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Do you prefer to buy eyeshadows in singles, duos, trios or quads?

Do you prefer to buy eyeshadows in singles, duos, trios or quads? Why?

Hmm, it really depends. I like the idea of palettes in general, but I usually don’t love all the shades or enough of them where it’s worth getting–so from that perspective, I prefer singles.

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Rosanna Avatar

When I was starting out, I wanted to be more selective – so I preferred the singles. And the organization was more personal too (blue palette, neutral palette, etc)

But NARS Duo eyeshadows changed that for me. I’ve been drawn to higher end duo or multiple palettes because one; more value for your money and two; gives colours that are already coordinated for each other! This applies to High-end for me because there’s no way I’m paying $30 for a single eyeshadow when I can get 3 or more shades for $50.

gigi Avatar

Palettes and quads mostly. U get more value and I dislike having to store singles or worse carry them around- when travelling for instance. And it’s great if you’re in a hurry and don’t have much time to be creative.

The great thing about singles is of course getting to pick specific shades

vanessa Avatar

Yeah….I totally agree with you….which is way I mostly own palettes but I do have some singles.
I rather pay big money for a palette than for a single eyeshadow.

Niki Avatar

I don’t by any of those options. I prefer to eyeshadows in pans so I make up my own palettes that way, I love all the eyeshadows I have and I don’t overbuy.

erica Avatar

i went through a phase where I would not buy eyeshadows other than in palette form. I dont know, i thought they were more of a bargain. When i finally got into makeup, i started to appreciate singles so im buying more of them now.

Tiffany S. Avatar

Singles so I can make my own palettes. Being picky, I’m pretty much guaranteed to not like all the colours in a palette and on the occasion that I do like them all, I don’t find myself using all of them. I prefer spending my money on things I will most definitely use 😛

Steph Avatar

This is one of the things I really like about Inglot- you can pick which colours go in your duos, quads, palettes, etc. and they are still priced at a significant discount compared to buying them as singles (though perhaps they could just lower the price of the singles). I don’t generally buy palettes because there’s usually at least one colour I don’t want or need included.

Nott Avatar

Singles! And the best is when refills exist.

Please, dear brands, do refills, refills cannot be damaged during depotting, refills are more environmental because you don’t need to throw away all that plastic, refills are the Good.

But please, stop doing some crappy quads were only 2 colors are useful and of good quality.

Suzanne Avatar

Love this question!
I prefer palettes – they’re better value and she colours are already matched so that takes the guesswork of what to wear with what. Palettes also come with highlighters, which I love.
That said, I agree that sets tend to have more than a few dud colours. I’ve always found that there’s always something better-matched in another brand. it’s a matter of comparison shopping a little harder to end up with an all-winning set of colours.

Ana G. Avatar

Usually single eye shadows, except the neutral ones – I find that those are more affordable in palettes and I usually use them all.

Kathrina Avatar

I prefer singles. Usually I buy refill pans and make my own palette. I own just one palette (UD Naked Palette) and one duo (NARS Rhajastan).

Misato-san Avatar

I’m with you Christine… I like the idea of a palette but I own only a few of them (all purchased last year o_O) because I prefer single eyeshadows so I can choose the perfect shade for me!

Anitacska Avatar

I prefer palettes because I don’t really have time to dig out matching shades every morning and buying singles is expensive anyway. I love my Dior quints and Guerlain quads, and Urban Decay BOSs. I do still buy singles, but not v often.

Christine Avatar

I usually buy singles but when a great palette comes out like Naked or book of shadows I will splurge on that otherwise I find I only use some of the colours and its a waste of funds

Jaime Avatar

Usually singles. I have that issue with palettes/quads where I really only like one colour, and I hate having to buy all of them just for that.

Ani_BEE Avatar

Urban Decay and Yaby palettes for the most part the only ones I that really like and can get my hands on. I would love to get Inglot but it impossible to track down what there presets are.

I like the price on palettes but singles also allows you to make your own personal palette.

Marcela Avatar

singles! it’s all about the freedom of choosing the shades you really love. some sets are very pretty but there will always be 1 or 2 colors that are either not my kind of color or of poor texture/pigmentation. In 2 years i’ve acquired 49 MAC shadows in 3.5 Pro Palettes and i wouldn’t change them for anything! they’re my babies.

Nichole Avatar

I buy singles only (pan or depot) and make my own palettes. I’ve never purchased a palette where all of the colors worked on my skin tone.

Natalie Avatar

It really depends for me. I seem to dislike most pre-made palettes, but the MAC smoky eyes one in the red gem palette from I think Christmas 2008 is by far my favorite ever.

I tend to buy all singles, but then arrange them in a palette to make my own. I like that I can move them around & they’re 100x easier to travel with, and if I’m going on vacation and just need two looks, I can take one simple compact, not 15 eyeshadow pots!

I guess what I’m saying is – I buy singles, but I like to make them into my own quads/palettes!

Cassy Avatar

Singles for me because then the shades don’t mingle. I’m even starting to regret depotting all my MAC shadows save for the space it has freed up.

lazeny Avatar

I prefer palettes than singles. It’s easier to use and I don’t have think of color combinations when I’m in a hurry. Plus it’s handy especially when it’s travelling .

Nicole Avatar

As a MAC addict I prefere their premade quads and the refills. If I want to do a really dramatic eye, I’ll use one of my quads (and I have several to choose from). For an every day look, I prefere to choose one or two shades from my refill collection. I’ve never depotted a single eye shadow, but I rarely use them after starting the palette thing.

Wendy Avatar

Singles , even though Mac quads are a good value. Palettes in general are bulky and there’s usually a few that aren’t very pigmented.

Michele Avatar

Singles or palettes (larger). I wish more singles came as refills. I have depotted some but rather not have to do it: I hate taking a chance on accidently destroying one in the process plus the time it takes.

AnGeLwInGz Avatar

For me it depends on the brand. With Dior I much prefer the quints because the singles are $28. With Urban Decay I have almost all of the singles, except for the glittery ones. It helps on cutting out most of the palettes (I still must have all the Books of Shadows of course). I have a few Chanel quads and only one single, for the same reason stated for Dior. All the rest of my shadows are singles.

Andréanne Avatar

I prefer single or trio, because in a duo, I think there is a color missing and in a quad, there is always a color that I find useless!
But I like bigger palettes, like BOS from UD,!!

Julia Minamata Avatar

Definitely palettes of not just eyeshadow but ones that include blush and lip colours. I love buying a coordinated look, the value is better, it let’s me try multiple products from one brand, and the packaging is usually kind of cute!

emily Avatar

singles are my personal fav. I like carefully selecting my fav shadows and finishes and then create the perfect quads and re organizing them by color or finish… I feel like a museum curator…but with shadows lol

Courtknee Avatar

I love buying palettes – a lot less clutter for me and the shades coordinate. I am always on the go, and being able to throw a quad in my purse and head out the door knowing that I’ll be able to create a good look is great for me.

Katie Avatar

I like singles if I can depot them. I like trios and quads because I don’t like fussing with a million different products to do a look. I like to just pull out a quad and palette and be done.

I hate single eyeshadows that can’t be depotted like Chanel and Bobbi Brown. I have some and LOVE the colors but feel like I never use them because I forget I have them.

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