Do you prefer making your own eyeshadow palette or purchasing a pre-made one?
In the past, I’ve enjoyed making my own, but I like the ease of a pre-made palette. I also think it is a great way to get exposed to different color stories or color combinations that might not have been readily apparent otherwise. The other issue is that pre-made palettes are so prevalent these days that building a custom palette with singles always end up quite a bit more expensive (and I’d rather a palette with smaller-sized eyeshadows that’s $30 than spend $50 on single, full-sized shadows!).
— Christine
I’ve learned that I am not much of an eyeshadow wearer. I recently gave away or sold most of my pre-made palettes and depotted the rest into magnetic palettes. The only pre-made palettes I have left are Pat McGrath’s Platinum Bronze, which I will be depotting when I work up the courage because the packaging is so bulky, and a NARS Voyageur palette that I am probably going to pass on later because I don’t like it for any other reason than portability. So no, I don’t see any more pre-made palettes in my future, maybe a single shadow here and there (but even that is unlikely, because I have what I want and wear!). Palettes are a great way to learn about what kind of looks and colours and finishes + formulas you like or if you typically wear a lot of eyeshadow and want a variety of shades to pull from, but that’s not me!
I’m the same. I kept a few palettes – one Smashbox and two Bobbi Brown (one pre-made and one I put together) because the colors are good neutrals and for single shade swipes. I prefer a single shade on my lids rather than multiple. Why? I wear glasses and I have severely hooded eyes so no one will see my handiwork unless my eyes are shut. Single color, eyeliner and mascara works best for me.
For the most part, I prefer pre-made palettes. My problem is I’m always drawn to the same sorts of colours so making my own palette means I’ve got anywhere from 4 to 12 shadows that are all pretty much the same shades; with premade palettes, I’m sort of forced to vary things. So long as a palette doesn’t contain a whole lot of shades that are really losers for me (some of the recent ABH “Norvina” palettes are examples of that sort of palette that I give a wide miss), I actually prefer pre-mades and the variety they force me to embrace.
Same! I have about ten different singles of the same brown shade. I need a premade palette with an interesting color story to inspire me.
I used to only buy pre-made palettes since I doubted my ability to combine colors. After a while, though, I realized that I only use some colors from the pre-made palettes and the rest went to waste. I also discovered Temptalia which allows me to dupe the colors out of the palettes that I like while avoiding the ones I don’t. I also love the color stories function on this website to help me learn how to combine different colors.
I used to like getting pre-made palettes, but after getting a few that I can use on a standalone basis, I then switched to getting singles to get more unusual colors that I was missing. I bought SG singles for this purpose and used refillable magnetic MUFE palettes, so I didn’t find assembling my own palettes to be that pricy. And to offset the cost, the ones I assembled had no duds, smelly shades or gritty glitters.
I am attracted to palettes, but in reality it is much more affordable for me to buy single pans and rearrange them as needed. I tend to always be attracted to the same types of colors, so this avoids spending a lot on similar shades.
Palettes also normally have at least 3-4 colors I’m not likely to wear, so it takes a rare palette to make me drop cash on it.
I’ve become lazy in recent years and now prefer premade palettes for the convenience. But when I was making my own with MAC and ColourPop singles, there was definitely something more enjoyable about picking out my own shades, ones I knew I’d use and love! And there ARE some specific premade palettes that I have that are so well curated that I do enjoy them quite a lot. For example: ABH x Jackie Aina and Modern Renaissance, PMG Midnight Sun, Decadence and Dark Galaxy, UD Naked Honey and Naked 2.
Picking shades for my pre-made palette is definitely a fun process! I usually did it using Temptalia website and tools, but lately I got the courage to actually go to the beauty store with my palette to check in real life. 😀
When I was first getting into makeup I needed the guidance of a pre-made palette to get a feel for what colors look good together. Now that I’m more confident in my makeup style I definitely prefer curating singles into a self-made palette. I’ve also found myself looking away from mainstream brands and more into indie brands since I think indie brands tend to make more unique colors and finishes.
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your favorite indie brands?
