Perfect Palette Tag(s) Cruelty-free Style!

After a week of heavy deliberations, I am ready to report that beautyforgood.net has some answers to the Perfect Palette Tags!

First off, a shout-out to Melissa and Kate, aka ILUVFACES1042 on YouTube, for the being the geniuses behind this tag.  And, a shout-out to the lovely curlyspringblossom.com for proving to me that bloggers can, in fact, participate in vlogger tags 😉

The current rage is actually for take 2 of the Perfect Palette tag, but since I didn’t get to participate in the original one, I’ve decided to combine them in this post.  I’ve also decided to tweak the rules a bit.  Specifically, in some cases there was one palette that I felt deserved to be awarded multiple categories.  In other cases, I felt that I really needed to have multiple awardees, so I’ve allowed myself to have them.

Here are the questions!

 

PERFECT PALETTE TAG (original)
1. Best Packaging
2. Best Color Payoff
3. Most Versatile
4. Best for Traveling
5. Biggest Regret
6. Best Color Names
7. Least Used
8. Most Used/Most Loved/Desert Island

PERFECT PALETTE TAG 2
1. Eyeliner, brush or nothing
2. A palette you have hit pan on
3. Favorite “naked” palette
4. Favorite holiday or limited edition palette
5. A palette you would repurchase or wish you had a backup (if it is no longer available)
6. A shade you wish was sold individually
7. Wild card (pick a question from the original Perfect Palette Tag to answer again)
8. The palette you would recommend to a friend

And… here are my answers (in no particular order)!

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First off, in the category of Eyeliner, Brush, or Nothing, I have to go with brush.  It’s not that I always necessarily think the brush is all that and a bag of chips, but I really like having that little holder available in case I want to travel with the palette.

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A Palette I’ve Hit Pan On… sadly none.  But the palette in which I’ve come closest is my Sigma Beauty Bare Palette.

This was one of the very first palettes I ever purchased, and I’ve definitely made a dent in both Elope and Approach.  I don’t believe the palette is still available, but I know at least these two shades are being sold individually.

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Of the various “Naked” palettes, I only have the original Naked and Naked 2.  When I purged all of my non cruelty-free products, I kept these two because I’d purchased them before Urban Decay was bought by L’Oreal.  My winner will likely be controversial, but I have to give Favorite “Naked” Palette to Naked 2.

Now, in terms of shades, the original is probably more versatile.  That said, I think I bought this before the original and I’ve used the c&*p out of it.  Yes, I hate Chopper, but there were weeks when my looks just alternated between combos of Snakebite/Suspect or Pistol/Verge and I continue to be completely obsessed with YDK and am ever vigilant in my quest for dupes.

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As far as I’m concerned, the clear winner for both Best Packaging and Best Color Names has got to go to The Balm Cosmetics.  The best example of their general awesomeness on both of these fronts that I have in my collection is the Balm Jovi Palette.

Their packaging always has this clever, retro vibe, but more importantly, they are one of the brands that gets it about mixing cream and powder products in the same palette.  The creams need their own little door 🙂  Plus, these names.  I mean, come on.

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Next up, another 2-categories winner, Best Color Payoff and Favorite Limited Edition Palette goes to Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made.

The buttery, luxiouriousness of the shadows is matched only by their aforementioned color payoff and blendability.  In addition, you may recall how I feel about limited edition products in general, however, this one has a couple of mitigating qualities.  First, the brush that comes with really is a very high quality brush.  Second, and perhaps even better, my two favorite shades, Pink Champagne and Hot Chocolate, are part of the regularly available line of individual shadows!

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Yet another 2-categories winner is my Pur Minerals Love your Selfie Palette, winning both for Most Versatile and Best for Traveling.  I think the reason(s) are self-evident 😉

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Now, for Biggest Regret, I chose to interpret this to mean the palette I have in my stash that I regret I don’t use more often… i.e., I love it and need to keep it from getting stuck at the back of my rotation… the Too Faced Natural at Night Palette.

If I designed an eye shadow palette, it would probably be this one.  It’s just in the flurry of all the chocolate bar palettes, I lost my way a little bit 😉

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Speaking of which, the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette is a not 1, not 2, but 3-category winner!  It is hands down my Most Loved/Most Used/Desert Island Palette.

It is also the palette that contains the Shade I Wish Were Sold Individually.  Frankly, I’d be thrilled if Too Faced just relaunched some individual shadows in general, but the first one I’d go for for sure is Amaretto from the Chocolate Bar Palette.

I also have to give Palette you would Repurchase or Wish you had a Backup to my Chocolate Bar Palette, as, in fact, I already have.

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Now for Least Used… In no way does this indicate that I think this is anything less than a fabulous palette, but I just don’t find myself reaching for my Kat Von D Innerstellar Palette.

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Last but not least, I have 2 picks for The Palette I would Recommend to a Friend.  Said friend, in my mind, is the over-30 beauty who is looking for makeup staples, something someone who doesn’t have (or want) a huge makeup collection could get a lot of daily use out of.  My high(er) end pick is the It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Celebration! Palette.  It’s chock full of wearable, highly pigmented matte shades, which can be ‘transformed’ by the more shimmery highlight shades.

Then, my somewhat less spendy pick is the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral Shimmer Palette, available at Target, both brick-and-mortar and online.  Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t pick the Eye on Neutral Matte.  My thought is that this ‘friend’ would be someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of fuss with crease colors and blending and figuring out which shades go together, and I think these slightly shimmery, but not over the top shades provide a cornucopia of one-shadow wonders!

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Alright, that’s it for this tag.  Let me know what your picks would be!

*These are only my opinions, formed through my personal experience as a consumer.  I am not a medical doctor, an aesthetician, or a health/beauty professional.  There is no guarantee what effect, positive or negative, these products may have on anyone else.

**All products were purchased by me from brands that, to the best of my knowledge, are cruelty-free.