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Rant & Rave: Mega Makeup Palettes
Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Mega Makeup Palettes!
my answer: I’m just not that person who wants to have a 100 eyeshadows in a single palette… at least one that is pre-made. The quality can be all over the place, and if you only like a few shades, it can be annoying to take out the entire palette. As a blogger, they are my nemesis, because I somehow was crazy enough to rate every product individually and give dupes individually so something with 100 eyeshadows makes me curl up and cry.
I don’t care for them at all. Too bulky and from my experience, the quality isn’t there. I’d rather have something a little more compact.
I love that they usually give the ability to create a multitude of looks in one palette and get me to explore colors that otherwise I might not try. That said, I don’t like if they don’t provide enough neutrals to actually complete a look. And I *really* don’t like super bulky packaging! I like them to be sturdy, but portable. Urban Decay are usually my favorite, but they can be pretty over the top with packaging!
I would have to agree with you. If the quality was superb (LORAC or Urban Decay for ex.) then sure! I’d love to invest into a mega palette, but if the quality is so so I probably would never use it. Perhaps it’s useful for a professional make-up artist, but not for every day use (in my humble opinion).
Not for me 🙂
I don’t think they’re very practical. I personally prefer palettes that are travel worthy, and do not take up much space. I think they are very ideal for young people getting into beauty as they can play around with tones and shades, and figure out what they like and go from there and begin to purchase small, more concise kits or palettes. I have some Stila ones that are just too big for any practical use and the sit under my sink only randomly being accessed if I for some odd reason need a neon blue shadow. Lol.
Hi Lacy,
I couldn’t agree with you more. Although I personally don’t have any large palettes, for a makeup novice, they offer a wonderful opportunity to explore many colors, textures, and finishes in one economical package.
They are great for young girls new to make up, or for someone on a budget, but for someone who has an extensive make up collection (…me…..) they are wasted. I am actually looking at some now for my niece who is allowed to put make up on at home but not school.
I have one mega palette (88 shimmer Coastal Scents knock off) that I bought to explore, but only because the price was right. Generally though, they’re too bulky and often expensive because quality doesn’t tend to there, so they don’t interest me. That said, I do think they are good for teens/someone just starting off because it can help them figure out what they like so they can spend their money on better quality items more wisely.
Not a fan. I love palettes, but I am turned off by large ones. I was kind of tempted by the Smashbox Photo Op palette. I swatched some shades and the quality looked good but honestly, I find large palettes to be overwhelming. I do like combination palettes such as the Balm Jovi palette, but I really don’t want more than 12-16 shadows in a palette (my preference is somewhere around 6-8. I want it to be slim, easy to store and travel. I actually depotted by Urban Decay BOS IV because it was so huge and awkward – ad that only had 16 shadows plus an eyeliner, small primer potion, and mascara.
I have some of the BH Cosmetics palettes and I definitely find them handy if I’m looking for a very specific color. But for everyday those aren’t the eye shadows I typically go for. And it’s not like they can fit in a makeup bag either.
I’m not a fan either. I barely ever wear brights so they are definitely a waste, I prefer portable palette or to make my own. I have over 78 different eyeshadow colors (including the colors in palettes) and it makes me quite picky over the quality
So…no Sephora 2013 Blockbuster Palette review this year? hehe I mean, I get you. That IS all sorts of cray right there. The Muse had a very positive review on it so it KINDAAAAA made me want to spend my VIB 20% on one…kinda. But I didn’t. I generally don’t like mega palettes. Especially lipstick/eyeshadow combos with the eyeshadow powders getting into the lip colors. ICK!!!
LOL! I refuse!
I think I agree with you… most mega palettes are not consistently fabulous… and the size is not easy to store or travel with either. I wouldn’t want a palette with more than 30 eye shadows in it, I would think… and even then, it would have to be a good brand, like Urban Decay.
Totally agree!! The only really large palette I have liked has been the Sephora Color Play 5-in-1 Limited Fashion Edition palette that came out a couple years ago, because it was grouped as 5 palettes of 10 shades each, that could actually be detached from the main palette and placed inside a smaller more portable travel palette. Having so many shades broken down a little more into “digestable” pieces like that makes it a little less overwhelming! :p
I bought this Sephora palette a few years ago when I was experimenting with colours. The price was right, and the quality is OK. After some experimenting, I was able to purchase higher end product. I still use an occasional eye shadow and blush from this palette. That being said, these sort of palettes are good for those just getting into make-up and/or colours.
I like that they can be a really great value, but personally I would never ever buy one, since I wouldn’t know where to store it. I prefer eyshadow singles or smaller palettes (quads or Dior’s 5-Couleurs), which I can take with me wherever I go. Even the Urban Decay Naked palette turned out to be too big for me, as I barely ever reach for it, except when I’m traveling.
I love those with 30* shades! I wouldn’t waste my $ on something like the Sephora megas but asanas box has pug out great ones as well as some others in the 20-30 shade range.
