What is the Best Eyeshadow Palette for You?

Making an eyeshadow palette purchase is always exciting. You suddenly have all of these shiny, new hues to work with but when you apply them, you realize, they are not what you thought they would be. Or you realize that you only use three or four shades from the 12 colors the palette comes with. 

Eyeshadow is a fun part of makeup that the average person has yet to master. It is not just the application that is tricky but finding colors that suit your skin tone. Sure, those colorful, pigmented shadows look great in their packaging but when the time comes to create a look, you realize you look washed out or clownish. No longer will you buy shades that do not complement your tone.

The first order of business is identifying your skin tone. It is important to note that your skin tone, or undertone, is not particularly the shade of your skin. Your skin tone is found by the amount of pigment in your skin and does not change. For example, if your skin reaches a tanner color in the summer, your skin tone will still remain the same. 

There are three skin tones: cool, warm, and neutral. Your skin tone most likely will not always match the shade of your skin. A good way to determine your skin tone is by looking at the color of the veins on the inside of your wrist. This may be a little challenging, so make sure you are looking at it in natural light. 

If your veins appear blue or purple, this means you have a cool skin tone. If they appear green, you have a warm skin tone. If it is hard to tell if they are green or blue, this means you probably have a neutral skin tone, which is common for people will an olive complexion.

Another great way to determine your skin tone is by holding up a sheet of white paper to your face. Make sure that your skin is clean before doing this and let some time pass as scrubbing your face can make your skin appear pink or red. While looking in the mirror, determine how your skin looks compared to the white paper. If your skin comes off as a yellow tone, you have a warm skin tone. If your skin appears pink, rose or a blue-based red, you have a cool skin tone. Finally, if your skin looks gray or you cannot really determine any shades of yellow or pink, you have a neutral skin tone.

You want to make sure that your eyeshadow choices will complement your skin and make your eyes pop. Luckily, shimmery shades look great on all skin tones.

If you found that you have a cool skin tone…

A great source for color ideas is looking at all of the cool shades on a standard color wheel to see what color base look great on you. In this case, blue-based colors are perfect for cool skin tones. Stray from yellow-based colors, as they will drain the color from your skin. Lean towards colors like pink and beige shades, as well. Colors like champagne and rose gold are great options for this skin tone, as well as sheer tones. Nix the idea of a silver smokey eye, as it can make fair-skinned beauties look bruised. But do not be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and sweep a jewel toned color over your lid for a fun, nighttime look.

A great palette to try for cool skin tones is Naked 3 by Urban Decay because of the many rosey shades and warm brown shades to choose from. Available at Sephora or Ulta for $54.

If you found that you have a warm skin tone...

Warmer skin tones beg for warm colors. Just like for cool tones, the warm side of the color wheel is a great resource. Bronze, rust or orange shades are colors you should keep an eye out for, as these will complement your skin tone the best. Warm colors on warm skin will give you a beautiful natural tone, rather than a stark contrast. Essentially, you will be going for more earthy tones, as opposed to crazy, bright colors. 

The palette you should try out for your warm undertones is Monarch Eyeshadow Palette by Kat Von D, with its warm orange, brown and gold shades. Available at Sephora for $46.

If you found that you have a neutral skin tone…

You are probably the luckiest of the bunch because you get the best of both worlds. Because your skin tone is neutral, most likely any shade will look great on you. Like mentioned before, neutral skin tones are common for those will olive complexions. This makes your palette very diverse with jewel tones like sapphire, navy, plum or emerald green, or with earthy tones like burnt orange or a metallic gold. If you want to play it safe, go with more earthy tones but always feel free to venture out with the jewel tones. Take advantage of the fact that you can essentially pull off any color.

A perfect palette for you is definitely the Double Exposure Palette by Smashbox, which contains seven cool shades and seven warm shades that transform into more vibrant colors when you wet your brush with water. Available at Sephora or Ulta for $39.