Most of my posts answer people’s questions about makeup, but I thought I’d take a little time out today to just write a post for fun and discuss my very favorite eyeshadow palettes in descending order.

Let’s just get into it, shall we?

5. The Ooh La La! Palette From Colourpop*

PINK!

It’s rare that I make snap decisions or get so excited about a palette that I can’t contain myself.

But the moment Colourpop released their bright-pink-themed Ooh La La! palette, I went straight to the computer and bought it without a second thought.

Maybe I should have had a second thought, though, because the asterisk above is to signify that it’s only a favorite now that it’s not quite in its original form.

I replaced the color Moonstruck, a shiny, pale gold, with the color Full Zip, a cream-colored (nude for me) shadow from their Yes, Please! palette. So the palette pictured below isn’t quite the same you’d receive if you ordered it online—you’d get a gold shade in the bottom right and you wouldn’t get that cream you see in the upper left corner.

With this changeup, I can safely put Ooh La La! in my top five.

The bright pinks look on the eye just as they do in the pan—vibrant, loud, and every bit as punchy as you could hope for.

The milder shades on top, Soft Core and Poodle, are great as transitions. But they also work great for more natural looks, which are totally possible with this palette despite that overall highlighter-pink vibe.

I find Cady a bit dry, but it’s a unique berry purple that’s fun as liner and great as a deepening shade for the outer corner.

As a person who’s firmly in camp pink, in eyeshadow as in life, this palette is essential to me.

4. The Electro-Turquoise Palette From Kaleidos

A year or two ago, Kaleidos came screaming in out of nowhere to knock not only packaging out of the park…

…but also they’ve completely set the new standard for shadow quality.

With brands like Kaleidos on the scene, I’m finding myself less and less impressed with brands I used to think were the highest of quality. Y’all, this is a stand-out formula. Every single shade from them is excellent.

This particular beauty, the Electro-Turquoise palette, won’t be for everyone, but man, does it float my boat.

The star of the show is clear, right? The third shade down? The sparkle in this baby is like nothing you’ve ever seen.

It’s a little chunky and Play-Dough-like in the pan, which I usually don’t like, but it adheres beautifully just with primer and it looks like a thousand glittering turquoise stars on your eyes. The formula and the effect is perfect.

But the rest of the palette is phenomenal, too! I love creating a mod look with the second shade from the bottom and a lot of top liner. The bottom shade is an incredibly sparkly topper shade, which I much prefer to a fully opaque shade of that kind.

I confess that I often avoid the orange, cool as it is. Maybe I should push myself out of my comfort zone with it more often.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I love Kaleidos. This isn’t the last palette from them you’ll be seeing on this list.

3. The Modern Renaissance Palette From Anastasia

Am I phoning it in by putting the Anastasia Modern Renaissance on the list?

Can’t help it. It’s been my ride or die for years.

This was the palette that launched a million berry/red neutral palettes. It was truly a masterwork by Anastasia, and I don’t know of anything that’s been quite as groundbreaking since.

Every time I use this palette, I get a sophisticated, flattering eyeshadow look. Even when I’m sloppy, I can’t mess it up. It’s number one on my list of easiest palettes to use, though a few are going to beat it out for this favorites list.

First off, I simply adore Venetian Red, Love Letter, and Red Ochre. These are the shades I almost always come to the palette for, though I stay for beautiful blenders like Buon Fresco and Realgar. Antique Bronze or Burnt Orange all over the lid is gorgeous. And the shimmers are smooth and satiny, not chunky, which is what kept Anastasia’s original Norvina palette off this list.

I imagine this palette works for all eye colors and skin tones (correct me if I’m wrong). But my experience as a blue-eyed, fair-skinned girl is that this palette feels like it was custom made to make my eyes shine like gemstones poking out of my face.

My only complaint is that this palette truly does have the horribly short shelf life (six months) it advertises on the back. My Modern Renaissance is losing its pigmentation. Every time I use it nowadays, the shades look like washes of dim colors—nothing like it was when I first got it. I’ll have to rebuy it soon.

2. The Astro Pink Palette From Kaleidos

Yay, another Kaleidos feature in the top five! This time, it’s their Astro Pink palette.

Again, the aesthetic of the palette just can’t be beat. And inside is the perfect (in my eyes) selection of travel-friendly, do-it-all shadows, made with the quality you’d expect from Kaliedos—top notch.

First off, I love the variety. The two neutral colors are a little similar, but other than that, you’ve got a wild concoction of colors that all somehow just work. I love to sheer out the pink all over the outer edges of my eyes, and I live for the sparkly blackened blue used as a thick liner. It’s got that powerful black—one of the best in my collection—which always is a workhorse in a palette. And there’s that shiny purple for an inner corner spark.

Beyond that, these shadows pair off into duos beautifully. Think of that shimmery purple with the pink! The blue with the pink! The shimmery purple with the darker neutral! Ugh, I love it so much.

I can’t think of any drawbacks to this palette except maybe the fallout, but that’s nothing in light of the pleasure of using this gorgeous work of art.

1. The Pastel Pup Palette From Menagerie Cosmetics

I’m sure you’ve gathered that I’m a color lover, so my number one pick should come as no surprise.

Oh, the joy that floods me when I just think of this palette. That’s the perfect word. The Pastel Pup exudes joy.

Inside is a beautifully full range of creamy pastels. The colors here feel carefully chosen, and it just looks and feels like a palette that’s been thought through.

Pastels are hard to formulate, and I find the quality of these to be incredible with a primer. They’re easy to use, and as a person who loves one- and two-shadow looks, everything about the shade selection is perfect for me. In fact, here are some of my favorites:

Speaking of not pastel, the black and white in this palette are my favorites of all time. I can’t believe how powerful that white is.

There’s nothing not to love about this palette. I’ve had it for months and I still get excited every time I think of using it.

And That’s a Wrap!

I honestly don’t have many palettes anymore because I’m so ruthless at decluttering things I don’t like. So these truly are the cream of an already highly selective crop.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite palettes today! I always love to hear favorites, myself, so it was fun to do one of my own.