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Which recent eyeshadow palette purchase has been the greatest value for you?


Which recent eyeshadow palette purchase has been the greatest value for you? Share!

Make Up For Ever’s 30th Anniversary Palette or else the Artist Palette. Both are just so fantastic in terms of quality, and they really gave me a good way to gauge the brand and its new formula.

Thanks to reader Genevieve for today’s question idea Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.

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Lily Avatar

Mine would be the Naked2 Basics Palette. I don’t own many matte eyeshadows, so this palette has been great for me to create everyday looks that aren’t too shimmery.

Katherine T. Avatar

The Sephora 5 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Khaki – for $ 25, you get 5 eye shadows in a kit with a mirror and a double ended applicator. The colors are absolutely stunning–smooth, shimmering olive gold khaki shades that look like they belong in a high-end Guerlain or Dior kit. Some of the colors have a nice duo chrome effect, and you can easily do day and night looks without much effort. I have 3 kits, and the quality varies by kit, and this one is a winner!

Hazzel Avatar

What a good question, this year I have been really obsessed with eyeshadows and have bought the Lora pro palette (original), the MAC eyeshadow palette from the Brooke Shield collection and the urban decay pulp fiction palette for 16 dollars!!! Crazy but I have to say the pulp fiction palette is my obsession, its perfect for a simple look or a more elaborate going out look. I love it and you can’t beat the price !

Audrey Avatar

My create-your-own 15 MAC palette. I haven’t gotten it totally filled, yet, but I sure use the heck out of that thing. I’ve definitely used it more than any of my Naked palettes, my Lorac Pro palette or the theBalm palette that I have. I don’t necessarily think that the quality is much different than my other palettes, but each and every shade in my MAC palette is there because I liked it, which is why it gets reached for more often.

Nancy Avatar

Because I got it with my VIB 20% off, Vice 3. While I do NOT think it would be justifiable at $60, it is certainly worth the $48 I spent on it. Some shades I absolutely LOVE, some I only like, and 2 shades I haven’t even touched yet! After getting 2 quads from MAC Novel Romance at $40 a pop and loving Amorous Adventure, but disliking the self-titled A Novel Romance one intensely, this is far more satisfying and usable than I than I thought it would be.

Rachel R. Avatar

Probably the BareMinerals convertible eye palette my husband got me for my birthday. It’s great quality, the colors are all flattering to my hazel/green eyes, and I can mix and match them in the little breakaway compact.

beka Avatar

i’ll agree with you on tom ford cocoa mirage. it was expensive, but i love every shade and the texture is fabulous. i’ve used it often, which is rare. i have so many eyeshadows that i don’t usually repeat often, but with this one, I will

cara Avatar

Well I’d have to say stilla in the light palette… it’s not new for sure BUT I just ordered a backup/second one as I finished 2 of the shadows and am close to hitting pan in a few more. This is pretty unheard of for me

Katherine T. Avatar

I wondering if they are discontinuing the old Stila In the Light, in the Garden, and in Know kits? They are drastically marked down at Sephora. That would be a bummer. I have their Stila in the Garden kit (love!) , and these kits are SO much better than their new Windows eyes kits.

Katrin Avatar

Ooh, thanks for the heads up that they are marked down at Sephora! An employee at Ulta mentioned that she thought with Stila’s new palette releases that they would eventually sell the rest of the “In The” palettes at a discount and then discontinue, but I don’t know how accurate that info is. I’ll have to pick up another “In the Garden” while I have the chance…it is one of my “most-reached-for” palettes and the first one where I’m starting to hit pan!

Meghan Avatar

Was this only available for a few hours on the Sephora site? Does anyone else know -anything- about this palette?!? I’m so curious! It’s ‘loved’ on my Sephora wish list but there’s no option for an email notification or anything! Christine have you heard anything?

zainab Avatar

Stila in the Know I’ve been using it everyday since I got it since it has a brow colour, a great matte highlight and a good blending shade. I’m floored I love an all matte palette so much.

Ashley Avatar

Does my custom MAC palette count? Since I chose each shade in that palette, it’s definitely my most used. A close second would be the UD Naked 1. I wish I could say it’s my Lorac Mega Pro, but the shades just seem to blend away.

LMM Avatar

Naked2 Basics. Easiest way to look good quickly for work, and the colors are really flattering to my eyes. Runner up: UD Pulp Fiction, which I bought on mega-sale to use for travel/leaving at my boyfriend’s house. I’m amazed at what good quality those shadows are, even in comparison to the Naked2 Basics!

Lauren Avatar

Very interesting question. My most valuable RECENT palette purchase is probably the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. The shadow quality is great, I love the colors, and it is perfect for beautiful daytime looks. I recently bought the Chocolate Bar palette too, but I really prefer the Natural Eyes palette.

