Eyeshadow can take a lot of work, but it can be the most beautiful, eye-catching part of a makeup look. I often find myself in awe looking at pictures of beautifully blended smokey eyes or bold, colorful eye looks. Crisp winged liner. Lush, full lashes. The whole look together is captivating. I may make posts in the future about techniques I use, but for now, I'll stick to talking about products.
I have a pretty even mix of affordable and high end eyeshadow palettes but if you want to buy single eyeshadows, there's almost no reason to set foot in a MAC or Sephora. You can get a couple of good quality single shadows at the drugstore price level. I used to be obsessed with the L'Oréal Infallible Shadows, especially the neutral colors like Amber Rush (all time fave!), Iced Latte, etc. I use Wet n Wild's single shadow in Brulee as my base color before every single eye look I do and it costs me a whopping 99 cents.
I do think some high end palettes are worth it since you are getting several shadows. If a $40 palette comes with 12 shadows, you're only paying about $3 for each shadow. To me, that's a small price to pay for good quality.
Since I have TONS of eyeshadow, this post will solely be swatches and comments on single eyeshadows, and I will make a separate post for eyeshadow palettes.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadow Singles ($12): great quality, smooth and easy to blend
Catrice Velvet Matte Eyeshadow, Al Burgundy (discontinued?): Fairly pigmented and smooth but I barely used it and the color wasn't the type of color I wear a lot anyway.
Coastal Scents Hot Pots ($1.95): There are hits and misses, but overall I love these! A couple times a year they have a sale where all of them are 99 cents so definitely wait for the sale if you're looking to try out a bunch.
Colourpop Super Shock Shadow, Sequin ($5): The texture of these is pretty cool because it's almost a cream but not quite. This shade has a very pretty metallic finish.
Kiko Water Eyeshadow ($12): This is really pretty but I honestly never use it. I think I just gravitate toward palettes in general and since this is a neutral color I never remember I have it.
L'Oreal Infallible Shadows ($7.99): Soooo good! So pigmented and a beautiful color selection. Mostly all shimmers so if you're looking for matte colors, you might not find anything you like.
MAC Eye Shadow ($6 for single pan): Good but nothing special in my opinion. I don't have many so maybe that's why I don't reach for them that much. Vanilla is the best shade for my inner lid if I'm doing an all matte smokey eye but want the lid to be a light nude color.
Makeup Geek Signature Eyeshadows ($6): I think these are equal to, if not better than MAC shadows. I have a bunch of the neutral colors and can always rely on them for a nice, blended look.
Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows ($6.99): Everyone loved these as eye bases or on their own but I was never a huge fan. They were nice but I always preferred powder shadows. I think I had some experiences with them creasing so that may have turned me off.
Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow ($5): These were pretty but I wasn't a huge fan and gave them away. When you have as many shadows as I do, you get pretty picky!
Milani Shadow Eyez 12HR Wear Eyeshadow, Champagne Toast (discontinued?): This was so pretty but I don't use cream shadows on my eyes that often so I didn't end up using this and gave it away. Especially in the case of shadow sticks, you can't put as much pressure on them when applying to your eyes as you can applying to your hand so the color payoff is always weaker on the eye than when you swatch it.
NYX Face and Body Glitters ($6): Beautiful glitters! The NYX Glitter Primer is definitely necessary (as is with most glitters). Once you put that on the glitter sticks to it like it's glue.
NYX Foil Play Cream Pigment, French Macaron ($7.50): Like their other pigments, I love these! This is by far my favorite shade. I 've seen some people use these as face highlighters too. They have a more foiled, metallic appearance than the regular pigments. I find they need to be pressed onto the lid with a little bit of pressure to make sure they blend properly. I use a brush and swipe the brush onto my lid a little harder than I normally would and it works fine. I also use the NYX Pigment primer with them to help them stick.
NYX Full Throttle Shaow Stick, Cold Fear (discontinued): These are nice, pigmented shadow sticks but they only come in bright colors. I did experience some creasing on my lid throughout the day so your best bet is to set it on top with a powder shadow.
NYX Glazed & Confused Eye Gloss, Get Naked ($9.50): So here's the deal with eye glosses- they aren't for everyday wear. In fact, they're not really practical to wear for anything except a photo shoot where you can get some pics of your cool, editorial makeup look and then wipe it off. Eye glosses, like this one, crease on me within minutes (and most likely anyone who has eyelids). I don't think it matters if your eyelids are hooded or not, it just doesn't seem possible to open your eyes and let your eyelid crease without expecting the gloss to build up in those creases. It just isn't a good look. But as far as color, this one is great. Super grungy and would look cool in a picture before it creases.
NYX Glitter Goals Cream Quad Palette, Love on Top ($12): These work really well as long as you use the glitter primer with them. Use caution with NYX glitter products because some are labeled as not being safe for eyes. I have used all of these and all of their loose glitters on my eyes and never had any issues, but just be careful.
NYX Glitter Goals Liquid Eyeshadow ($8): I love these! They remind me of the Stila ones but way cheaper. Polished Pin Up is the most beautiful champagne shade. I take them onto a small flat shadow or concealer brush and apply them to my lid. They're great for cut crease looks too.
NYX Holographic Halo Eye Tint, Fairy Dust (discontinued): I love these! Like the Lid Lingeries they don't crease and wear nicely throughout the day. The colors are beautiful and they have a really cool holographic effect to them.
NYX Lid Lingerie Eye Tint, Sweet Cloud ($7): So surprised by how much I like these. The Sweet Cloud color (rose gold one pictured) is my absolute favorite! Looks beautiful on the lid and stays put all day with no creasing. The matte ones are good too but I use them as bases more than eyeshadow alone. They're good for cut creases.
NYX Pigments ($6): The neutral toned shimmery ones are to die for! I don't care much for the colorful ones just because I don't usually wear colorful shadows like that.
Brighten Up
Stunner
Vegas Baby!
Metallic Velvet
Old Hollywood
Diamond
NYX Prismatic Shadows ($6/$4 for single pan): Okay by this point you can tell I'm a huge NYX fan but seriously these are great too! For pressed shadows, they have as much pigment as the loose pigments! Shimmery and beautiful. Many of them have a duochrome effect which is cool.
NYX Roll On Shimmers, Salmon (discontinued): So affordable but once again, so beautiful! Salmon (pictured) is my favorite but there are other pretty neutral ones and some colors too. I recommend using a glitter primer with this because even though it rolls right on from the rollerball, it won't stay as well without a tacky primer. Side not: these have been re-released as NYX Shimmer Down Pigments. The colors are the same, and in some cases, even better!
Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow ($24 for full size individual): These really are beautiful. Easy to apply with their lip gloss-like applicators and super reflective and shimmery. They are a bit chunky but not in a bad way. It just looks like chunks of metal/glitter. These would be really nice for proms and formal events.
Stila Shimmer & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow ($24): I like their glitter ones better (see above) but these are really pretty too.
Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eye Shadow ($32 for full size): Such a unique formula! I haven't seen any other brand duplicate the beautiful foiled look you get from these.
Urban Decay Eyeshadow, Midnight Cowboy ($19): I got this one as a birthday gift at Ulta and although it was pretty, I didn't think it would be worth the price tag.
Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Singles, Brulee & Panther ($0.99): Like I mentioned earlier, I use Brulee as my base color every time I do eyeshadow. Instead of depleting a nude shade in a palette, I like using this one because if I have to replace it, it's so cheap. And I've been using the one I have for a while so they don't run out quick either.