At this point in my makeup hoarding career, there are very few palettes w/ colors I like but can’t dupe. And at this point in aging career :), w/ less lid space, more wrinkles, and softer coloring, there’s a lot that just doesn’t suit me – very high shine, glittery, dark or strong colors take over and make me look like a parody. Dramatic shadows I do have get used as liner (w/ Duraline). So I’m buying a lot less, usually singles or duos and putting them in magnetic palettes. I do like my hand-curated palettes, especially since I rarely pull out more than one palette at a time, and love knowing I’ve got the best base, transition and colors for me in one place.
I am done with pre-made palettes. The last one I bought was the ABH Jackie Aina but I won’t wear the pinks and purples because they don’t have the right undertone for me. I would love to swap those out for the neutral shades in MR but the ABH shadows are too soft for me to depot. I think I now have all the colors that are wearable for me right now so I doubt I will come across a pre-made palette with enough different shade to warrant a purchase.
I see so few cool-toned palettes that I’m rarely even tempted to give a pre-made palette the time of day. I love to see what’s new, however, (and they’re 99% warm-toned, what else?), but just to admire the color story — FOR SOMEONE ELSE. I love my singles and am always on the lookout for a great new formula or a newish, beautiful shade, but I have most everything I could ever want in my color range. If I had to replicate my eyeshadow collection today, I bet I’d have to spend at least $1,500 in new, pre-made palettes, and I’m confident I’d come up short in getting all the colors I like. And, I’d own a bunch I didn’t like. Over the long run, I do NOT think a collection of singles is more expensive than a collection of palettes. And, to cover two eyeballs with eyeshadow, I don’t think working with several singles is any more difficult than working with several palettes. And, back in the day when I had pre-made palettes out the ying-yang, I’d end up ‘storing’ them and forgetting about them. I was a dumb-dumb, before I got smart. ? Know thyself. Sermon over. (Just my opinion folks. ?)
I second your thought about cool toned palettes. It’s easier to create your own palette of single shadows. Maybe one day the people in charge will join Temptalia and see our desire for cool toned palettes…at least we can hope.
Making my own! I actually consider one of my best decision to bee downsizing to a custom made double sided MAC palette with 15 eyeshadows and 6 face powders. For me it’s the perfect spot and makes make-up easy, fun and less frustrating. I never felt pre-made palettes to be for me; I need to pick my own perfect transition shade (and we all know how tiny differences count 😆 ), to pick the colors or undertones that flatter me (aka no yellow, reds or oranges), to be able to replace more often shades I actually hit pan on but still keep for years the shades I wear every 1-2 weeks or so.
Buying pre-made, unless I’m just making a palette to store my backups.
I have no eye for color stories or what goes with what or why that would work as a transition shade or how these 4 go together and all that. I’ve tried and while my confidence in technique and application has grown, I never could quite understand undertones and how the complimentary and tertiary and secondary colors interplay. I understand it in theory but I can’t “see” it, so I am clueless when it comes to picking out colors that would play well with each other. I can pick out 2 colors for a neutral wash look, but anything more than that and everything always looks muddy and my technique goes out the window.
For awhile, I would buy singles that in reality I’d never wear but were “holes I needed to fill” in my collection, or on the off chance I’d ever ‘need’ that color for a certain look. I don’t experiment or do editorial looks like I thought I would ‘one day’. I just did a massive declutter and gave away all of those hole-fillers, still in their packaging. My collection now is a sea of neutrals with a few pops of color that I actually wear.
You might try thinking about eyeshadow color combinations the same way you do your clothing. Whatever colors you wear together to style an outfit you should be okay with combining on your eyes (for the most part). Just a thought.
I much prefer purchasing a pre made one, as it is much easier to negotiate the look of the day for me. Now that I have some SG singles, I have to purchases an empty palette to put them in (nuisance as they are not easily available here in Aus.).
I also think that when you have a pre-made palette, there are often shades that, initially you may not like, but then try them and find that you like them on you after all. So a pre-made palette can help you to evolve your colour preferences and get you to try different shades and combinations.
Hi Genevieve,
I totally agree with you! Premade palettes allow me to try new colors and combos I would never had before. I used to buy only singles and one day I looked down to see that I had purchased a bunch of basically the same colors. Using premade palettes has made me try new things and see that I actually prefer colors and textures I never would have thought to try before. Have a great day!
