Party season is edging closer, with Halloween and Christmas now not too far away. But while we aren’t quite hanging the lights or decorating our doors just yet, you may already be thinking about your make-up looks.
Eyeshadow palettes are, of course, not just reserved for festive fun though. They can elevate our eye make-up for festivals, birthday parties and even everyday glam, should the mood strike you.
Normally, around this time of year, we start to see a lot of brands unveil new releases, and 2022 seems to be no exception with celebrity collabs, vibrant colours and new shades of neutrals all coming through.
From a new Chanel tweed palette to the Morphe x Maddie Ziegler collab, we’ve been up to our necks in newness. And yes, we’ve been trialling each and every palette we could get our hands on from all the big brands – and some smaller ones, too – to see which ones really are worth their weight in gold.
Whether you love a fox eye à la Julia Fox, a brilliant blue lid or a classic cut crease, there’s a huge range of palettes to pick from, no matter your budget or make-up prowess. Keep reading to find which ones are worth your money.
How we tested
For our beauty buff tester, few things are more fun to play with than make-up, and this colourful collection of palettes made them feel like Christmas had come early.
Keeping things nice and simple, and fair across the board, they used the same tools for each palette which were the four brushes – one of which is double-sided – and two hair clips from the Morphe x Maddie Ziegler in bloom 4-piece eye-brush set and bag (£24, Selfridges.com) which they highly recommend. They then set about getting creative with the little squares of colour sat in front of them.
Looking for ease of application, the number of shades, level of pigment and how long the colour lasted on the skin, a lot of variables went into finding the perfect palette and each one below was loved for different reasons.
The best eyeshadow palettes for 2022 are:
- Best overall eyeshadow palette – Morphe 35A up ‘til dawn artistry palette: £25, Lookfantastic.com
- Best small eyeshadow palette – Hourglass curator three shadow palette: Around £96, Spacenk.com
- Best luxury eyeshadow palette – Chanel le 4 ombre tweed cuivré: £67, Chanel.com
- Best budget pink eyeshadow palette – Catrice Cosmetics daring nude 18-colour eyeshadow palette: £9.74, Justmylook.com
- Best brown eyeshadow palette – Illamasqua unveiled artistry palette: £31.20, Illamasque.com
- Best silver eyeshadow palette – Charlotte Tilbury luxury eye palette the rock chick: £43, Spacenk.com
- Best budget eyeshadow palette – Collection Cosmetics eye palette Malibu waves: £4.99, Boots.com
- Best jewel tone eyeshadow palette – Revolution desert desire forever flawless palette: £12, Boots.com
- Best eyeshadow palette for a smokey eye – Code8 iconoclast eyeshadow palette lustrous corduroy: £45, Codeeight.com
- Best beige eyeshadow palette – 17. eyeshadow palette 030 browns: £5, Boots.com
- Best all-round mini palette – Lottie London palette cherry pop: £6.95, Lottie.london
- Best colourful eyeshadow palette – NYX Professional make-up ultimate eyeshadow palette brights: £16, Boots.com
- Best luxury fan-favourite eyeshadow palette – Dior 5 Couleurs couture eyeshadow palette, limited edition, 659 mirror mirror: £51.50, Johnlewis.com
- Best eyeshadow palette for splashing the cash – Yves Saint Laurent couture colour clutch eyeshadow palette: £100, Debenhams.com
- Best pink eyeshadow palette – Huda Beauty rose quartz palette: £46.40, Feelunique.com