eye shadow palette

Palette Perfect

Being neutral is not wimpy; it’s versatile.

Wendy Duren Fashion & Style

eye shadow palette

111 East

BEAUTY

When my girlfriends tell me they don’t know what to do with eye shadow, or how to choose colors, I assume they’ve recently encountered the seasonal offerings cosmetic companies insist on rolling out. Pastel yellow and sailboat blue pop up in spring and summer eye palettes with the insidiousness of weeds. I don’t know what to do with those colors any more than my friends do, but if I had to make a list, “Apply to my eyelids” would be dead last.

eye shadow palette

But a good neutral eye shadow palette, one with creams, tans, taupes, chocolates, and grays, I find as useful and necessary as my Little Black Dress. Just as that garment can be dressed up or down, neutral palettes can take you from a daytime you-but-better look to as dramatic a smoky eye as you dare. Here are a few neutral palettes that prove basic isn’t so “basic” after all.

Since Marc Jacobs launched into beauty a few years ago, I’ve been consistently impressed with his eye shadows. I find the mattes buttery and the satin shades sophisticated. My one quibble is that the pressed glitters will drop bits of sparkle all over your face. Style Eye-Con No. 7 Plush Shadow in Social Butterfly ($59, Neiman Marcus, exclusive) has three mattes ideal as a base-contour-define trio, shimmers in copper, bronze, and taupe, and a charcoal glitter. The possibilities with this palette are endless, and they’re all guaranteed to be beautiful.

Gothic script, coffin-shaped packaging and color names like Succubus and Lazarus could lead you to believe that Kat Von D’s makeup line is easily dismissible kitsch. Don’t be fooled. Under all the pretense is a quality product. The Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette ($46, Sephora) lays out shadows with paint-by-numbers simplicity. The 12 matte shades are grouped in warm-, neutral-, and cool-toned quads with shades to sculpt, intensify, and highlight.

Tom Ford’s Eye Quad in Cocoa Mirage ($80, Saks Fifth Avenue) is perfection … as all Tom Ford shadows are. The matte cream, beige, and medium brown hues, and the ever-so-slightly shimmered rust brown shadow are finely milled, pigment rich, and do not budge or fade from lids. For 80 bucks, you’d think the four shadows were made of gold and came with a makeup artist to apply them for you, plus hang out on the weekends.

eye shadow palette

But I promise, this quad is worth the price. If I could have only one eye shadow palette for the rest of forever, I’d choose Cocoa Mirage.

There are several great things about Viseart’s Theory Palette in Cashmere ($45, musebeauty.com). The three light, medium, and dark mattes have three corresponding shimmers. The compact packaging opens up into an easel. And each of the six pans of pigment is magnetized for easy removal from the palette (should you want to move one to a larger palette or mix and match with Chroma and Minx, the other color options in the line). These six pigments can be used alone, mixed, and applied wet or dry. Any shadow can do those things. But not all shadows do those things well, and Viseart’s shadows transform from great to exponentially great when mixed together.

Kevyn Aucoin’s The Legacy Palette ($165, beautylish.com) is everything you could ever need, and more, from a neutral palette. It has 12 Essential Eye Shadows from light to dark, in warm and cool tones, and finishes from matte to satin. It even has cult favorites Celestial Powder and Sculpting Powder. If I ever believe I’ve created all the possible eye looks with this palette, I’ll let you know.

Remember, the neutral palette is the LBD of your makeup wardrobe. Wear it, and you’ll always be beautiful.