Earth toned eye makeup are an almost fool-proof way to accentuate one's eyes. Here are a few beautifully versatile palettes which will take you from the office to dinner, from parties to holidays.
Naked Palette (Urban Decay)
The ultimate basic earth toned palette - the Naked palette is probably the favourite thing in my entire makeup collection. Since the original Naked 1 (a warm, bronze-toned palette, pictured), the Naked family has expanded to Naked 2 (cool toned), Naked 3 (rose-gold toned) and Naked Smokey (for nights of partying). There are also two Naked Basic palettes which are about half the size of an original Naked palette, and perfect for taking on the go.
The pigmentation and versatility of these shades are truly amazing. There are a few 'dupes' at a lower price from brands such as Maybelline, L'Oreal, Cover Girl, Physicians Formula and Natio, but none of them come nearly close to the quality of the Urban Decay palettes, which are smooth, long-wearing, and have almost no fall-out.
The only bad thing I'd say about the original Naked palette is that it's not portable - the strange felt flap closure gets dirty very easily and cannot be securely closed. However, since the Naked 2, all the palettes come in metal tins which click into place upon closing.
Honourable mentions: every single shade in this palette is incredible, but here are my favourites: 'sidecar' is a glittery light bronze which somehow manages to be both sparkly yet smooth;
'smog' is a darker bronze with gold micro-glitter which picks up the light in a beautiful way;
'toasted' is a gorgeous, deep dusty rose; and
'gunmetal', despite appearing grey in the palette, has a stunning bluish hue when applied to the skin.
Eyes are the Window - Soul Palette (Stila)
Stila is hands down one of my favouriate make up brands. Their liquid lipstick (which I reviewed:
http://theunbearablelightnessofstyle.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/bold-red-lips.html) are incredible, as are their liquid eye-liners; and their eye shadows are no exception.
Despite the over-all excellent quality, when comparing each shade side-by-side, this palette is a little bit hit-and-miss. Some, like the famous 'kitten', is incredible: smooth, metallic, long-lasting, zero fall-out. Others, such as 'character', is a little harder to work with, because the pigmentation is not as great. Overall, 'soul' is a beautiful palette with a good selection of both metallic and matte shades.
There are three more choices from the 'Eyes are the Window' series: 'body' boasts of gorgeous, bold shades such as plum and blue; 'spirit' is quite similar to 'soul', but is a collection of Stila's most iconic shades; and 'mind' is completely matte. I struggled to pick between 'soul' and 'spirit', and in the end what tilted in 'soul''s favour is the slightly wider range of tones - particularly the inclusion of darker shades which are not present in 'spirit'.
Honourable mentions: I find the glittery shades better than the matte shades in this palette:
'kitten' is hands-down the most beautiful champagne-shimmer shade ever made;
'vitality' is just as beautiful, but with a warmer, slightly darker tone than 'kitten'; and
'affection' is a lovely autumnal shade that is surprisingly flattering on the skin.
Shimmer Brick in Bronze (Bobbi Brown)
Last Christmas, Bobbi Brown came out with a limited edition three-pan palette which included the Gold, the Bronze and the Wild Rose shimmer bricks. These are supposed to be face-palettes, but I find that Bronze works better as an eye-shadow palette.
Shimmer bricks are one of Bobbi Brown's most iconic items, and for good reason: the powder is so finely milled that they make you truly 'shimmer', rather than look weirdly-glittery. When the light hits, the tiny shimmer particles pick up the light in the most flattering way.
When applying as eye-shadow, you can carefully run your brush horizontally to pick up particular colours, or blend the strips together. The top white shade is perfect for under the brow bone; and the darkest brown makes a great crease-colour.
Although the palette is limited edition and therefore no longer available, the Bronze shimmer brick is among Bobbi Brown's permanent collection.
Chubby Sticks (Clinique)
OK, these are not palettes - but I can't resist including them here because they are absolutely amazing: one swipe and you're done. They are smooth, pigmented, beautifully rich, long-lasting, creamy, and flattering: I can't sing their praises enough. In addition, they are so easy for touch-ups or for travel. These are probably among the most fuss-free makeup I have ever tried, without compromising quality.
The only downside? Having a reasonable collection of them (say 3-4) costs as much as, if not more than, the other palettes I have discussed. Although each chubby stick lasts a long time, it does mean that for the same amount of money spent you will get a much smaller variety of colours to play with, than if you just bought a palette.
Not even weird bra-like names can take away from the beauty of the colours. Despite their slightly-high price tag (at $38 AUD each compared to the palette which are around the $70-$80 range), I will definitely repurchase the minute I run out of any one of these colours. They make getting ready so easy.