I haven’t had it for long enough yet, but I think my BareMinerals Magic Act palette may be up there too. It has 6 eyeshadows, 3 blushes, and a highlight and while the colors are fairly basic, the quality si outstanding and it is a good all in one palette to keep in my overnight makeup bag. I need to use it a bit more to decide for sure.

Janelle Avatar

Thanks so much for this Christine! I have tons of Ulta points and am looking forward to spending my points on some of the palettes here (of course I need more makeup like I need a hole upside the head!).

Ruth Avatar

Clinique Neutral Territory 2 All About Shadow 8-pan palette. It’s gotten 10 times the use of my UD Naked 2 & 3. The lightest shade is my HG glowy highlight for the inner corner of eye. Perfect for purse or travel. Decent brush/applicator. Nice mirror. Shiny exterior doubles as a mirror for quick lipstick checks. Not so expensive, but very useful.

Fran Avatar

Hmm… I love my new Make Up For Ever Studio Case, but competing for “best value” might be the two Smashbox Santigolden Age palettes (Earth As We Know It and Apocalypse Now) that I got on sale for half price, because, even though the more glittery shades have some fallout issues, they contain some really gorgeous colors that I love to wear (like shimmery light/medium green, blue, and silver) plus an outstanding matte black and an outstanding matte dark blue, and it seems to be pretty unusual to find really outstanding quality mattes in those shades.

Angel Avatar

I want one of the Dior 5-color compacts with a good black….been eyeing them forever. I thought last Friday was going to be the day, because they were having a really good Dior event (custom looks, plus some v. desirable samples) at Macy’s near my mother’s house. Unfortunately, I couldn’t engineer a good excuse to get back to ATL, so cancelled my appt 🙁

Ruthie Avatar

Coastal Scents Revealed 2 – has dupes for the Naked 3 palette plus more! I have both palettes and reach for the CS version because it has more variety and some of the colors are better than their Naked counterparts!

Roxane Avatar

Bought CS Revealed 2 when it was first released and it’s one of my favorite palettes. I paid like $10 so it would definitely be the one I would pick for the best value! My most recent one I bought with the Utla 20% off would be Lorac’s Unzipped. It’s a winner too!

Liz Avatar

Lorac Pro 2. I seem to pull it out every time I put makeup on, either to do my whole eye look or to use a single shade in conjunction with other palettes.

Elizabeth Avatar

I bought the Urban Decay LE Ulta exclusive eye shadow palette and I love it. I love UD hands down, and I wasn’t going to get it, but when I saw it in person, I had to have it. There were 3 colors I thought I wouldn’t use, but I have used them a couple of times and was quite pleased. I use a primer, and am careful with the application so I don’t have fallout, and I am glad I changed my mind on this one. I didn’t like Vice 2, so this palette fulfilled my urge and has met my expectations quite well. The quality is great, the shadows are everything I look for in a UD shadow, and now that I have swapped my summer for fall/winter colors, it has brought me out of my “Naked” rut. It’s nice to have some color back instead of playing it safe with nude colors. I haven’t felt compelled to buy any other eye shadows or palettes because I have all my bases covered now.

Judy H. Avatar

Try as I might, I have yet to find an eyeshadow palette that has the shadows I want. I also want one that is afforable in pastels with a couple of neutrals. If anyone knows of one like this, I would certainly like to read it in your comment. I’ll check back often!

Donna Avatar

I’ve been enjoying the Smashbox Full Exposure and Marc Jacobs Enigma, both which I was able to get with the 20% discount at Sephora, which helps with the value part of this question. I have not found a palette that does it all unless it is a custom palette I’ve made at MAC. But the Smashbox is fairly close to doing most everything I need. Great question.

Genevieve Avatar

My son just go me the Dior Jardin and the Charlotte Tilbury the Rebel for my recent birthday. I KNOW I am going to be using these continually. Jardin has a beautiful teal Christine, so I will let you know how it works – seeing you’re such a teal fan.
Another palette that I am using a lot of lately is my Tarina Tarantino’s Wonderful Jewel palette. It came out a few years ago and I find I am using it a lot. Another is my Vice2 – I think this was better quality than Vice3.

Mimi Avatar

I love YSL #8 eyeshadow palette. I have tried to find a neutral brown shade for everyday, but whenever I wear brown, people say I look tired. I’ve finally given up and determined that bluey-greeny colors are best on me but they need to be realistic with eyeball color. This palette has perfect shades for everyday use. I ordered a second one so I don’t run out for some time.

