Top 5 Drugstore Eyeshadows

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani, Too Faced Bon Bons... The list of palettes I want gets added to on the daily. The only problem? My bank balance, and indeed my makeup storage. My eyelids on the other hand, would be having a parr-tay! Feeling the pinch of the pennies is never a good thing, and potentially facing a life without high-end makeup is a scary thought. Of course, there are scarier things in the world. Just... ignore me on that one.


Delving into my stash brought out handfuls of barely used palettes and single shadows. Why are they barely used? Not because they are shite don't compare to some of my higher end palettes, but because I'm fickle as anything when it comes to makeup. I'll be ride-or-die obsessed with something, pop it into a favourites (read my January favourites while you're at it), and then when something newer and shinier comes along, it'll languish at the bottom of my makeup bag until I finally chuck it into the place where makeup goes to die makeup storage. An hour and a whole armful of swatches later, I reminise and remember just why I loved these babies. Enter 5 amazing drugstore alternatives to high-end eyeshadows...

SLEEK STORM PALETTE

I picked up the Sleek i-Divine Palette in Storm (£7.99) about a year ago, used it a few times, reviewed it and put it straight back in the drawer. Despite being super impressed, I've barely touched it yet every time I do, I am bowled away by the quality and shade range. Sleek do their shimmers so well, and they are all really buttery, metallic and pigmented. Storm is actually the perfect day to night palette, and could even give the Naked Smoky palette a run for its money with it's moody greens, blues and silvers. Keep reading to the end for swatches of my favourite shades, or check out my review for full swatches.

MAKEUP REVOLUTION ICONIC PRO 2 PALETTE 

When it comes to mattes, most drugstore palettes have one or two in their line-up, but none come close to Makeup Revolution. Can we just take a moment to appreciate just how amazing MUR are? The Iconic Pro (£6.99) series is the more premium range of eyeshadows from the brand, and hailed as dupes for the (still not available in the UK!) Lorac Pro palettes. The mattes in these palettes are just beautiful, and I'm obsessed with the peachy shade New-tral, the light brown Chase and the plummy shade One Way. If you haven't already, try a matte plum in your crease, it will CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE (err, not being dramatic or anything...)! It's also worth mentioning the shimmers, which are also very good quality; amongst my favourites are a lovely dupe for MAC All That Glitters, an earthy olive shade and a reddish brown that has literally lived on my lower lash line.

L'OREAL COLOR RICHE L'OMBRE PURE SHADOW

I first picked up a few shades of the L'Oréal Color Riche L'Ombre Pure shadows (£5.49) in this haul over a year ago and was instantly blown away by the quality. I have the shade Nude 200 Over The Taupe, and it is the most beautiful goldy/bronzey/taupe shade. Although they are on the pricier side for a single eyeshadow from the drugstore, I have to say that they are the best out of the lot. I've never felt an eyeshadow that was more buttery. The shadows are gel infused and are almost like a pressed pigment. What's also great is that they are soft but don't feel like they will shatter #spoileraltert... I really need to pick up a few more shades.

SEVENTEEN EYE EYE SHADOW

Seventeen eyeshadows are some that I've had in my stash for such a long time, and after trying out one of the trios, I decided to pick up a single shadow (£2.99) in Rose Quartz. This is such a pretty purpley taupe shade that works so well with the Mauve Baroque Bourjois Colorband shadow stick! These shadows are really pigmented but not as smooth and buttery as the L'Oreal offerings, so do have some fallout. The only downside to the Seventeen shadows is that they are notorious for shattering, so you do need to be super careful with them. 

COLLECTION LITTLE MIX ALL ABOUT THE EYES PALETTE

Funnily enough, my very first makeup item was a Collection gold/brown eyeshadow trio (old habits die hard) but other than their infamous Lasting Perfection concealer, the brand had gotten cast aside. However Collection have seriously upped their game recently, with tons of new product releases, one of which was their line of eyeshadow palettes. I have the collaboration with Little Mix, the All About Eyes Palette (£3.19). This is such a travel-friendly palette with pretty shades and great pigmentation, although the chunky glitter in the gold shade really lets it down. I really want to grab the Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette, which is similar but doesn't have any of the glitter. I've actually written a full review of the All About Eyes palette, so if you want to see the full line-up of swatches, you can read that here.

THE SWATCHES

If you are on a bit more of a budget, there's proof that there are some amazing eyeshadows out there! Yes, I'll still be googling Too Faced Bon Bon swatches every hour, but I can go to sleep knowing that my lids won't truly suffer without it. #firstworldproblems

What are your favourite drugstore eyeshadows?

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