How great is Ample Amber, by the way?
Naked Palette (Urban Decay)
The ultimate basic earth toned palette - the Naked palette is probably the favourite thing in my entire makeup collection. Since the original Naked 1 (a warm, bronze-toned palette, pictured), the Naked family has expanded to Naked 2 (cool toned), Naked 3 (rose-gold toned) and Naked Smokey (for nights of partying). There are also two Naked Basic palettes which are about half the size of an original Naked palette, and perfect for taking on the go.
The pigmentation and versatility of these shades are truly amazing. There are a few 'dupes' at a lower price from brands such as Maybelline, L'Oreal, Cover Girl, Physicians Formula and Natio, but none of them come nearly close to the quality of the Urban Decay palettes, which are smooth, long-wearing, and have almost no fall-out.
The only bad thing I'd say about the original Naked palette is that it's not portable - the strange felt flap closure gets dirty very easily and cannot be securely closed. However, since the Naked 2, all the palettes come in metal tins which click into place upon closing.
 |
| From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: virgin, sin, naked sidecar, buck, half baked |
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| From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: smog, darkhorse, toasted hustle, creep, gunmetal |
'smog' is a darker bronze with gold micro-glitter which picks up the light in a beautiful way;
'toasted' is a gorgeous, deep dusty rose; and
'gunmetal', despite appearing grey in the palette, has a stunning bluish hue when applied to the skin.
Eyes are the Window - Soul Palette (Stila)
Stila is hands down one of my favouriate make up brands. Their liquid lipstick (which I reviewed:
http://theunbearablelightnessofstyle.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/bold-red-lips.html) are incredible, as are their liquid eye-liners; and their eye shadows are no exception.
Despite the over-all excellent quality, when comparing each shade side-by-side, this palette is a little bit hit-and-miss. Some, like the famous 'kitten', is incredible: smooth, metallic, long-lasting, zero fall-out. Others, such as 'character', is a little harder to work with, because the pigmentation is not as great. Overall, 'soul' is a beautiful palette with a good selection of both metallic and matte shades.
There are three more choices from the 'Eyes are the Window' series: 'body' boasts of gorgeous, bold shades such as plum and blue; 'spirit' is quite similar to 'soul', but is a collection of Stila's most iconic shades; and 'mind' is completely matte. I struggled to pick between 'soul' and 'spirit', and in the end what tilted in 'soul''s favour is the slightly wider range of tones - particularly the inclusion of darker shades which are not present in 'spirit'.
 |
| From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: light, individual, being kitten, affection, character thought, heart, peace vitality, substance, essence |
'kitten' is hands-down the most beautiful champagne-shimmer shade ever made;
'vitality' is just as beautiful, but with a warmer, slightly darker tone than 'kitten'; and
'affection' is a lovely autumnal shade that is surprisingly flattering on the skin.
Shimmer Brick in Bronze (Bobbi Brown)
Last Christmas, Bobbi Brown came out with a limited edition three-pan palette which included the Gold, the Bronze and the Wild Rose shimmer bricks. These are supposed to be face-palettes, but I find that Bronze works better as an eye-shadow palette.
Shimmer bricks are one of Bobbi Brown's most iconic items, and for good reason: the powder is so finely milled that they make you truly 'shimmer', rather than look weirdly-glittery. When the light hits, the tiny shimmer particles pick up the light in the most flattering way.
When applying as eye-shadow, you can carefully run your brush horizontally to pick up particular colours, or blend the strips together. The top white shade is perfect for under the brow bone; and the darkest brown makes a great crease-colour.
Although the palette is limited edition and therefore no longer available, the Bronze shimmer brick is among Bobbi Brown's permanent collection.
Chubby Sticks (Clinique)
OK, these are not palettes - but I can't resist including them here because they are absolutely amazing: one swipe and you're done. They are smooth, pigmented, beautifully rich, long-lasting, creamy, and flattering: I can't sing their praises enough. In addition, they are so easy for touch-ups or for travel. These are probably among the most fuss-free makeup I have ever tried, without compromising quality.
The only downside? Having a reasonable collection of them (say 3-4) costs as much as, if not more than, the other palettes I have discussed. Although each chubby stick lasts a long time, it does mean that for the same amount of money spent you will get a much smaller variety of colours to play with, than if you just bought a palette.
 |
| From Top to Bottom: 01 Bountiful Beige, 04 Ample Amber, 03 Fuller Fudge, 08 Curvaceous Coal |
How great is Ample Amber, by the way?
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