The lure of a make-up palette full of beautiful colours and bursting with transformational promise is also its main weakness. The palette, the attention- seeking star of any colour-collection launch, will be the most expensive piece and arguably the most covetable. The problem is that most of it will never get used.
“Hitting pan” is a term used to describe finishing or almost finishing an eyeshadow, blusher or pressed powder. Being able to see the bottom of the case that houses the product is the true sign that you have used a shade to death. But how many palettes do you have that you love each shade so much you’ve “hit pan” on all of them, using even that banana yellow eyeshadow and the bright orange lipstick? Probably none.
But the popularity of palettes that contain shades that complement each other and will mostly work for the wearer is proof of the demand. It's the reason Urban Decay Naked palettes, and the dozens of copies from every brand, fly off the shelves.
Customisable palettes are another good option because they ensure you are not wasting money on shades you will never use. Those boring-looking empty squares can be filled with whatever combination of shades and textures you fancy. Building up a collection of shadows that suit you and that you will actually wear is a great idea, and one that brands such as Shiseido, Mac, Bobbi Brown and Make Up Forever all cater for.
The Inglot Freedom system provides the widest variety of options and types of product that can be customised. Choose an empty eyeshadow pan that holds just two shades, or go bonkers and pick up the 40 pan (€30).
But what if you want to mix and match and have different brands in the same palette? Now that is true customisation. Pro products such as Japonesque Lip Palettes or Make Up Forever's metallic palettes have been used by make-up artists for a long time. When the Z Palette came along, it enabled us to put our entire make-up bags into palette format.
Using a magnetic Z Palette (available online) involves ruthlessly prising your favourite items out of their cases, and, if the case is not made from metal, magnetising them with special stickers provided. Instead of carting around a heavy make-up bag, your favourite eyeshadows, lipsticks, blusher and powders of all brands are available in one case.
If the packaging of your products is important to you, this idea will make you feel faint with horror. But it is worth considering if you love the idea of having everything at your fingertips and want to know that eventually you will “hit pan” on every single product.
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AISLING’S PICKS OF THE WEEK
Est
ée Lauder Colour Portfolio
(€59) With more than 50 eye, cheek and lip shades plus eyeliner, there isn’t a make-up lover in the land who wouldn’t sell their granny for one of these kits.
Collection Little Mix All About The Eyes Palette
(€3.99) A neutral palette whose tiny price tag belies its quality. These products are aimed at the teen market, but that shouldn’t prevent everyone from trying them out.
Nars Laser Cut Eye Cheek & Lip Palette
(€45 in Brown Thomas) Eyes, lips and cheek colours in a pull-out drawer palette. The child in me loves these duplex-styled boxes, with their promise of hidden secrets.
Guerlain Petrouchka Eye & Blush Palette
(€77 in Debenhams) A true lust-have: a mix of iridescent and matte eye and cheek colours in a gorgeous design in one of those palettes that screams: “You must have me, even though you don’t need me.”
AISLING LOVES . . .
Charlotte Tilbury Supermodel Gen
ius Video MakeUp Box
(€250) We’ve seen talking make-up kits before, but Tilbury takes it to the next level. A twist on the ballerina boxes of yore: open it up to reveal all the products you need to create the supermodel look in the video tutorial built into the lid.
