Welcome to part 3 of my 'what's in my make-up kit' series, click the links if you want to read part 1 (foundations and primers) and part 2 (blush, bronze and highlight). This post is all about eyeshadows which are the fun part of building a kit, this is when you can start thinking creatively and about the kinds of looks, you want to give clients. Like everything else related to make-up, there is a huge selection of colours, finishes, palettes and brands to choose from which can be exciting and overwhelming. When you go shopping.....remain calm....it's so easy to get swept up in the brand marketing and hype of a product. If you are buying palettes for the purpose of building a kit think about essentials, once you have the basics sorted you can start picking up all those new fun products. I would suggest getting a range of neutral shadows in both matte and shimmer finishes (these will be used consistently in your kit). I would also have a palette of bright shades for your more adventurous clients and creative work.
In My Kit
Zoeva
I really recommend the Zoeva palettes which are a great price and high quality, they come in slim cardboard packaging that is light and ideal for travelling in a kit. They have an expanding range with a mix of pretty neutrals and quite wearable bright colours. My most used palette for clients and personally is the Cocoa Blend palette which is full of lovely warm tones and the perfect mix of matte and shimmer. The Rodeo Belle palette is less used as it has more green and blue shades which I don't use very often but it's still pretty and handy to keep in my kit.
Urban Decay
My pick for bright shades is Urban Decay, I have the Electric palette and it...is...intense! These shadows are bright and highly pigmented, they weren't wrong calling it the electric palette. You should be careful when using them because I have noticed they can stain the skin. This also comes in very pretty but quite bulky packaging which is quite typical of Urban Decay. You probably won't use these all that often unless you do a lot of creative/fashion work. You can pick up cheaper colourful palettes from brands like Morphe and BH Cosmetics if you don't think it would be something you would use and don't want to splurge.
This is one of those palettes I picked up because of the 'hype' and to be honest I barely use it. I know so many people absolutely love these but I'm just not keen and I doubt I will pick up the others in the range (although the Naked Heat palette does look pretty). I do want to try and get more use from this palette, there are some shades I do like but some of the lighter shimmery shades don't feel very high quality. I will be sure to update you and perhaps do a full review in the next few weeks once I've given this another try.
Anastasia Beverly Hills
I own the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self Made palette which has really lovely quality shadows. This was more of a treat than an essential kit item but there is a nice variety of shades and I definitely want to purchase more from the brand.
Singles
If you are confident about what shades you want for your kit then buying single pans to place in your own palette is a great idea. Most palettes will have at least one shade you don't like/use so picking each shadow individually is a good way to cut down on waste. This is also great if you want to carry as little as possible in your kit and know what shades you need for a particular job, all you need to do is keep a mini magnetic palette and fill it with what you need each time you pack your kit. I have a selection of single shadows from both MAC and Makeup Geek, I would recommend the Makeup Geek shadows as they are less expensive and equal if not higher quality than MAC.
This is a quick rundown of some of the shadows I use (I do have more but the ones listed above make up the bulk of my kit). I really want to add some new additions to my kit but being on a tight budget makes things difficult. I have stated in a previous post that building a kit takes time, be patient, don't stress, and don't think you need all high-end expensive brands. I have a few more posts to come in this series so keep an eye out for part 4 and thanks for reading!
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