Ever since transitioning from my colour shadow loving Uni days I have embraced neutrals as if they were going out of production. Considering there was a time in my life the only shades I owned were blue, green (both worn daily – I kid you not) and charcoal, it’s quite impressive to see such a hoard of beige and brown toned shades in my life. Five years ago I would have laughed at the thought of wearing a warm bronze smokey eye and instead opted for as much colour as I could pack onto my lids. Over the years my tastes have evolved to the point I hardly go near a shadow that doesn’t exist within the brown or MAC All That Glitters spectrum. To ensure my love for neutrals can travel the pond I’ve got a handful of palettes that get packed on trips away and weekend breaks, each one contains a bevy full of shades that will make any neutral lovers heart flutter.
Everyday Essential
For a palette that contains the best selection of everyday neutral shadows, hands down the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette is all you need. With a mixture of tones, matte offerings and a dark black which doubles up as a liner, everything you need is inside this one palette. Considering the size is so compact you get a big old mirror making it the perfect traveling buddy.
Best for Traveling
When packing for an upcoming trip I focus on items that are versatile and suit a multitude of looks and occasions, for this I generally flit between the Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette and NARS And God Created the Woman Palette. Each contains a fab mixture of shades and formulas to suit those matte lovers through to shimmer goddesses. Although the Smashbox packaging may look a little budget it packs in eight shades ranging from light to dark not forgetting a silver glitter, impressive stuff. To break away from the standard neutrals I love this old NARS palette, picked up early last year the deeper colours with purple undertones creates a more unique look yet still fits within that everyday bracket.
The Luxury One
How could I talk about fav palettes without mentioning the sublime Marc Jacobs Lolita 206 Beauty Plush Shadow Palette. Oh nelly is this a beaut! Those adverse to shimmers beware as this does pack a fair few glitter bombs that don’t have the greatest pigmentation however all can be forgiven for the way it looks. From the sleek black bullet packing to the long mirror, silver clasp and seven shade selection, if you can get your hands on one of these make sure you take it home with you ;)
