Pretty Eye Palettes
Eye makeup is amazing, but it’s one thing that I tend to only really go big on on ‘special occasions’. It’s quite an effort, and, if you’re not in the mood, a bit of a chore. But a new eye palette is a piece of makeup to die for – an absolute treat.
So, here are four fab eye palettes I’ve been having a play about with recently, from Illamasqua, Dior, Mac, and Bobbi Brown.
Bobbi Brown Bellini Mini Lip & Eye Palette (£26, bobbibrown.co.uk)
First up, Bobbi’s gorgeous Bellini Mini Lip & Eye Palette from their Christmas collection, launched on counters today (October 15). This lovely little, portable palette contains an amazing FIVE eye colours, and a mini lip gloss, which is pretty good for just £26.50.
The eye shadows included are Rich Brown Eye Shadow, Golden Pink Metallic Eye Shadow, Blazing Star Sparkle Eye Shadow, Bone Eye Shadow and Sable Eye Shadow. Blend them to create the softest of sparkly smokey eyes, or use the shimmery ones on their own for a subtle wash of colour. The lip is Bellini High Shimmer Lip Gloss. The palette has a fab mirror, and is pretty tiny, so perfect to pop into any festive clutch.
Illamasqua Celestial Palette (£34. illamasqua.com)
This beauty is from their new AW Equinox Collection which lands on counters today. It’s gorgeous, representing “a desert night, engulfed by starry skies and the constellations of the universe”. More on the full collection later.
This beautiful palette is a combination of four highly pigmented cream-to-powder eye shadows which give amazing colour pay-off. Quell, is a champagne shimmer, Solace is a burnished industrial grey – and they offer a lovely satin finish, whilst Jubilance, a polished warm copper, and Orb, an iridescent barely black have really lustrous textures. You can, again, combine to create an amazing eye, or use alone, for a wash. Jubilance looks brilliant just washed over the eyelid for a really gorgeous, subtle, shimmer.
Dior 5 Couleurs Couture Colours & Effects Eyeshadow Palette (£42, johnlewis.com)
This palette was launched last Autumn in four new catwalk-inspired shade combinations. This one is 096 Pied-De-Poule, and consists of four beautiful colours, and a deep black for lining and adding depth to your smokey eye.
The upper three (top two and middle) will create a natural look, and the lower three (bottom two and middle) a more sophisticated look. The shades in this palette are quite similar – some of them – to the Illamasqua palette, with more of a green/grey feel to it.
I think this palette is wonderful – it’s luxurious, the packaging is gorgeous, the mini applicators are cute – and reasonably useful, one of them being an actual brush, and the shadow itself is easy to apply, gives good coverage, and the possibilities with this palette are endless. The five colours give you a host of effects – matte, satin, iridescent and ultra-shimmer. It’s a brilliant palette to play about with. It also has a very handy guide to how to create various looks included with it.
MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow x 4 in Pure Bred (£34, maccosmetics.co.uk)
This comes from the Haute Dogs collection. The colours are on point for autumn, featuring berries, peaches and browns, they really look like the leaves of the trees.
The shades are plum silver cream, tan gold, and deep brown. Unlike most powders that are pressed into traditional metal pans, Mineralize is moulded onto small round terracotta tiles and carefully baked for 24 hours,which allows for a sheer and light application.
They feature MAC’s “Mineral-rich Yeast Extract” which is a blend of 77 minerals that nourish and provide smooth coverage. You can apply these shadows dry for low to medium coverage with a shimmery -and that is all you will get out of them; really like a wash of colour. Or you can apply wet for more intense coverage, and bolder colour. Personally, I can never be bothered doing the wet thing, so I would probably only use this palette for light, autunnal hints of eye colour.
What’s your favourite eyeshadow palette?
