I’d actually go with most Sleek eyeshadow palettes, because they’re really affordable but really good (overall). Other palettes that came to mind I think are popular enough that they’re not really underrated any more (Viseart Paris Nudes comes to mind).
Thanks to Rachel for today’s topic!
— Christine
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Illamasqua Neutral palette. It is a super simple quad, but I can never go wrong wearing it.
I love that palette! I’ve been wearing it a lot lately.
I think the layout is dated but the Too Faced smokey palette has some great mattes in it that help to make blending a smokey eye out really easy.
I just checked their website and they don’t sell it anymore… bummer. Maybe they’ll release an updated version once the dust settles from the UD release.
MUA Undressed
I’ve yet to try Sleek! I hear so many good things! Their site overwhelms me I’m not sure what to choose. Lorac Unzipped falls under the radar as well as TheBalm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face palette. It’s fun and decent quality! I think TheBalm palettes are underrated in general. Last on my list are any Lancôme palettes. I adore them. Always have. Never see much about them. Honorable mention for UD Naked Smoky. Yes it is pretty bad but I love the colors so much! They’re all in one palette. Totes workable if you really try and want a majority cool grey toned palette! 🙂
Smashbox Double Exposure: some shades are better than other in that palette, but it’s so versatile! It has everything, including perfect crease/transition shades, some more complex shimmery shades, and some classics. Plus used wet some of the deeper shades make the best ever eyeliners. I feel like I could wear nothing but that palette for a long, long time, and be happy!
Too Faced Love Palette: I really don’t understand why this palette is so completely ignored. It has hearts too, yet didn’t cause the same hysteria as the Bon Bons palette, even though it’s a lot more unique and not a 3rd variation on the Chocolate theme. The formula of the shadows is very different from other Too Faced palettes, it’s very shimmery but in a luminous way rather than a sparkle overdose style. I can understand why some people would dislike the fact that it’s frosty overall, but I don’t understand why it’s been completely discarded and ignored. Especially when the blushes that launched together with it are so popular!
The Love palette is so pretty, but it doesn’t read as a cohesive palette. It looks like it’s meant to be split in three. Plus, I think that making a third of the palette smoky green makes it less successful.
I bought it because of the smokey green. Just FYI.
There’s nothing wrong with smokey green as a concept, but it doesn’t work for a lot of people. Like, I’d absolutely love a mostly neutral palette with a whole turquoise section, but it’s something that a lot of people wouldn’t want.
I agree, that smokey green quint is not for everyone, especially the dark mossy shade. Besides, I’ve heard the formula is the same as the The Return of Sexy palette, which is really soft and muddy and… frustrating. I read on a blog (Musingsofamuse) that it’s supposed to mimic the consistency of Japanese eyeshadows, and that they work better with sponge applicators. I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m hoping it will work (sigh).
Hmmmm – probably Clarins Forest quad, though it’s not a true palette, considering it’s only 4 shades. But Clarins isn’t way up there as a sought after/cutting edge makeup line. Also – this could get me booted from Temptalia – the 2 Stila Eyes are the Window palettes I have – Spirit and Soul. I have such faith in Christine’s reviews that when I saw how poorly “Body” rated and her less than rave review for Soul, I was certain I wouldn’t be buying ANY of the new Stila palettes. But because I was able to get them for “free” using Optimum points and I’d seen some good reviews for Spirit (which Christine didn’t review), I thought it was worth a try. Both of the palettes have a dud or 2 but, over-all, I really like them both. Oh – one other would probably be Naked2Basics – a lot of people think it’s nothing special but I really love it and if I were ever to finish a palette or hit pan on most of a palette, it would be that one!
Technically it’s not an eyeshadow palette, but not many people talk about Coastal Scents Hot Pots. They have been around for a long time and they never get any shine. They rival most of my mid-high end individual shadows.
Just as a counterpoint – I kinda thing there is a lot of talk about the coastal scents hot pots. But by bloggers with more limited budgets. A lot of the bigger blogging community graduates from BH and Coastal after a while and whilst they’re fantastic value shadows to start with undoubtedly – there are much better formulations available for not much more if ones budget allows. (MUG etc..)
