If I could keep only 10 eyeshadow palettes

Recently I saw the aforementioned tag on YouTube. This piqued my interest, forcing me to take inventory of my own modest collection. If a situation were to arise where I could grab only 10 eyeshadow palettes, which ones would they be?

After a deep dive (and a deep clean), I came up with these 10 beauts. Some are new, some are rather old, but still near and dear to my heart. These are in no particular order:

1. Juvias Place 'Nubian 2 Palette'

This is one of my recent purchases and boy am I glad I got this. The thing about this palette is that you can create all sorts of looks; the pops of colour are so pretty. The quality of these shadows are second to none and their lasting power is impressive too. This would fall into the 'not too expensive, yet not too cheap' category but honestly speaking, with the amount of product in each pan, and with the stellar quality, every penny invested is so worth it.

2. Colorpop 'Dream St.' Kathleen Lights Palette

A girls' palette. So feminine, and irresistibly cute. The shimmers in this are so foiled and rich. I always get compliments when wearing this palette. That pop of red is pretty unique and the other two pops of colour are so compatible. This one is directly out on my vanity and it is staying there for the forseeable future. Affordable, small and compact and high on quality. I wish there was a small mirror, but at the price point, I'm not complaining.

3. Huda Beauty 'Desert Dusk' Palette

Speaking of mirrors, the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette boasts a really good quality one. Honestly, I've given my palette so much love - except for the glitter shade on the bottom row which I haven't even touched yet. What's unique about this palette is not only its colour story, but the sheer 'top coat' like shades it has - I believe there are three of them. Looking for a pop of shimmer in the center of your eyelid, this palette provides brilliant options. Use them on lips too for that matter. The mattes are so pigments and the shimmers are so vibrant. This one is pricey, so it comes down to whether you'll be able to use the colours. My sister for instance, doesn't reach for it much as she finds the colours hard to work with. Me - well I'm going to hit pan on this one this year!

4. Anastasia 'Amrezy' Palette

ABH has been chucking out palettes in 2019 like nobody's business. This particular one is rather old and discontinued. Nonetheless, it has a brilliant, almost convenient shade selection with the quality her name is famous for. No regrets here. This one I feel I can travel with. No fuss, no muss!

5. Smashbox 'Smoky Cover Shot' Palette

This one was gifted to me. There are a range of these tiny palettes available, but this one has to be my best. Smashbox shadows are pretty good, but they really brought it with this palette. If sultry is your thing, you can't go wrong with this one. That burgundy is absolutely glorious as an accent colour. It's just such a good quality product!

6. Morphe 'Jaclyn Hill' Palette

This one is quite large - but honestly, if you're looking to buy just one palette- go for this one! It's so pigmented, the colours so delightful, soft, buttery and the great thing is that it is super affordable.

7. Stila 'Eyes are the window to the mind' Palette

You look at this palette and you feel so fancy. It's so sophisticated looking. With a golden metallic body with a giant 'S' embossed on it and with a very high quality mirror, this one is a total spurge, but so worth it. I find that it is so work appropriate and lends an air of professional finesse. Definitely one for the woman on the go.

8. Urban Decay 'Naked 2' Palette

A gal needs a cool toned palette. I love these cool tones bejeweled shades. The black adds the oomph factor. The packaging is quite sturdy and it comes with a mirror and a brush (which I honestly can't use). Again, it is on the pricey side, so if you're not a fan of greys and silvers, this one might not be for you.

9. Too Faced 'Shake Your Palm Palms'

Oh the packaging on this! And that coral; oh and that moss green! What's not to love? Too Faced have outdone themselves. I love everything about this palette although admittedly, it is quite a recent addition to my vanity. This one is the kind of palette you can easily throw into you 'to go' bag.

10. Makeup Revolution 'Emily Noel The Wants' Palette

Again, this is a bit of huge one. This reminds me of my younger days. You look at this palette and you think 'how sweet'. I love the colour selection but of all the palettes I have mentioned, this is the one that has possibly the least colour pay off - but mind you - it is still amazing... It just needs a little more cajoling than the others. I love the mirror, the cute pink packaging and for just 20$, it's a steal.

So those are my top 10 eyeshadow palettes. Do you own any of these? Which ones do you really enjoy? Drop me a comment below!

Dupe for Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette

It can't be argued that dropping about 6 to 7K Pak Rs. is not an easy task for most of us common folk. And so we turn to the cheaper versions that are out there, only are they really close enough to be called dupes?

Thanks to makeup bloggers and other beauty junkies out there, close enough alternatives to the more expensive products can be found on the click of a google search.

