By Nicola Dall'Asen , Wendy Sy , and Jennifer Hussein
When it comes to highly coveted makeup drops, nothing tugs at the heartstrings of beauty lovers quite like the best eye shadow palettes on the market. Aesthetically, they're a feast for the eyes, but one could even go so far as to call them pragmatic. Don't @ us — some are very travel-friendly and take up the least amount of space in your carry-on, while still touting a wide variety of shimmery and matte shades. Lipgloss Container Gold
However, perhaps more than anything, a good eye shadow palette is usually more of an investment purchase than a lipstick or eyeliner. When we take a look back at the record-breaking, best-selling, can't-keep-them-in-stock palettes, you'll find that the ones that came out on top are a delightful hodgepodge of highly pigmented, highly blendable goodness.
With drugstore sweethearts like Maybelline New York's classic collection of warm neutrals, Urban Decay's rebooted version of its beloved (and discontinued) Naked Palette, Charlotte Tilbury's masterful curation of neutrals, and Pat McGrath Labs' luxury palette to end all luxury palettes we've swatched every inch of the market to come up with our favorites. Get ready to expand your repertoire of makeup looks.
If you've hit pan and repurchased one (or several) of the palettes below, this will be a fun stroll down memory lane for you. In case you're an eye shadow palette newbie, overwhelmed by the cornucopia of shades, take a deep breath and relax — we got you. Available across the world wide web's favorite retailers, these 15 Allure staff-approved palettes have barged into our lives and quickly risen up to the ranks of our all-time favorites, and you’re about to find out why.
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Tarte's In Bloom Clay Eye Shadow Palette comes packed with 12 matte and shimmery neutral shades that are perfect for doing both casual, everyday looks and bolder or smoky makeup. It scored both a 2020 and 2021 Readers' Choice Award and an Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2022 as it's a foolproof palette to have in your collection if you fancy creating a wide range of wearable eye looks.
Allure commerce editor Sarah Han calls this mix of earth-toned mattes and shimmers a must-have for all makeup mavens, regardless if you're a minimalist or into a full beat. "On lazier days, I'll pop on just one or two shades and call it a day," she says. "That's the beauty of this palette. You can easily dress your looks up or down."
You've got all the colors of the rainbow and more with Colourpop's Fade Into the Hue Palette. The Best of Beauty winner is filled with super-saturated shades with uplifting names to match, like Lucky Charm, Kaleidoscope, and Fantasyland, all of which compliment a wide range of eye colors. Whether you go for a sparkly metallic, solid matte, or a mix of both, one thing's for sure: You'll look beyond stunning.
New York City-based makeup artist Ashlee Glazer says Kevyn Aucoin's The Contour Eye Shadow Palette is a must-have for its mix of six eye-enhancing shimmery shades and creamy matte eye shadows, which are available in four colorways to choose from, depending on your skin tone. "The size, the pigment, the delivery, and texture of these shadows are a sure thing," says Glazer. Her favorite feature is how lightweight the compact is, which she says "makes it great for a professional and a personal kit," but our editors especially love the high-quality, buttery feel and rich pigmentation that works for just about any daily natural look.
Glazer is also a fan of Anastasia Beverly Hills' Soft Glam Eye Shadow Palette, and we love it just as much. This modern icon features a mix of 14 mauve-, neutral-, and rose-toned shimmers, foils, and mattes with long-wearing formulas that won't budge, smudge, or fade throughout the day. "This palette has wide variety of fun and sexy colors all encased in a light weight compact," says Glazer.
For a four-shade palette, Charlotte Tilbury'sThe Bella Sofia Luxury Palette truly excels in day-to-night versatility. This makeup bag-worthy quad gets our (and Glazer's) stamp of approval for its rich, blendable, and buildable shades that'll do just the trick no matter what eye look you're going for. Each shimmery shade in this quad has something to offer, whether you're in need of a dazzling bronze for your next smokey eye look or just want a touch of glimmering olive to enhance your usual daily makeup routine.
If you're a fan of Charlotte Tilbury's classic dusty mauve shade, Pillow Talk, it's worth noting that the brand has an entire Luxury Palette quad dedicated to the iconic shade.
The Milani Gilded Nude Palette is filled with 15 different neutrals that are versatile for any and all of your eye makeup looks. Contrary to its name, this glam eye shadow palette features 10 matte shades ranging between peachy pinks and chocolate browns, but there are also five glitters to mix and match with the mattes. The palette contains four subtle shimmers the brand describes as "soft metallics" and a single disco ball-hued glitter named Detox.