Genevieve, if you don’t mind smaller empty palettes, the MUFE Refillable Makeup Palette may work for you. I see on Sephora Australia site that it’s available. I’ve got all the sizes but XS. The largest one (XL) holds 6 SG singles; the second largest (L) holds 4 SG singles. Not a huge palette vs. some other brands’ empty ones but much easier to put together color stories or themes and travel with them.
I’m not confident enough that I would pick colours that would go together, so pre-made palettes are my go to. I do look at Christine’s “looks” and go by them to do some of my eye looks, although I’m not at her level of expertise. But I’m happy with my attempts lol! I’m also learning some things.
Eyeshadows are my weakness. I love them so I buy, buy, buy them. It really doesn’t matter if they’re in a premade palette or singles that I put in my own custom palette. When I look at a high end premade palette I use a rule of thumb….If there’s more than 4 shadows that I like and that I’ll use, I’ll buy the palette. Thats because I figure high end singles will cost about $20.00 each and usually the premade palette is less than the cost of the 4 shadows and I may find a new favorite. I do like custom palettes when I’m traveling. Here lately I have stopped buying shadows unless they are really special. I’m like everyone else here on Temptalia and can pretty much dupe anything new. My weakness now tends to be Pat McGrath palettes, but I’m still using my rule of thumb. I may break my no-buy for Sydney Grace though.
I love pre-made palettes and they are very attractive, but I love and treasure some of my single eyeshadows, that are beyond beautiful and unique. I have made gorgeous combinations in my opinion and I have avoided repetition in colors. It is also more affordable for me to buy singles and add them as needed if I need a color that does not exist in my collection. So, mixed feelings.
It’s a bit half & half – I attempted to buy singles last year, and realized I ended up in a similar situation to what others mentioned here where I ended up having a lot of dupes. I also realized that I spent quite a lot of money trying to dupe palettes, which never seemed to quite compare to what I was looking for. Example: I have a ton of SG singles, but the greens and mustard yellows run far too grey & brown on me, respectively, so they ended up being donated as it just wasn’t working.
At this point, I realize that not every pre-made palette will have what I want, but I tend to save more more money being able to experiment with different shades and get out of my comfort zone. Metropolis, though redundant with the shade selection at times, is a good example of this. The quad format has pushed me to create quite a few interesting looks that I hadn’t considered before. The best of both worlds I’ve found is websites that have a palette designer feature, such as Lethal Cosmetics or the new Makeup Geek system. Being able clearly see the different shades and colors is incredibly helpful in my opinion as I’m a pretty visual person, and especially for brands that don’t have a ton of swatches on different skintones, being able to arrange singles in a way that I find more suitable has been pretty beneficial to me.
These days, mostly premade palettes! But I usually try to buy palettes with removable pans. In case I want to customize from different palettes.
From my experience, it’s been wasted effort if I make up my own palette: I’ll usually spot a premade one with a similar color story I just put together with singles.
I prefer buying pre-made palettes. I love the surprise of what colors with be put together, and the overall aesthetics of palettes and palette packaging. It’s like opening a new box of crayons or watercolor paints, and feeling like a creative child again. They’re also usually a better deal if you break the price down per shadow.
I have made my own palettes and like them, but the process takes forever because I’m a perfectionist, so I can get overwhelmed and indecisive with huge selections to choose from.
I love the idea of making my own color story with single shadows, but find I’m not great at putting colors together in practice, lol.
I prefer a pre-made palette. I don’t have enough confidence in my ability to assemble a palette myself; I find pre-made usually has a novel color or two that I would have never thought of on my own, and I enjoy using them to create new looks. I used to buy quads years ago but now I typically go for palettes with 12-16 shades, I like a larger selection.
Purchasing one made, just due time it would take for me to layout a color scheme and then find exactly the color and texture I’d want. I could now much easier with your database, but it would still take time. Since Jeffrey Star is the only one who’s come close to what I want in a Winter Wonderland, Frosty palette with BlueBlood, I may have to make that one. I’ve waited over two or more years and I think it’s not going to happen. 🙁