Do you enjoy creating your own eyeshadow palettes?

Digitally, yes, I do get a lot of enjoyment with playing with color combos and placements! In person, if I had more time and the ability to use anything I created, I think I would enjoy it.

— Christine

22 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

Not exactly, which is why I find Christine’s suggestions so helpful. Left to my own devices, I’d have a palette consisting of things like MAC’s Sumptuous Olive, Stila’s La Douce, Sage and Moss, MUFE Reptile, Bronze Khaki and Golden Khaki, Inglot 419….you get the picture – the same or very similar colours over and over again. Thank the makeup goddesses for Christine and for the colour stories posted by other Temptalians!

TropicalCowgirl Avatar

Sometimes…I only recently was inspired to based on the recent naming debacle from ND Glam. I found an older custom palette that was pretty much panned and a lightbulb went off. Why not create my own custom “base” palette. I also enjoy the fact that I can move around my ND shadows in the case for my own color story. I sort of wish we could do that with PMG. My older Viseart palettes don’t have that option.

I also have a custom ABH singles palette I made in a Z-Palette where a lot have nice size dents and few hitting pan. The formula changed or something because I found the replacements were so powdery.

I also find I actually use more of my custom palettes vs premade ones with a few exceptions. The cases in Z-palettes aren’t always that pretty but they are workhorses. The benefit of established palettes kind of forces me to step out of my comfort zone here and there. My base palette has me reaching more for palettes in my collection and playing more with them.

Arena Avatar

I feel the formula has changed; I had a Soft Glam and Modern Renaissance from waaaay back in the day, was going to get another set and they felt much different. The ingredient list has changed. Not sure if it’s good or bad but I wasn’t as happy with it. I went with the ND Bronze instead.

Celesta Avatar

I like when someone else comes up with color stories and I can create my own combos within that, but I’m abysmal when asked to come up with a color story entirely on my own. My sweet spot for creating color combos is quads. Beyond that I’m just not good at it. I wish I was, but my mind just goes blank. This is why I don’t have a lot of singles, just special shades, and a whole lot of palettes.

Rachel R. Avatar

Sometimes, if I have a clear vision in mind, and can find the shades I want in-stock. It’s nice to have shades I want to wear, and to be able to replace a single shade if it gets used up (rare) or broken. Often, though, I find out-of-stock items frustrating, and the cost prohibitive. Other times, I get overwhelmed by the choices, or find myself picking the same kinds of shades that I always buy. I occasionally make up a small palette from singles I already own, and that can be a lot of fun.

Lydia Avatar

Yes! But I have to be careful, because in the past it turned into a money sink of searching for single shadows, buying lots of them, and telling myself I was ā€œdupingā€ palettes ?

Lots of decluttered shadows later… I have one 9 pan size empty palette and one large empty palette. The 9 pan gets made into a seasonal palette and the large palette keeps the extras!

Ana Maria Avatar

The only eyeshadows I have sit in a custom made eyeshadow palette. I really enjoyed building it at first, trying to research what colors make the perfect addition. But in the last 1-2 years I kind of nailed down my favorites, so I simply repurchase them. I don’t mind, since I like having a set routine, I’m not the one always searching to try something new. But when a shade is discontinued, the search starts again.

Nancy T Avatar

Kind of? I’ve put together a large ColourPop palette with a few Devinah duochrome shades included. Plus many a MAC Pro Pan quad. Those I’m considering placing in a large MAC empty Palette. I’d also love to put together both a Sydney Grace and a Clionadh palette at some point. The only catch is just how much more effort it takes mentally and creatively to accomplish this than, say, just buying a premade palette. And lately, I feel mentally spent.

Arena Avatar

I like to think I do….I end up with 4000 singles in my cart….I get overwhelmed and say “What was I thinking”, and wait for a brand I trust to curate something I vibe with. Sadly my “creative” powers end up at a solid duo.

SusanG Avatar

Definitely! Until recently — when I purchased two of the new Dior quints — most of my shadows were in custom-made palettes. I have Inglot, MAC and MUFE (old formula) pans in my own combos in palettes. I rearrange them now and then to keep myself amused! My next project will be to make my own smaller Viseart palettes from my Grande Pro 1. Apparently, they can be removed from the larger palette easily (I checked with Viseart before attempting anything); I think I’ll use them much more often in smaller groupings.

