Archived Post
The Best Holiday Palettes for Holiday 2013
As promised, here are my top picks for palettes to snag during the holidays! 🙂 Also… as I review other palettes from the holidays (I don’t think I have too many more!) and find other great choices, I’ll be sure to add them here.
- Too Faced Be Merry, Be Bright Set ($45.00 for 1.28 oz.) consists of two “books” of makeup–each has six eyeshadows and two blush/cheek colors. The quality was good across the board, and there was a nice variety of colors and textures. You can read part one and part two of my reviews on it.
- Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Palette ($55.00 for 1.20 oz.) contains twenty-four (24!!!) eyeshadows, and they’re even designed to be layered and used together, so you can have an endless amount of combinations and textures! You can read part one and part two.
- theBalm Balm Voyage ($42.50 for 1.21 oz.) has sixteen eyeshadows and three lip/cheek colors, but the eyeshadows are the stars. This is a great choice for someone who prefers more matte/satin finishes. Check out part one and part two for reviews on this palette.
- Urban Decay Vice 2 ($59.00 for 0.60 oz.) has twenty eyeshadows to choose from with a variety in texture and color to choose from. If you love pigmented, buttery, soft eyeshadows–this one’s for you. You can read part one and part two of my reviews.
- Sugarpill Cold Chemistry ($34.00 for 0.48 oz.) is a wintry mix of cool-toned gray, white, purple, and teal for someone who loves bold, rich colors and a lot of them. Not limited edition but a perfectly-timed release for the holiday season. Read my review here.
- LORAC Pro Palette ($42.00 for 0.55 oz.) is a cult-favorite palette for a reason–it combines mattes with high frosts. There are eight matte shades and then eight more frosted shades, and you can mix and match them for satin and pearl finishes, too! Permanent and available year-round, there’s no hurry to snag one, but with holiday deals and sales, now’s a great time to try it. Read my review here.
- Too Faced Pretty Rebel ($46.00 for 0.50 oz.) contains ten eyeshadows, which might not be as sexy as a mega palette, but these are ten fantastic eyeshadows. If you love jewel-tones, bold and bright shades, and your frost finishes, this is a palette worth considering. Read my review here.
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette ($58.00 for 0.35 oz.) is for those who love a beautiful, glowing complexion and flawless canvas. Ambient Lighting Powders are amazing on their own but getting three for a little more than the price of one? Great opportunity to try more shades or add them to your routine. Read my review here.
- Sleek MakeUP Vintage Romance Eyeshadow Palette ($9.99 for 0.36 oz.) is my more budget-friendly pick for a fall/winter palette with great quality–nicely pigmented shades in hues of gold, berry, and purple. Read my review here.
Hooray for Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette and Lorac Pro Palette! 😀
They’re both awesome!
Oh my, what a fantastic selection! 😀
Thank you!
I would pick Balm Voyage, Sleek Vintage and the Too faced Be Merry Be Bright!! ..
Good picks!
Hmm. I’m not quite sure what to say, because I’m just not a palette woman.
However, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting one looks kind of tempting, since I’d been wanting to try those powders anyhow.
I wonder how they’d work on very oily skin, though.
I think they’d work well on oily skin!
Christine, do you have any suggestions for holiday palettes that aren’t made in China (other than Vice 2, which I am getting this week)? I keep looking at things in the store and I keep running into made in China palettes, be it Tarte’s Ulta set or the Too Faced palette listed here. I don’t mind brushes made in China, and I’m not saying anything is wrong per se with makeup made there, but I prefer to be extra cautious and not get makeup made there due to skin sensitivities. Thank you ahead of time for the help!
Hi Kelly,
I don’t offhand know where they’re made, unfortunately!
Thank you Christine, those are great suggestions! I would be really curious though to get you opinion on the Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes 2013. 🙂
Sorry, I don’t have that!
The Lorac Rockin’ Red Hot PRO Set, which includes the PRO palette, one Front of the Line PRO Liquid Eyeliner, and one mini Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, is $39 at ulta and ulta.com. Such a steal!!!
Thanks for the heads up, Jenny!
I bought this set using a 20% off coupon that Ulta sent me for any purchase. Such a great palette and the set was perfectly timed! I was about to buy the palette alone anyway, so the bonus primer and liner was awesome! So far, I’m totally smitten with the Garnet eyeshadow shade.
The Hourglass palette is near the top of my wishlist for Christmas! It’s right behind Chanel’s Bagatelle lipgloss (I’ve never tried the formula before, but I just love the color).
Bagatelle is a pretty pick!
I own Sleek’s Vintage palette and its very nice. I prefer palettes that are more reasonably priced but have good pigmentation.
What are your favorite reasonably-priced palettes?
Love your list! I’ve had so many people tell me that I need that Lorac Pro palette, but I haven’t scooped it up yet.
I can’t believe you don’t have it! Guess I wasn’t the last 😉
I might just be getting one of the two, so which would you recommend out of Balm Voyage and Vice 2? I don’t have Vice 1, but I do have Naked 1
If you like brighter colors and/or more shimmer, Vice 2!