They take me back to my childhood!! I see kits like the Color Club ones and the plastic Sephora monstrosities and it reminds me of the plastic tray I got for Christmas one year barely into my teens. I wouldn’t DARE leave the house in makeup at that point, but it was fun to play with, with all the pastel colors and scratchy brushes. My daughters first “makeup” was a Color Club kit I believe, and it was just to play with. She still has a lot of the stuff from it, except the lip glosses, which got used up, and won’t touch the stuff now.
Palettes the size of the Nakeds or the larger The Balm ones I don’t mind, but they stay in my bathroom. I prefer smaller items in my bag that leaves the house, so I can chose more variety among different brands.
I think that they are great for teens and beginners, but I would rather buy a small compact of good quality like Urban Decay.
I like palettes, but preferably the ones with up to ten shades. More and it becomes a bit too much, and I end up using only half or less of the actual colors.
I don’t understand the point of palettes that big! It’s not practical. I think brands should do smaller palettes, but focus on making sure each shadow in the palette is quality and has good payoff.
I find them a bit garish. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s how I feel.
I find them useful because I do cosplay and sometimes have to reach for those “weird” colors that I wouldn’t normally use in daily life! It’s already an expensive hobby, so I don’t want to shell out mega bucks for individual shades when I can have a cheaper BH/Coastal Scents/ELF palette. The quality isn’t always consistent, but I can make it work with primers and/or a white base. For everyday use, I definitely want higher quality shadows and blushes in colors that I know I love and will use all the time.
I’m wary of the huge holiday palettes from third world companies because of their history of contamination with bacteria and foreign substances. If made in regular places, I’d consider them for gifts. I don’t conside the smaller palettes made by regular Companies to be the same and some mega palettes such as UD, I love and buy if in my budget at the time of release.
For me it just depends on the quality I think, I had all the Coastal Scents palettes and I have given away all of them because I just did not reach for them. I am a total palette lover though. I love my UD book of shadow ones. I just like to have everything in one place so I’m not having to reach for fifty million things. That’s why I like the ones with blush and lipsticks. I have the one from Smashbox that folds up and has eyeshadows,bushes,cream liners and two glosses in their own tubes.
I like them; even if 1/2 the shades are “duds”, the price is usually low enough that that the value is still there. I’d rather spend $20-30 on 60+ shades where 1/2 are mediocre, than 2-3 times that amount for a quad/quint that has a shade or two that is subpar. My Sephora & e.l.f. palettes are used far more than my MAC, Lancôme, & Estee Lauder palettes… I also like that I get some really bizarre shades I can’t easily find as singles, and with a cream base or primer, I can actually get great pigmentation.
I always feel like there are too many ‘duds’ in the giant palettes to make it worth purchasing. I think they would make a really good gift for someone that is new to makeup though!
If I didn’t already have a small makeup collection, I might think about getting a mega palette as a first purchase. Now it seems redundant – I have my most favorite/basic colors covered and anymore I’m just looking for new, unique products. I do appreciate the value, though, and every once in a while have to treat myself to a small palette. But certainly anything that’s over 20/25 eyeshadows would be a bit much for me!
I hate them so much! I don;t know what it is but those humongous palette with a hundred colors in them make me physically cringe
Nope. Not into them, especially as I know I’ll never go for most of the colours. Waste of money, waste of product. IMO, better to build your own palette with colours you know you’re going to use.
(That said, I do own some pre-made palettes but nothing like the 88/120/180/256/whatever palettes that are out there.)
If it were the UD Mother Lode, I’d be all for it because you can make it portable by putting colors in the mini palette and switching them out when you get bored. Otherwise, so not a fan. I don’t know how people could put up with that. It is only practical in theory. I like everything to be separate, too.
They are often bulky and feel cheap (both packaging and actual product). And most of the time I only like a few colors anyway.
What I DO like is large palettes that I put together myself, like the Inglot 40 palettes. I love having that many eyeshadows spread out on my bathroom counter when I do my makeup. It helps me being creative and pick different color combinations every time. I get to use a lot of shades that I otherwise would forget about.
Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of palettes in general.
They make good gifts and I have one or two that I like for travel, but in general, my makeup collection has gotten big enough that I’d rather have really fine control over what else goes into it. Plus I have a bit of a fear of running out of just one or two colors, then wasting or never using all the rest.
For me personally, not a giant fan. They’re a pain to store and depending on the brand the quality is so polarizing from shade to shade! Now, for someone that didn’t have a giant makeup budget but had saved up to get an eyeshadow palette from a quality brand, then maybe I can see the use if its your main source of makeup, but when you start collecting and build up an amount that can’t all fit in a small bag (like a normal person) then they don’t become as useful.
For me, anything over 25-30 shadows is too much.
I hate mega palettes…. or anything that I can’t hold properly in 1 hand. I just knocked over my latest Shu Uemura x Takashi Murakami palette recently, it went flying and broke into a million pieces! The only reason I bought that palette was because it actually had excellent quality throughout, and all of the colors (except the blush) I loved. So that just made my heart ache all the worse.
I really admire you rating each and every shade in those mega palettes, and giving dupes as well!! It’s an insane amount of work, and makes me respect you so much!
