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Best Purple Eyeshadow

What's the Best Purple Eyeshadow that you've tried?

Fyrinnae Parental Advisory or Sleek Makeup’s Simbad’s Seas.

Thanks to Lisa for today’s topic!

— Christine

29 Comments

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Julie Avatar

My go-to is L’oreal Infallible in Purple Priority. It is super pigmented, with just the right amount of sparkle. I love the complexity of it–patted on, it’s a rich, cool-toned violet, but sheered out, warmer, coppery red tones come out, so it’s like 2 eye shadows in one! I also have a little Clinique GWP mini palette that has a gorgeous matte, cool lavender (which seems super hard to get right!), but it doesn’t have a name listed!

Nancy T Avatar

My top favorite isn’t listed as “eye safe” even though it’s sold as an Artist Shadow! MUFE Electric Purple I922. I only use it in my crease and outer edge, with Frosted Mauve I916 on the lid, and MAC Ascent Of Glamour on the outer lid. It’s the truest purple I think I’ve ever used in recent years.

I also love MAC Ascent Of Glamour, UD Tonic or Betrayal and Freakshow, MAC Nocturnal and Stars & Rockets (together!).

Plums, purples, coppers are a serious love of mine because they light up my green eyes!

Michele @Binxcat4ever Avatar

I love the UD singles for purple. I love the Tonic, Omen, ACDC, Psychedelic Sister, Rockstar, Gravity, Flash, Asphyxia, Back Fire, and Dive Bar that I put into palettes. Obviously some of these aren’t traditional “purple” but they’re all in the purple family. I think UD does a good job with the quality of the purple-family singles; they all last all day on me with no fallout.

Katherine T. Avatar

Hey Michelle, I have 7 of the same UD shadows you have! I’ve been testing that Laura Geller Delectables palette for last 5 days. The color combos are really gorgeous (olives/khakis, browns, coppers, ambers, marsala red, and vanillas) and it’s a nice mix of mattes/shimmers and dark/medium/light colors. You can definitely get a complete eye look with this palette. In the pan, the colors look very similar but swatched on hand, I can see 10 of them are different, but the 4 vanilla/beige shades seem pretty similar to each other, except some are matte and some are shimmery. I’m light/light medium skintone. The shimmer is nice, nothing OTT. IMO, it’s best to use the kit wet, as the shadows are very hard and sheer if you use dry. I had to take foam applicators and rub off the top crust to make it easier to use. And if you use wet, it’s best to use a medium dense brush or a foam applicator to pick up the color. If brush is too soft, you won’t pick up much color even wet, and if brush is too hard, the shadows can crumble into powder. So far, best application method was to use foam applicators (dampened) to pat on the colors, then use a medium crease brush (dry) with a lighter shade and use it to blend the shadows together. I always use primer since my lids are oily, but the shadows last at least 12 hours or more on me. So it’s not a “swipe and go” palette, takes a bit of work, but the colors are very gorgeous. and last a long time. Not sure if I would’ve paid full price for it, but I did get it with big discount, so I’m pretty pleased.

Michele @Binxcat4ever Avatar

Katherine – Great minds on the UD! Thank you so much for your take on the Geller palette. This morning I tried the Geller duo (amethyst/unearthed) that I received in a set. The amethyst was not so much of an amethyst but instead more of a pale lilac on me. The unearthed, which I thought would not be a good shade for me, really worked well in the crease. I added some aubergine liner and it pulled it all together for a polished natural look. I had the same texture experience as you did with the palette. I think you’re spot on with the application idea. It really sounds like a winner esp. with a discount. Since Beauty.com is still running their 20% off, I think I’m going to go ahead and order it today. Thanks again!

Katherine T. Avatar

You’re welcome, Michelle! It took me several days of trial and error, but once I used with slightly dampened foam applicators, the pigment came alive, so I was happy 🙂 Glad you were able to get the duo to work. Hope you enjoy your set!

Rachel R. Avatar

I’ve been trying to get it since it came out, but it’s always been sold out in store and online whenever I went to purchase. Maybe I just had lousy timing. I was finally able to order it from Sephora online.

Tessa Avatar

Does UD Fishnet count as a purple? If so, that. Otherwise, the main lid color in Lancome’s Mauve Cherie palette. I use cheap Revlon purple cream shadow under all my purple powder shadows. Terrible, creasing stuff on its own, but works absolute magic under powder.

xamyx Avatar

I honestly love all my purple eyeshadows the same… Yes, some are more “finicky” than others, but unless it is completely unworkable, it’s hard for me to pick a “best”; while some are easier to use, others are just too beautiful to not consider. That said, NARS Jolie Poupee really surprised me this past Halloween! I’ve always used a base/primer with the duo, but when we used it for my daughter’s costume, everything was kind of rushed, so we skipped it. Although it was 90°+ that day, and the event was at a park, it held up sooo well on her lids (we did experience a bit of migration on the lower lid, but she’s 9, and has a habit of touching her face). Even the matte lavender held its own!

Katherine T. Avatar

Oooh, I love purples, will be reading the recs here with great interest! Since it’s hard to find good purples that will last on my oily lids, I only have a small collection, but so far the best have been City Color Shimmer Shadow in It’s A Girl (marsala berry purple) Inglot 446 (eggplant) , Inlgot 439 (bluish violet purple), and most of the UD purples.

Megz Avatar

There are so many I want to try, but I really love MAC Satellite Dreams. I love the shade of Nocturnelle too, but the formula is less than stellar – and that’s being polite.

Mariella Avatar

It has to be a beautiful bright purple just called “Exclusive” that came in Too Faced Enchanted Glamourland years ago. I absolutely love it and worry about using it up (not that I’ve even hit pan on it). Another favourite is the purple side of Nars Kauai.

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