Bringing you a very good dupe for the Naked Palette 3- Makeup Revolution's Iconic Palette 3...

Read on for swatches and other details...

Can an Eyeshadow Palette be More Than Just an Eyeshadow Palette?

Do you ever think, "How am I ever going to hit pan on my super expensive Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes?" If you have, and if you are are the proud owner of the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette (or any of the Vice palettes), you'll consider reading this post.

This is an amazingly versatile palette, and limitless looks can be achieved with it. Read the review HERE.



Here are a few suggestions on how to use this particular palette in a variety of different ways.

Stila Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette - Mind (All Mattes) Review

I had a resolution this year- that I'd hit pan on my Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. It was within my reach and I would have done so by now, had it not been for the culprit which is the subject of this review today. My sis-in-law sent this beauty a while back. I had seen this palette making the rounds but it did not prepare me about the actual feel of the packaging or the buttery consistency of the eyeshadows themselves.

Loreal LA Palette in Rose - A Mini-Review

The Naked Palettes from Urban Decay have set off the revolution of nude eye shadow palettes, but let's face it, they have the tendency to break the bank. Good news is there are great drugstore versions now, like this particular one...

Here is the low down on this palette by a co-author of this blog:

MAC's Satin Taupe, Is It Worth the Hype?

I just love using palettes that have a good variety of eyeshadows. It's very convenient. It also enables you to get creative. A few lovely ones that spring to mind are Urban Decay's Vice 3 (review here), both the Lorac Pro Palettes and the Naked Palettes. With all of these, I don't really have to use primer, just a light hand with concealer works (but just set with powder) and they last all day. They just need a dab in the pan for good colour payoff.

To be honest, I am just not a fan of singles. Although the Satin Taupe from Mac is housed in a quad, I'll still say its a single. But is it worth it? MAC eyeshadows are pretty expensive and it could set you back quite a bit to make a quad. I remember thoroughly researching MAC eyeshadows when I wanted to build mine.

Satin Taupe was probably the most hyped best seller. I liked the swatches too (though I thought they looked different in each picture-but more on that later). And so it was that I became the proud of owner of this eyeshadow.

Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette

As always, the Vice palettes that Urban Decay release every year comes with a great deal of hustle and bustle in the makeup world. These are limited edition items, and makeup junkies need to get their fix... since I did not own the previous 2 versions, I decided to cave in to my dark side.

Marsala 2015 Pantone Colour of the Year Makeup Picks

This year's colour is super awesome and one my favs in terms of makeup. It's a rustic wine shade. It looks amazing with medium to dark skin tones, but fair girls can pull it off too. It's festive, but toned down, it could also be used for everyday makeup. I just went through my stash and picked out a few of my wine/rustic hued makeup products that I just need to use more off (me being the neutral look kinda gal).

The Perfect Palette Tag

This one has been done to death all over the net. So here is my take on it. This tag consists of a series of questions about the makeup palettes that you own and so without further ado let's get into it....

Urban Decay Electric Palette Dupe

It no surprise that when this palette came out, I was intrigued. It was a colorful pressed pigments palette consisting of 10 pans. These bright and bold colors are not so easy to use on a day to basis, unless that is your thing, I'm the more neutral kinda girl, with an occasional pop of color on the lash line (top or bottom depending on the mood). But on closer inspection (on other blogs and looking at swatches) I realized that even though they were nicely pigmented, the color range could have been better. There are 2 blues and one green blue type of color. That's a lot of bluish tones in a palette of 10 eyeshadows. Also it hit me that I had a wonderful rainbowy palette in my stash- the 42 matte eyeshadow palette that has 10 blushes on the bottom for good measure at like half the price. I'm not saying there will be an exact match for every shadow but they'll be coming quite close, except the shimmery silver obviously.

theBalm Nude 'Tude Palette

theBalm Nude 'tude Palette with the cover

I guess when it comes to neutral eye shadows, I'll always be partial. They just look good on everyone, and if you have the right palette, you can pull of so many diversified looks to suit almost any occasion. Staying in tune with the Urban Decay Palettes, which are just amazing, theBalm brought its version of a neutral palette as well, and I gotta say...it does not disappoint.

