12 Best Eyeshadow Palettes To Get Every Look Right

The best eyeshadow palette for those 'toss it in the bag' kind of days or for when you are on vacation and want to keep things clutter-free. This compact mini eyeshadow palette comes with four super smooth and blendable shadows which are cohesive enough to help you attain a basic, yet classic eye look with two mattes and two shimmers. The matte shadows are buttery and perform amazingly well while the shimmers are quite soft and might need some layering if you're a fan of a blown out shimmery lid. What we love about this one is how affordable they are so you can pretty much buy one in every shade for every makeup mood.

Number of Shades: Four

Finish: Mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Compact size and smoothness of the mattes

What To Consider: The shimmers aren't pigmented enough and have to be layered 

When in doubt, go the Nykaa route! The eyeshadows in this palette are creamy and easy to work with even if you aren't a pro. The ten shades are honestly all you need to create all your looks from day to night. The Sundowner Stunner palette is on our radar for the warm toned pinks and plums that are perfect for the wedding season outings when you want to pack in that extra oomph to any eye makeup. Do make a note that the packaging is a bit flimsy so be careful when opening the palette or else you will end up chipping one of the eyeshadow pans with your fingers.

Number of Shades: Ten

Finish: Mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Creamy feel of the shadows

What To Consider: Flimsy packaging

An OG, the Maybelline New York's Blushed Nudes eyeshadow palette was every beauty YouTuber's go-to back in the day; thanks to the smooth shadows and variety of colour options available in the palette. Out of the twelve shades available in this palette, six are your everyday pinkish nudes, and six are your 'night out' shades with deep greens and neutrals. The mattes are a bit hard pressed so you might have to go in twice and thrice for them to be visible on our eyelids, the shimmers on the other hand don't require much hard work and apply smoothly with minimum effort so consider it a good eyeshadow palette for everyday use.

Number of Shades: Twelve

Finish: Mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Variety of colours

What To Consider: Lack of pigmentation of the matte shades

Each of these twelve shadows are immensely pigmented with some really subdued and vibrant mattes along with six shimmers to add some glam to your eye makeup looks. This great eyeshadow palette from Lakme is enough to take your makeup from boring to fab with a few strokes. Since it has all your bright as well as natural-looking everyday colours, your vanity will be pretty much sorted with this one palette.

Number of Shades: Twelve

Finish: Mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Bright colours and pigmentation

What To Consider: Would have liked more warm shades to be included in the palette

This set of 9-in-1 palettes has a lovely mix of matte and shimmer shades that suit almost every skin tone. The swatches on different skin tones were super helpful in deciding which mix of colours to get! We were drawn to the gentle nudes and earthy hues of the Bare Soul but if you like it a bit bright, then pick Pure Bloom, Wild And Free, or Self Love. Talking about the quality of the eyeshadow palette, it's everything you would want! Smooth, pigmented, easy to blend and a great selection of colours that makes it easier to experiment for different looks. Honestly, one of the best eyeshadow palette by a homegrown brand in the market.

Number of Shades: Nine

Finish: Mattes, satins and shimmers

What We Like: Smooth, pigmented, easy to blend and a great selection of colours

What To Consider: Swatch before buying to see if it the shades will suit your skin tone

Huda Beauty's eyeshadow palettes are the best in business with top-tier formula easily making them iconic. The shadows are creamy, pigmented, blendable and stay put throughout the night so honestly there's little chance of fading here. The shimmers pop like no other and feel smooth like butter. What we love about these mini palettes is how you get the best of the best colour combinations in a palm-sized compact palette which is convenient to carry around when you are doing your makeup on the go.

Number of Shades: Nine

Finish: Satin mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Compact size, creamy, pigmented, blendable and ong-lasting shadows

What To Consider: The shimmers are extremly buttery so there might be some fall out 

Another brand known for their good eyeshadows, MORPHE kills it when it comes to variety since all their palettes look like water colour palettes with every possible hue of colour you could want. Their Truth Or Bare palette is our pick for a fuss free nude eyeshadow palette that has all shades of browns, taupes and neutrals you would every need for any look, be it a barely there no-makeup makeup eye look or a loud smokey eye.

Number of Shades: Eighteen 

Finish: Satin mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Vaiety of browns, taupes and neutral colours and pigmentation

What To Consider: Blending the shadows requires some work

Urban Decay finally launched in India and we can't wait to try out the iconic Naked eyeshadow palette! The brand claims that  each shadow features velvety texture, richly pigmented color, and extreme blend-ability — all good things eyeshadow dreams are made of! The shade ranges with pinks, nudes, burgundy and deep browns is as good as it gets! You can simply use the dusty pink mattes and shimmers to create a soft glow or take your look from day to night with a dramatic smoky rosy eye using the deeper bronze and burgundy shades. 

Number of Shades: Twelve

Finish: Satins, mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Variety of pink, nude, burgundy and deep brown shades and the velvety feel of the shadows

What To Consider: Heavy packaging

With ultra-pigmented mattes, shimmers and metallic hues, this palette from Colorbar has our heart. The long-lasting mattes are formulated to be super smooth and blendable, the striking shimmers have a velvety texture while the metallic hues give a light-shifting finishing touch but hold on, there’s more! There are marble and starry textured shades in the palette that give a glamorous twinkling effect to your eyes. All in all, an all rounder eyeshadow palette that has everything you need to create all your Pinterest-inspired eye makeup looks.

Number of Shades: Twelve

Finish: Satins, mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Soft to touch shadows and variety of colours

What To Consider: Fall out from certain shades

An essential collection of warm and cool tone neutral shades that make for the perfect artistry palette. Featuring six fan-favourites from their iconic Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette plus two shades from their cult-classic Norvina Eyeshadow Palette, Soft Glam II is the perfect combination of matte, satin, and metallic finishes that are fully pigmented and easy to blend to create endless looks from natural to night out. This one doesn't take much time to become your favourite eyeshadow palette since the selection of colours is stunning and the quality of the eyeshadows is even better!

Number of Shades: Fourteen

Finish: Satins, mattes and shimmers

What We Like: The smoothness of the matte, satin and metallic shades

What To Consider: The colour range might feel a little restrictive to few

M.A.C is every pro makeup artist's go-to beauty brand for a reason. Their formula speaks for itself which gives them an irreplaceable spot in the industry. Talking about their nine-shadow palettes, let's call it a well-edited palette of smoky brown hues offering countless colour combinations, all in a rich matte texture. So basically, a palette for matte lovers who aren't into shimmer toppers for their eye makeup and enjoy layering saturated shades for adding depth to their eyes.

Number of Shades: Nine

Finish: Satins, mattes and shimmers

What We Like: Compact size and artistry quality eyeshadows

What To Consider: You might have to get different palettes for accommodating other colour families 

Ten cosmically creamy pigments venture from iridescent amethyst and solar bronze to shocking pink-coral. Six futuristic finishes — velvety matte, mesmerising metallic, luminous shimmer, mind-altering duo-chrome sparkle and transcendental trichrome let you gleam, smoulder and shape your way through a galaxy of looks. All shades are formulated with a next-generation technology to ensure seamless blend-ability and exceptional wear on every skin tone and when it's a Pat McGrath product, you can be assured that the finish will be truly incredible.

Number of Shades: Ten

Finish: Satins, mattes and metallics

What We Like: Butteriness and pigmentation of the shadows

What To Consider: The shade range is not everyone's cup of tea and the 10k price tag

Looking for cream and liquid eyeshadows instead? Check out our list here.