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Drugstore eyeshadow palettes can be hits or misses, but some of the formulas available match their pricier counterparts in pigmentation, blendability, and staying power.
The NYX Ultimate Shadow Palette in Warm Neutrals earns top marks for versatility and impressive color payoff. There are three different color options, though we find Warm Neutrals to be pretty flattering and intuitive to use.
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Eyeshadow is my favorite beauty product. It's the one area of a makeup look that allows me to be truly, wildly creative with color. I've been lucky to amass quite an extensive eyeshadow palette collection throughout my years reviewing products for the Internet, so I've tried it all.
But shopping for eye makeup can be really overwhelming to the average shopper. How do you choose between a $50+ palette at Sephora and a similar option for under $10 at the drugstore? Eyeshadow quality varies a lot too, so the price isn't always the best indicator.
To make matters more complicated, most drugstores don't have testers that allow you to swatch colors before you buy, so you have to rely on instinct - or online reviews like this one. I've rounded up five highly-rated drugstore eyeshadow palettes that you'll love no matter your makeup preferences.
Here are the best drugstore eyeshadow palettes you can buy:
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The NYX Ultimate Shadow Palettehas 16 colors and comes in six different color schemes, including our favorite Warm Neutrals, for maximum variety in a compact package.
NYX Professional Makeup makes some incredible products at very reasonable prices. One of the best is the Ultimate Shadow Palette, a 16-pan eyeshadow palette that comes highly rated by experts and shoppers.
The Ultimate Shadow Palette comes in six varieties — Warm Neutrals, Cool Neutrals, Brights, Ash, Phoenix, Smokey & Highlight. Warm Neutrals is my personal favorite, with its ideal mix of mattes and shimmers, but there's an option for everyone whether you like natural looks or bold neon. I'm also impressed by the attention to different undertones in the two neutral palettes.
Reviewers praise this palette for its pigmentation and blendability, especially relative to the price. "Well pigmented and blends well. Small pans, but easy size to travel with," writes one Target shopper. Overall, shoppers give the palette an average 4.5-star rating based on more than 550 reviews.
StyleCraze calls these shadows "a vivid mix of velvety-rich textures and mesmerizing finishes" and says they "are really easy to work with." The palette has also been featured by Byrdie, Rank and Style, and InStyle.
Pros: six color options, affordable, 16-shadows, travel-friendly, cruelty-free
Lots of palettes, especially drugstore palettes, focus only on neutrals. It makes sense because neutral eyeshadows work for everyday occasions, but sometimes you want to go for drama.
The colorful shades are more vibrant jewel tone than electric neons, which makes them a bit more versatile, and there are a few peach and bronze shades you can use as neutrals. You can do a smoky eye for night or a neutral shade with subtle shimmer for day. These kinds of rich, pigmented shadows are hard to do well, and Rimmel pulls it off.
Magnif'eyes Colour Edition has an average 4.3 star rating on Amazon based on almost 300 customer reviews. "I'm really happy with this eyeshadow. It goes on easily, but doesn't come off on my fingers every time I touch my eyes (and then get on my clothes). It also goes on in a very thin layer, keeping the color bold while avoiding a cakey look," writes one Amazon shopper.
Editors at Byrdie give these shadows high marks as well, saying the palette "honestly rivals its pricier competition."
Pros: pigmented and blendable, mix of mattes and shimmers, 12 shades
Despite the overall pink tones of the palette, there's still plenty of variety thanks to several plumy, smoky shadows. Several reviewers have called this a dupe for the far more expensive Urban Decay Naked3, albeit with fewer shades.
"All the shades are highly pigmented. These have a creamy and soft texture and blend like a dream. Even the staying power is quite impressive," writes Stylecraze's reviewer, who does recommend using a primer underneath the shadows.
Ulta shoppers rate it 4.2 stars based on 160 reviews. The makeup experts at Allure are also big fans, saying "the powders are finely milled, so they're very smooth and easy to blend."
Pros: possible dupe for Urban Decay Naked3, eight shadows, variety of finishes
The L.A. Girl Beauty Brick Nudes Eyeshadow Palette is proof that cost does not necessarily indicate quality. With more than 3,000 Amazon reviews and a 4.2 star rating, this is a massive fan-favorite palette that costs less than $10.
This is a 12-pan palette made up mostly of neutrals that run the gamut from light to deep. Like the CoverGirl TruNaked Roses, it contains a lot of pink-toned shadows, but with a bit more versatility and more transition shades to define the crease or even line your lash line.
Reviewers rave about the pigmentation of this palette, though some do note that a few shades look very similar on the lid. "[The shadows] have just the right amount of iridescence for any age group and if you dampen your brush, you can apply it wet without any problems," writes one shopper.
The Stylecraze reviewer recommends priming the lid to make the shadows really stand out, but still gives the palette high marks. It's also listed as a top pick by InStyle and Rank and Style.
Pros: under $10, 12 shades, range of finishes, pigmented, blendable
The Allure Best of Beauty-winning Flower Beauty Wanderlust Eyeshadow Palette is a collection of six unique shadows in three color schemes, each named after a large American city. Choose from LA, Austin, and New York depending on your vibe.
Each palette has one or two pops of vibrant color surrounded by more neutral shadows. Austin is my favorite because of the unique lime green paired with warm, sunset-inspired mattes and transition shades. LA features blue, forest green, and grey tones, while New York is all about taupe and mauve.
Allure's Devon Abelman compares the performance of these eyeshadows to "the shadows from a palette that's 10 times its price." Each palette contains only six shadows, but the color selections are unique and interesting, and the small size makes this the ideal pick for travel.
"These palettes are the most pigmented eye shadows I ever had. The price point is perfect and the eye shadow stays on all day without primer. The glittery shadows are so beautiful," writes one Ulta reviewer.
Pros: compact size, unique color selection, three palette options
Cons: not many matte options
What else we considered
Here are some that didn't make our top five, but that we will like:
Rimmel Magnif'eyes Eyeshadow Palette in Nude Edition ($6.81): This neutral pick from Rimmel is another highly-rated shadow palette in the same formula as the bold option on this list. The color selection didn't stand out much when compared with our other picks, but it is a solid under-$10 option for warm neutral shadows.
Milani Everyday Eyes Eyeshadow Palette ($10.99): Another popular option, Milani Everyday Eyes contains six shadows and is the same price as Flower Beauty's Wanderlust. Reviewers give this high marks for pigmentation and blendability, but it's not as unique as the Flower Beauty palettes on our list.