I got Vice 2 Palette and I’m só in love. Too Faced “A few of my favorite things palette” is so cute, that I’m tempted to give myself another gift. 🙂 I’m from Brazil, and none of those gorgeous palettes came to Sephora in here yet. It’s só annoying! I have to buy in websites that delivers worldwilde. The customs here are so crazy and expensive. One Naked Pallete from Urban Decay that cost U$ 50, here costs the equivalent of U$ 125, on Sephora Brazil. 🙁
Sorry for the terrible english, I’m still learning. Love your space. You deserve all the sucess. 😉
Hey Ludmila!
I wish more of the palettes made their way to Brazil 🙁 Is it more expensive to have it shipped to Brazil from U.S. or to buy directly from Sephora Brazil?
Thank you!
I would absolutely recommend Urban Decay’s Vice 2 to anyone and everyone! I LOVE it – I am obsessed with the color Betrayal! I am very pleased that I can create a work appropriate look from this palette too.
Yayy!! Happy to hear you’re loving your Vice 2!
I would like to see a review on Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes, thanks 🙂
Sorry, I don’t have it!
I’m getting the most use out of the Hourglass Ambient Light palette and the Laura Mercier Colors to Go in natural nudes.
Awesome picks, Sassa!
I generally like LORAC because she does not use acne causing ingredients in her makeup – she is an acne sufferer. However, the Pro Palette just doesn’t do it for me because there is so much fallout from the darker shadows, even when I use them with a damp brush. There are plenty of other dark shadows without the fallout. Just sayin’
Sorry to hear you had so many issues with it! I didn’t experience the same type of fall out as you described when I used it!
Nice picks! I own the Lorac Pro palette and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette, both are great . I had’t noticed the Two faced Pretty Rebel palette before, will check it out during my next Sephora trip.
I loveeee it! Pretty Rebel is definitely one of my faves from this year!
Christine, not sure if it has been mentioned already but a good number of the Sleek palettes are now fulfilled by Amazon. So they qualify for prime and ship from the US. I got mine in 2 days!
That’s great news! I bought maybe two or three weeks ago and it wasn’t Prime but wooooo!
They actually have a Red Hot Lorac Pro for $39! It’s cheaper and has something extra too!
Ooh, excellent! Thanks, Myra!
I love the Lorac pro palette! I’m considering hauling Vice 2 since I missed out on the first one. Maybe the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette too. It just seems like it would be great for my kit. Great list!
The latter is a must!
I am loving the Too Faced palettes for this Christmas. But for me, the best all-around palette is the LORAC Pro.
So many LORAC Pro fans!
Another great holiday palette is the Buxom Serial Kisser palette. It consists of 5 mini Buxom lipsticks. They swatched so pretty, I’m wearing them now.
Yep! That’s a great kit! I included it in my sets/kits post 🙂
I wish you’d make the links click through to your reviews, not ecommerce sites. For those of us outside the US, the shopping links are useless anyway. I know the affiliate thing makes you money, but it’d be more useful to us to see a more in-depth look at the palette than to go straight through to BUY BUY BUY.
Hey Holly!
Almost all the reviews for these are split into two parts, and they’re linked right with these, actually! For example, the first palette has this, “You can read part one and part two of my reviews on it.” Because of the two-part nature of a lot of palette reviews, I wanted it very clear that there were multiple parts and have them clearly linked. All of them follow this format 🙂 Thanks for your feedback!
I really want that Be Merry Be Bright palette with the beautiful teal green. That is gorgeous for the holiday party season. Such a vibrant assembly of colors <3
Very true – perfect for the holidays!
I have the Pretty Rebel and the BalmVoyage, I agree with your reviews on both of them, the Pretty Rebel is a diamond in my palettes drawer.. a beautiful palette with gorgeous shades
I love Pretty Rebel! SO pigmented!
Ooooohh, I am tempted by many of these! I just ordered the Too Faced Boudoir Eyes for myself (not a holiday palette, but I kind of desperately wanted it, lol). I think I need to invest in Lorac PRO- I’ve heard like a million good things about it, and tbh, I really don’t have one solid, basic, no-nonsense nudes palette. Not even a budget one. Isn’t that crazy? I have lots of nude shades mixed into random palettes, sure, but I don’t actually have anything like UD Naked or Lorac PRO. Boudoir Eyes has some nice nudes, but it’s not quite the same deal. I’m not sure what’s taken me so long, lol!
Apparently there’s an awesome LORAC Pro set that’s $39 out for the holidays, too 🙂
Recently picked up the Hourglass Ambient Light palette and it is absolutely gorgeous. I would almost say I’m afraid to take it anywhere for fear of scratching/dropping/hurting it! And the product is lovely. I’ve got the Lorac Unzipped and I think their eyeshadow formula is one of the best out there. Can’t wait to pick up the PRO Palette soon (just got the Naked 3, so I’ll probably wait a bit, but I can’t wait!)
Hi Christine! Stumbled onto this list when reading your Too Faced Pretty Rebel review. My dream palette would be bright jewel tones all with glittery and pearl finishes; which palettes would you recommend?
Pretty Rebel is really the closest I’ve seen to mostly jewel-tones, honestly!