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When you use an eyeshadow palette, do you only use that palette for the look?


When you use an eyeshadow palette, do you only use that palette for the look? Or do you find yourself adding other shades on the side?

For me, I usually use just the palette as much as possible, but if I need a brow bone highlighter, then I’ll often use my go-to (it’s a single and always nearby).

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Katherine T. Avatar

Since I’m rushing around in the morning, I usually use just 1 palette for my eyes. That’s why I like to buy palettes with lots of shadows, with different colors and finishes. On weekends, I have more time to play, so I might use different palettes.

xamyx Avatar

Very rarely… I seem to always grab another palette or single/duo for transition shades, and I have a “go-to” single I use for a highlighter. That said, I do have a couple of palettes I use when my time is limited, and they are pretty much “one-and-done” palettes, but I still usually use a separate highlight shade.

Astrild Avatar

I try to do it, but I tend to gravitate to my go-to browbone highlighter and a blending shade, except when the palette have good alternatives for both. I never mix shades from different palettes except for those two.

Sylirael Avatar

It depends a little bit on the palette, and how much variety there is in the shades inside. If it’s my Naked 2 palette, for example, I might go looking for a pop of colour elsewhere, whereas if it’s my UD Ammo palette, I might go looking for some neutrals or mattes elsewhere even if I’m using a couple of the brighter shades.

Jane Avatar

It depends on the palette. I’ve learned, through trial and error, to purchase all inclusive palettes. However, my Naked Basics Palette makes a great addition to my palettes that do not offer the crease, transition, or highlight shade I prefer.

silverraindropps Avatar

I typically use one palette for my work looks. It’s easy and fast. I try to use a palette that has neutrals in both shimmer and matte. I also make sure I am not using the same palette for too long as they all deserve love! Lol.

KaseyCannuck Avatar

I use just one palette for a look. My go-to’s are the 3 UD Nakeds, TF Pretty Rebel, and Vice 3. The one I reach for depends on how colourful I’m feeling.

MzCrafty1908 Avatar

I try to, but it depends on if it has a transition color. If not, I pull out Brown Script from MAC or Cocoa Bear from MUG. Example: Anastasia Amrezy Palette has a transition color. Naked 2 palette, no transition color.

Fran Avatar

Most palettes don’t have every kind of shadow I want to do a look. I have hooded eyes and wear eyeglasses that make my small eyes look even smaller, so I apply my eyeshadow differently than how everyone else seems to do it. To do my eyes, I want: a light neutral matte for a base shade above my crease; a medium neutral matte or satin/matte for a little depth and as a transition/blending shade above my crease; a bright highlighter shade for my tear duct area; a light, shimmery color for the inner 1/3-2/3 of my mobile lid; a darker, shimmery shade for the outer part of my mobile lid; and a deep shade (shimmer or matte) to use in the outer V, along my outer lashline, or for contouring above my crease (the way most would contour in the crease), or to make a winged-out effect just above my crease, depending on how dramatic of a look I’m going for. Sometimes I’ll just use an eye pencil along the outer lashline for the last color and set with the darker lid color. A lot of palettes don’t have all the colors I want. What’s most often missing is a mid-tone neutral matte or satin/matte. There’s usually a matte neutral that’s a little too dark for what I’m trying to do, which is a pretty subtle effect. A lot of palettes are also missing highlighters.

The only palettes I own that have every kind of shade I want, including a highlighter shade, are the Make Up For Ever Studio Case, Lorac PRO 2 (it looks like the original PRO also does), Urban Decay Vice 3 (Vice 2 has no shade that qualifies as a highlighter for me, and I don’t have Vice 1), and Clinique All About Shadow 8-pan palette Wear Everywhere Greys, which, while not the most pigmented palette ever made (I think “wear everywhere” is a clue that you can make subdued looks with it), is a very handy little palette of cool neutral basics to go with my bright colors.