Nicole Avatar

I am with you Christine on Makeup Forever’s palettes. I didn’t get the 30 th anniversary one. But, I do love the studio case and artist palette. Also, surprisingly, a good “easy daily” eye for me has become the Urban Decay pulp fiction. Love the shades and they blend amazingly. I did pay full price for it because I got it at release. I noticed it’s like $16 now! That is a great buy. I ,ay snatch another one up for myself..but, then again, all the neutrals! That mid tone brown(forgot the name) is to die for..I so hope UD makes it a single.

Meghan Avatar

I love palettes! And I’m addicted to them! I think the one I’ve really been loving most is the Lorac Pro, but I’ve recently gotten the Lorac Pro 2, MegaPro, a few Viseart palettes… So, I have some playing around to do! 😀

Erica Avatar

I’m going to say my customized palette created from the newly re formulated MUFE eyeshadows. Because they’re customized by preference, I use all of the colors and get more bang for my buck. They are beautifully pigmented.

suedechik79 Avatar

LimeCrime’s Venus palette. Ive had every brand of eyeshadow from Dior to Wet N Wild, and I have never experienced the kind of application and staying power that I get with this palette. The colors are gorgeous and true. I cant imagine using anything else for awhile.

Lorraine Avatar

I already have sooooi many NUDE palettes, but when I saw Maybelline had a new nude eyeshadow palette, I of course had to get it. Walmart eventually got it, so for the price, well under $10, it’s a keeper. Shades are de rigeur of any nude palette, but are smiith, not crumbly and wear pretty well. I always use a light dusting of powder on my lids before e/s application, and also start with smudging e/l into the lashline quite well and go from there. You can def build the color with these, they blend easily, I use a MAC pony tail brush, and either a light day or a super smoky look can easily be achieved. It’s all up to you!!

Krista Avatar

Well I’ve been trying to really use all my palettes since I literally have bought maybe 20 since Fall started? But I recently picked up the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette and wow!! For $5 or whatever it was, it’s pretty awesome!!

Higher end, probably my Lorac pro and Lorac pro 2. I got the mega pro but don’t reach for it nearly as much as those two!! Definitely getting my money out of those!!

WildDove Avatar

Another vote for Nars Cordura duo. And the Nars Vent Glace duo is much better on the lid than I ever imagined, with unique or very unusual colors that are better appreciated after you apply them with your favorite brush. Got both at the Sephora sale, and will be exploring other Nars duos.

Angel Avatar

When you posted details of several friends & fam sales a few weeks ago, I used the beauty.com discount to FINALLY buy the Urban Decay Naked (the first one) palette….and I LOVE it. I can’t fathom why I didn’t buy it before. The colors are all in the range of my favorites, and even without the discount the price is less than what paid for a Chanel quad recently. Guess I’m what tech people call a “slow adopter!”

Gillian Avatar

I went through my eyeshadow phase years ago and have since moved onto lipstick! Therefore I don’t buy eyeshadow very much these days, however, there are still some singles and palettes that I would like. I succumbed to the very lovely and very limited edition (the reason I jumped on it basically) Rouge Bunny Rouge Chronos eyeshadow palette. All shimmery, all very much my kind of colours. Neutrals and deep, blackened jewel tones etc. The formula is wonderful and I’m making sure that I get a lot of use out of it by making it the only eyeshadow I take with me when I travel. I don’t like large palettes since I don’t find them very user or travel friendly so the smaller the better!

Today was a stay indoors kind of day so I went fairly dramatic for a bit of fun. I used Shiseido Shimmering Cream Shadow in Caviar (intense black with mostly green shimmer) as a base all over my lid blending the edges a little. Then I patted the rightmost shadow (deep teal) over the top. I then blended out the edges really well while making sure not to lose the intensity. On the lower lash line I used the green side of the Revlon PhotoReady Kajal in Emerald Empire to line and then used more of the remaining teal shadow on the brush to smudge it out. I then used the leftmost shadow (light, warm beige) on the inner corner of the eye, just lightly, to brighten the area. Lastly I applied copious amounts of the sample I have of the Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash mascara. Two eyeshadows, one cream eyeshadow, one liner and mascara. Easy!

Brittany Avatar

I only bought the KVD Chrysalis and Monarch palettes this year, so I’d say Monarch palette was a stand-out value for me. I use it way more frequently than Chrysalis and I was really lacking in nice warm reddish and brownish shadows before getting the palette. I use the big center shadow (I think “Entomology”?) as a face highlight every time I do a full face of makeup and I use the matte black and the taupe shades in my brows, too, so the palette is also a great multitasker.

Liza Avatar

This isnt too recent but i can’t get over the Lorac Pro 2. Its my HG palette so far i just love it soo much! However, after christmas i have a feeling Marc Jacob’s Dreamer Palette or Tom Ford’s Golden Mink is gonna take the cake!

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