My Curated Makeup Collection: Eyes

This is part 2 in my Curated Makeup Collection series. There’s a few reasons that I’m doing this. Part of the reason is to remind myself exactly how much makeup I have to keep myself on a low buy/no buy (depending on the month). Another is to show how decluttering can point out the things that you actually love and use all the time.

To that point, eyeshadow has always been a vice of mine. Historically – I had literally insane amounts of eyeshadows. I think I still have what will seem like an insane amount to some people. However, these are the things that I’ve loved for quite a long time or I’ve noticed that my collection would be more complete with. In addition to a catalogue, this list serves as my all time favorites.

Large Palettes

Total: 6 ( 3 High End, 1 Mid-Range and 2 Drug Store)

High End Picks: My absolute staples are the Lorac Pro Palettes. The two I decided to keep were the Lorac Pro 1 and 3. I’m a neutrals girl at heart and I think these two palettes cover every neutral base you could hope for. On top of that, each has one row of mattes and one of shimmers. You cannot beat the layout or the quality. If there was one splurge eyeshadow palette I would recommend it would definitely be the Lorac Pro which suits your undertones the best.

I also have one Too Faced Palette which for some reason is kind of a contraversial one. I actually hate most of Too Faced Palettes – I think they are gimmicky and don’t really make a ton of logical sense. This one, the Chocolate Bon Bons Palette obviously visually is a little preteen but I don’t mind. This palette veers slightly cool toned compared to all my other palettes but still has amazing quality neutrals. I don’t really care about the pops of pink but the large pans of base are phenomenal. It may be the only Too Faced product I think lives up to the hype.

Mid Range Favorite: The Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette (21 Euros) was a gift to myself around Christmas when I visited my sister in Germany. I’ve been dying to try the Zoeva brand for ages and I went a bit overboard at the counter. I bought this and the Caramel Melange (which has since been decluttered – just too orange). These shadows are pigmented and easy to blend and unlike with the Too Faced Bon Bons palette – I really love the pops of red, purple and copper.

 

 

Drug Store Palettes: I have to drug store palettes, both of which I only bought to serve as dupes for high end products. After reading a number of reviews – I decided to purchase the W7 On the Rocks as a dupe for the Anastasia Subculture Palette and the Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals as a dupe for Anastasia’s Modern Renaissance Palette. One of the reasons i went ahead for the dupe versions is that I’m trying to spend less money in general. Another is that the quality of these is phenomenal. The warm reds of the Revolution palette genuinely look perfect after a long day of teaching – possibly even with a siesta in the middle. The On the Rocks Palette offers a little more avant garde options but I’m glad to have some of the colors in my collection.

Quads and Single Eyeshadows

 

Total: 9 Products (3 high end, 3 mid-range, 3 drugstore)

 

High End: Natasha Denona’s 5 pan palettes are incredible. If I want something quick that makes me instantly look put together, I’ll grab one of these are dig in. The other high end product I have is ancient but doesn’t smell or look off. This Chanel Quad has some of my absolute favorite shadows ever in. I must have bought it 6 years ago but I still love it and use it.

 

Mid Range: My only mid-range palettes are 3 from Mac. The most important palette is to me is the one with the light pink (naked lunch), gold (patina), olive green (sumptuous olive) and dark brown. The reason is that dark brown color – concrete – which is the only color I wear in my eyebrows. The other custom quad is my typical cool toned smokey eye palette (from light to dark – vex, shale, print, black tied). The last palette is a gorgeous limited edition palette which has these glittery top coats that offer a sheer wash of color.

Drug Store: I have two Maybelline singles – I peeled off the color names but the metallic taupe is absolutely my favorite wash of color that I own. The blue is a fun pop of color – something I didn’t want to pay a lot of money for. The only other drugstore single I own is from Kiko (#202) which is a lovely taupe plum color.

Eyeliners and Mascara

Miscellaneous Eye Products – The most important single eye product I have is my Milani Eyeshadow primer. I think my eyeballs are sweatier than the average humans so I need a superhuman quality. I have tried every one – high end and cheap in this is the only one that works on my eyeballs. I also have exactly one Maybelline mascara which is fabulous – highly recommend. I also keep an eyebrow gel – the cheaper the better. Finally, I have an Anastasia brow wiz which I keep literally just for the spuli on the end to comb through my brows.

Cream Shadows

 

7 total: 5 drugstore, 2 high-end

I absolutely love to use a cream eyeshadow base if I’m going to wear eyeshadows. I keep two different formulas on hand. My favorite are the Kiko shadow sticks. I have them in (limited edition) Arctic Holiday #1, #7, #25, #6, and #5 – all neutrals. I love them. If I’m looking for a night out fun look – I think the Stila Magnificent Metals are seriously unreal. They are essentially liquid glitters. I have them in Rose Gold Retro and Smoldering Satin. I don’t use them that often but they are seriously knock outs.

Eye Liners

I keep a few eyeliners on hand. The top five are regular creamy pencils and the bottom two are liquids. I like to have a few pops of color – in this case Urban Decay Flipside and Jane Cosmetics in Forest Green and Midnight blue. I also keep two random other urban decay eyeliners that I’ve had for years – Stag and Smokeout – I honestly think they might have been a gift. However, normally, if I’m wearing eyeliner – it’s gotta be the Kat Von D tattoo liner. I have both the black, Trooper, and Mad Max Brown. They are super resistant and opaque. I love me some liquid liner.

So for overall totals I have 14 High End, 4 Mid-Range, 14 Drug Store for a grand total of 32 eye products. It actually seems like a lot more since palettes are pretty bulky. This serves as a list of my absolute favorite makeup. If I had to slim this down – I definitely could but as it is – this still comfortably fits in my makeup storage system at the moment. I don’t have any plans for major new purchases – especially now that I’ve catalogued every single color I own. It gives me a lot to think about for the next time a new, fancy product makes the commercial rounds. Less will continue to be more for me.

Are there any beauty products that you have found that have been tried and true for you? Let me know below!