Natasha Denona Biba, Sydney Grace Autumn Reign… I think this would give me some diversity in finish + color, though I think all my looks might lean a bit darker, smokier.
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DRAT – I knew this was coming and I knew I’d struggle with it. So I’m going to choose 2 palettes that are large (rather than just 6 to 10 shadows) so it would be either UD Vice 2 or 3 (I’d be happy with either) and the LORAC Pro Palette 2.
Aw, I had the Vice 2 once upon a time. What are your favorite looks to create with it?
The funny thing is that I really haven’t used the palette in quite some time (I need to remedy that) but it’s one that just came to mind as having lots of shadows, lots of variety, good brow-bone/highlight shades as well as the neutrals I love. When I got it I wasn’t much into warm or gold shadows but after trying Strike just ones, I was won over. Stash, Ambush, Strike, Radar and Derailed are my sorts of “go to” colours and I love Damaged for a rich but not alarming green. The purples are really nice too though I’ve never used them all that much.
I quite like Vice 2 myself and once upon a time, I would have suggested this one for the mix of colours and neutrals. I do love Radar, Derailed and Ambush – plus Stash and Damaged (the best green around) and even Voodoo – the purple shade on occasion. But I find the palette has too many black shades (3 or 4 – why?) and pink shades to include. But for the colours I use, it is great.
Coax is the only one of the pink shades that is a problem for me. I thought Toxic would be another shadow I wouldn’t/couldn’t wear but I actually came to like it and felt a bit proud of moving out of my “comfort zone”. I agree about the really dark, black variation. Three is a lot – I could have happily done without Lovesick (I think that’s the one that is loaded with glitter) but the other 2 might come in handy if this was one of only 2 palettes I could use for the whole year. I thought about Naked2 as well and also Naked Smoky but I was going for lots of shadows per palette!
Too Faced Natural Eyes
ColourPop Good Sport
Between these two, I’d be pretty much set.
No three? Rats!
ABH Modern Renaissance
Too Faced Sweet Peach
Still my most used and I think together they give me enough variety and they would carry me from Winter to Summer!
Smashbox Cover Shot Punked and Urban Decay Born to Run
Seraphine, we really do have similar tastes; I love the Smashbox Punked palette (and the Minimalist one) and really enjoy Born to Run (I almost chose it but it has a few too many shades that aren’t the most practical for me)
I wish Punked swatches were on Temptalia so I could use it to make Color Stories! It’s my current favorite neutral palette. Good cool neutral palettes are few and far between.
I know. The first release of those 8 pans are all here (I got Smoky from that first bunch) but not the more recent ones of which both Punked and Minimalist are part. I imagine Christine is so swamped with products to review that it makes it difficult. Can you only do the Colour Stories for products that are swatched/reviewed?
Punked is a really nice one. One of those rare cooler-toned palettes that works on light skin and can still look smokey, without being too dark or muddy.
Now I want Smashbox Punked. It looks really good!
I returned it. It became muddy when I applied it. Honestly like Colourpop Fame better.
That sucks Punked went muddy on you. I just got Fame on the last sale, because it looked too perfect for fair skin to pass up for $12 or whatever I ended up paying for it.
Viseart Liason
PMG MTHRSHP Subliminal Platinum Bronze
I’d be bored to tears, but I know I can rely on easy to wear looks from the combo of these two palettes.
Natasha Denona Gold and ABH Sultry My looks would be fairly “wearable,” but I would still have some greens to play with and I’d be able to warm and cool toned looks. It would get rough for stage makeup, but I’m confident I could make it work; especially, since single shadows do exist.
Sultry is SUCH a good palette and does not get the hype of other ABH palettes even though it is better. So confusing. It very nearly made my list too!
To me it’s the best palette they’ve released in a long time. I almost put Soft Glam, but then Sultry popped in my mind and it knocked SG right out.
I picked Sultry as well for its beautiful mix of shades that definitely not boring neutrals, but vibrant colours.
I almost chose Sultry but I guess I was thinking “bigger/more selection” and as much as I really love shimmery shadows, Sultry is just a tiny bit heavy on the shimmery shades. I think if Blossom, (the coral shade) had been an ivory shade with a sheen, I would have chosen it as one of my choices.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m basing this on the two I’ve consistently reached for over the past year: Too Faced’s Life’s a Festival (yes, the rainbow unicorn one) and Too Faced’s Matte Chocolate Chip mini palette. They’re the 2 palettes in which I’ve hit pan on multiple shades, and particularly with Life’s a Festival, it’s so versatile that I can use it 5 days a week and have dramatically different eye looks every day.
UD Born to Run, TF original Chocolate Bar palette. and ABH Modern Renaissance.. and maybe UD Naked 2.
I think ND Safari and Sunrise. I can make Safari work with anything.
You do realize that this would be next to impossible for me since I have ADD when it comes to makeup?As much of it as I have of it — mostly eyeshadow palettes! — one particular item only holds my attention for so long, which is probably why I have literally hundreds of palettes.