When it comes to top-tier makeup, Pat McGrath Labs can't be beaten. Just about every palette under the brand's Mothership lineup is adored by at least one Allure beauty editor , but the Mothership X: Moonlit Seduction is, as Glazer so accurately puts it, "like a treasure box of creative candy for your eyes; a jewel box of colorful opportunities, whatever strikes your fancy or mood."
This 10-shade palette features cosmic-inspired glitters, metallics, satins, and mattes that we guarantee will become mainstays in your makeup routine. This palette mainly features a blend of matte neutrals and glimmering cool tones, but if you're in the mood for precious pinks and delectable sorbet shades, we suggest checking out the Pat McGrath Labs Mothership IX: Huetopian Dream.
Look glam on the go with Maybelline New York's pigmented and affordable The City Mini Eye Shadow Palette. "[The color scheme] Diamond District is one of my favorites because it has a couple of beautiful neutrals…with a universal shimmer that looks great paired with any color, and some fun pops of color to elevate any look," says New York City-based makeup artist Amrita Mehta. This versatile palette can easily be used for a subtle look or dramatic smoky eye. "I love using the shades with a wet angle brush as a liner or a fluffy brush for a beautiful wash of color," adds Mehta.
No matter the season, you can count on Fenty Beauty's Snap Shadows Mix & Match Eye Shadow Palette as your go-to essential. These six-pan cases are small, compact, and come in six color palettes that can be used solo or snapped together to mix and match as you please.
Tobi Henney, a makeup artist based in New York City, notes her favorite is True Neutrals: "I love to use the warm brown tone in the crease and then use the top right bronze tone all over the eye for the most beautiful bronzed eye look," she notes.
"This palette basically covers any neutral tone you could ever need for an eye look," Henney says regarding the Makeup by Mario Master Mattes Eye Shadow Palette, making it a no-brainer choice for beginners and experts alike. Inspired by the wide range of skin tones the brand has tested on, all 12 matte eyeshadow shades are highly pigmented, easily buildable, and absolutely blendable.
As for the texture, these luxe powders are super light, creamy, and matte. "I love to do a wash of color with one of the lighter shades and then build the crease and undereye area with a darker tone for a super simple everyday or night look," Henney says.
The Kaja Beauty Bento Bouncy Eyeshadow Trio is a favorite of Allure staffers (it won a Best of Beauty Award, after all) for its innovative packaging alone. We love the cute little stacks that open and close with a satisfying snap, but the shadows themselves are also really good. Whether you grab a fluffy brush to apply your eye shadow of choice or just use your fingers, you get a lovely color payoff and, most importantly, a shadow look that lasts.
We love it so much we added it to our September 2023 Allure Beauty Box lineup. You can score the Allure Beauty Box for access to even more editor favorites — for just $25. Check out beauty's top subscription box on Instagram and TikTok at @allurebeautybox.
Prados Beauty's The Matriarch Eye Shadow Palette is truly wearable art. The brand partnered with artist Steven Paul Judd on this palette filled with 30 deep and vibrant shades of pinks, blues, greens, and more. Los Angeles-based makeup artist Robin Black says, "It's long-lasting, easy to apply, and has a fun range of colors — plus, you can feel good about supporting an inspiring brand." Prados Beauty's overall mission? To give back to fellow Indigenous communities.
There's a reason the super-affordable Bite Size Eye Shadow Palettes from E.L.F. have gone viral on TikTok — well, there are actually multiple reasons. For the handful of spare dollar bills sitting in your pocket, you could have one of eight available color schemes. Regardless of whether you pick one that's neutral, bright pink, or subdued purple, you'll get nothing but full pigment and zero fallout.
With such high-performance formulas that are oh-so-blendable and easy to work with, it's no wonder these travel-friendly and makeup artist-friendly kits have appeared on red carpets.
Urban Decay's now-discontinued original Naked palette changed neutral palettes forever as we know them, having carved out a veritable category for collectible, wearable palettes with names to make your grandmother blush. One of its numerous evolutions, the soft Naked 3, has reached true icon status, at least to our readers, considering that it won its second Readers' Choice Award in 2023.
In case you're not familiar, this natural nudes eye shadow palette features 12 extra-large pans filled to the brim with matte beiges and glitzy metallics. We love a makeup product with bonus tools, and this one has two for you: an ultra-wide mirror and a double-ended shadow brush for blending and packing pigment.
Lip Gloss Container A whole lot of luxury sits in the pocket-sized Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eye Shadow Palette. In true fashion of the luxury label, this travel-friendly palette delivers a light and creamy eye shadow formula in five neutral matte- and satin-finish shades. The beauty of this teensy palette — well, besides its sleek aesthetic and signature Chanel logo — is that it's available in five flexible color-ways to compliment a wide range of skin tones.