Ranked + Reviewed: My 2018 Eyeshadow Purchases

I thought it would interesting to take a look back at the palettes I bought last year. Last year was a palette frenzy and I ended getting caught up in it. Brands were releasing new palettes left, right and centre. So, I had no choice but to indulged in a few (too many) new eyeshadow palettes. When 2018 was all said and done, I had nine new palettes in my collection. I bought all these palettes for different reasons and I love them all – (but not equally). I’ve ranked my 2018 palettes from worst to best, so let’s check out the list.

I decided to rank my 2018 palette purchases using four categories. The categories are:

Cohesion, how well do the shades work together, is it easy to see shadow combination?
Quality, are the shadows in the palette easy to work with?
Packaging, is the packaging smart, sleek and fun.
Finally, I gave each a ranking out of 5 stars (who doesn’t love stars).

Let’s see how these palettes stack up!

9th: Wander Beauty, Wandress Chill Palette

Rounding out the bottom of my palette ranking is the Wandress Chill palette. The love the cool tones in this palette but the overall quality didn’t meet my expectations. This palette is a good price ($30.00 CAD), but I was still hoping for better quality.

Cohesion – The shades in the Wandress Chill palette are coordinated very well. Every shade is complimentary to the others. I wish there was another matte to anchor the palette but that’s my only issue with the shade selection.
Quality – Wander Beauty missed the mark with the quality of this palette. The shimmer shades are just not pigmented. Flushed was the shade I was most interested but it turned out to be the worst shade in the palette. Even over a sticky base I couldn’t get Flushed to stick to my lid.
Packaging – Wandress Chill is slim and compact. The cardboard packing is lightweight and would be easy to travel with. The outer packaging is adorned with majestic mountain peaks that give a cool winter vibe. The packaging and the shadows pair well together.

I award the Wandress Chill palette 2.5 out 5 stars. Full review + swatches here: Wandress Chill Review

8th: Too Faced, White Peach Palette

This is such a beautiful palette. I wish Too Faced would have stuck with the Just Peachy Matte formula in White Peach – (but they didn’t so White Peach ends up in 8th place).

Cohesion – this palette doesn’t have enough variety. There isn’t enough variance between the shadows in White Peach, most of the shades are very similar. The shades are so similar they can’t be layered properly because they blend together to form a pale peach mess.
Quality – White Peach was not a great follow-up to Just Peachy Mattes. The shimmer shadows in particular aren’t very pigmented. Usually, Too Faced mattes are excellent but the mattes in White Peach are dry and dusty. None of the shades blend particularly well and require a lot of building. White Peach is a pretty palette so I work with the shadows but the overall quality of this palette isn’t worth $55.00 CAD.
Packaging – the one area this palette is a total winner! The packaging on White Peach is so pretty and peach, (even though it’s kinda purple). The palette is a good size and the pans are arranged beautifully. Though, the plastic packaging is heavier than other palettes I own that are similar in size. White Peach has a large mirror, magnetic closure and the palette will stay open by itself.

I award the White Peach palette 2.5 out of 5 stars.

7th: Anastasia Beverly Hills, Modern Renaissance

Ok, so I bought this just to have this cult favourite product in my collection when Sephora was having a 20% off sale. Impulse took over and I decided I had to have it.

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Cohesion – Modern Renaissance is stunning. It has such a vibrant colour scheme that it’s hard not to use it everyday. There’s a lot of bold colour throughout this palette but the shades flow together beautifully. There’s seemingly endless looks to create with this palette.
Quality – As we all know, ABH creates ultra pigmented eyeshadows. The pigmentation is crazy but somehow the shadows seem to blend themselves out. I often pick up too much shadows on my brush because the shadows are so soft but it’s never difficult to blend the shadows out if I apply too much.
Packaging – I wish ABH would upgrade their packaging. I hate the soft, fuzzy material on the outside in the palette. It gets dirty and it’s impossible to clean once it inevitably gets dirty. The packaging isn’t very sturdy either. I took my Modern Renaissance on a trip recently and two of the shadows broke even though my makeup bag was secured in my suitcase.

I’m giving Modern Renaissance 3.85 out of 5 stars.

6th: Anastasia Beverly Hills, Norvina

The Norvina palette is so pretty. I remember seeing the photos when it was announced on Instagram and I knew I had to have it. I needed Celestial in my life!

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Cohesion – The palette separates the shimmer shadows from the matte shadows and there is an equal number of both. The Shimmer shades are bold but the matte shades aside from Soul can be found in almost any other warm palette. Though the shades makes sense together I wish there were more purples to make the palette more unique.

Quality – The Norvina palette stays true to the ABH level of quality. Though I found there was more fallout with the shimmers in Norvina than in Modern Renaissance. Some of the shimmers needed some building but I could make them work. The mattes are great but only the tiniest bit of shadow is needed.

Packaging – I wish ABH would revamp their packaging. Norvina and Modern Renaissance are packaged in the same style so my feelings are the same for both palettes when it comes to packaging.

I award Norvina 3.95 stars out of 5. I ranked Norvina higher on the list because I can use every shade in the palette. Modern Renaissance is beautiful but I never wear matte reds so some shades will rarely ever be used. Full review and swatches here: Norvina Review

5th: Urban Decay, Naked Petite Heat

I didn’t expect to like Petite Heat as much as I do. I scooped it up when the was 50% off at Sephora and I never looked back.