So I would have to have two rather large palettes: Viseart’s Grande Pro Vol. 1 (because, well, it’s Viseart and it’s all matte), and Jeffree Star’s Jawbreaker. Between the two, I could probably come up with enough looks to keep me entertained for a few days. But don’t hold me to this since I’m sure I could change my answer in about an hour. 🙂
Yikes — typo alert. Should be AAD not ADD. See how this question threw me for a loop?
OK, I understand ADD & ADHD but what is AAD? (Nurse here)
I guess I was correct the first time and meant ADD for Adult Attention Deficit! My bad.
I think I have the same problem. I can’t answer this question!
I’d have to go with BeBella Pro palettes in Maroon Mayhem & Basic Browns. Between the two, I’d get a variety of reds & neutrals, but I do think I’d get bored rather quickly, and not even bother most days. I’d also have to change my choices of lip & cheek products, as the ones I named aren’t the best options for these palettes…
If you’d asked this question a year ago I would have struggled with it, but I’ve streamlined a lot of my beauty routine and I could make it with my Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons for my every day look and neutral colors, and Nomad’s Antilles palette for the pops of color.
This is HARD!
Probably (?) UD Born To Run and either MAC Natural Vice or Lorac Unzipped?
Too bad it didn’t say 3 for one year! If so, my 3rd would have been ABH Modern Renaissance.
I was hoping for three too and then I’d add the Viseart Cashmere Theory or ABH Sultry.
I love the Cashmere Theory palette but it’s a small one and for a whole year??? That’s why I chose the ones I did – they’re not necessarily my all time favourites but they’re large, so I’d have a lot of choice for that year.
What I love about this question is that it makes us all feel so “normal”. I’m sure there are lots of people out there who maybe only own 2 eyeshadow palettes (or maybe none at all) or who would cope fine with just 2 single eyeshadows but that ain’t most of us!
Modern Renaissance would have been my third choice, as well. It seems I’m always picking it up to augment something else, or to use on days when I need a quick look I know will work.
Chanel Les Beiges 9 pan (neutral) palette & Dior backstage cool-toned palette.
Dior Backstage Cool is one of my favorite palettes! I thought about including it, but decided to go with Smashbox Punked because it’s a bit more neutral and has a wider range of shades.
Oh gosh… I think I’d go with UD Gwen Stefani, because it is the perfect neutral palette. And then I’d also choose Lime Crime Venus II, because it has a a very interesting combo of colors.
I almost put Venus I as one of mine, buuuuut I could cheat and use blush to do a coral eye if I wanted to.
Gwen Stefani was a serious contender for me.
UD Gwen Stefani palette is my all time favorite neutral palette. I never wear it anymore but I refuse to part with it.
Mine would probably be Tarte Pro and Pat McGrath Mothership V, but gosh I would miss so many of my other palettes.
UD Born to Run and UD Naked Ultimate Basics! A good mix of matte neutrals and some great colours
James Charles Morphe palette (or any very colorful palette with both mattes and shimmers), to have the colors covered, and ABH Soft Glam to have a few neutrals.
Yeah! I’m not the only one who choose the James Charles palette! Lol. It definitely has everything
People, you’re killing me here!! Only 2! Well I am going to go with two and maybe some honorable mentions, LOL!
1. UD Born To Run I used this and only this for five weeks so I know it works for me. It has a matte brow bone shade light enough for me, a few transition shades, good mid-tone and deeper shades and a pop of colour.
2. UD Naked 2. I like that the palette runs slightly cooler. It has good selection of mattes, shimmers, light and dark shades.
Based on my choices I noted that I don’t have greens here which is probably my favorite colour overall so might have to save a couple of individual shadows.
Honorable mention: Too Faced Natural Eyes palette, Pat McGrath Bronze Seduction, Lorac Unzipped and Emme Cosmetics Flower Garden palette.
I also picked Naked 2 for the same reason – a lovely mixture of cooler shades.
Natasha Denona Lila for the pinks and purples and ABH Sultry for a variety of matte and sparkly neutral browns.
1. Urban Decay Born to Run. I would really prefer a sturdy, versatile, pre-made palette, for travel. This one is excellent quality, has a large variety of shades, sturdy packaging, and is compact enough for carry-on luggage. I know our Deborah S. and her daughter used it for their entire European vacation, and if it was good enough for them for that kind of trip, it’s good enough for anything I’d be doing (including if hubby and I ever manage our dream trip to Australia).
2. On the opposite end, Urban Decay Naked Basics is my go-to minimalist travel eye (and face) palette for trips that are only a few days or where I’m really tight on packing space. It’s versatile and indispensable, and I have a backup to replace my current well-loved one.
As an eye palette addict, this question is a killer and had me a bit panicky, especially when I saw we could only choose two! But in reality… I have a huge collection of loose indie shadows and pigments, and many pressed singles from mainstream and indie brands. I’d miss my beloved palettes over this hypothetical year, but I’d still have plenty of variety. I’d still have my plethora of colored eyeliners, and my collections of eye-safe glitters and colored mascaras, too. I have both of the LunatiCK Labs Pro Contour Books, and their products are eyesafe. I have a ton of blushes and highlighters that could double on eyes. I wouldn’t be bored or deprived at all, really. I could go a year (or the rest of my life!) without any pre-made eyeshadow palettes.
