Favorite Eyeshadow Palettes of 2022

Here's the eyeshadow palettes that I continue to go to whenever I want to look beautiful. I love going to Sephora and swatching shades of new eyeshadow on my hands. You know you go to Sephora too often when an employee tells you he loved the lipstick you tried on last time you were there and hopes you bought it. lol They recently opened 4 new stores in my city so I try to diversify and visit locations outside of my neighborhood, yes I have a Sephora within walking distance of where I live.

On my list here you'll find a mix of affordable and high end palettes. My favorite eyeshadow color to wear is purple and if you have brown eyes, the list below will all look wonderful and compliment you. When I had my color analysis done, I was told I'm a Cool Winter, so I've been on the look out for cool toned colors in both my clothes and eyeshadow, taupe being one of the colors. I've also been experimenting with sparkly eye colors lately. If you didn't know, Pat McGrath and Natasha Denona are the "IT" brands right now for eyeshadow.

The last time I did a roundup of my favorite eyeshadow was in 2016 and it was mainly MAC eyeshadows then. As a professional makeup hoarder, I have to warn you that makeup does have an expiration date. Your old eyeshadow could have microorganisms on them such as bacteria, fungus and parasites. Eyeshadow should be tossed after 12 months. So if you still have your old Naked palettes from 10 years ago, time to toss them! Mascara is supposed to be thrown out after 3 months because afterwards contamination increases after that. I like to use eyeshadow as an eyeliner with a brush, so I want to be double sure that it's safe to use.

I store all of my makeup brushes in this container. My eyeshadow brushes are mostly MAC but I've recently purchased some Rephr brushes. My go to tip for eyeshadow application is to first apply an eyeshadow primer. It helps the colors stick to your skin, last longer, and if you have a deeper skin color it allows for the eyeshadow colors to pop more. I use the color Soft Ochre which any complexion can use.

Purples

Dior Backstage - Cool Neutrals

This is my current favorite eyeshadow palette! This is not your typical color story, it's a stunning cool toned, grey hazy lilac which looks so flattering on my brown eyes. I have never seen these colors anywhere else. It comes with a primer, the top beige color, but I use my own primer. The shimmer color in the middle requires a wet brush to use or else you don't get the full color payout. The colors are light and not too intense, so you really have to work with the colors. My favorite color is the top right color. I use the dark colors in my outer corner for depth but I end up using all the colors in one look. It's such a sophisticated, gorgeous eye palette. I always feel really beautiful when I wear this.

Chantecaille Mermaid Eye Color in Starfish

I wanted a one and done eyeshadow in the perfect shade of taupey plum. The formula is a cream powder hybrid with a beautiful sheen that gives your eyes a bit of glossiness. There's nothing quite like it on the market. This is so beautiful and unique. It's soft and not too sparkly and creates an effortless look. I apply it with my fingers and smoke out the edges with a brush. It looks like I've done so much more to my eyes than putting one color on. You don't need a primer with this. However it does crease throughout the day. If you don't like wearing eyeshadow, this is super quick and easy to apply.

Greens

I wanted a dark olive green / khaki shade and was frustrated that every olive eyeliner pencil I had was too light so I ordered three olive green eyeshadows that all turned out to be perfect, so you don't need all three you can just pick one.

Rare Beauty Magnetic Spirit Eyeshadow Palette

The olive green shade is the most beautiful shade in the palette. Some people might say the green is not cohesive with the color story of the palette but I always said if I created my own eyeshadow palette it would be green and purple. This is an all shimmer palette that can be applied with a brush. I get zero fall out from the shimmers so I was impressed by how they applied. It says limited edition but its been around a few years. Rare Beauty is Selena Gomez's line so I googled to see how she applied these colors but only found her wearing the orange shade.

Dose of Colors - Cutting Edge

This is an army color palette. I think the first color on the left, the muddy green, would be really pretty on someone with a lighter complexion. I love the fourth olive green shimmer shade. So yes I bought this only for one shade. I use my own brush to apply. My mother recently stole it from me as she has green eyes and loved the colors in this palette.

Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eye Shadow in Vivid Olive

This is a hybrid cream formula packed with pigment so it has a special lid inside because it's not quite a loose powder but also pressed. It comes in 9 colors. You do need a primer with this, or else the color will eventually fall of your eyes by the end of the day. I apply it with my fingers, which is a bit hard to do with long nails to dip into the pot. It lasts hours and does not crease. It can be built up for a more dramatic look or sheered out. You can add bronzer to your eye crease to combine with this shade. You could also use this shade as a shimmering topper to another eye look as it has lots of glitter. The color is a deep, cooler toned green, absolute dreamy color. A true olive green with golden specks. It's an elegant sparkly shadow. Here's a must see short video of Rosie Huntington applying the shade.

Multicolor

Charlotte Tilbury - The Golden Goddess

The palette is pricey but has luxurious packaging and the quad comes in 10 color combos. I had a hard time trying to decide if I should get the Rebel which is gold and olive, but I don't wear gold eyeshadow so the Golden Goddess won over. The Golden Goddess is a really beautiful palette because of its cool color story. My favorite color is the top right light taupe color with a metallic finish, I bought this palette for that color specifically. I wanted a taupe eyeshadow and couldn't find one I liked. I use the light champagne color on my lower lid, my inner eye corner and to give a subtle lift to the brow bone. The bottom left color is a sheer shimmer topper. I use a tiny bit of the bottom right medium brown in my crease. This is a dream of a cool toned color palette, the sparkle brightens up my eyes and the palette is so compact that its easy to travel with.

Alter Ego Harmony palette is a dupe for the Natasha Denona Retro palette with a beautiful color story of 15 romantic shades of burgundy, mauve, taupe, dusty rose and vintage pink. You can create so many looks with this!

Alter Ego Luster Charm palette is a dupe for Pat McGrath Mothership VII - Divine Rose, Pat's best selling palette. The color story is a very rosy, romantic, cohesive color story with matte, metallic, satin and duo chrome finishes. You'll be able to wear all of the colors. My favorite colors are the first bottom color, that orange duo chrome really pops and the matte cool grey lilac next to it. This is my second favorite palette on this list as it has that same grey lilac from the Dior palette. I can create so many looks from this as it has so many wearable everyday looks. Then the shimmering colors are perfect for evening looks.

e.l.f. Liquid Metallic Eyeshadow in Moon

I wear this when I want a high shine, champagne color. It's fast drying so you want to work quickly and do one eye at a time.

Undereye Liner

I made my own palette from MAC for undereye liner. I like a softer more natural look from applying eyeshadow instead of a pencil. Plus I could never find the perfect purple pencil for tan skin. I use MAC Powder Kiss Soft Matte Eyeshadow in P for Potent and eyeshadow in the sparkle color Nude Model and create an ombre look with the two colors. I smoke out the outer corner of the lower lash line with the dark color and put the lighter color in the middle. I use this brush to apply. This is my everyday lower lash eyeliner.

I tried on every purple eyeshadow at MAC until I found just the perfect shade for my complexion. It however is not the right tone to pair with the Dior eye palette. It looks like right now that MAC is sold out of the 2 eyeshadow pan, then you'll have to buy the eyeshadow in a pot. If you have individual MAC eyeshadows that you want to put into a palette, you can easily depot it, I've done this before. You just pop the eyeshadow out of the pot, melt the glue off the back with a flat iron, then insert it into a palette. You can even melt the glue off the label so you can attach to the back of the separate piece so you won't forget what it is. I do this whenever the store doesn't have the color in palette form but I need to buy it today.