Decluttering Files Part 1: Eyeshadow Palettes

This past year and a half has been full of new eyeshadow purchases. Thanks to the rise in popularity of Anti-Haul videos, particularly from my favorite and the originator of the videos, Kimberly Clark, I've been more conscious of the "buy buy buy" mentality and have learned that I seriously need to reign in my spending, before it becomes a thoughtless habit resulting in me unable to enjoy the things I buy.

I have to say, my weakness is palettes. I know there are serious drawbacks to palettes, and I've tried to select ones that would be strongest for my needs, as well as focus on only buying unique and wearable singles.

That being said, over the course of my developing love for makeup, I have decluttered SIX palettes, ranging from high/mid-end to drug store. For this post, I will talk a little bit about my experiences with them and the conclusions that I have reached about buying, brands, and myself, along with a rating of the palette as a whole (out of a possible ★ ★★★★)

I. The Nude 'Tude Palette, The Balm. I purchased this as part of an Ipsy deal for the reduced price of $20. I do not know if The Balm is considered "high end" or not, but overall it is expensive for me, and I do consider this to be my first pricier palette. At the time, because it was my only palette, I loved it. My favorite shades were Standoffish and Sultry, and those two have long since been used up. That palette taught me the basics of inner-corner highlighting, transition/crease shades, and the outer "v." Yes, it is a good beginner neutral palette. However, I do think there are serious issues also in the palette with color selection and variety:

From The Balm Site

Snobby and Stubborn are not that bold in pigmentation. Silly contains sparkles in a cloudy brown-grey base that buff away. Sexy is a deep burgundy that, for me, does not really go with any of the other colors (and I an speaking here also of my own creativity). That mattes do not really swatch well, but I it is true they work better on the eye. I do not mind that there was no cream shade matte that would match my skin tone, or at least I didn't mind at the time. Still, I ended up depotting Standoffish, Sultry, Sophisticated, and Seductive, and tossing the rest. I have them in a Z Palette to this day, but they barely get any use. I also do not like the fact that there are only white ladies on the palette. It seems to me that much of The Balm packaging has this issue. Knowing that this palette has been repackaged before, it seems feasible that it can and should happen again. Anyway, my final grade for this palette would be: ★★★. 

II. Sephora's Pantone Universe Watercolor Palette: ★

As of April 22, 2017, this palette is no longer being sold by Sephora. The original price was, I think $35, and I bought it at the reduced price of $19. Funny thing is, I don't think I would even buy this palette for $10, or $5. I wouldn't buy it at all. Temptalia's review is dead on here. The colors are chalky, and for me barely usable. The shimmers are nice, neutral, but boring, and I have them. I depotted the neutral shimmers, but compared to the others in my collection now there really is no comparison and no reason for me to keep them. 

I saw myself trying to do mental gymnastics to justify buying it. "Oh, I know I'll use at least 10. So I'm still getting my money's worth." Silly me. Never again. This palette was tiresome. Also, the pastel trend is tiresome.


III. Sonia Kashuk's Knock Out Eyesahdow Palette: ★
Again, reduced price palette of $12.  Unimpressive mattes with barely and pigmentation.The pans were also TINY. I hardly remember anything about shimmers. Were there even shimmers? Who knows. A cute collection, I will say, but a waste. I was always drawn to her brand at Target, because it seemed sophisticated, but the quality of this palette was so, so, disappointing.

IV. Cargo Venice Enchantment Palette, ★★

See a pattern here? Bought at reduced price for $13. I was excited that I found a higher end brand at my local Burlington Coat Factory. This palette got two stars because the colors were really pretty in the pan. My favorite to use was Rialto, which was a matte midtone brown with sparkles (which was not as bad as it sounds). Still, no pigmentation overall, even on the shimmers!  This palette was purchased without understanding the cold, hard, truth about "Holiday," limited-edition palettes that do not have the same quality as items in a permanent line. Lessons learned. 

V. Last one for now! I'll talk about my two depotted KvD palettes in another post (as they were events on their own), so I'll end this post with the BH Cosmetics Missy Lynn Palette. ★★

Bought at the price of $8.00. Nice brown/gold/color scheme, but the claim that the two "baked gold highlighters" can be used as eyeshadows is not true. The formula is too loose, and they blend away. I wonder how they do perform as highlighters, but I could not use that on myself because it does not go with my skin tone. I understood that this palette is geared for darker skin tones, and I myself had bought it out of a love of browns and neutrals. The gold shades were a huge draw, but I can't use them. Considered depotting some of the mattes, which had a nice formaula, but there was no point, because I had similar shades already.