Also – For me, Coastal Scents have MAJOR points deducted for being out of stock of about 70% of their shadow line for nearly 3 months. Running out of stock of a few items is one thing – not replenishing for months at a time is a farce.
Personally, I love the Hello Kitty Pop Up Party Palette, but it got no respect, and I can understand why, because Hello Kitty shadows are usually horrible, basically play makeup for little girls. Sure the blue and purple shades are problematic, but every brand out there has the same issues with blues/purples, so will need primer or cream shadow to fix, except Dear Daniel is un-fixable. But it had so many other shades in there that have awesome pigment and/or shades that are hard to find ( apple green, yellow, peach, light aqua teal, glitter green black, duo chrome peach pink), and the color combo is great, basically beautiful neutrals with fun, unique pops of color. It was a really under-rated palette and pricey at $50, but when it finally went on sale at Sephora, people who bought it were so surprised by how much they liked the palette, both in terms of quality and colors.
Sleek palettes are sooo worth checking out! Highly recommend Storm, Sunset, and Bad Girl. Many of the other ones are good, too. I also have Garden of Eden, Vintage Romance, Arabian Nights, and Enchanted Forest. Each have problem shades but all in all fun with mostly high quality shades.
I also see that they brought back their “Original” palette, which is also a top pick.
I’m not certain how underrated it is, but I don’t hear much buzz about it either, no fanfare or ravings. Lorac Unzipped Palette. When my daughter, Sabrina, was working at Sephora, she turned me on to it. I had gone there to buy the newly released UD Naked 3, I was set on it! She showed me on my arm *why* Naked 3 would be a major disappointment for me if I bought it, but how magnificently glowy and more warm of rose-gold Unzipped ran for warmer, olive skintones. I bought it, I love how I can get that rose-gold look on my NC37-40 olive complexion, how beautifully the shades all blend together, and REALLY amps up the green and teal in my eyes!
Unbridled is especially amazing for bringing out the greens. I lined my eyes with it a couple days ago and ….Wow!
Yes, it is! Totally love wearing Unbridled with Undercover, Unconditional, Unreal and Unbelievable! Sometimes subbing Unattainable for Unbelievable for a touch of more neutral looking.
I agree. I almost bought one, and I’m definitely not a palette girl!
Love the unzipped/unzipped gold palettes. Most of the shades ( I don’t mess with super light colors , especially not light shimmers) are super useable and blendable. LOVE. Those palettes are my go to when I just want 2 colors that will go together, and I don’t have to think about it.
Lora Unzipped is my FAVORITE palette of all time, and I’m like NC5. It was so much better than UD’s Naked 3, the rose-toned Too Faced Bonbons palette, and basically every rosey palette. I have dark, grayish-green eyes and it makes them look much less like old dead branches. <3
Unbelievable on the outer half and Unreal on the inner half of the eye with Unbridled in the outer V? PERFECTION! And Undercover is such a fantastic highlight shade.
spank y’all very much. I had to google it. 😛
Just today I was at the shop and saw that they now carry Sleek and they had Arabian Nights! I grabbed it as I had been coveting it since you reviewed it! Thanks a lot for the tip!
High end: The Balm Meet Matt(e) Nude: It has nine really great mattes, and the colors are interesting while still being neutral. It’s small enough to easily tuck in your purse. Urban Decay Electric Palette: You hear a lot about it, but mostly that it’s got great pigmentation but isn’t wearable for most people. You actually can get more subtle looks from it by itself or in conjunction with other palettes or singles. I don’t think enough people take it seriously.
Drug store: Profusion, Hard Candy Top Ten Palettes, and City Color Cosmetics all have some of the best drug store palettes on the market, but I rarely see or hear about them. Overall fantastic pigmentation, good texture, and long lasting.
For City Color, their Spice Me Up palette got good reviews, but stay away from the Smokey one. I grabbed it on sale, and it’s your typical DS shadow, needs primer and/or cream base. But their Shimmer Shadow singles are awesome, comparable to MUFE, UD, and KVD Metal Crush IMO
I don’t have the smokey one; sorry to hear it wasn’t good. I have Spice Me Up, Figtastic, Harvest Moon, Intense Shine (my favorite), and the Falling Leaves Trio. The Shimmer Shadows are on my list for next time I order. They’ve been getting great reviews.
