13 Brands With the Most Pigmented Eye Shadows On The Market
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1/14Urban Decay
I will forever hold Urban Decay accountable, for better or worse, for the great onslaught of eye shadow palettes that began in 2010. Something as simple and understated as the first Naked palette went on to change the whole game, and only now are we seeing beauty brands finally stepping away from tripping over themselves trying to create the next great palette and share in the Naked Palette's success.
But the success of the Naked palette doesn't come as a surprise — the Naked palette collection even spawned babies with the Naked Ultimate Basics and Petite Heat mini palettes.) Urban Decay shadows have always been a standard of greatness when it comes to eyes. Their shadows are rich in color, bendable, and easy to work with. The mattes are velvety, the shimmers are beautiful, and the satins are a perfect way to pull an entire look together. As far as I'm concerned, they can do a different iteration of the Naked palette every damn year and I'd be on board.
Naked Heat Palette, $54 (Shop Now)
2/14Sugarpill Pressed Eyeshadow
Ask any drag queen — Sugarpill is the brand to reach for when you want bright colors, a quality formula, and, yes, pigmentation. The brand was actually inspired by underground drag clubs and performers, a legacy which is carried on today by basically every working queen in the business. Those iconic pinks you see on Trixie Mattel and Farrah Moan? It's Sugarpill's Dollypop (pictured). The matte white, Tako, is often referred to the whitest white available, while Bulletproof, their matte black, is such a rich, matte black it can be cocktailed into an eyeliner, false bottom lashes, or anything else you can dream up.
Sugarpill is still the place to go to find shades you can't find anywhere else, with incredible color payoff, and a pan size that will eclipse anything in your makeup collection.
$13 (Shop Now)
3/14Juvia's Place
Juvia's Place is one of beauty's best kept secrets, but not for long. They create color collections unlike any other brand is doing at the moment, and give them to you at a very affordable price. The mattes are vibrant, the shimmers sport a ton of sparkle, they're all hyper-pigmented, and blend like butter. Basically they're a dream to work with. Also, many of the palettes are available in large and mini sizes, if you want to experiment with color but are afraid to commit to a full palette.
$25-$35 (Shop Now)
4/14Sephora Collection
If you don't already know, here's a tip: Sephora's house brand is one to watch. Their products are strikingly similar to a lot of their best sellers, with a lower price point, and a lot of time, a wider shade range.
Their single shadows have always been pigmented and blendable, but their three new palettes take their shadow formula to the next level. If you can stand a little kickback, you'll get extreme color payoff that blends effortlessly. The mattes are intense, the shimmers do not disappoint, and there are enough shades in these to pull off any look you can dream up.
Sephora Pro Editorial Palette, $68 (Shop Now)
5/14Smashbox
I guess there's not much to say about Smashbox shadows apart from the fact that they're awesome. And they should be. Smashbox is a prestige pro brand, after all.
What I really love is their Cover Shot Eye Palettes that came out not too long ago. The beauty world is overrun with palettes so it's hard to get excited about any of them, but these little guys sport two base shades and six smaller pans in concisely curated color families to give you a soft day look or a full dramatic smoky eye. What sets these little guys apart is that, put simply, the formula is legit beautiful. The mattes are silky smooth and packed with color, the shimmers are stunning, and they just feel like a really great product. Because they are.
Smashbox Cover Shot Eye Palette, $29 (Shop Now)
6/14ColourPop
I love ColourPop's pressed eyeshadows and pigments for the pigmentation, the application, the finishes, and the price.
I use mostly matte shadows with a little satin or shimmer here and there, and I just can't get enough of these. The pigmentation is consistent throughout the shades, they blend like a dream, many of the shimmers have an almost mirrored finish, and the satins have the perfect amount of glow. And please don't get me started on the shades with a duochrome flip.
ColourPop drops new products and shades with a frequency that nobody else can touch, but they don't sacrifice quality for quantity. They've actually pushed me to try shades and finishes that I normally wouldn't, just because they're all so irresistible.
Each pan is only $5, palettes of four pans are $18, they're consistently releasing new palettes with more shades, and there's always some sort of deal going on so you can get more for your money. If you're new to makeup or just looking to beef up the colors in your kit, you'd be crazy not to give ColourPop a try.
Pressed Powder Shadow, $5 (Shop Now)
7/14Dose of Colors
You've gotta keep an eye on these indie brands, I'm telling you — that's where the magic is happening. Dose of Colors has been putting out beautiful liquid lipsticks for a while now, along with highlighters and eye duos. They recently expanded to pressed eye shadow palettes and the results are just as good you'd expect. The shimmers still pack a ton of pigment and sparkle, that mattes are stunning, and the collection of shades is really unique. Dose of Colors is absolutely a brand to watch, and I can't wait to see what they've got coming next.
Eyescream palette, $50 (Shop Now)
8/14Morphe
What can I say about Morphe that hasn't already been said? I have to include Morphe, though, because their palettes are an affordable essential for beauty lovers experimenting with new eye shadow looks as well as full on makeup pros. The palettes come with a ton of shades in various color families, they're easy to work with, and they're crazy affordable.
$14.99 - $22.99 (Shop Now)
9/14Coloured Raine
Coloured Raine is another indie beauty brand to keep a close eye on. Their lipstick formula is WILD good, and their shade range is killer, but don't pass up their shadows. They offer a huge selection of single pans in a variety of shades and finishes for $6.99 each, and their Queen of Hearts Palette (pictured) is one of the hottest items on their site. They're highly pigmented and blend smoothly so you'll want to use the shadows until the very last bit.
Eye shadow, $7 (Shop Now)
10/14Makeup Geek
Makeup Geek is a great brand to have in your back pocket because whether you're looking for blushes, contour shades, or lip colors, they never do a product without doing a ton of shades. This is great for people with fair skin who want a flattering contour color, people with deeper skin tones who want to have a range of blush options to pick from, and of course, they have a whole slew of eyeshadows, which is great for all of us.
Makeup Geek offers a staggering selection of stunning, nuanced shades, perfect for whatever look you're trying to achieve. They've got it all, from velvety mattes, to color-shifting duochromes. They blend with almost no applied pressure, there is minimal kickback, and yes, they're packed with pigment.
$6 - 10, (Shop Now)
11/14Huda Beauty
Huda Beauty makes such covetable eye shadows that there is even an homage to them in nail art form. While the praise doesn't exactly translate to its purpose, these powder shadows are incredibly beautiful, pack a huge metallic payoff, and blend like a dream.
Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette, $65 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of brand12/14Anastasia Beverly Hills
Anastasia Beverly Hills's eye shadow palettes incur Black Friday-like behavior with pre-sale lines and immediate inventory selling out as soon as they're released. One of the brand's latest eye shadow palettes, Soft Glam, was one such palette — as was its Renaissance palette and Subculture palette, the latter of which caused a slight social media uproar with some quality control issues. Hey, when you're known for offering incredibly dense powder eye shadows with tons of pigment and no fall-out...you really can't backpedal from that.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette, $42 (Shop Now)
Courtesy of brand13/14Natasha Denona
Natasha Denona has a lot of nerve charging upwards of $100 for an eye shadow palette... but then you sweep a finger across the pan and pull back the finest and most densely-packed shimmery shadows ever that look like molten foil in one swipe. OK, Natasha, I'll allow it.
The better news is that the brand now offers a mini version of its popular Sunset Palette (that was always sold out anyway), in which you get five unique shadows for $25. Consider it an extension pack if you already own the original.
Natasha Denona Tropic Eyeshadow Palette, $129 (Shop Now)
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