Pat McGrath, Urban Decay and NARS – these are the new palettes lighting up our eyes - essential when you've got a mask covering the rest of your face
There’s nothing quite like a new summer eyeshadow palette to breathe life into your makeup bag; whether it houses four go-with-everything shades or has 12 statement shadows, having new colours to play with always gets us excited.
Pair with a dramatic volumising mascar a to really draw attention to your eyes - when they're all of your face that's on show it makes sense to make the most of them after all.
The statement-making palette
Pat McGrath Labs Divine Rose II Artistry Palette, £115
The packaging for this particular palette is too pretty to ignore – we almost love it as much as the palette itself. It has a spectrum of rich tones that go incredibly well together and blend with ease even for eyeshadow novices. The hues comprise of four pressed shimmers, four holographic shades, and two pigmented mattes, ranging from pretty pinks and peaches to mesmerising golds and bronzes. Triochrome is the stand-out pigment from this palette (bottom row, second right), the holographic shade flickers from green to dark pink as the light catches it for an out of this world look. Scroll to one minute 26 seconds in Mary Greenwell's video below to see her swatch the shade - you won't regret it.
Il Making sell 12 different eyeshadow palettes but this Pillow Talk style set of deep blush nudes is our pick of bunch. Housed in a pleasingly weighty metal case with a decent sized mirror, the pressed powders are beautifully fine and if you wet your finger the shades transform into a cream formula, minus the creasing.
The purple palette that suits everyone
Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Palette, £43
Purple doesn't seem like the most universal shade, but Urban Decay made it totally wearable with this punchy purple palette that makes all eye colours pop. It has the classic peachy neutrals we've come to expect in every iteration of the original Naked Palette, as well as bold violets and sensual deep purples and even a contrasting pastel green. As always it's a perfect blend of 12 mattes, metallics and holographic shimmers.
The budget-friendly palette
Barry M Bare It All Eyeshadow Palette, £7.99
For pocket-money-priced makeup, you can't go wrong with Barry M. This collection of carefully collated neutrals combines shimmers and mattes for a palette that looks extremely similar to both Kylie Cosmetics and Kim Kardashian's KKW palettes. Our favourite shades are pressed-shimmer Golden Hour and auburn toned Toasted. Barry M removed the mirror and magnet closure to make the cardboard packaging recyclable once you're done with the palette.
The palette for experimental makeup lovers
Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Pro Eyeshadow Palette Vol.4, £68
If you struggle to decide on how to do your makeup each day, this is the palette to you. It has a whopping 25 shades to pick from, combining neon brights and pretty pastels, with something to appeal to everyone. The name is a bit of a mouthful, but this we can forgive thanks to the sheer variety this offers up, besides, unlike many other palettes the shadows don't all have quirky names, they're simply letters and numbers. From metallic silver, matte yellow, matte hot pink and a metallic deep rose, there are endless combinations here for your summer makeup look.
The palette collaboration we never knew we needed
Morphe x Coca-Cola Thirst For Life Artistry Palette, £22
The idea of a Coca-Cola inspired eyeshadow palette conjured up visions of shimmery brown shades and not a lot else, but Morphe X Coca-Cola is so much more than that. Think ice-cold blues, iconic reds and sparkly silvers (and a few shimmering browns, of course) and you'll be along the right lines. Inspired by the feel-good vibes associated with Coke, this limited edition palette always brings a smile to our faces when we use it, with names such as Always Bright, Cool Story and The Real Thing, plus the shadows stay put for hours on end.
The mood-boosting palette
Ciate Wink On Eyeshadow Palette, £25
Have you ever seen a more enticing eyeshadow palette? Just one look at the winky smiley makes us want to dive in. It has four metallic shades including metallic purple Be Playful, bronze Be Hopeful, gold Be Strong and metallic red Be Vibrant. The formula is infused with mood-enhancing poppy and energising cocoa extracts to keep you feeling upbeat while you're wearing it.
The golden hour palette
3ina Sunset Eyeshadow Palette, £24.95
Nothing says summer quite like a gorgeous sunset and this palette from 3ina allows you to create the beautiful sight on your eyes with nine peach, terracotta and gold tones in metallic and matte finishes. They have a rich pigmentation yet feel light as a feather on your eyes.
The vegan and cruelty-free palette
Illamasqua Movement Artistry Eyeshadow Palette, £38
To celebrate ten years of cruelty-free beauty Illamasqua launched this bold palette of 12 vegan and cruelty-free shades in both matte and shimmer finishes. With shade names such as Inclusivity, Equality, Understanding and Non-conformist, the brand's values are reflected in the shades. The hues are designed to cater to a diverse range of skin tones, allowing you to combine them all for unique looks that look different on everyone. We're particularly taken with creme dark green Expressive and rich burgundy Beauty.
TikTok's favourite palette
P.Louise Love Tapes Palette, £42
We're increasingly turning to TikTok for our makeup recommendations and P.Louise is one brand that keeps coming up again and again. It's a UK brand that gives us strong Too Faced vibes with a super-sweet aesthetic. Take this palette, for example; housed in a video-tape style box with two highlighters for the reels it contains 18 pink and red eyeshadow shades for romantic eye makeup that stays firmly in place all day long.
The flirty palette
NARS Orgasm X Eyeshadow Quad, £41
While we love endless shades to play with, sometimes four is plenty, especially when they're as highly pigmented as the matte shimmer and shine shades in Nars' latest Orgasm release. It has a pink rust shimmer, sparkling amber, dusty rose matte and a black with red shimmer to channel your saucy side.
The holiday perfect palette
Stila Road Less Travelled Eye Shadow Palette, £32
This palette stands out from the crowd with a mixture of purple, pink and green shades, which don't sound like they'd work together but really do. The greens conjure up images of fairytale forests while the pinks and purples remind us of princess castles and the lone gold hue adds a touch of glittery magic. The shades are a mixture of matte and metallics so you can change up your look from day to night, meaning it's the only set of shadows you'll need on holiday.
The summer palette with a difference
Suqqu Designing Colour Eyes, £46
You'll see from this edit that summer palettes tend to comprise of warm pinks and gold hues, but Suqqu has sidestepped this trend with their Frozen Summer collection, which includes this sleek white palette, home to icy blue and white alongside a flatter coral and a subtle brown.