My Go-To Eyeshadow Combos

Do I have enough neutral eyeshadows? Never.

I love neutral eyeshadows and that's usually what I wear day-to-day (which is usually what I tell myself when I want to buy some more!). I do experiment with different neutrals here and there, and my newest acquisition is my first attempt into colours! But when the days are busy or I'm feeling especially uncreative, there are fool-proof eyeshadow combos that I always turn to.

The combos are usually a mix of the follow well-loved palettes and single shadows..

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Sephora Jumbo Liner in Taupe

MAC Eyeshadows

in All That Glitters, Brule, Naked Lunch, Satin Taupe and Mulch

Chanel Les 4 Ombres in 33 Prelude

Now I didn't think this through when I was swatching so stay with me here..

Chanel Prelude

Is the three shades you see at the top left - the champagne, the faint grey taupe and the dark grey. These help to make a wearable day-time smokey eye that's cool and not too brown-based. The formula of these is very light - they're not solid pigments like MAC but rather more of a wash. They don't have that creaminess like most eyeshadows, but because they are such a finely milled and light baked powder, they blend into each other like a dream. Because of the weight I think it stays on better than most eyeshadows, maybe because there's less powder to primer ratio? Not sure. But I wouldn't hesitate to buy another quad if there was another one I fancied, the quality is great!

MAC Naked Lunch and Urban Decay Buck

Next to Chanel is my spring-time eyeshadow look, and adds a bit of a glow to an otherwise incredibly natural, and defining look. Naked Lunch is a baby peach/pink frost, and Buck is a matte light-medium brown. Buck gives this look a bit more of a defining look than Naked (see below).

MAC make great eyeshadows. They are decently priced, simply packaged and have a very wide range of colours indeed. They're probably the most consumer-friendly of the lot. The quality is decent, the pigmentation is usually great and they're just that bit smoother than most drugstore shades and last a lot longer. Do they match Chanel in terms of the perks? No. But if you want good quality, long-lasting eyeshadows, then these are the ones to go for.

The Urban Decay Naked Palette has its praises and criticisms sung from all corners of the globe over the years since its launch. I personally adore it - I think its a great collection of eyeshadows and the utility of the palette is fantastic. In terms of formula, I think its incredibly similar to MAC. So everything I said above applies here.. just in a pre-made formula and for much cheaper than MAC.

MAC All That Glitters and Mulch

Below Chanel is my most recent go-to look that I wore most of July. You can see it action here in my latest video. It makes brown eyes pop as well as add a bit of a smokey touch to a neutral look. All That Glitters is a peach pearl that catches the light like crazy, and Mulch is a cool-toned, slightly pink-based medium brown with a bit of pearl.

MAC Brule and Urban Decay Naked

Next to All That Glitters and Mulch is my winter-time look. It's as simple as you can get - Brule, a matte cream that's slightly lighter than your skintone, and Naked, a matte brown that is slightly darker than your skintone, in the crease to define your socket. With a slick of eyeliner, this eyeshadow look can be stunning!

Sephora Taupe and MAC Satin Taupe

Tucked away to the right is the darker eye duo. As you can tell from the above, I tend to use a light shade on my eyelid but Sephora's Taupe is probably the only medium shade exception! It's a gorgeous cool-toned purply taupe that is so smooth and lasts an age. Especially being a pencil-based product, it's so easy to apply and blend, and an absolute no-brainer. I can't recommend these enough if you can get your hands on them (full review here). With Satin Taupe in the crease (which looks quite brown next to Taupe), it's a gorgeous subtle medium-toned everyday look.

All these eyeshadows are superb quality and have lasted me a really long time. My favourite formula is probably the MAC ones - I just find them very creamy, blendable and pigmented. However, I've recently been quite impressed with my new NARS palette - they look freshly applied for a good 8 hours, which is something MAC hasn't been able to do for me.

Anyway, those are my most used eyeshadows and my go-to eyeshadow combos.

What eyeshadows are your foolproof options?

<3yu