Teasha Avatar

I enjoy it more in play (online) than in real life too. My current lifestyle revolves around more natural looks on a daily basis. If I could wear whatever, I’d buy a whole lot more than I do. How are you liking the Sydney grace empty palettes? I’ve considered trying them out myself, but haven’t really heard anything about them, which has me avoiding the plunge (not that they are expensive). Do they fit her eyeshadows any better? I have a gap in the more typical offerings, that kind of annoys me. It’s not large enough to fit another shadow, even a long skinny depotted shadow, but it’s big enough that powder gets in and aesthetically annoys me:/.

Genevieve Avatar

Not really – I find it easier to buy pre made palettes, whereby a good 90% of the shades work for me. And then there are times when I try a different colour that previously I didn’t like and I find that I do like it -eg Rose Golds, copper shades etc.
I really appreciate your colour combos Christine, because they do show a range of shades that combine well with each other to create an eye look. These are often combinations that I had never thought of previously. And even though I may not have that specific brand/shade, I certainly have a dupe for it.

Kira Avatar

I find it super calming to de-pot my palettes and rearrange them in Makeup Forever or Z palettes! When I see a new palette I like, I will “dupe the look” with my shadows. I just rearranged a small Makeup Forever empty palette with shadows to look like the Natasha Denona mini Zendo palette šŸ™‚

Kitty Avatar

I love using the empty MUFE palettes. They’re well made. Even using the largest size though, they don’t hold that many shadows. But I’ve found that’s been a benefit for me in limiting how many singles I buy. I do use labels on the outside so I know at a glance where the shadows inside that MUFE palette are applied.

Zia Avatar

I definitely do, though I’ve never done it digitally myself. I have become quite a fan of build your own palettes and z and other such palettes. I’m not talented at it like you Christine and never really feel sure about cohesiveness , but I think I do okay. I tend to mostly just organize things based on brand, matte vs non-matte and light to dark. I never think to myself “Oh this will be the one I pick up for fall looks” or anything like that.

CeeBee Avatar

Yes, under certain circumstances. I have a LOT of loose eyeshadow pans and a bunch of magnetised palettes and every so often I pull everything out and rearrange them. It takes all afternoon (and I learned quickly to shut the cat out, LOL) but I tend towards rosy and mauve neutrals with champagne and gold so after a while they all tend to look like variations on a theme… I do have a 24 pan palette with my absolute faves but I also have a THING about having round pans and rectangular pans in the same palette so my ND pans have their own little kingdom, LOL.

Katy Avatar

Nope, does nothing for me. I’d much rather buy a premade palette I’m attracted to then buy a bunch of unrelated singles. Maybe it’s just me, but the homemade palettes are just a mess. Ugly, messy, dusty palettes are a huge turnoff.

Helene Avatar

I do. I have a lot of MAC palettes filled with MAC singles, and I mean filled. I don’t use the insert thingy making room for 23 pans in each palette. Not all of them are filled though. I like that I can sort them in different ways, and I sometimes take them all out and rearrange them.
I also have a palette of Makeup Geek shades, but it just contains all of the pans from the brand, in no special order, maybe I should fix that. I also have a Z-palette with various brands singles, Sidney Grace, Fyrinnae and some others.
I like that I can make a travel palette easily, just taking what I think I’ll need and put it in one palette.
Unfortunately MAC and other brands have reversed magnets, so you can’t make mix MAC with other brands in a palette.

Kitty Avatar

I don’t enjoy it as much as find it as a necessity. I’ve organized my palettes based on where the eyeshadow is applied instead of on any color combos. I’ve also got one palette for my deep set eyes, including transition shades.

Reb Avatar

I’m picky about ingredients in cosmetics and most of my eyeshadow collection is Sydney Grace and Devinah singles. I do enjoy creating palettes with them but a lot of times I try duping popular current palettes that catch my eye. When left to my own devices I mostly end up with monochrome schemes.

Jen Avatar

To an extent. I like seeing all the colors and try to put a palette together but I get easily overwhelmed by all the options and eventually abandon the whole idea. I will buy singles I really like though, just not that many at once.

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