A Makeup Artist Guide to the Best Eyeshadow Palettes for Party Season
Dalal Mansour is a professional makeup artist with decades of industry experience. She's also a member of Adore's Customer Experience team! You can follow Dalal's work on Instagram @dalal.m.makeup.
As the end-of-year party season approaches, it’s the perfect time to experiment with some new and adventurous eye makeup looks.
If you're feeling bright and vibrant, smokey and sultry or classic and neutral, we’ve got you covered!
As a makeup artist, I've road-tested all of the below eye-catching palettes to create numerous fun, holiday-season looks from each one.
Being able to create different and versatile looks for various occasions is always a key feature that I look for when I'm buying new eyeshadow palettes.
So here is my curated list of trending eyeshadow palettes that promise to add a touch of glamour to your festive look.
Get ready to upgrade your eye game…
1. Huda Beauty Color Block Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette.
Fast facts:
- A pigment-packed eyeshadow palette that combines mattes, duo metallics, glittery flaked shadows and a water-activated cake liner.
- Easy to blend formula, can be used with a brush or your fingers.
- Minimal fallout.
If you've exhausted your neutral shadows this year, you’ll be ready to experiment with this fun and bold palette from Huda Beauty to bring in the New Year!
The Color Block Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in Orange and Purple allows you to be creative with the range of vibrant colours, textures and the water-activated cake liner too!
This is a go-to for those who want to make a statement.
I used a damp flat brush to press the purple shimmer onto the lid and then using a wet angle brush I added the cake line purple to create a winged liner.
Under the eye, I pressed the orange shimmer on the inner corners, then blended it out with the matte orange.
Bright and fun!
Side note: We all know how amazing and iconic Huda’s eyeshadow palettes are, she has also just dropped a new and limited edition Huda Beauty Pretty Grunge 18W Eyeshadow Palette.
This looks amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on this one too. Do yourself a favour and check it out here!
2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Mini Sultry Eyeshadow Palette.
Fast facts:
- Contains 9 eyeshadow shades from soft neutrals to bright sparkly tones.
- For a more intense colour payoff, pair the metallic shades with a setting spray.
- Use the deeper matte shades to define the lash line.
As the name suggests, this palette is the epitome of sophistication.
With a mix of cool-toned mattes and high-shine metallics, Sultry by Anastasia Beverly Hills is perfect for creating smouldering, party-ready eyes.
The versatility of shades makes it ideal for both subtle and bold looks.
I created the party favourite, “bronze smokey eye” with this palette, keeping it light and shimmery in the inner, bronze in the centre and smoked out the outer corners.
This palette really has it all and the high colour payoff and buildable intensity make it easy to use.
Classic and smokey!
Editor's note: It appears you guys are already across how *stunning* this palette is, so much so it's sold out at the time of publishing. In its place, we suggest the Anastasia Beverly Hills Mini Soft Glam EyeShadow Palette as a close alternative.
3. Napoleon Perdis Glam Desires Eyeshadow Palette.
Fast facts:
- A limited-edition eye palette with 8 luxurious shades in matte and shimmer finishes.
- Each shade delivers high pigment and long-wearing dimension.
- Formulated with vitamin E for luxurious application and wear.
Set the holiday party mood with this mix of sparkling pinks, neutral browns and rich burgundy tones in the Glam Desires Palette.
The perfect mix of shimmers and matte shadows, these eight shades can take you from day to night and everywhere in between.
This palette’s diverse shades provide endless possibilities for creating some stunning eye looks.
For this look, I softly washed a neutral matte shade all over my lid, then pressed the jewel pink/purple shimmer onto the centre of the lid.
This effect adds a pop of shimmer just to the middle of the lids and can help to open up the eyes.
Subtle yet effective!
4. NYX Professional Makeup Ultimate Shadow Palette - Vintage Jean Baby.
Fast facts:
- 16 shades in matte, metallic and shimmer.
- Includes neutral and blue-toned shades.
- One-swipe colour payoff finishes.
This vintage denim-inspired palette contains the perfect mix of pops of colour and neutral, so many options here!
From faded blues, metallic greys, soft pink and neutral nudes, this palette will get you through all occasions this season, from a casual day party or complete holiday glam, you can create a multitude of looks with this palette.
I wanted to showcase the blue shades for this look, so I've created a mid-tone smokey eye using the blue shades and added the blue shimmer on the under/inner corner for a touch of sparkle!
Playful to party!
Final Thoughts.
Whether you're aiming for a classic smokey eye over the festive season or a bold and glittery masterpiece for NYE, these eyeshadow palettes will be essential for creating some artistic magic over the holidays.
Choose a palette that gives you options to create a range of looks to suit your style.
Remember to experiment with colours and placement on the eye- you’ve worked hard all year, time to get glammed and have some fun!
Curious what other makeup looks and products we're loving for party season? Check out these BIQs:
