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Rant & Rave: Pastel Eyeshadow

Tell us what you love and hate about...

Pastel Eyeshadow

I like the way they look, though less so on me,
but find they are often significantly under-performing compared to less white-based eyeshadow shades!

— Christine

23 Comments

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Elizabeth Avatar

I know that you prefer it when shadows work well without primer, but a layer of white grease paint such as MUFE fard gras lets pastel shadows absolutely POP.

xamyx Avatar

I like them as a base and/or accent, and generally in a shimmer/frost formula, but I can’t do them alone. Although I’m on the fairer end of the spectrum as far as skintone goes (darker than Fair, but paler than Light), with a decidedly neutral undertone, I have nearly black eyes, dark hair, and prominent Mediterranean features, so pastels just end up looking like cheap kids makeup from Claire’s/Justice on me. That said, on those who are quite fair, and have more delicate features, pastels can look quite beautiful & ethereal.

Phoebe Avatar

I love pastels, I’m super fair so I feel like I can wear them well, except I find that there isn’t many good quality pastels. They seem to blend away and just look dusty. I got the KVD pastel goth palette and found the colours way too bright to appear pastel on my skin. I really wish someone, like MAC preferably, came out with some nice pastel shades.

Deborah S. Avatar

Not my favorites and they don’t look very good on me. I am so pale it kind of looks flat and lifeless. I can’t do pastel white based shades of lipstick as my lips are too pigmented.
I wish that I could wear pastels because it makes a nice spring look but just makes me look sick.

Genevieve Avatar

Rants
– Generally these are underperforming shades. particularly the mattes
– When the shades fade you can easily end up just with the white base….

Raves
– When co-ordinated with deeper shades they can provide depth and texture
-Some of the light shimmers – mint or lavendar can suit spring or summer looks.

Sílvia Avatar

I ordered the Nyx Air, Fire & Earth before New Years while on sale. Haven’t touched the Air yet which is the cool toned ones and they do look beautiful but on my hazel eyes i love the rustic colors and Saucey from Colourpop awww so beautiful! i’m pale i’ll see how much i’ll wear the Air palette comes Spring or better yet Summer i hope it looks ok. Otherwise i’ll be using the great tips mentioned here by others always appreciate those. I just don’t think they much for my shade of skin as well as nude lip colors although i’ll wear the lip colors more than an eyeshadow on myself. We’ll see how it goes i need to play with itbut pretty it is. I think this will be my once in a lifetime purchase of cool tones. Ehhhh?! Lol! i need the spice!

Sílvia Avatar

Although i check quickly before sending the message somehow auto correct decides to do its not si wonderful thing. Hate typos! sorry about that.

Jess Avatar

I’m very cool toned and fair. Pastels look much better on me then the orange and red shades that are overwhelming us right now. I definitely prefer them over something that is warm. I do wish they were more pigmented.

Rachel R. Avatar

Rants: I’m just not the biggest fan of pastels in makeup or otherwise. I don’t think the really pale and/or white-based ones look good on me. Pastel eyeshadow usually are not made very well: They tend to be under-pigmented and patchy. They usually require a white base or to be used wet. I find it hard to pull off an all-pastel look; I think they need to be paired with darker shades.

Raves: I like really shimmery or sparkly pastels as an inner corner accent. Bright pastels can be pretty, and a nice change from my usual repertoire. KVD Pastel Goth and Sigma Creme de Couture are both great pastel palettes, so at least I have options if I want a more pastel look.

Alison Avatar

But good quality pastel palettes are a bit hard to come by. So what I do is use a white base and just dust on some medium toned shades and that works for me. For whatever reason, and it’s probably the pigmentation on my lids and under-eyes, deep, vibrant or dark shades are not flattering except as liners.

Nikki Avatar

I lean mainly toward bright eyeshadows, but I have a few pastels in my collection-purple, pink, and blue (which are incidentally my 3 all-time favorite colors), so I guess I prefer stronger colors, even in pastels. My skin is fair and cool, so I tend to look good in the pastels I have.

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