Top 5 Best Eye Shadow Palettes | 2018 Reviews
There are probably few women alive who can walk through the aisles of a makeup store, a department store, or even a drugstore without at least briefly stopping to check out the eye shadow palettes and eye concealers. Even if you have a dozen of them at home, at work and in your purse, there are always new or different shades which will catch your eye – and often, will convince you to pull out the credit or debit card.
You don’t have to be a makeup junkie to crave a new look, but you do have to have a lot of spare cash to individually purchase all of the eyeshadows you think you’d love. Palettes, of course, allow you to try out a number of different colors, finishes and sparkles without breaking the bank, especially if there’s an expensive brand name on the makeup you’re convinced you can’t do without.
It’s no secret that there’s an endless supply of generic, low-priced eye makeup available at CVS or Walgreens, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with picking up one that interests you. This list of the top 5 best eye shadow palettes, though, will skew heavily toward eye shadows released by names you’ll be familiar with. They’re all high-quality products, and purchasing them in the form of a palette containing ten or twenty different shades makes spending $40-$75 – if you’ll forgive the pun – more palatable.
You may also want to check out our comprehensive Eye Shadow Palette Buying Guide here.
Here goes; meet the top 5 best eye shadow palettes.
Quick Comparison Table
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Too Faced Boudoir Eye Shadow Collection |
Sephora Collection Moonshadow Palette |
LORAC PRO Palette |
Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette |
Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Eyeshadow Palette |
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$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
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9 colors |
10 colors |
16 colors |
8 colors |
24 colors |
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No Parabens |
No Parabens |
With Parabens |
No Parabens |
No Parabens |
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Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Soft and Sexy Eye Shadow Collection
It might have been easier for us to decide between cake and ice cream, than to decide on just one Too Faced eyeshadow collection; the company makes many of our favorite cosmetics. We ended up choosing the Soft and Sexy Eye Shadow Collection, though. After all, who doesn’t want the perfect bedroom eyes?
This palette has nine silky shades (with sexy names like “Birthday Suit” and “Garter Belt”) including a wide and pretty range of neutrals, and some terrific dark shades which can add just the right amount of drama to your look. Despite the name of the product, many of the colors will work just fine for daytime wear, and they’ll also work with all complexions. There’s a nice mix of matte, shimmery and glittery shades, and all of the nine are suitable for mixing and matching for different looks; the palette comes with three tutorials (day, classic and fashion) to help you achieve just the appearance you want. The eye shadows are very pigmented, so you don’t need to use much shadow to get great color and the palette will last for months.
One of the things about Too Faced that we love so much is that their products are top notch. The shadow doesn’t crease or fade quickly, and will easily stay put and beautiful for a full work day or an evening out. We do wish that the Too Faced palette came with a mirror and a couple of brushes, but that’s nitpicking since brushes and mirrors are easily found if you don’t already have a ton of them cluttering up your makeup table or bag.
There are no parabens in the Soft and Sexy Eye Shadow Collection, and while this is not one of Too Faced’s vegan products, the company guarantees that it doesn’t test on animals. We like that, too. We were tempted to list the 16-color Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar (they are infused with cocoa powder and smell like chocolate!) instead of Boudoir Eyes, but it’s a little more expensive and while the aroma is heavenly to us, it won’t suit everyone.
This eye makeup palette will cost you between $35 and $50 depending on where you find it, and we’re convinced it will quickly become one of your favorites.
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Helpful Details: |
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Colors |
Nine (matte bone, nude satin, deep plum shimmer, golden pink shimmer, nude-mauve shimmer with silver micro-glitter, matte smoky grey, sheer linen shimmer, stone violet shimmer, matte black with gold micro-glitter) |
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Parabens |
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Sephora Collection Moonshadow Palette – In The Night
If you’re like us, you could get lost in Sephora for hours (or days). Before leaving though, you should be sure to pick up this collection of mostly-deep, shimmery eyeshadows. (Of course, you can also order it online and have it waiting for you when you get back from your day of in-person reveling in Sephora’s products.
This “In The Night” collection is stunning even before you get to the shadows, because the palette is contained in a gorgeous plastic case with 3-D black black and gold design. But naturally, the real fun starts when you open the case to find the ten beautiful, shimmery baked colors inside. The shades are just right for creating either dramatic looks or smoky eyes for evenings out (hence the “In The Night” name), and blend perfectly together. Versatility is a major feature of the Sephora Moonshadow baked palettes (there’s also an “In The Nude” collection), because you can apply them wet for a bold look or dry for a more subdued color.
Perhaps the most amazing color in this palette is Black Gold, which is created with a black base, a golden sheen and golden glitter, but most of the other shades are simply fabulous as well, like White Gold (gold sheen and white glitter on a white base), Gold Metal and Platinum (which look just like the real thing) and a shocking but gorgeous Electro Purple. The one issue with the palette is that the sparkles tends to scatter throughout the case, but that can be avoided by leaving them wet.
Sephora’s collection is free of parabens, peterochemicals, GMOs and the like, and the company is cruelty-free, so you can feel good buying and using it. You’ll feel even better when you look at yourself in the mirror when you’re wearing it. For $40-$50, it’s a steal.