Palettes that have everything I need except a highlighter include the Urban Decay Naked palettes and Vice 2; Too Faced Natural Eyes, Boudoir Eyes, and Romatic Eye palettes; and a Laura Mercier Artist palette from a couple of holiday seasons ago,

But on most days that I pull out most of these palettes, I’m adding some bright colors from other palettes or singles. I don’t do an all-brown look all that often, and if I’m doing grays I’ll most likely pull out a bright silver or dark blue to go with them.

brenda Avatar

i find i usually have to grab another shade for highlighting/blending, but usually stick with the palette when doing a general look – unless i have a specific need for certain colours – then i’m all over the place lol

Amare Avatar

When doing my makeup for work, I tend to reach for one palette. It just makes life easier :). However, on the weekends or my days off, I like to play around with my palettes to creat something either more dramatic or just different in general.

Lisa Avatar

I dont generally use just the one. My favourite eyeshadows tend to be scattered across different palettes. There are a few palettes I can use alone, like the Naked palette or Lorac pro. I guess it just depends on what look I’m going for, how I’m feeling, and whether or not I’m in a rush.

Nikki Avatar

I just use the colors as much as possible to get my money’s worth. I depotted most of my palettes and put them in Z Palettes anyway. It helps me get more use out of everything as well as solving the issue of ready made palettes not looking as pretty as shades get used up. I’m actually not entirely happy with the Z Palettes themselves as I’ve had issues with the magnetic stickers having weak adhesive and/or not laying flat if cut to fit a skinny eyeshadow. This looks sloppy and results in eyeshadows (that are already weakened from depotting!) going flying and possibly breaking if the palette is dropped even from a low height. Mixed feelings about my Z Palette. :/

Rachel R. Avatar

I’ve had the same problem with the adhesive. I just keep a little tube of gel superglue nearby while I de-pot. I can put a drop on the metal disk if I need to. I find about half need it.

Nikki Avatar

I should do that, I might glue them tonight. It really annoys me about the whole product though. It’s not cheap, everything should work well right out of the box. :/

Lee Avatar

I do mostly but I usually wind up using up the highlighter/inner corner shade before the other shades so I suplement. And I’ve just started using a transition shade (didn’t even know about the concept until the question here a month or so ago) and that’s a standard matte neutral I use for most looks.

Laurica Brown Avatar

For the most part, yes. I’ll use a Maybelline Color Tattoo or MAC paint pot as a base. Aside from that, I work with the colors in the palette.

Sarah Avatar

Pretty much always. The exception is if I want to line my bottom eye with shadow, most of the time I reach for Darkhorse in Naked because it adds just the right amount of oomph for me to almost any neutral look.

Quinctia Avatar

I usually do just use one palette, but there’s a bit exception for me in this: I love using Walk of Shame from UD Naked Basics as a lid color and then using a bright from UD Electric in the crease to make a more everyday wearable colorful look.

Sarah Avatar

For me, it depends on what look I’m doing more than what palette I’m using. If it’s an everyday look where I just need a couple of light colors and a couple of darker/midtone ones, I can grab any of my palettes and get it done (I usually palette shop with this in mind. If I can’t make a complete look out of the palette, that’s a downfall for me). But sometimes I want to focus a look around one color (say, my L’Oreal Infallible Smoldering Plum single shadow), in which case I need to pull in other singles and usually a palette to supplement that one color.

Rachel Lisa Avatar

Typically, yes, just to be sure that all of the colors are the same formula and will blend smoothly together. I have had issues with some of the newer gel-based powder shadows like the MUFE Artist Shadows that don’t like to play well with others.

Darcy Avatar

I usually use the palette for lid and crease. Almost always use MAC Orb for browbone area. Even if I try something from the palette for that area, I usually cover it up with Orb anyway, since I usually find what I have done either too light and/or sparkly for what I am looking for.

Elizabeth K. Avatar

That’s one of my main considerations when shopping for a palette. I ask myself, “Can I get several COMPLETE looks from this?” I usually don’t buy it if the answer is no.

Susan Dowman Nevling Avatar

The firest few times I use a palette, I stay within the colors. After that, I experiment with additional colors. It’s easier to know what I can do in a hurry with just one palette but love to play when I have time.

Brooke Avatar

No, most palettes don’t have the color mixes I like to use IF I’m using more than 3 colors. All over color, transition color, lid color, crease color, and a hi light. I have yet to own a palette that has 5 good shades that match, differ, and compliment each other.

