Which Eyeshadow Palette Should You Get?

When it comes to eyeshadow palettes, my role in reviewing is to let you know about quality, performance, and if the shades work well on darker skin tones. Whether you need to add it to your collection of palettes is of course up to you. We all have different coloring, makeup styles, lifestyles, etc that factor into makeup decision making. BUT I do know that sometimes some of you need a little extra guidance when it comes to eyeshadow palettes. I was once someone who owned more eyeshadow palettes than I ever needed (in my defense a majority of them came from what brands send me for review consideration). Now my eyeshadow palette stash is VERY, VERY small compared to yesteryear’s (which is funny because now that I own less eyeshadow palettes, I do WAY more eyeshadow looks now). But don’t let me love of minimalism hinder you from owning as many eyeshadow palettes as you want. I am not here to judge…lol.

The main reason for me writing this post was because I’ve had several people ask me about the similarities between Urban Decay Born to Run (see swatches and review here) Makeup Shayla x Colourpop Perception (see swatches and review here), and Fenty Beauty Moroccan Spice (see swatches and review here). So the thing is, none of these palettes have the same colors in them. They may have a few shades that are in the same color family, but they aren’t all essentially the same palette.

For instance…

All three have a few neutral shadows

Urban Decay Born to Run has the most neutrals out of all three

All three have shadows with varying finishes (matte, shimmer, metallic, etc)

All three allow you to create a number of daytime as well as nighttime looks

Moroccan Spice is the only palette that has a bright turquoise shade (Born to Run has an emerald and a frosted green that aren’t similar to Moroccan Spice’s turquoise)

Only Born to Run has a black

Only Perception has a metallic pink and a bright metallic blue

Born to Run has 21 shades

Perception has 16 shades

Moroccan Spice has 16 shades

I mean, I could go on.

You definitely don’t need to own all three. I bought Perception but Moroccan Spice and Born to Run were sent to me by their perspective brands for review consideration. I bought Perception to 1. support Shayla and 2. I wanted to add more color into my eye makeup looks and I don’t already have similar colors. I’m keeping the Fenty because I really like it, BUT I also just bought the Kevyn Aucoin Electropop eyeshadow palette at my Space NK event (omg these shadows are so smooooooth and the black shade is the creamiest matte I’ve ever felt). My niece is getting my Urban Decay Born to Run because she really loves Urban Decay and I know I won’t use it.

So which one should YOU get?

If you’re looking for a more versatile palette that allows you to do looks for any season, for any occasion (work, school, brunch, night out, etc) and gives you a good mix of neutrals and colors, go for the Urban Decay Born to Run. (If you’re not much into color, check out my neutral eyeshadow palettes for dark skin post here)

If you already own a ton of neutrals and want a palette that allows you to bring some color into your stash but still has some good neutrals in it so you can take it with you for travel, get either the Makeup Shayla Perception or Fenty Beauty Moroccan Spice.

And that’s the thing about deciding which eyeshadow palettes are worth the space in your stash and of course your hard-earned cash. Take your lifestyle into consideration—are you someone who only really wears makeup at work (and of course your work environment needs to factor in—do you work in a more conservative environment or more creative). Are you someone who only wears makeup when you go out and when you do, you want to look well made up? Are you new to makeup and want the basics to get you through? What’s your budget? Which other palettes do you already own? Do you really need a full palette or can you make do with a quad? There are a gazillion questions to consider which is why it’s almost impossible for me to assist with “which one should I get?” questions. We’re all different and then look at me, I used to own a TON of makeup up until about last year, now I’m super minimalist. I still love makeup and wear it more now than I have since working from home, but I don’t need to own every single shade out there…lol.

If you need to check out past eyeshadow swatches and reviews, go here.

Check out my Best Neutral Eyeshadow Palettes for Dark Skin post here

How do you decide which eyeshadow palettes to buy? Tell me all about it in the comments!