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Helpful Details: |
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Colors |
Ten (White Gold, Black Gold, Gold Metal, Light Gold, Platinum, Silver, Honey Brown, Onyx, Peach, Electro Purple) |
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Parabens |
No |
LORAC PRO Palette
Carol Shaw didn’t put her own name on her LORAC brand of high-end makeup products even though she’s a “celebrity” makeup artist – and as it turns out, she didn’t have to. LORAC has become a go-to brand for quality cosmetics, and the company’s PRO eyeshadow palette is a great example of the outstanding value it provides.
The PRO palette has a selection of 16 very pigmented shadows designed to be used either wet or dry, so you don’t have to worry about the selection of colors or having your eye shadow wear off in the middle of a workday or party (the colors will last at least eight hours when used over primer). “PRO” really isn’t an exaggeration either, since there are multiple selections which can be used as liners, highlighters or brow shades.
Eight of the colors are matte (one reason we really like this palette – lots of matte shades are sometimes hard to find in a palette like this) and eight are shimmery. They range all the way from shimmery white to matte black to match any mood or occasion. The majority are neutrals, but there are some wonderful surprises like the shimmery garnet and the stunning shimmery slate. The palette itself is nice as well, very slim and light, and easy to tuck into a purse. You may find the eye shadows a bit touchy to apply at first, because as highly-pigmented professional products you can’t just slather them on; you need a very light brushing or dabbing technique to get exactly the look you want.
There is not a lot of “junk” to be wary of in the LORAC shades, since their products are free of GMOs, triclosan, petrochemicals, sulfates and phthalates, but the products do have parabens in them, which surprised us. Most of the shades are well-textured with just a touch of powder evident in a few of them. We ranked the LORAC PRO palette at #3 primarily because it has so many neutral shades, but we consider it a mainstay of our collection at a reasonable price of just $44.
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Helpful Details: |
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Colors |
Sixteen (White Matte, Cream Matte, Taupe Matte, Light Pink Matte, Mauve Matte, Sable Matte, Espresso Matte, Black Matte, Nude Shimmery, Champagne Shimmery, Gold Shimmery, Light Bronze Shimmery, Pewter Shimmery, Garnet Shimmery, Deep Purple Shimmery, Slate Shimmery) |
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Parabens |
Yes |
Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Eyeshadow Palette
If you’re looking for the perfect palette of neutral shades, look no further. Some are warm and some are cool, some are metallic and some are mattes, but they’re all suitable for every type of wear from the beach to an elegant night out. Tarte has introduced a new formulation for its shadows in this limited-edition collection, denser and more velvety than their previous eyeshadows; it goes on extremely easily, blends well, and doesn’t require primer – a winning formula, we’d say, although we’d hope that in the future they’ll put a little more work into the fall-out that occasional occurs during application. The Tarte shadows are pretty well-pigmented and should last about eight hours without fading or creasing.
The Rainforest of the Sea palette is all you’d have to look at to change your mind, if you associate “neutral” with “bland” or “boring.” The mix of frosted and satiny sheens, and colors ranging from the muted gold Mermaid to the satiny dark brown Abyss, provide a selection which will keep you busy trying out the shades and blends for quite some time.
There’s a proprietary “Rainforest of the Sea” complex used to formulate these shadows, and while we’re not quite sure what that entails, the hydration promised by the formula does make eyes feel pretty darn soft. This collection is vegan, dermatologist-tested and made without phthalates or parabens, and while it’s priced on the expensive side at $46 for a relatively-small palette, it’s a terrific and versatile neutral eye shadow palette.
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Helpful Details: |
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Colors |
Eight (Mermaid frosted gold, Seashell frosted pink, Wave frosted slate, Abyss satiny dark brown, Reef frosted copper, Starfish frosted bronze, Cove satiny beige, Sand satiny ivory) |
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Parabens |
No |
Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Eyeshadow Palette
This limited-edition palette won’t be for everyone. It’s large, it’s a bit inconsistent when it comes to the quality of the shades (some require primer, some don’t), and it’s not cheap. However, it’s full of rainbow-colored shades plus some neutral ones, and it will be a one-size-fits-all solution to eye shadow for many people because it offers 24 separate colors from bright pinks and oranges and blues, to light beiges and browns, to dark purples and blacks.
The Kat Von D collection is quite pigmented and will last for hours without an issue, and can be blended fairly well (although mixing some of these shades might produce some eye-opening results). We did feel there’s some missing “middle ground” between the lights and darks, but even with 24 shades you can’t have everything. The one real danger here is the organization of the palette, with seven neutral shades in the middle and 17 colors around the perimeter, you have to be careful or you’ll end up with some of the inner shades mixed with the outer ones.
This isn’t a palette to tuck into your purse for quick touchups while you’re out for the evening, and some may be put off by the large number of bright shades. However, it’s a lot of fun and a great choice to play around with.
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Helpful Details: |
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Colors |
24 (too many to list, but highlights include Swoon matte pink, Harpsichord frosted copper, Analogue matte orange, Misfit shimmery green, Synth matte blue, Lyric frosted beige, Skulls metallic white, Black Metal matte black) |
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Parabens |
No |
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