The back

Lorac Pro Palette

I love my neutrals and Lorac Pro Palette is absolute eye candy for all you neutral makeup lovers out there. Though I love shimmers but they can be a bit over the top while getting ready for day time parties or small get togethers. Therefore, I was on a hunt for a good palette with matte shades. And when I saw the Lorac Pro Palette with 8 matte and 8 shimmery shadows and that too in the neutral colors spectrum, it was love at first sight. Really!! :)

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

Well what can I say....I'm a sucker for UD eyeshadows. Ever since I heard rumors that a third installment of these shadows was being released I kept telling myself over and over that the colors would not be good for my skin tone, that it was not a must have and that I could just as easily do without. Yeah that worked out well enough, till now! Ah my resolve was broken and rightly so, because honestly as far as neutral palettes go, this is probably my favorite. I admit the first 2 offer more variety and diversity, but this one is unique and takes rose gold to a whole new level.

The Naked 3 Palette

Find out more about it...

Sigma Smoke Screen Palette

After the much hyped about Warm Neutrals Palette, Sigma brings out another beauty, the much coveted and talked about Spring palette: The Smoke Screen Palette which is a more cool toned palette.

This was on my wish list, to be honest I did want the Warm Palette but in the end I went with the flow of the season and took a leap (not much of a leap because everyone was going crazy about it). I could go on and on so I'll just move on.

Urban Decay Smoked Palette- Guest Post

I am so jealous of my friend AZ who is always flaunting this gorgeous palette in front of me...it's on my wish list of course..(let me just take a deep breath to gain some self-control...okay..... that's better), I'll come around to it some day. Any how, I asked her to review it for you all and since she's had it for a while now she can give you an accurate summation.

Prestige Baked Eyeshadow Trios

Lately, have you noticed the tonnes of eyeshadows being thrown our way, no mall is safe...seriously. I'm not even talking about the giants like MAC or Urban Decay, but the little guys, like the this particular one make it hard to resist not picking up the entire range. It's amazing how the brain can process what shade to pick from the colossal range within the budget you have allocated yourself...

And so when I was looking at the color range, I was surprised to see how well put together the color schemes were. I already knew I wanted at least one trio from this brand, but hey, self control...not my strong suit...ended up getting 2....don't judge me...I know what you're thinking :-)

Trio in 01 Desert 

Trio in 02 Forest

They had a pink and purple and blue also.

Colors to Flatter Brown Eyes

In a post I did few days back, I mentioned that brown and black eyes girls are lucky because their eye color is neutral (with maybe some warm or cool flecks) and hence they are able to make most colors work to enhance it.

Which got me to thinking about some colors that would look amazing, and suggestions for you.

Some shades might push you out of your comfort zone, but you could always use the brighter or bolder colors as a liner shade under your eyes rather than a full on lid color. Once again I want to remind you that the swatches that will come later are without primer so obviously with primer they come off as more intense.

So here we go...

What colors? From L to R: Navy/deep blue, burgundy, slate/dark/gunmetal gray, deep purples, moss/olive green, gold, bronze and in the middle champagne, and glittery black....

Max Factor Masterpiece Precision Eyeshadow

Max Factor has been a favorite drugstore brand of mine for a while now. Here's an interesting tidbit about Max Factor- Cover Girl is its twin brand, meaning both are owned by Proctor and Gamble and their products though packed differently and named differently are actually mostly the same thing. For e.g Cover Girl's Lash Blast Mascara is the same as Max Factor's False Lash Effect Mascara...but I digress, back on topic...

I wanted to try out a couple, but in the end I only went for one, which for me was most distinct and most worth it for me,

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

With the super success of the first palette, Urban Decay hit the jack pot again with the launch of their Naked 2 palette. There is a lot of chatter about owning both palettes, if you have one, do you need the other? In my personal opinion I think both palettes are very different. There is a shade common to both called 'Half Baked' and shades that give similar vibes, but overall the first palette is more warm toned and bronzy whereas the second palette is mostly neutral to cool toned. And so if you like neutral shadows and like Urban Decay then yes, this one is also a nice one to own in addition to the first one.

For an in depth review of the first palette just click this link.

The Naked 2 Palette also has a shade common to the Naked Basics Palette called 'Foxy'. For the review click this the link.

The Naked Basics Palette has a shade each from the first and second palettes called 'Virgin' and 'Foxy' respectively.

12 taupy mostly neutral to cool shades

Sleek Eyeshadow Palette in Storm

Sleek has really made its name in the makeup industry as a budget friendly yet surprisingly excellent quality quality cosmetic makers. I find that their blushes and eyeshadow palettes surpass the likes of MAC and Nars easily. And the selection of the colors is to die for...each and every shade is deeply pigmented and transference is phenomenal.

After a lot of deliberation I decided to get this particular palette in i-Divine Storm. It was a close call between the au Natural one and the one I ended up getting. I felt this one will give me the most options, indeed it is a universal palette with all your eyeshadow needs all packed up neat and tidy in a 'sleek' palette.