part one

I don’t think it’s possible to have too much makeup.

Before the advent of beauty vlogging, I wouldn’t have been able to say that, but now I watch videos of women doing tours of their makeup/skin care/bath and body products, and I feel…inadequate.

I’m just kidding, mostly, but there are some YouTuber influencers who have more makeup than I’ve had ever or will ever have in my entire lifetime.

Since I’m never going to be a makeup artist, I have absolutely no need for that kind of inventory, and even saying that, I have more than I could ever use. But these days, makeup is more than just a way to put your best face forward, it’s a way to completely transform, and to do that requires more than your single shade of Maybelline petal pink blush.

When I first started dabbling in cosmetics, women wore some form of makeup every day. My grandmother and great aunt got up every single morning, dressed, and ‘put on their face’. Now, the last part may have been nothing more than slapping on some moisturizer and lipstick, but at least that.

These days many women may not wear makeup on a regular basis (myself, included), or even at all. But I do still enjoy fussing up and getting a full face on, when I have the time to do it, and for that, you have to have options. I’ve already talked about my over enthusiastic love of mascara. If you’re interested, you can read about My 7 Favorite Mascaras. (Please note: L’Oréal no longer makes Miss Manga, unfortunately.)

Today, we’re going to bring a little color into the game and talk about eye shadow palettes. And let me just say, cosmetic companies really get their game faces on (pun intended) when designing their collections. There are so many beautiful combinations, and it seems new options are coming out every week. That being said, I have palettes ranging from four to 16 colors, in just about every shade range you can think of, and I feel like I’m set for a while. I also have three palettes that I’ve put together, myself, but those are left for another time.

Since it would be a little overwhelming to talk about all of them in one post, I’m only going to talk about a few at a time, starting with the three I use the most.

Tarte Tartelette Amazonian Clay Matte Palette

I agonized before buying this one. I knew I wanted a Tarte palette, but I couldn’t decide between this one and the Tartelette 2 In Bloom. I watched video after video, read review after review, went into a store more than one time to swatch in person, and ultimately came out with this one. I’ve been very happy with my choice.

In this palette you get 12 great all matte colors that lean toward cool purples and brown, and compatible accents. From a soft, creamy off-white and a baby pink, to a rich, chocolatey brown and a highly pigmented black, it’s super easy to get a complete look with this product. My most used are the ivory (free spirit), the dark chocolate brown (multi-tasker), a deep plum (bombshell), and the black (fashionista), that is perfect for setting your liner, or lining with it, alone. Force of Nature, a buff nude color, is a great transitional shade for your crease.

These colors are well pigmented with barely any fallout. They’re a lovely texture, blend fabulously, and when worn with primer or a shadow base and setting spray, will last me all day with no creasing. You get a generous amount of each color and the entire palette is moderately priced coming out to $3.25 per shadow. The case is ombre purple heavy plastic with gold lettering and accents, measures 4” x 4.75” and is only 1/2″ thick, so it’s an ideal size for traveling, plus it has a nice large mirror and closes securely.

Regardless of where you buy it, this palette retails for $39. You can get it at Ulta and Sephora, and they both have decent rewards programs and coupons. At Ulta they offer a 20% coupon that also covers better brands (including Tarte) a couple of times a year. Plus, if you are signed up for their rewards program, every dollar you spend earns you points that are then converted to money to spend with them that can be used for prestige brands, as well as the drugstore brands. You can read more about their program here. If you’re signed up for Sephora’s Beauty Insider program, they offer coupons twice a year and a $20 card to spend right around the holiday season. Here’s more about the Sephora program. You can also find this palette on the Tarte website.

Tarte is a cruelty-free brand and their products are not only free of things you don’t want in your makeup, but most are completely vegan. As an added bonus, they are environmentally conscious of the communities where their products and ingredients are sourced, mindful of both sustainability and health.

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Collection

This is another one I researched, swatched, and debated about. I couldn’t decide which of the Two Faced palettes I would use the most, the original Chocolate Bar, the Semi-Sweet or the Chocolate Bon Bon. I finally decided on this one, and absolutely love it.

