Your colorful, cruelty-free makeup chic is back! And to make up for my absence here's a post all about purple palettes! Purple eyeshadows are some of my favorites because purple looks especially divine on brown eyes. So I rounded up a few purple palettes from different price points and varying color stories to give you my thoughts on them. I'll include swatches and eye looks that I've done using each of these palettes too:
As you can see, there is a mix of drugstore, indie, and high-end brands on this list but I didn't buy all of these myself. Some of the products on this list were gifted to me (I'll be indicating them below) but I will do my best to remain unbiased about my review even if I didn't spend my own money on these palettes.
I Heart Revolution: Violet Chocolate Palette (Vegan)
This is from I Heart Revolution's much-loved chocolate palette line and this one came out some time ago (before the formula change). I consider this the purple palette for people who also love browns and are still new to using colorful eyeshadows. There is a nice mix of metallic and matte shades in this palette along with a lot of browns and bronzes that you can add to balance your whole look.
Pros
Since I Heart Revolution is a drugstore brand, this is one of the more affordable palettes in this bunch. And I do think this is a pretty decent purple palette that's under 1000 pesos
I Heart Revolution is also quite popular in the Philippines so you can easily find this palette being sold online
The nice mix of purples and browns makes this palette extremely versatile. You can create neutral looks, colorful looks, and looks that have both browns and purples
This palette is quite travel-friendly as it has the biggest mirror in this bunch and it's made of plastic too
Here are the swatches, done on bare skin that was dry. As you can see, the old I Heart Revolution formula had very patchy and chalky mattes that didn't swatch well. You won't really get these issues when you're putting them on your eyes and blending them out but if you want to see how the colors look first, it's not easy to do that. I don't think the old formula was complete trash, but it was very inconsistent.
In case you're wondering, this is my favorite part of this palette....
Cons
Unfortunately, this palette is very warm-toned and there aren't a lot of cool-toned shades in this palette, which is a turn-off if warm-toned shadows don't look good on you
Some of the shimmer shades form a hardpan and are hard to pick up (this is the old formula, after all). You will need to use a brush and some makeup adhesive to get them to show up on you, which can be a hassle
ColourPop: It's My Pleasure Palette (Not Vegan)
Being another one of Colourpop's well-loved monochromatic palettes, It's My Pleasure is meant for the lover of duochromes and red-based purples. It comes in plastic packaging with a mirror too! This palette is all colors and doesn't have any browns so if you're looking for a smaller purple palette, this might be what you need.
Pros
Even if this palette is small, the colors are nicely curated so you can still come up with a wide range of purple eyeshadow looks
As always, ColourPop has amazing quality and the eyeshadows are soft, pigmented, and blend with no issues. People have even called this a better alternative to Huda Beauty's more expensive Amethyst Obsessions palette because you can get similar shades for nicer quality
The gorgeous duochromes in this palette (Mr. Sandman, Earthshine, and Do or Dough) add a lot of dimension to the looks you create because they can reflect blue, green, pink, and brown tones depending on the light direction
Cons
Even as a monochromatic purple palette, I found that this palette is still too warm-toned. But Coloupop went ahead and released a more cool-toned version called Lilac You a Lot
Since many of these eyeshadows are pressed pigments, they can stain your eyes. While I don't consider this a con, I understand if some people find that undesirable
While the eyeshadows do look different when you swatch them, I find that many of the matte shades look similar in color when you use a brush and blend them out so you end up with many similar looks
Kylie Cosmetics The Purple Palette (Gifted - Not Vegan)
I was gifted this by a friend on my birthday so this is the newest palette in this collection. I consider this the purple palette for people who love cool-toned shades because of the blue-based purples and neutrals in this palette. I do like this color story actually, and find this palette quite underrated since I didn't see a lot of people talking about it though, despite how popular and overrated Kylie Cosmetics is. In my experience with the few products I've had, I just wasn't blown away by the quality, especially for the price. But still, I find this interesting:
I've been using this palette for the last 2 weeks now so I think I have a pretty solid and clear opinion of it now.