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Cohesion – The six shades in Petite Heat are fire together. They’re obviously designed to pair with the Naked Heat palette, (though Naked Heat has several mattes so Petite Heat isn’t necessary). Petite is functional enough to stand alone, though most of the looks I’ve created with it look similar.
Quality – The shadows in Petite Heat is fantastic! I don’t have the blending issues with the shades in Petite Heat that I usually deal with using Urban Decay mattes. All six shades have nice texture, pigmentation and blendability. UD stepped in the quality with Petite Heat (and Naked Heat).
Packaging – The packaging on Naked Heat is nothing new but it is functional. Petite Heat is small, light and easily tossed in bag to for touch ups throughout the day. The flames and the gold lettering make Petite Heat more unique than the first to Naked Basics palettes.

I award Petite Heat 4 out of 5 stars. Review and swatches here: Petite Heat Review

4th: Kat Von D, Mini MetalMatte

I didn’t buy the original MetalMatte palette well it was released a few years ago. I happy I waited for this smaller one. I was just starting to dabble in warm tones when I bought this early in 2018 and it was a great, warm starter palette.

Cohesion – There is a shimmer shadow to go with every matte shadow in this palette. Though, some of the mattes are odd selections in my opinion. Feather is a pale yellow – not a shade I would reach for often (ever) and Bone is a basically just white. If I could swap those two shades out for more useful mattes this palette would have ranked higher on the list.
Quality – The quality of this palette is very good. The shimmers are soft, buttery and super pigmented. The mattes are great, blending easily though they are on the dryer end of the spectrum.
Packaging – The MetalMatte mini isn’t exactly mini. The palette is quite large for only containing ten shades. The palette has circular and rectangular pans giving it a more unique look. I’ve owned this palette for over a year and I’m still amused by outer packaging. It’s so entertaining to read Metal then flip the palettes over and read Matte – (for some reason it doesn’t get old for me).

I award the Metal Matte Mini 4 out of 5 stars. Swatch Gallery here: Swatch Gallery

3rd: Too Faced, Gingerbread Spice

Gingerbread Spice is so cute. I love the concept of this palette so much. Any palette with shade names like “Spiked Eggnog” and “Spiced Rum” has my attention.

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Quality – Most of the shades in the Gingerbread Spice palette were good quality. There were a few misses (I’m looking at you Frostbite Me!). In a palette with 18 shades if 2 or 3 aren’t fantastic I can live with that because I have 15 others to play with. All the mattes worked well for well but some of the shimmers have a lot of glitter. This is a holiday palette so some glitter is acceptable but be ready for some fallout. It isn’t the best quality palette Too Faced has release but I’m still happy I have it.

Packaging – The littler gingerbread man looks good enough to eat! I liked the shades in the Gingerbread Spice palette but as usual the packaging sealed the deal. I bought this palette in September because I was worried it would sell out early in the holiday season and I was right. Who can resist a gingerbread/Christmas themed palette – (not this girl).

I award Gingerbread Spice 3.95 stars out of 5. See swatches of Gingerbread Spice here: Gingerbread Spice Review: Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

2nd: Urban Decay, On the Run (Shortcut)

Winning the silver medal is Urban Decay’s On the Run palette in Shortcut. If I was on the run and I needed an eyeshadow palette I would choose this one. It’s small, well thoughout and has a variety of different shades and finishes.

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Cohesion – Urban Decay did a great job putting this palette together. The eight shades are perfectly curated to work together. There are an equal number of mattes and shimmers so the palette feels very balanced.
Quality – The quality of this palette is exactly what I expect from Urban Decay. The shimmers are pigmented and blended. The mattes are pigmented, a bit tricky to blend out evenly but that’s usually how UD shadows perform for me. Afterhours and Gash are my favourite shades in the On the Run palette.
Packaging – The design of the On the Run palette is compact and travel friendly. The outer packaging of the palette is a bold red with raised lettering. The palette is pretty but the box the palette came in is nicer. The box has a collage of travel photos similar to the Born to Run palette. I wish the travel photos were on the actual palette.

I award the On the Run palette 4.5 out of 5 stars. Full review and swatches of Shortcut here: (Shortcut) Review

1st: Too Faced, Tickled Peach

*Drumroll*…. and the winner is Tickled Peach! I can’t get enough of this practically, perfect palette. I thought Tickled Peach was limited edition for holiday 2018 but it’s still available on Sephora’s website, so grab it while you still can.

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Cohesion – Every shade in this palette works so well. The eight shades in Tickled Peach cover every warm tone shadow need I could ever have. Every shade is distinctly different from the others but all eight compliment each other. I can create so many looks with this little palette alone.
Quality – Tickled Peach is one of the best Too Faced palettes I’ve tried. The quality is consistent throughout the palette, which isn’t always true of Too Faced products. The mattes are stunning and perform so well. The shimmers are gorgeous and can be pigmented without a base but they definitely benefit from having a sticky base to cling to. I have no complaints at all about this little peach.
Packaging – This palette is adorable! I mean just look at that little smiling peach on the outside of the palette – I just melts my heart. Besides being so cute I can barely deal with it, Tickled Peach is super travel friendly. Tickled Peach is tiny, very light and comes in tin packaging like the Chocolate Bar palettes. Too Faced hit a huge homerun with the palette!

I award Tickled Peach the elusive 5 out of 5 star ratings. Congratulations Tickled Peach! Full review and swatches of Tickled Peach here: Tickled Peach Review: The Palette That Smiles Back

So that’s my definitive ranking of all the palettes I purchased this year. I picked up some great palettes in 2018, let’s hope there’s more on the horizon. in 2019. What were your favourite palettes of 2018?

Have a beautiful day!

Until next time,

Kayla