful of Pat McGrath and 2 NARS single pans. I tend to use pre-made palettes more frequently (In fact, I seem to love to juggle multiple pre-mades in my lap at the same time.. ?).
I typically reach for my SG palettes for cooler looks as I tend to pick out the cooler shades from their arsenal because they are unique to my stash and they do cool shadows far better than many; especially the mattes. I’m not happy with how I have the palettes organized (Installed as acquired), but been holding out as I always seem to stick a finger nail in a shadow when I move them.
I only use singles to line my eyes with shadow and then put a neutral in the crease.
I use a lot of the Colourpop one’s as a single shadow and a few other brands. I have deep hooded eyes and wear glasses so all the work to do gradient shading or a cut crease is just wasted because no one will really see it. The only thing that really stands out is the eyeliner. The rest is lost when my eyes are open. I tend to use single shadows as that hit of color when I blink.
My singles are limited to dark mattes to use as liner or to set my pencil eyeliner (MUG Corrupt or Bobbi Brown’s Black Plum) and MAC Nylon to use as an inner corner highlight.
I use my single eyeshadows everyday, in powder or cream or liquid. They are always in rotation, even when I work with a palette, I always use a single shade together, I want to use my collection, to the extent possible.
I really like single eye shadows. I found myself annoyed by the colors in palettes that don’t work for me. So I started depotting them and creating my own palettes. But I missed the physical structure of a palette–The clean lines separating every color, all the pans being the same size and organized. So then I started reusing and filling my most attractive palettes. They looked good, but it was annoying if a shadow wasn’t the right size to fit in. Finally, I found cheap plastic palettes on Amazon that had a slot for each round palette. That helps. What I really want, is a palette that can house multiple sizes of pans with a border around them. Maybe have a grid system with holders that can house a round or a square pan that snap together into a palette. So it holds all my shades with spaces between them, round or square? But, my plan is to switch to singles all the same size in the future. But first, I need to finish up what I have. I actually really liked Makeup Geeks’ 9 pan palettes. I would just recover the outside with packaging from another palette to make them distinct from each other. But now, they’ve switched to square pans. Sigh……
I primarily use singles–I have a pretty big collection of them. I tend to choose one or two metallic lid shades and then build around that with mattes that go well with them! I like to use Temptalia’s Color Stories to think up new looks and to record looks I’ve tried. Here are a few recent ones:
https://www.temptalia.com/color-stories/rose-all-day-bravo/
https://www.temptalia.com/color-stories/xmas-eve-look/
https://www.temptalia.com/color-stories/chocolate-raspberry/
https://www.temptalia.com/color-stories/troops/
I have quite a few z-palettes full of singles, mostly Colourpop curated. But the one that stays on my vanity is one I curated. It’s a 24 pan palette, mostly CP, but I think there might be some Makeup Geek in there. It has everything I am likely to either need or want. I love yellows and grays, so there is a yellow/gold row and a gray row (with silver and black). There is also a cool brown row, a warmer/neutral brown row, a red/orange row, and a row of brights – matte and metallic pink, matte purple and aqua. Since I almost always use palettes, these singles are to either complement or complete my palette. I can easily do looks with just my z-palette, several of them, but that’s not generally what I use it for. I use it if I need a transition, a deeper outer corner, a pop of color, another level of a color. It’s just a staple on my vanity, like my favorite lash primer or other HG product.
I might be the odd woman out here but I use singles all the time. I’m 60 and there really weren’t palettes when I started using makeup in the 1970’s. I recall getting a huge set of Estee Lauder eyeshadows as a GWP but they weren’t a “curated” palette. In the 1990’s I would get the occasional 4 pan “palette” from Revlon or MAC. One from MAC that I loved was Liza Eyes daytime but I used two shades all the time and 2 just sat unused. I have never seen a palette from any brand where I felt confident I would use each shade at least some of the time. Just not my thing. Most of my singles are from MAC, Urban Decay and MUFE and I have made my own palettes. I like neutrals, not much sparkly stuff. eg: Brule/Omega/Naked Lunch. I also use MAC paint pots Soft Ochre and Bare Study regularly.
When I’m doing someone else’s makeup, I tend to use singles, but personally, I rarely take them out…I think it’s due to being lazy about taking one shadow here and here and then a palette just to do myself, but I’ll take the time for others. I know, I need to work on treating myself to my best colors too! 😉