Which is the most expensive eyeshadow palette?

To match my collection of Beige lipsticks, I have an equal number of golden eyeshadows in every colour, texture, and brand that has been invented by God and Coco Chanel.

Do all my eyeshadows look the same? Yes, but for the love of God, don’t tell me that. This is not a memo, my ex-boyfriend received. After roundly criticising my choice of make-up, I decided to name him, Cyclops (of the one-eyed bumbling village idiot goat herder fame). No relationship could survive such an onslaught of vitriol.

Forgive me for getting side-tracked.

The feedback I received on my blog “Which Is the Most Expensive Lipstick?” was first, many of you were stunned at the price variation in lipsticks and my blog was an eye-opener.

Today’s blog

Therefore, today’s blog does something similar for eyeshadow palettes. I went to my primary virtual residence, Sephora USA, and searched for bestselling eyeshadow palettes, filtering for price/shade. (When I buy an eyeshadow palette, I am motivated by the number of shades I can use and not by weight, so price/weight, is redundant here).

I learned 3 things that I wish to share with you today:

Lesson One: Anastasia Beverly Hills, Huda Beauty, Tarte and Too Faced all make eyeshadow palettes, where the average price/shade is less than USD 4

The lowest-priced eyeshadow is from Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina palette where the price/shade is US$ 2.40/shade. I’d also point out the similarity in pricing – Tarte charges US$ 39 for a 12 shade palette, which is just US$ 6 cheaper than Too Faced’s 16 shade palette. Are for 4 extra shades worth US$ 6?

Lesson Two: the most expensive palette is a limited edition charity product

Chantecaille is a French brand, that does excellent perfume and great make-up, with a strategic focus on Caucasian skin. It has produced a limited edition box of 6 individual eyeshadows, with some of the proceeds going to 6 wildlife charities.

I get it. Justifying US$ 400 on six eyeshadows is easier if you are able to say to yourself, “its for a good cause.” But you could donate the money to the charity and lower your carbon footprint. The elephants will still thank you…

I am surprised that Tom Ford (again) makes one of the most expensive eyeshadows as do Charlotte Tilbury. As you may recall, Tom Ford also makes hideously expensive (but amazing) lipsticks.

Lesson Three: watch out for the pricing of Natasha Denona palettes

You would think that the more number of colours, the lower the price/shade. Not always the case for Natasha Denona. The Eyeshadow Palette 28 will set you back US$ 239, which translates to US$ 8.53/shade. The same quantity, Metropolis Eyeshadow palette, costs almost half at US$ 4.60/shade.

Also, the 10 shade palette cost US$ 9.50/shade but the 5 shade palette, which you expect to be more expensive, is cheaper at US$ 5.00/shade.

Confused yet? I certainly am. Frankly its exhausting, and but for the fact that I am Indian, I would be tempted to completely abandon this value pricing route.

Lesson Four: Single shadow eyeshadows offer the worst value for money.

A 7ml eye shadow by Christian Louboutin Beauty will set you back US$ 50.

Finally, if you are not desperate for a particular palette, try and buy it in the sale when prices are generally reduced by 30%-50%. Fenty Beauty and Natasha Denona are on sale on Sephora USA as I write.

Closing

In general, buying palettes with a larger number of shades, offers better value for money than a palette with fewer shades. But this is not always the case, especially with Natasha Denona.

COPYRIGHT

I wish to remind some of you that I am a non-affiliated skincare blogger. I invest my time, money, blood, sweat, and tears in creating content for my blog. My blog is read in multiple countries and according to my lawyers, each of those countries protects my content and rights under copyright law. If you would like to use my content, do the right thing, and write to me at email@happyskindays.com. Don’t be that person who steals content, because it’s arrogant, disrespectful, and ultimately, a crime.