Thank you, Linda! 🙂
Eek. I severely dislike palettes with too many colors. Those mass produced 100 and up palettes are of awful quality. I have a hard time believing that anyone truly requires 12 shades of the same hue. I guess having an artistic background makes me look down upon them. If you want a lighter shade of a hue, add a white base. Darker? Add a black base. Doing that makes makeup much easier and definitely more creative.
I think that if you have a small to medium sized collection that they can be useful. I have one large palette–the coastal scents 252. If I ever want to try something new or do a bright look one day I can just pull out that palette. The quality is great, it’s pretty compact for such a large palette, and it keeps me from buying tons of smaller quads or singles just for a color I won’t use very often.
I complain enough about small and medium-sized palettes to want to bother with it. I apologize, but that last sentence there made me chuckle. Think of Christine’s poor swatching hands, people! 😛
I never buy mega palettes/sets because I know the types of colors I tend to use so I don’t need all the extras. I would rather have a eyeshadow trio or quad that I can use all the time over a giant set that I’m only going to use maybe 25% of the colors. Also the packaging would probably seriously bother me. I depotted my UD book of shadows IV a while back when I first got it because the packaging was just ridiculous.
Agreed. Awkward packaging is also a pet peeve of mine.
Ya know, I think you just created a Ph.D. for E.L.F! I have a love/hate relationship with them, mostly for the value, although I do not have to review and dupe, the hate part of relationship is the quality.
I no longer like them because I feel like I would have rather just bought singles instead of having 3/4ths or 1/2 of a palette untouched . I’d have still spent the same money, but wouldn’t have as much product staring at me in the face like “why don’t you use me like the others?”
The thing is, most people don’t have a huge assortment of products so mega makeup palettes are a one and done deal for a long time — buy it, use up most of it, replace with something else. To makeup enthusiasts with large collections, they’re not even a “value” anymore. We’ve probably got dupes of stuff, would need to make more room for it, etc.
Plus, a lot of palettes are extremely repetitive in colors, especially with the 3 million Naked palette dupes/neutral palettes on the market. I’m more likely to buy something like Kat Von D Spellbinding palette than LORAC Pro since I already have a Naked palette and some neutral singles.
I’ve never owned one, but I truly do not think it would be worth it for me, even though many of them are inexpensive for the amount of product. They seem way too bulky, and I can barely stand to get palettes where I don’t use only one or two of the colors — having a dozen that I didn’t use would drive me nuts!
Um.. I love palettes to individual shadows anytime. custom made or otherwise. But mega ones, not really! would be more fancy less practical for me!
They aren’t really worth it to me since they usually contain things I will never use, like blush, bronzer, and orange – based lip colors. If I can’t use a good percentage of what is in the pallette, then I pass.
I think they’re useful for beginners and to have very special or bright shades that are used once in a while. But I find mega palettes overwhelming. I can´t choose between so many colors.
I dislike that they are usually hefty and cumbersome to store, leaving me to put them somewhere inconvenient. And since ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is very true for me, i never use them. Not only that, but palettes with many shades usually have poor quality, or have such small product in each pan, that you don’t even want to use them.
I have the 88 eyeshadow palette and I forget to use it.. I mostly stick w mac but I have probably around 80 eyeshadows besides the kit.
“…because I somehow was crazy enough to rate every product individually and give dupes individually…”
You are crazy for doing this and I think of how much I feel bad that you do this all the time! We appreciate it though!
LOL! Thank you, Arianne 🙂
It just means NO WAY on any of those mega palettes, though. I’ll do the 20s and 30s, but if we are talking 50 products, no thank you! I’m sure some product will break this rule, though!
I greatly appreciate the individual shade reviews and dupes that you do for palettes, Christine. That is why I always look for palette reviews on your site first rather than other bloggers.
Thank you, Katrina! xo
I love palettes, but mostly for the way they look rather than practicality for my life. I have some BHCosmetics palettes that have 28 shadows; I think that’s my limit (and I wouldn’t have even gotten those if not for crazy sales). I will probably only use them on occasions when I’m doing my makeup at home, and that’s rare. I usually do my makeup in the car while my husband is driving, while he’s in a store, or with whatever time I have left after I have arrived to work. So although I have a giant makeup collection, I mostly use the items that I have put in my little makeup bag in my purse. And even at home, setting out one of those 88 or 120 palettes on my counter wouldn’t be so great; I don’t have a lot of counter space in my bathroom. Even small palettes aren’t so great for my makeup ‘lifestyle’. I have a 6 shadow Wet n Wild palette in my purse, because I won’t have lost a bunch of money if it breaks. I had a 4 pot MAC one in my purse for a while that I loved, but the shadows didn’t stand up to traveling, got crumbly and mixed the shades together terribly. I don’t like the ones that include lipstick, because I don’t like to use lipstick in pan form. And unless the lipstick pans are separated somehow within the palette, they get powder in them and that makes the texture gross.
So overall: No mega palettes for me, unless it were the Urban Decay Mother Lode which has individual shadows with lids. Colors won’t mix, you can take them out, they can be replaced, awesome. But I wouldn’t spend the money…so I guess it’s still no.