Pros
I find the color story versatile without being overwhelming. There is a nice mix of dark and light shades, especially with the purples. You can really create a lot of looks that have enough dimension and variation
I love the cool-toned shades in this palette because it really looks well thought out. It's nice and grungey
The eyeshadow formula is pigmented, soft, and build up well. I didn't have any issues getting these shades to show up on my eyes
Cons
As with any Kylie Cosmetics product, I think this palette is overpriced. You're paying more than $40/PHP 2000 for a 9-shade palette in cardboard packaging. Unless you have a small collection or just love cool-toned purples, I find it hard to recommend this palette to people just because it's too expensive. I definitely wouldn't buy this myself
The matte shades are pigmented but they take longer to blend out as they have a dryer and more firmly pressed formula. I wouldn't call this palette beginner-friendly
Trophy has a dry and crumbly formula so you need to foil it with setting spray or put it over eyelash glue/wet primer so it doesn't fall all over your face
De Lanci Purple Palette (Gifted - Not Vegan)
If you're looking for a nice large purple palette, I think this could be a good option. I was also given this palette last Christmas and when I looked around, I found other brands that have this same palette at different prices. So I need to point out that this product is private-labeled by the De Lanci brand. Someone else made it but De Lanci just bought the units and slapped their own branding on it. It's a bit of a scammy practice that many indie brands are guilty of doing. The Morphe Brand is also guilty of doing this, btw.
At best, this is a temporary thing that small brands do when they're starting out before they have the money to come up with their own products. But at its worst, De Lanci will continue doing this while continuing to claim complete responsibility for everything about its products. I'm featuring this palette to make people aware of this and I will be recommending alternatives to this palette from other brands below.
Pros
With 18 shades, this palette is the largest one in this selection and I do think it's good for purple eyeshadow lovers who really want variety in a palette. There is a really nice range of purple shades that you can play with here, especially the mattes
If you prefer your eyeshadow palettes with pressed glitter, this palette is perfect for you. You can use it as a liner or a lid shade. Just make sure to use glitter glue and a silicone brush to pack them on
Calling all pink lovers! The palette has pinks and purples in it, which is something I didn't really see from the other palettes on this list
It really brought out the pink tones in my skin, I'll say that. At least I don't look so pale.
Cons
I find the colors of the metallic shades a bit disjointed. I do think copper and pink does go with purples, but if you wanted to make an all-purple look, you don't have a light metallic purple to use in this palette. I think this palette could do with a light pastel purple metallic and a rose gold glitter to round it out more
Speaking of light-colored purples, the formula of the bottom left shade is quite confusing. It's too patchy and chalky to use as a crease color but it's not sparkly enough to a lid shade either. It's a dud for me
Another warning about the pressed glitters, they're not that fine so they will irritate your eyes. Please use an adhesive with them
The darker matte shades are quite dry and chalky and a bit hard to blend out, which is disappointing
The person who got me this bought it from the Qing Beauty site, where it's currently on sale for $15/ PHP 750, while it's regularly $20. I believe you can get this cheaper from other brands. If you want a bargain, here are other and cheaper alternatives for you:
Purple Kush Palette (Not Vegan)
I consider this a versatile and colorful palette for people who like sparkle and colors. While this doesn't exactly looking like a purple palette at first glance, I see 5 purple shades and 4 other shades that can complement these purples to create nice, bright, and colorful looks. Admittedly, I hesitated including this in this list but I realized that I didn't have a colorful palette with mostly purples so here we are:
Pros
I quite like the shades and finishes of purple that were chosen for this palette. I think they all go well together and you can come up with some really cool bright looks for this one
The formula of these shades is very soft and pigmented so you really get some vibrant colors as a result
I had an easy time working with these shades because they build up well and blended out seamlessly, despite many of the mattes being pressed pigments
Cons
If you love matte shades, the number of purple mattes in this palette will disappoint you since there are only 2 of them
I find this palette rather expensive since it's a 9-shade palette in cardboard packaging (It's around $35/PHP 1700)
This palette isn't what I'd call travel-friendly in an aesthetic sense. It's is weed-themed, which might get you in trouble if you're in a country going through a bloody drug war (I don't recommend bringing this in your travel makeup bag, leave it at home where it's safe)
I wouldn't really call this palette beginner-friendly because if you're new to using a lot of bright colors and aren't used to pairing contrasting shades yet, this palette will be really intimidating. I definitely think this palette is for people who love color and already have experience pairing different eyeshadow hues together
My Final Thoughts
I honestly didn't expect to be slightly disappointed in most of the palettes in this selection, but I am. Understandably, purple eyeshadow is a bit hard to get right but I'm still surprised about that. If I had to pick my favorite out of these palettes, it would definitely be the Purple Kush palette. Then Violet Chocolate and It's My Pleasure are close seconds.
There are a lot more purple palettes out there so don't feel limited by the palettes I featured here, but if you're looking for a starting point, I hope this article was at least helpful and insightful in helping you find your perfect purple palette.
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