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A few weeks ago, I was considering what I really considered to be a perfect eye shadow palette. Truthfully, I don’t know if I could create one. Perfect means different things when I’m in different moods. Sometimes I want all neutral, sometimes all matte, and sometimes I find myself reaching for bright, metallic purples.
As I was looking through my favorite palettes, I noticed a a few shades I wish they contained–the shades I tend to reach for elsewhere. And then I extended this to palettes I didn’t buy because I felt that they were missing something.
So today we’re going to talk about a handful of eye shadow palettes I think could be pretty close to perfect, or at least improved, with the addition of a few shades.
Natasha Denona Safari
I did a full review on this palette, and while I don’t necessarily think it’s worth $129, I really enjoy it. And I find myself being able to create a multitude of looks with it. You have cool toned grays and blues, medium toned browns, and warm reds and purples. It comes with a little of everything, but I still noticed always reaching into another palette for one shade specifically.
What I feel this palette is missing is a simple, cool toned brown. Savanna is close, but it’s still a khaki color and leans a little too green. Sometimes when I want to keep my shadow cool but still brown, and this palette swings green, gray, or warm.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina
When the Norvina palette was teased, I was so so excited to finally see purples that weren’t red toned! But once I got it and really started playing around with it, I noticed it was predominately a neutral palette with a couple of pops of purple and pink. In reality, aside from ‘Wild Child,’ ‘Celestial,’ ‘Love,’ and ‘Soul,’ it’s a warm toned, brown palette. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful palette, and I like the ABH formula. It just wasn’t as purple as I anticipated.
I think what this palette is really lacking is a punchy, matte purple. If I could switch out any shade in the palette and replace with something new, it’d be either ‘Eccentric’ or ‘Incense.’ They are both a warm, mid-tone brown. They swatch so similar, and look nearly identical on the eye. Instead of two shades like that, I’d swap one out for a vibrant, matte purple–similar to ‘Celestial’ but matte.
Maybelline Lemonade Craze
This is a palette I was excited about when I initially heard the concept, but I felt the execution was lackluster. When I think lemonade, I think of refreshing yellows, pastel and vibrant. I think of sparkling whites and fresh pinks. I even think of tans and browns from the lemon and the green on the cups of fresh squeezed lemonade you get at the carnival.
What I didn’t think of is yet another neutral palette with a couple pops of gold and peach. I know brands want to make their palettes user friendly for the most amount of people, but I wish brands would really start rolling with concepts instead of playing them safe.
I won’t lie, the shimmers in this palette look beautiful, and there’s no question that I’d use the browns. It’s just that we all have so many, and so many shades look similar to one another. And this palette just doesn’t scream lemonade to me.
the new lemonade craze
I completely reorganized this palette with shades I consider to be reminiscent of ‘lemonade craze‘ and would have taken this palette to the next level.
Instead of being heavy on the pinks and rose toned browns, I swapped in some vibrant and refreshing citrus shades–a pale matte yellow, metallic yellow, chartreuse with a gold/green glitter, and a glittery creamsicle shade. I also pulled in a really light, matte peach for highlighting, a crisp and matte pink as well as a pretty pastel pink. The new highlight shade (in the top left) is a white with a pale gold and pink shift situation — it made me think of the ice in the glass.
What do you think? Were these palettes missing something? Or are they fine the way they are? PS: Are there any other palettes you think were missing shades?
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