As I mentioned in last week's post, I've been really into my single shadows recently. This was a completely unexpected side effect of my one week, one palette project. Before engaging in that project, I loved a good palette. I loved them so much that I had purchased what felt like almost all of them at one point in time, which is why I decided to start a blog that discouraged that exact behavior.
I started the one week, one palette project to encourage myself to get to know each of my palettes and further challenged myself (when I could reasonably do so) to use every color in a palette during that week. And what I found was that I really loved most of my palettes and had so much fun experimenting with color combinations. But that project also felt very restrictive for me since I have always been the type of person to grab from everything in my collection and not really do the same look (at least with the same exact shadows) two days in a row.
So when I finally put a halt to one week, one palette, I was curious to see what I would gravitate toward. And it has been my collection of singles. And that's really interesting to me because it tells me that while I really enjoyed using premade palettes, none of them are really "perfect" for me in the way that I would want. And so I've been working on my singles and have been really drawn to the individual colors that I have chosen to purchase that work best for me.
Here are six looks I did last week.
Look 1: Urban Decay Chase
Look 2: Make Up For Ever Iced Brown
Look 3: La Metier de Beauté Corinthian
Look 4: Dior Cosmopolite
Look 5: Fyrinnae Rapunzel Had Extensions
Look 6: Kiko 202 Golden Mauve
Urban Decay Chase
Status: Love
I bought this shadow as a compromise to myself for decluttering the Naked palette. I bought the Naked palette the day it released, before it was a crazy hyped item that was impossible to find and before premade palettes in general were a "thing." I was in Sephora, saw it, and thought it I bought that one palette, I probably wouldn't need to buy any more MAC shadows. Well, we all know what happened from there and the kind of "gateway" drug that palette ended up being for the entire makeup industry. When I first bought that palette, Sin and Toasted were my two favorite shadows. As the years passed, however, my favorites became Half Baked and Smog. When I stopped using Naked on a regular basis, it felt dumb to me to keep an entire palette just for two shadows, especially when those shadows are a gold and a bronze. So, I decluttered it.
I have to admit, though, that I never stopped missing those two shadows, despite all the gold and bronze that I had in my collection. I was at a cosmetics company outlet (CCO) over the summer and saw that they had all Urban Decay eyeshadows 20% off. That took the price from $19 to about $16 per shadow. Certainly not "cheap" by any means, but better. I didn't want to buy both shadows since the two together was nearly the cost of the Naked palette and because I already had so many gold and bronze shadows. I swatched them both on the back of my hand and really couldn't decide which one I liked better. And then I saw Chase. I swatched it alongside Half Baked and Smog and not only did I think it was the prettiest out of all three colors, but it also looked like a perfect combination of the two shadows.
I haven't had a chance to wear it much since getting it because I embarked on my one week, one palette project soon afterward, but I thoroughly loved wearing it. I've said this before, but I think Urban Decay singles are far superior to the shadows in Urban Decay palettes, which makes me not like Urban Decay as a brand. The entire concept behind palettes is that you can have more colors for less money at the "cost" of not being able to pick all the shadows yourself. But to downgrade the shadow formula is deceptive, in my opinion. Chase is a beautiful shadow, and I am happy to have it in my collection.
Look 2: Make Up For Ever Iced Brown
Status: Keep, for now
When I bought the Make Up For Ever Artist Volume 1 palette, I thought it was going to be a perfect palette for me. As time has gone on, I now only have two shadows from it left: my beloved Pearl that I use almost daily as an inner corner highlight and Iced Brown. I was never using the palette, so I decided to depot it several months ago to see if I would use the shadows more. At the time, my singles collection hardly ever got used, and so these shadows were largely forgotten. As I've resurrected my singles and attempted to use all the Make Up For Ever shadows from the Artist 1 palette, I've found that I really don't like the majority of the colors.
