My Favourite Eyeshadow Palettes That Are a Bit of a Bargain

I can’t quite believe that back in the day I didn’t used to wear eyeshadow, ever. I mean, every now and again my trusty MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow would be dusted on, but for the most part I just let lashings and lashings of the long-discontinued L’Oreal Telescopic Waterproof Mascara do the talking. It’s only in recent years that I’ve fully understood  the purpose of eyeshadow and it’s defining and awakening properties (YAY AGEING) and now there’s not a makeup wearing day that passes were I don’t put a bit of somethin’ somethin’ on my lids.

You may have spotted in my recent Makeup Decluttering video that I don’t actually own a shedload of palettes. Instead, over the years I’ve dialled it back to have the most streamlined stash whilst still being able to whip out any eye look that I fancy. Of course the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette is there, the Lorac Pro Palette, the original Urban Decay Naked Palette, the Viseart Neutral Palette for its bevy of mattes and a few MAC singles that I’ve customised into a 4-pan palette are there, but there are one set of palettes that really stand out for the fact that they are top quality at a basement bargain price. Say hello to the ZOEVA Eyeshadow Palettes…

You’ve probably seen me go on about the ZOEVA Cocoa Blend Palette before (see it in action here). It’s been banging around for a year or so now and fast became one of my favourite palettes because it’s basically got brilliant dupes for some my favourite MAC shades (think Cranberry, Bronze, Amber Lights) and the two matte browns are very similar to the two colours that I always grab the Urban Decay Naked Palette to use (Naked and Buck). So it’s basically an amalgamation of all my other favourite palettes in one. It’s very handy and although in the UK it’s an online-only job for most (they do have a counter in Selfridges London, which I’m pretty sure is the only counter in the UK), it’s such good value for such a high quality item. £18 for an eyeshadow palette featuring 10 shades? Not bad, not bad.

Recently they’ve released another two gourmet-themed palettes – the Caramel Melangé Palette and the Blanc Infusion Palette. They can be purchased separately, again for £18 each, or you can buy all three as part of the Plaisir Box Gift Set for £48. Now whilst the Cocoa Blend Palette is still my favourite of the three, it’s been fun to experiment with the two new additions.

Cocoa Blend is the earthiest of three. Now that might be a strange adjective to use, but I feel like it contains the highest ratio of ‘no makeup, makeup’ colours, along with a decent line-up of warmer chocolatey shades. It’s also the most classic in that it has a white and a black in there and a nice mixture of mattes and shimmers; it’s a good all-rounder.

To me, Blanc Infusion is the most fun out of the three. The top five shades are shimmers and the bottom five are straight-up mattes. The lower row reminds me a lot of the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette and has every cool-brown shade you’ll ever need. The top however, is where things get a bit experimental. There’s a gorgeous bronze and taupe, but the bright yellow gold is the one that really catches my eye.

I think that Caramel Melangé has a bit of an Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette-vibe about it. It’s missing some of the key pinky hues, but the warm matte browns and taupe shimmers are there. I personally find that this comes a close second in the rankings because I’m having a real orange-toned eye moment (MAC Saddle is everything right now) and this palette really delivers on that.

Basically I’m a bit in love, if you can’t already tell. A trio of neutrals with plenty of warm browns thrown in. Heaven. I feel like I could quite happily shed the other palettes I own and just live off of these. Actually, BRB… 

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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