Confessions of a Palette Addict Tag & Palette Reviews

I wanted to do a post about my palette collection and I found a really informative way to do it through the "Confessions of a Palette Addict" tag. There are specific questions to answer and I'll list them below (providing as many photos as possible). I added a few questions of my own because there were some palettes I wanted to highlight, I've marked these questions with an asterisk (*). If you want to see any photos larger, click on them and they will expand to full size!

Questions:

1. How many makeup palettes do you have? I have 51 palettes in total (counting all palettes that have 4 or more wells of product).

2. How many of those are eyeshadow palettes? 50 are eyeshadow palettes, many of my palettes also include blushes (Be Bright & Be Merry, City Color Dreaming of Fantasy, Tokidoki palettes, Jasmine, Balm Voyage, and a custom mixed palette).

3. How many are non eyeshadow palettes? All except for my concealer palette, pictured below (so I own 50 eyeshadow palettes). I purchased this from eBay, it was very inexpensive, is good quality and great for contouring and having a wide range of colors.

4. What are you top 3 favorite palettes?

I have to give first place to my beloved Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette (unfortunately this was a very limited edition run). I absolutely love the color selection, you can create dozens of different looks with this and I don't even mind that there are no matte shades. I found my favorite shade with this palette, it is Curiouser in the palette but better known as Grifter eyeshadow single by Urban Decay.

I love Kat Von D's palette "Saint", which is very travel friendly, neutral oriented, but still contains a large range of colors, I can always create a nice muted look with this. The shades are very buttery and smooth and rival Urban Decay shadows in terms of pigmentation.

A nostalgic love of mine is the Disney and Sephora Cinderella collaboration. This palette brings me back to my childhood and combines beautiful and functional packaging with 20 eyeshadows that pack a punch. I am a huge fan of the greens and blues (specifically the light blues) for an ethereal princess look.

5. What are your palette regrets? I don't have too many palette regrets because I usually purchase them when they're on sale (unless they were limited edition) and I get a lot of use out of my palettes.

Although I picked this palette up at Nordstrom Rack for a measly $6 (it normally retails for $30 at Sephora), I wasn't very impressed with the pigmentation of these shades. Although they swatch well, they are not easily blended, buttery, and tend to have chunky glitter fall out. I also don't think the colors in this palette create nice looks together or are complementary. 

Another palette regret is the Tokidoki Arte Palette in Vegas, the pigmentation is just poor on these shades even though the color selection is pretty, so I don't reach for it.

6. How many limited edition or Holiday palettes do you own? So many. Here is a list: Tokidoki  Robbery Palette Trio, Too Faced Joy to the Girls and Be Merry & Be Bright and small holiday palette, the Tarte of Giving, Tarte's Bow n Go, Tarte for True Blood, Sephora Pantone Universe Elements Palette. Urban Decay: Glinda, Mariposa, Deluxe Shadow Box, NYC palette, Alice in Wonderland, Butterfly Book of Shadows IV, ELF Ursula & Evil Queen, Sephora + Disney: Cinderella, Ariel and Jasmine, City Color Dreaming of Fantasy, MAC Devoted Poppy, Estee Lauder Holiday Palette

7. How many of your palettes are custom? 6

I have 2 vintage custom MAC palettes with colors I chose and 1 new regular MAC eyeshadow palette full of Urban Decay singles and miscellaneous others.

 I have 2 Z palettes, one contains my domed shadows and blushes, the other is miscellaneous shadows. I also have a double-sided MAC palette filled with my Wet n Wild depotted shadows.

8. Of the palettes you own which 1 palette would you say wasn't worth the price?

My answer has to be the Dior 5-color shadow palette in 809 Petal Shine. Although the colors are beautifully pigmented and buttery smooth, the color payoff is good, but the price overall doesn't justify the purchase. I think you can find good dupes of these colors at the drugstore.

9. Of the palettes you own which 1 palette was worth every penny?

My custom Wet n Wild palette is extremely useful to me. It has 8 trios (Walking on Eggshells, Silent Era Film [LE], Sweet as Candy, I'm Getting Sunburned, Spoiled Brat, Cool as a Cucumber, I've Got Good Jeans, I'm Feeling Retro) and 3 of the 8-pan palettes (Comfort Zone, Petal Pusher, and Flirting at the After Party [LE]). These eyeshadows are among some of the best, rivaling high end companies. They are buttery, very pigmented, easily blendable, and beautiful all while being so inexpensive!

10. In the last 12 months how many palettes have you given away or returned? 7+ were given as gifts.

11. If for some reason one morning you woke up and all of you palettes vanished, which 3 palettes would you run out and get?
The Naked 1 palette (I feel it has the most variety of warm neutrals which I tend to reach for on a daily basis and for an easy beautiful look), my Wet 'n Wild custom palette for all the same reasons I mentioned before, and Balm Voyage for beautiful pops of unique colors, great quality and large pan sizes.

Naked 1 Palette

Balm Voyage

*12. What is your most loved/oldest palette?
The Estee Lauder Deluxe Shadow Palette (from the Holiday Gift set - I forget which year!), this was my very first palette and I received it as a birthday gift from friends of mine! I absolutely loved it and it's one of the things that got me so into makeup. The colors are so smooth, soft and easy to use, they blend well and go together perfectly for a variety of unique looks.

*13. What is the best palette for special occasion/wedding makeup?
From my collection, I absolutely love the Tarte for True Blood palette for special occasions. It has some wonderfully soft colors which can be pumped up with dark accents. It was absolutely stunning for my wedding makeup (which I did myself!) and it lasted all day. It actually far exceeds the current quality of Tarte eyeshadows, which I'm not too crazy about, partially because the color selection is so poor in their new palettes.

*14. What are some honorable mentions or palettes you'd like to share with exceptional quality?
I have to give a big shout out to my beloved Tokidoki Robbery Palette Trio, which has a wonderful color selection and nice blushes as well, and the City Color Dreaming of Fantasy palette which I snagged on eBay for an absolute steal! This palette is so cute and the colors are only slightly powdery but very soft and pigmented, so worth the purchase... Plus look at the packaging!