Iced Brown was always my favorite shadow from the palette, and I still enjoy using it now. I like that it has some greenish undertones in it because it really complements the slight olive undertones in my skin, and I like how it pairs with some shadows from Viseart Dark Matte. The only thing is that I have other shadows that give me the same effect that I might like better. I have it in my custom palette right now, but if another single comes along that I think is special enough to buy, I might declutter Iced Brown to make room for it. I've come to the point in my collection where I am not going to buy another custom, empty palette, so if I want to bring in something new, something else has to go.
La Metier de Beauté Corinthian
Status: Love
This shadow is a recent addition to my collection. I've been wanting to try it for a while, and recently purchased it along with Dior Cosmopolite. MAC Satin Taupe was one of my favorite shadows when I first got into makeup, but I threw it away about a year ago because it was so old that I wasn't using it. I have a couple taupe shadows in my collection (one in Tatelette in Bloom and one in Tarte Rainforest of the Sea), but both lean a little too blue to really look all that great on me. I've been wanting another taupe for a while, but wanted something with a little more oomph than Satin Taupe.
Corinthian was the perfect answer to what I've been looking for. This shadow is stunning. I paired it with Lazarus from the Shade and Light Eye palette, and I wish I would have paired it with something a little less brown. I think MAC Fogged In from the C'est Chic palette would be a really great option.
Dior Cosmopolite
Status: Favorite
This was also a recent addition to my collection. This shadow has been on my radar ever since Tarababyz mentioned it on her channel. I love Tara and she seems to own almost every eyeshadow that has ever come out, so when she says something is special, it makes me pay attention. But every time I looked at swatches of this shadow, it just looked like a bronze shadow and nothing more. For the price, I just could never justify it. But when I bought Corinthian, I figured I might as well try it out.
And man, am I glad I did. This was my absolute favorite shadow of the week, and I really loved most of the shadows I wore. This shadow was so intensely pigmented and sparkly without being too heavy, if that makes sense. This is definitely in my top two favorite bronze shadows that I own.
Fyrinnae Rapunzel Had Extensions
Status: Keep and will try again
Fyrinnae is an "indie" makeup brand best known for their eyeshadows. The owners of Fyrinnae recently came out with a lipstick called "We the People," and 10% of proceeds will go to either the ACLU or Human Rights Watch. I thought that was pretty incredible, and in addition to making various donations to organizations in support of women's/civil/equal/human rights, I've also been supporting brands who take a public stance like this. So, I placed a Fyrinnae order.
The shadow I've heard most about is Rapunzel Had Extensions, and when I swatched it on my hand, it was certainly gorgeous and not like anything else I've seen. Padding it onto my primed lid with a brush, however, did not have the same stellar results. I placed a second Fyrinnae order to get their Pixie Epoxy, and when that arrives I'll try this shadow again. I'll also try applying it with my fingers, though I very much don't like doing that.
Even still, I thought the shadow was very pretty and it gave me a nice glow. I have a friend who really enjoys subtle but beautiful eye makeup, and I think this shadow would be something she would really love.
Kiko 202 Golden Mauve
Status: Decluttered
Over the past two weeks, I tired Kiko 201 Rosy Taupe and 202 Golden Mauve. Rosy Taupe didn't even end up becoming a look as the first time I put it on my eyes, it looked like absolutely nothing and was immediately decluttered. I did make a look out of Golden Mauve, however, and I think it was pretty. To be honest, I didn't really like the way the shadow looked on me at all until I blended it with some of the berry shades in the Pur Soul Mattes palette. The look was pretty, but I wasn't crazy about it. And I know myself well enough and know the size of my collection well enough to know that I won't use that shadow unless I'm doing a project where I'm using all of my shadows. I won't reach for it over the rest of what I own, and I wasn't totally blown away by it. So even though the look was pretty and I enjoyed it, it's not special enough to stay in my collection, and it has been decluttered.
Overall, I really enjoyed using all these singles this week. I've enjoyed using singles so much, in fact, that I did a little bit of depotting this weekend. I'll share more of that in a post later this week. But I think for me the days of buying palettes are coming (thankfully) to an end.