Out of the 16 colors three are very sparkly, six are satin finish, and seven are matte. My favorites are matte black Licorice (perfect for lining or setting liner), Coconut Crème, a matte almost white (great for highlighting the brow bone), Truffled, ultra-matte chocolate brown, Puddin’, a very deep, cool brown, Peanut Butter, a light cinnamon brown, velvety champagne colored Butter Pecan, and shimmery Rum Raisin, a lovely deep plum with a gold overlay.

The shadows are very pigmented and creamy, even the sparkly colors. They blend beautifully and you can easily do everything from a simple natural daytime look, to a very dramatic evening look with lots of shine. The palette is 7-3/8” x 4-1/8” and 5/8” thick, made out of medium brown metal with pink and gold writing on the lid. The mirror isn’t very useful, as much of it is covered by packaging, but you get a decent amount of each shadow, with more than a double amount of the two light colors, Coconut Crème and Butter Pecan. It’s got a magnetic closure so if you’re going to travel with it, make sure you put a rubber band, or I use a ponytail tie, around it to keep it securely closed.

[Although I got mine at either Ulta or Sephora and they both still carry the brand, neither of them have that particular palette, now. You can still grab one at the Too Faced website, however, and if you’ve not shopped there before, you can get 20% off of your first order by signing up to get emails from them. If you also pick up some Better Than Sex mascara, your order ships for free. I reviewed it in My 7 Favorite Mascaras if you’re interested in reading about it.] Unfortunately, this palette is no longer being produced.

Also cruelty-free, Too Faced has a complete line of cosmetics including several holy grail products that many people swear by. Besides their eye shadow palettes, I also like Better than Sex mascara and Lip Injection lip plumping gloss.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette

Anastasia Beverly Hills is known in the cosmetic world for having the gold standard in brow products. I, personally, love their Brow Wiz, a creamy eye pencil with a super fine tip that makes filling in sparse eyebrows a breeze. In 2014, they started adding other items to their brand that now offers a full range products.

When I first came across the Modern Renaissance shadow collection, it was love at first sight. I plotted and planned and when Ulta put out their 20% off coupon that included their higher end brands, I snapped one up.

This gorgeous palette has 14 highly pigmented shades, nine matte and five with some degree of shimmer. The warmish neutral and berry shades, include everything from Tempera, a light pink with a whisper of sparkle, to Love Letter, a lovely deep raspberry. My favorites are Love Letter, Cyprus Umber, a dark chocolatey brown, the soft rosy lilac of Buon Fresco, and Venetian Red, a subtly satin dead red with a bluish undertone.

There are so many beautiful looks you can create with this, from sweet and romantic, to dramatic and sultry. In spite of being super intense, there isn’t much fallout with these colors, which is fabulous. The compact is 7-1/4” x 4-1/8” and almost 3/4” thick. It is super sturdy glossed dark brown cardboard covered in lilac flocking on the outside with white and rose gold lettering on the top. You also get a double ended brush, one side a longer tapered shader brush and the other a short, densely bristled precision crease brush, and a decent mirror with an unobstructed view. Even though it has a magnetic closure like the Too Faced palette, it closes securely and I would have no reservations about traveling with it, as is.

You can find one for yourself at all the usual places: Ulta, Sephora, at the Anastasia Beverly Hills website, and several department stores for $42, which comes out to a very decently priced $3 per shadow.

Each of the brands I’ve mentioned have several fantastic palettes to choose from, in the event these aren’t your colors. Whether you’re into warm tones, cool neutrals, or in-your-face bright, electric shadows, there is something out there for everyone. I haven’t always been the most adventurous makeup consumer, but now, with so many options, it’s exciting to get outside my comfort zone on occasion.

Think about doing a little experimenting yourself. Buy a palette simply because you like the colors and go from there. You’re only limited by your imagination.

Stay tuned for the next round of eye shadow palettes in part two.

Do you have any of these palettes? If so, what are your impressions? Let me know in the comments.