17 of the Best Eyeshadow Palettes for All Your Eye-Catching Makeup Looks
When it comes to eye makeup, finding the perfect shadow palette can be like finding a match made in glam heaven. With the right array of shadow shades all in one place, pulling off any smoky eye, soft glam look, wearable day-to-night eye, or high-pigment party vibe is easier than ever. While there are thousands (literally) of eyeshadow palettes out there on the market ranging from luxe, high-end, and drugstore buys, there are a few must-have features we think you should look out for when searching for a great palette. We’re talking buildable, long-lasting pigment, great color payoff, versatility, and cruelty-free.
We also totally know that watching eyeshadow palette tutorials can be so helpful but also intimidating. We’ve all seen our favorite makeup artist create an epic eyeshadow look and thought to ourselves, “I could never”—but we’re here to tell you that with the right palette, “never” doesn’t have to be a thing. Whether it's a natural matte daytime look, the perfect shimmery smoky eye, or something bright and bold, the best eyeshadow palettes allow you to build and create a variety of makeup looks from one single product and that’s the beauty of it! Add pigmented color payoff and shades that match a variety of skin tones, undertones, and eye colors, and you’ve got yourself a makeup bag staple that you can reach for again and again.
Of course, finding the best eyeshadow palette to make you feel as glam as your favorite MUA can take some trial and error, so we’ve rounded up our favorite eye palettes that are perfect for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or a pro.
1. Best Date Night Eyeshadow Palette:
ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette
The blend of rich neutral shades and warm-toned berries in this romantic palette seriously made us swoon. Not only are each of the 14 shades long-wearing and easily blendable, we loved how well each shade complemented the next, making creating any eye look pretty much foolproof. Our members agree! One writing: “I adore this palette and will always buy it when I can. It’s literally perfect.” Fun fact: This palette was inspired by the actual resins and paints used in Renaissance artwork. Double swoon!
2. Best Pastel Eyeshadow Palette:
NATASHA DENONA Retro Glam Eyeshadow Palette
This IPSY subscriber review says it all: “It’s an absolutely gorgeous palette! The colors are amazing and they are super blendable and buildable, with amazing color payoff!” The gorgeous mix of sage greens, cool tone browns, dusty pinks, and shimmery champagnes in this set look amazing on any eye color, but really made our brown eyes pop. It’s loaded up with 15 shadows in a range of matte pastels to moody shimmers that create every look from a sultry smokey eye to a soft daytime look with ease, especially if you’re new to pastels.
3. Most Playful Eyeshadow Palette:
ALAMAR COSMETICS Destino Eyeshadow Palette
“These colors are amazing, the pigment is so bright and clear,” says an Ipster in their product review. We swiped this palette so much that we hit pan in record time. What makes this colorful set of 10 so addictive? The unique combination of shadow shades features cool tones, deep tones, vibrant brights, and pastels all in one place in a mix of metallics, shimmers, and mattes. To top it off, each shade is inspired by the journey to self-discovery, making it pretty much the palette we didn’t know we needed.
4. Best Travel-Friendly Eyeshadow Palette:
LYS BEAUTY Love Yourself Eyeshadow Palette
“Bright colors vivid look ready for Las Vegas!”—we totally agree with this Ipster. This mix of six high-pigmented shades can take any eye look from day to night to the after-party when you’re on-the-go, thanks to its mix of warm browns, punchy green and vibrant purple shades. Easily blendable, and layerable, this palette is one you’ll be reaching for on repeat.
5. Best Customizable Eyeshadow Palette:
FENTY BEAUTY Bomb Posse Mega Mix + Match Eyeshadow Palette
What makes an eyeshadow palette elite? The ability to make it work for you. While we’re already obsessed with everything FENTY BEAUTY, this baby just made us fall in deep. Not only is this fun, flirty palette beautiful on all skin tones, the snappable feature of its base lets you mix and match shades, so you can customize your own looks. Pretty much a win-win! “Beautiful shades!” reviewed one IPSY member. “These are my favorite types of shades to use on a daily basis. They smooth on well, are very pigmented, have little fall out, and blend easily.”
6. Best Matte Eyeshadow Palette:
LASH STEP Matte About You Eyeshadow Palette
If you’re on the hunt for the perfect set of matte shadows, look no further. This palette features 12 universally flattering matte shadows from white to taupe, to warm brown, smokey gray, and jet black. The best part? You can use these pigments to fill in brows and apply them as eyeliner too. “It’s made with the perfect shades and a great size,” wrote on Ipster in their product review. “This palette is easy to work with and the pigment is fantastic.”
7. Best Rose-Toned Eyeshadow Palette:
PAT MCGRATH LABS Divine Rose Luxe Quad in Eternal Eden
Owning a rose-toned palette can be a total makeup hack. Why? Because you can use these versatile shades as shadow, blush, and highlight in a pinch. Not only is this quad of mauve-pink mattes and rosy shimmers ridiculously romantic, each shade blends on like silk for a pigmented, high-quality finish. Our Ipsters agree: “It’s got great pigment and goes on amazingly. I love the quality and it doesn’t bother my sensitive eyes.”
