Eye shadow palettes - how do you get through them?

Sunny Dayz

Anyone else feel they have more eyeshadow palettes than they know what to do with? Anyone a bit meh about a new must have eye shadow palette being released every other week? How do you get the use out of your palettes? I tried to whittle down my stash but I still have a more than I need!


The only way I find I get some use out of my palettes is by using one palette a week. I put one palette in my makeup bag and as I usually wear makeup to work, my looks for the week must come from this one palette. It forces me to get some use out of them.

Pistachios & cream

I went through mine and put them in different categories, I spend a couple of weekends a month at my parents house so i left a full set of makeup there. Mostly stuff i had for a while but had stopped using daily because i had new things! i left all my sleek eye palettes there and it's great not having to bring any makeup with me and it means i get use out of them.

i also had a few l'oreal palettes i got free with other purchases and i leave these in work along with some other stuff so i can redo makeup if im heading out after work, again they get more use there as i'd not normally pick them over other palettes a

Of my more expensive palettes, i love ones that give tutorial diagrams as i use these to do my makeup for events and weddings where id previously have paid to get my makeup done. That makes me feel better about buying new palettes as they ae nearly saving me money. I find the diagrams great for when im rushing and dont have a lot of time to experiment.

In saying that i have never hit the pan on any of my palettes but i justify buying them because buying individual shadows is so expensive

Airyfairy12

Is it just me or are all the new eyeshadow pallets pretty much the exact same and they all seem to have duplicates of the same shade in the one palette. How many shades of brown and neutral colours does someone need? I havnt bought a pallet in months for this reason. Some of the Charlotte Tilbury pallets look gorgeous but they cost a bomb. I wish other brands would make some similar cheaper versions. I usually just stick to 3 palettes, Urban Decay naked 3 because it covers neutrals, base, glitter and gold. Mac burgundy times 9 as it covers dark shades and smoky eye looks, Urban Decay Jean Michel Basquiat covers bright/colourful shades. I'm not buying another palette until they run out.

LaVidaEsAsi

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Anyone else feel they have more eyeshadow palettes than they know what to do with? Anyone a bit meh about a new must have eye shadow palette being released every other week? How do you get the use out of your palettes? I tried to whittle down my stash but I still have a more than I need!

The only way I find I get some use out of my palettes is by using one palette a week. I put one palette in my makeup bag and as I usually wear makeup to work, my looks for the week must come from this one palette. It forces me to get some use out of them.

Airyfairy12 wrote: »

Is it just me or are all the new eyeshadow pallets pretty much the exact same and they all seem to have duplicates of the same shade in the one palette. How many shades of brown and neutral colours does someone need? I havnt bought a pallet in months for this reason. Some of the Charlotte Tilbury pallets look gorgeous but they cost a bomb. I wish other brands would make some similar cheaper versions. I usually just stick to 3 palettes, Urban Decay naked 3 because it covers neutrals, base, glitter and gold. Mac burgundy times 9 as it covers dark shades and smoky eye looks, Urban Decay Jean Michel Basquiat covers bright/colourful shades. I'm not buying another palette until they run out.

I can't say I have practical tips to offer but I just think this is an interesting question. First of all, I agree with Airyfairy12. I don't see huge differentiation between palettes, and often there is far too much duplication of shades. Me personally, I have a Naked palette, a NYX one (colourful shades), a Wycon one (Nude'n'Wild, I'll add, as it's a lesser known brand as far as I know which I picked up in Italy), and a sleek one. These cover my needs in the same way Airyfairy12 described, but they are really far more than I need because on a daily basis, if I wear any eyeshadow at all, it would be the lighter neutral shades from the naked palette. When I do go for a more dramatic look for a night out I find I always go to a couple of shades between the naked and Wycon one and occasionally one or two in the NYX one. That's quite a lot of waste then in each palette I have and I am not close to hitting the pan anywhere, on any of them. I also have a friend who has about 5 or 6 quite high end expensive palettes and for me, when that cost is added up it would make me a bit lightheaded She also doesn't use half of the stuff and that's tame compared to some collection sizes I've seen online.

When you think about it, we would probably be better off with less product per shade in these palettes and with the cost a bit lower too or as mentioned, if brands would do smaller palettes (with all useable shades). I guess brands know how their customers feel about the latest shiny new palette though and by including probably more than you're going to use they can charge more, so nothing would really change there. Also some may get more use out of palettes, say dedicated makeup hobbyists and certainly professionals...

I suppose, is it how one views makeup? Is it just some products for enhancing features or is it a bit more to you (a real hobby or even career)? At the end of the day I guess if you're spending your hard earned cash on something you quite enjoy then there's not much harm done? I do like your tip though Sunny Dayz (one palette in your bag each week to try and get a bit more use), I may see if it's workable for me. I agree with Airyfairy12 too, I have really no need for a new palette, at least not until the shades I actually use in my palettes run out!

Speedwell

As painters get through paints in their paintbox. Imagine a painter saying, "I just got four new colours of paint so I'd better restrict myself to using just those until they're gone". Do you see how silly that sounds? Does it make it any better to imagine them saying, "I'm fed up with having twenty half-used tubes of paint in my studio"?

Michellenman

I am brutal for buying, using once or twice and then going back to what I know & love ie the original Naked palette, Stila Soul palette and a Smashbox mini palette.

I've sold a handful on adverts that I've bought and literally never used (have a Tarte Rainforest of the Sea II and the Naked Ultimate basics up there at the moment FYI :pac:). Mainly though with palettes (and other make up and skincare!) I share with friends, we do a make up swap every couple of months of stuff that we bought and don't like or it doesn't suit our skin. Handy way of trying stuff out and have gotten stuff that I've gone on to repurchase later.

It's a great idea though to try swapping palettes around in the make up bag weekly, I'll give that a go to try get more use out of the lesser used palettes.

To be honest, I love make up and own and wear a lot of it but in terms of palettes everything I own are all just various shades of browns and golds. I just don't wear the brighter colours that are in the UD palettes so avoid buying them.

LaVidaEsAsi

Michellenman wrote: »

I share with friends, we do a make up swap every couple of months of stuff that we bought and don't like or it doesn't suit our skin. Handy way of trying stuff out and have gotten stuff that I've gone on to repurchase later.

I like this idea - I have stuff definitely hanging around that I've hardly touched because it didn't work for me personally...never really occurs to me I suppose that it could be perfect for someone else. I'll definitely look into doing a swap with some friends, good idea. Not just so products can be used instead of accumulating in your house, but as you say, so you can test new stuff as well