OMG, you MUST try the City Color Shimmer Shadows! I was totally stunned when I got them -the pigment and formula are very close to Kat Von D Metal Crush and MUFE Artist, but they’re only $6 each, and less if on sale. I have 3 of them, and they are all awesome, feel like a hybrid cream powder, very pigmented, dense, and smooth. Hint of Mint (pastel mint green with a strong duo- chome gold metallic undersheen -my fave!), It’s a Girl (a medium marsala burgundy red-pink, beautiful) and It’s A Boy (lighter royal blue, crazy pigmented and smooth, one of the best blue shadows ever invented). Thanks for the rec on Intense Shine, heard it was great too, it’s on my wishlist.
Thanks for the color recs!
I don’t think the Ciate London x Olivia Palermo palettes got the attention that they deserved (oops! they’re still available). Both palettes are equally good, I think — pigmented, blendable, well-thought-out combinations of shades.
Anything by Sleek cosmetics, but definitely the Original palette.
Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Eyeshadow Palette! Gorgeous selection of richly pigmented eyeshadows in an awesome array of colours. Velvety smooth and easy to blend. This is not a palette for the colour-shy or matte lovers.
Too Faced’s Boudoir Eyes. It’s a great, user-friendly palette with a lot of options for versatility. You can get some good depth and smokiness without going too dark.
Hard Candy’s palettes are surprisingly decent.
Boudoir Eyes was my first higher end palette purchase and I still love it!! Wearing it today actually!
A golden oldie – Stila In the Garden – beautifully subtle and highly pigmented colours.
DS – all of our DS palettes here in Australia are pretty horrible so I wouldn’t recommend any of them. But the Sleek brand is fantastic for the price.
Have you tried Chi Chi Palettes Genevieve? If so, what are they like or comparable to?
Butter London clutch palettes! Pigmentation and blendability are fantastic not to mention the ability to customize the shadows with the duos that are sold separately. And they’re the perfect size for travel.
Sleek and Ciate.
I only own 4 pre-made palettes (7 if Sugarpill quads could be included) and out of the 4, I’d say that the KVD Chrysalis palette is talked about the least on YouTube or blogs from what I’ve seen. I saw a few videos come out when the Monarch/Chrysalis palettes were brand new, but not many, and hardly anything after that. It’s not my favorite palette EVER, but I do really like it and think it’s not talked about much.
I really like the Bare Minerals 4.0 quads I’ve been wearing The Truth for about a month now and I always tend to take it put during this time of the year the colors are neutral soft and blendable
Makeup Revolution Mermaids Forever.
The Morphe Soul Of Summer palette. I got it back in December and even though it feels quite cheap the eyeshadows are just amazing.
Totally agree with Sleek Palettes. Easy to use and great variety of shades and finishes for a reasonable price. My favorites are Storm and Oh, So Special.
Lorac Unzipped, 100%. I love this palette. It was everything I had hoped Urban Decay Naked 3 would have been, and more. It’s my absolute favorite palette, but nobody else seems to know about it.
I’m going to say the Urban Decay Smoked palette. I guess people never caught on, which is why I see it on clearance every now and then. IMO the quality is better than the Naked palettes.
That’s my pick too! You almost never hear about “Smoked,” but it is the only Urban Decay palette I’ve ever owned that didn’t give me buyer’s remorse soon after getting it home (it sure doesn’t hurt that I picked it up for less than $20 after some stacked discounts). Every one of the shadows performs perfectly for me (not a glitter bomb or powdery mess in the bunch). I actually *use* all the shades. And it’s versatile as all get-out with the variety of looks it can create, so it doesn’t bore the pants off of me in short order. I call it my “desert island” shadow palette. As in, the one palette I’d choose to keep if I were stranded on one.
Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette. It’s gorgeous!
Reviewed here:http://a-woman-of-a-certain-age.com/2015/11/shades-of-autumn/
Pür Soul Mattes Palette