8. Best Gold Eyeshadow Palette:
VIOLET VOSS Crème Brûlée Fun Sized Eye Shadow Palette
Decadent, toasty, and a little sweet, this fun-sized palette has all of the beautiful gold shades that you need (and especially makes green eyes pop). You’ll find 10 richly pigmented gold hues ranging from creamy caramel to shimmery chestnuts formulated as mattes, creamy foils, metallics, and satiny sheers. Don’t just take our word for it—this Ipster feels the same: “This was such a wonderful palette to work with. The colors are pigmented with little to no fallout.” Use it to create full head-turning looks, or simply highlight your inner eye corners with dabs of gold.
9. Best Neutral Eyeshadow Palette:
OFRA COSMETICS Signature Luxe Panic
“Loved the colors and the pigment builds really nicely!” wrote on Ipster. “Great size for keeping in your handbag!” The perfect nude eyeshadow palette can be hard to come by, but this baby had us (and our members!) at hello. Rich mochas, shimmery bronzes, warm browns, and a must-have highlight make this set a permanent fixture in our eyeshadow stash. Use it dry for a light, neutral finish or wet to intensify pigment.
10. Best Beachy Eyeshadow Palette:
IN RIO Love Eyeshadow Palette
If you’re looking for the perfect palette to pack on your next tropical vacation, look no further. This tropical-inspired set contains an array of punchy, bright shadows ranging from banana yellow to oceanic blue, to sunset orange making it perfect for lounging by the pool or vibing on the sand at sunset. “The eyeshadows are very pigmented and it has wonderful color choices,” wrote one IPSY member in their review of this eyeshadow palette.
11. Best Day-to-Night Eyeshadow Palette:
DOMINIQUE COSMETICS The Essential Palette
“This palette was beautiful! The shades are perfect for me. They had the shades I like to use for my daily routine as well as some that I will use to create other beautiful looks with. They all blended well, had amazing pigments, and minimal fallout!” Besides glowing reviews from fellow Ipsters like the above, this palette of 10 stunners has all the glam you need from coffee to cocktails (besides mascara). From deep shimmery mauve shades to neutral matte tones, these colors glide on buttery smooth and blend like a dream.
12. Best Earth-Toned Eyeshadow Palette:
WANDER BEAUTY Trailblazer Eyeshadow Palette
Whether you’ve got green eyes, brown eyes, hazel eyes, or baby blues, the high-pigment earth tones in this long-wearing palette will make your eyes pop. “This palette is so beautiful, and the pigments are high quality and truly bring out the eyes,” says an IPSY member of this palette. “This has been one of my favorite palettes so far!” It’s all thanks to 10 curated shades ranging from matte browns, to neutral nudes, to emerald greens and gorgeous chartreuse, that all harmonize on eyes perfectly and blend together effortlessly on skin.
13. Most Colorful Eyeshadow Palette:
TRESLUCE BEAUTY I Am Shadow Palette
If bright eye makeup isn’t typically your thing, this colorful mix of vibrant mattes and shimmers (all inspired by Mexico), may make you a believer. “Beautiful colors and shades for any look!” confirms one IPSY member in their review. The stunning palette contains 18 eye-catching shadows that deliver seriously intense pigment and blend like velvet all thanks to Mexican agave nectar.
14. Best Longwear Eyeshadow Palette:
TARTE Dream Big Eyeshadow Palette
This best-selling, dermatologist-tested eight-shade palette was formulated to help you stand out and get ahead. Featuring a mixture of metallic and matte shades, this compact eyeshadow palette is great for slipping in your makeup bag for on-the-go touch-ups (not that you'll need them). The formula includes Amazonian clay, a blendable and non-chalky powder that keeps pigments bright and bold. “This may be my new favorite palette,” says one rave Ipster review..we agree!
15. Best Anti-Crease Eyeshadow Palette:
IL MAKIAGE Color Boss Squad Multi-Dimensional Eye Color Quad
Ever leave the house with your shadow looking flawless only to spot not-so-cute creasing hours later? We’ve all been there. This pocket-sized palette of four stunning matte, metallic, and holographic shadows promises to stay put for the long haul—no creasing or flaking. We love applying the shimmery rose gold to the inner corners of our eyes for an instant doe-eyed effect. This Ipster fave garnered endless positive reviews like this: “The packaging is high quality, and the shadows have great pigment payoff. It’s perfect for my on-the-go makeup bag!”
16. Best Green Eyeshadow Palette:
HUDA BEAUTY Obsessions Palette in Emerald
“These shadows have great pigment, so they are easy to work with and create great looks.” Ipsters (like the one that left this product review!) know what makes a great eyeshadow, so you’re bound to be obsessed with this versatile nine-shade palette from HUDA BEAUTY. The gorgeous olive, gold, and green tones look great on every eye color and deliver epic color payoff. It features both chrome and matte shades that bring on the glam, so don’t be shy when rocking these bold pigments.
17. Best Smoky Eyeshadow Palette:
COASTAL SCENTS Revealed Smoky Eyeshadow Palette
This palette is the answer to all of your smoky eye problems (OK, OK, not all of them, since you’ll still have to blend the shadows yourself!). Whether you love matte looks or shimmery finishes, this palette has something for you. It has 20 sultry shades to choose from that range from golden brown to plum and blue, flattering all skin tones, and eye colors, so you can create the rich smoky eye look of your choosing. “Excellent palette, with all usable, heavily pigmented and gorgeous colors,” says one IPSY member.
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