Karen Avatar

I will usually incorporate either the naked basics or the naked 2 basics (or both) with any single or palette that I am using into any look that I am creating. If I am in a big rush in the morning I will sometimes stick to just one palette, but that is unusual.

Genevieve Avatar

Yes I use the colours from the eyeshadow palette. Today I am wearing a look from bareMinerals The Playlist. I used 4 colours from the palette. Another palette I use is Charlotte Tilbury’s the Rebel, EL Film Noir (for tones of grey – the best), bareMinerals the Wild Thing and Naked 1. As I wear glasses and have hooded eyes I do use the colours in different places to emphasise my eyes.

Evelyn Avatar

I tend to mix and match from a large Sephora palette and a smaller palette. The smaller palette contains my main eyeshadows for a particular look, and I can get any random colour I need from the large palette to augment the look.

Kirsten Avatar

It kinda depends. If it’s a small compact with only 4-5 colors in it, they are usually quite color coordinated, so I use just that palette. With larger palettes I will usually add a single or mix a couple palettes since they’re not usually quite as… harmonious overall. For example, I love using Colourpop’s Cheeky as a crease color with the Tamanna palette.

candleashes Avatar

I’ve been switching things up lately. Sticking to one palette is easiest, but I often reach for a hilight shade from Too Faced matte eye palette, or mix and match other stuff. Luxury palettes I use whole, but the UD variety with lots of shadows are fun to mix and match, since they are less coordinated and lend themselves to tons off looks

Judy H. Avatar

This is exactly why I don’t buy an eyeshadow palette unless it has 1) its own REALLY good look or 2) it is extremely versaltile. I have spent so much money on palettes only to get one certain look from it and have it languish in my makeup bag the 75% of the time I’m not wearing that look. Everytime I look at it, I am reminded of the money wasted.

Andria Avatar

I usually use a palette in addition to the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette to do my eye makeup. The TF palette has great neutral, versatile shades for transitioning/darkening/lining. I reach for another palette if I want to use other colors besides browns.

alie Avatar

i generally try to find as many different ways as possible to use the same palette. for example, i got the urban decay electric palette when it came out. over xmas i got the vice palette, and kat von d’s new (metamorphasis? it’s purple with a butterfly on it), and MUFE’s cream 12-color palette with the bright red, magenta, yellow, gold, silver, blue, green etc…. and i will literally mix 1 thing from each to get the brightest, most unique colors and make the coolest rainbows. sometimes i will get stuck and use just one color from vice, one color from electric… but the layering effects i can get with those are amazing. lots of intense colors, great staying power… and something very matte like electric, with something pearlescent over it is something ive always liked to do. ALL THE COLORS!!
conversely, i can also pull off a very neutral look using more than one palette.
makes my purse very heavy though, as i tend to do my makeup at work while it’s slow (i bartend, and some of my shifts start at 9am and there’s literally nothing else to do). i’d cry forever if my bag was stolen though!

El Avatar

Only if I’m travelling do I use all shadows from the same palette. Otherwise, I tend to mix and match, both with singles and across palettes.

If I’m in a hurry, then I’m unlikely to use a palette at all and will just swipe on a cream shadow as a wash, or even just smudge eyeliner.

Candice Avatar

I mostly don’t use eyeshadow but when I do, I’m at half and half from the same palette. I have this pinky purple look that I like to do sometimes and I just don’t have all the purples I need in one palette… When I do a very neutral look, I do find that my Naked Basics is enough for me.

Rae Avatar

I try to! But, like you, I usually have to reach for a separate brow highlighter — I can’t even remember the last time I picked up a palette and it had a highlighter shade that wasn’t a frosty white. 🙁

(PS: Now introducing [drumroll] the tumultuous tale of Christine and the Trench! Featuring action, intrigue, and the story of the love shared by a girl and her perfect brow highlighter!)

Lauren Avatar

It annoys me when I can’t use one palette for a complete look. That means that I will now ONLY buy a palette if it has a matte mid-tone brown shade and a matte cream color shade that I can use as a highlight. I will not buy a palette without any matte shadows.

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