Narrowing down the makeup I was taking with me to uni was almost as difficult as sorting out my clothes – eye shadow palettes in particular. I have so many that I love, it was really difficult to restrict myself to only bringing a few. I was originally going to try and just take three but I ended up with four along with me and I had to share why I think these are the essentials in my collection.
ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS – MODERN RENAISSANCE
The no-brainer. The Modern Renaissance is easily my all time favourite palette and in the year and a half I have owned it, it is also my most used, so of course it was going to be coming along with me! I take it with me whenever I go on short breaks away, I don’t know how I could do without it for weeks on end!
The palette is an essential for me because of the range of shades, from oranges to a mauve and a deep brown, with a few classic shimmers (gold and champagne shades) throw in for good measure, meaning it is so easy to create a variety of different looks. Of course, the other reason I love it so much is how pigmented and blendable the shades are. It is my favourite palette and I don’t think I will ever get bored of it!
URBAN DECAY – NAKED HEAT
Since it’s the season of autumn right now, I had to bring the Naked Heat along with me, because for me it is autumn manifested in eyeshadow form. I didn’t use it very much last year so I am really glad I brought it with me to get more use out of it – which I certainly have been, it has actually surprised me how often I grab it over the Modern Renaissance these days!
I was in two minds whether to bring it because it does have a few very similar shades to the Modern Renaissance, such as the red tones, but I think there are plenty of shades in here, such as the deep purple Ashes, that are unique to this palette. There aren’t lots of light shimmers but that has challenged me to create some all-matte looks with this palette, with some of the lighter mattes; it’s really effective.
ZOEVA – COCOA BLEND
The Cocoa Blend has some gorgeous shades in it, all themed with chocolate inspired names, what is not to love! This is an essential to me because I was going to be travelling with it and it is such a lightweight and sleek palette.
My main reason for bringing this palette was a couple of shades in particular – the two brown mattes on the bottom row – Substitute for Love and Freshly Toasted. They are so gorgeous to blend into any look but personally, I love a couple of nice brown mattes for everyday. ‘Beans Are White’, the black in the top right, came in handy so much on Halloween! The purple shimmer in the bottom right is also a super unique and fun shade.
COLOURPOP – IT’S A PRINCESS THING
I simply had to bring this palette from Colourpop because it reigns supreme when it comes to shimmers! I have never tried a pressed shimmer as gorgeous as these, they are gorgeously pigmented. They are all absolutely perfect for when you’re going out, or simply want a pop of glitter.
There’s such a great range of shades in the palette, from my essential champagne shade Ray, all the way to the bright purple Poison Apple. The gold shade One Kiss? is also my favourite ever gold eyeshadow which says a lot! The mattes in this palette aren’t too worthy of a rave, but my other three palettes already cover me perfectly in the matte department – this one is all about the shimmers!
Am I missing any back home? A couple of weeks in I realised I have brought a lot of warm toned shades and didn’t even think about any cooler tones, so I think if I could have one extra from my collection at home, it would be the Naked Smoky for a bit of variety. I also really miss the Morphe 35O, because I miss that wonderful selection of brown mattes – although it would be impossible to travel with, it’s so bulky!