Sorry, as usual, I ended up writing an essay about eyeshadow palettes. I just needed to give myself a reality check about how much stuff I actually own, and to stop being ridiculous.
I totally use my LunatiCK Labs contour book for eye shadow, too! In fact I almost always use the cream highlight color to do my brow bone if the eyeshadow palette I’m using doesn’t have a brow color, and I’ve frequently dipped into my favorite contour color to darken my crease a bit after finishing an eyeshadow look. That contour book is seriously one of my best makeup purchases ever.
The main reason I bought Vol. II on sale is that I thought it would make a killer eyeshadow palette.
Only two? C’mon now, that’s just cruel. We got three whole lipsticks!
I’m thinking maybe the Melt Smoke Sessions (since it has true greens and olive greens, thus covering all my green bases), and maybe the Kat Von D Monarch palette, because yes, it’s old, and yes, KvD is problematic and I won’t buy anything new from her, but I still reach for it as my go-to neutral palette.
Then I would spend the rest of the year rounding out my collection of eye shadow singles so I’d have more colors to work with, ha ha.
Good point about getting 3 lipstick choices and only 2 palette choices (but it is palettes so 2 palettes could still be 40 eyeshadows, when you think about it – depending on what you choose). But 3 would have made it a bit easier!
This is a hard one for me. If I am limited to the eyeshadow that is on two palettes only, I would probably stop wearing makeup out of boredom from repetition. I don’t like to wear neutral eyeshadows and as much as I love green eyeshadow, wearing the same greens every day would drive me crazy.
If I could keep my singles then I would pick Natasha Denona Safari and Menagerie Whalesong. Safari mixes with just about anything and Whalesong has great blues and greens.
MAC Nordstrom Naturals
Sydney Grace Autumn Reign
Pat Mcgrath mothership V and Pat Mcgrath Decadence LE palettes. I go back to them every time.
1. ABH Modern Renaissance
2. Viseart Paris Nude
Just two! That is so, so hard:
ABH Sultry
Lorac Pro Metals palette.
I think the above has a good mix of neutrals and colours.
I would also like to mention Naked 2 for the grey shades.
Maybe…. Lorac Mega Pro palette and… something like… the BH Foil Eyes palette? I think that would cover most of the looks I’d crave to make.
PMG Subversive and ABH Modern Renaissance, I could use my highlighter and contour palettes as neutrals, blush palettes for corals. I think I just might be able to swing it!
I’m not sure if this is allowed. But… I have two palettes of singles, one is mauve to purples, and the other is all shades of yellow to greens. In a pinch I could swap out the mauve one for Viseart Pro I. But I’d be stumped as to the second one, apart from Viseart Absinth, I don’t have any pre-made green palettes.
Viseart Neutral Mattes and ABH Sultry.
I’m struggling with choosing just 2 since eyeshadow palette are my weakness. I’m going with Natasha Denona Safari and Sunrise. They work well together and I can create gorgeous looks. Use Bloom with either and it’s a home run. 😍
Too Faced Natural Lust and Sweet Peach
Urban Decay Naked 2…that was the easy one. Then I’m torn between Naked 1 and a MUFE Christmas palette from about 3 years ago…before they changed their formula. That palette had 6(?) shadows in a tin box and 2 of them are my favorite MUFE shadows. But I’d also like Tartes Tartlette palette for mattes too…..and I’m sure when I go below and read everyone’s comments I’ll be glad that this challenge isn’t real.
ABH Sultry and the Persona Identity Palette – I’m a neutrals with a metallic accent sort of gal and I need a decent matte black for 90% of my looks.
UD Electric and KvD 10th Anniversary. If I cheat and do 3 instead of 2, the third would be UD Born to Run.
Too Faced Chocolate Bar and Makeup Revolution Emily Edit Wants
I know it’s so much drama behind his name but just looking at the palette itself for the coloed and my style of makeup, (I love colorful looks!), I would pick the morphe and James Charles palette as my first and maybe the new morphe pinky/purple palette, the quality of those are great and other then blue, pinks and purples are my favorites too wear.
Huda Beauty Nude & Anastasia Riviera Palette
Surprised on your selections Christine! Thanks for sharing as I have neither (due to dupes), so I may need to create or write down the dupes for these two .
As for answering the question, not possible for me. My palette selection for a given time is like the wind, comes and goes!
But okay, I’ll FORCE myself to imagine this now………..
Pat McGrath’s Subliminal (because that and the Dark Star combo are all I have of her’s and that palette is just so lovely to look at and use and I know I’d look good at work as well as out).
Natasha Denona’s Star palette (my first of her’s and I just like it, simply put! Again, I worked hard to figure out how to use it and it works for me.)
So that means I’d have little bright, colourfully summery selections, boo hoo! I think I need ND’s Safari because if it works, I think that would be number two.