A neutral eyeshadow palette is the ‘little black dress’ of makeup: it’s versatile, it can fit into any social occasion and everyone should own one. Make-up is a form of art and self-expression; people can get creative by using products to transform themselves completely.
One moment we are doing bold eye looks and spending 3 hours blending highly pigmented colours, and the next we are doing ‘minimal, clean girl’ makeup looks. But, there’s one thing in our makeup bag that’s consistent: a neutral eyeshadow palette.
With that in mind, we have rounded up 10 of the best natural eyeshadow palettes available to buy in Australia. Read on for our top picks.
10 of the Best Neutral Eyeshadow Palettes
Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette
Achieve soft glam on the go with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam II Mini Eye Shadow Palette – the ultimate travel-ready companion for a day-to-night makeup look.
This petite powerhouse combines warm and cool neutral tones, featuring six beloved shades from the iconic Soft Glam palette, along with two from the Norvina collection. Embrace the perfect balance of matte, satin, and metallic finishes, each fully pigmented and effortlessly blendable. From soft and natural to bold and captivating, this palette invites endless artistry.
Eye of Horus Eyeshadow Compact Dusk
Eyeshadow Compact Dawn by Eye of Horus is a mini palette that contains four highly pigmented warm-toned shades, both matte and shimmery. This eye palette features copper/bronze earthy shades that can be used on their own or all together to create a warm smokey with a shimmery shade in the centre.
The smooth and velvety shades are enriched with Moringa Oil, Desert Clay and Goldenseal. The Compact Dusk is refillable, with 100% natural, vegan-friendly and ethically sourced ingredients.
Kosas Undressed Eyeshadow Palette
Mecca reviewers hail the Kosas Undressed Eyeshadow Palette as the ‘perfect’ natural eyeshadow palette. It features 7 velvety matte and 1 radiant shimmer shade, ideal for everyday wear or a glam base.
The shades are enriched with moisturising shea butter, cucumber extract, squalane, and vitamin E, giving a creamy, not chalky, texture that blends effortlessly. The palette is hypoallergenic, vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free and talc-free for those looking for a safer option.
DIOR Backstage Eyeshadow Palette
Bring the energy of the DIOR runway show to your beauty routine with the Backstage Eyeshadow Palette. Versatile, high-quality and long-wearing, the palette is everything you expect from a luxury brand.
These palettes offer variations of neutral shades to metallic finishes to suit different skin tones and makeup looks. In terms of application, the shades are moderately pigmented and buildable.
M.A.C Connect In Colour Eyeshadow Palette – Unfiltered Nudes
Unfiltered Nudes is a more recently released palette from M.A.C intended as an alternative (or potentially replacement) of their legacy eyeshadow palette ‘Nude Model’ from the Art Library collection.
This is everything you need in a neutral palette, including twelve universally flattering shades in matte, satin, shimmer, and metallic finishes. You can achieve everyday chic to bridal beauty with this palette’s versatile shade range.
It’s a dream to apply with a lightweight, silky-smooth texture and is M.A.C’s most pigmented formula ever.
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay Palette
Bloom Clay eyeshadow palette by Tarte is a cult favourite and award-winning palette. It includes 12 shades and a mix of mattes and shimmers as well as both cool and warm tones great for different skin types.
Tarte Tartelette in Bloom is enriched with Amazonian clay to prevent smudging and it’s organised in three rows to make it easier for colour coordination.
ILIA The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette
The Necessary Eyeshadow palette from ILIA comes in two neutral eyeshadow palettes: warm nude and cool nude. This palette contains four velvety matte shadows and two metallic finishes perfect for everyday looks. It’s a talc-free formula, cruelty-free, vegan and enriched with vitamin E, Jojoba seed oil and Honeysuckle Flower Extract.
Too Faced Born This Way The Natural Nudes Complexion Inspired Eye Shadow Palette
Too Faced Born This Way Neutral eyeshadow palette is designed with a special concept: 16 nude eyeshadows inspired by different skin tones. 8 of which are matte shadow and their corresponding sparkling shades. The makeup looks that you can create with this neutral eyeshadow palette are natural and day-to-day looks with a touch of sultry feeling to it.
Creating a brown and neutral smokey eye is also possible but for lighter skin tones.
Eco By Sonya Signature Palette
Eco by Sonya Signature Palette is a basic nude eyeshadow palette: it contains a white shadow, a warm-toned and a cool-toned matte shade, and a gold shimmer.
It’s a simple nude mini palette, great for beginners in makeup to start getting more comfortable with eyeshadows. But for the price, I don’t think it offers enough possibilities with eye looks.
Nude by Nature Natural Illusion Eye Palette Classic Nude
Illusion Eye Palette in Classic Nude by Nude by Nature is a nice compact palette containing 5 neutral shades. This palette is more on the cool-toned side and can be a little sheer on darker skin tones.
The formula is very light and velvety and it’s enriched with oils and antioxidants. This mini palette comes with a double-ended eyeshadow brush that helps with the application of shimmers and the other side helps to create a wing.
What are neutral colours for eyeshadow?
@jourdansloane
Neutral eyeshadow palettes are timeless and versatile. They can create numerous make-up looks from simple, everyday looks to glamorous and eye-catching ones.
The colour story in each palette is created to flatter every complexion and enhance the eyes. They can vary from cool-toned to warm-toned shades in order to complement all skin tones and eye colours. Most eyeshadow palettes have neutral shades, brown shades and cool tones like grey or taupe.
- Nude and Earthy Colours: Include a shade range that can serve as a base, highlight or blending colour. Nude eyeshadow should match the skin tones of each individual, beige is also a soft colour that can be used as a base colour, taupe is greyish brown, on the side of the cool tone, that can be used as a transitioning colour or contour the crease, and then there’s cream, soft peach, caramel or light pink colours that should match the colour story of a neutral eyeshadow palette.
- Contrast Colours: The main colours include more pigmented and deeper shades that give the eye makeup an elevated look and create dimension. You can find different shades of brown or grey that can be used all-over the lid colour or for a smokey eye.
- Shimmer and Metallic: Besides matte shades, you can find metallic eyeshadows, shimmery shades and many more depending on the shadow palette.
How to Choose a Neutral Eyeshadow Palette
At this point, I think that all makeup artists agree that a neutral eyeshadow palette is a must-have in your makeup bag. But, if you don’t have one yet, or everybody’s best eyeshadow palette doesn’t seem to be working for you, here’s a little guide to help you choose the right ones.
- Tones:
One of the most important things when choosing a neutral eyeshadow palette is deciding on the tones. The right tones should complement your eyes and depend on the skin tones and eye colours.
Start identifying your undertone: warm, cool or neutral. Your nude eyeshadow palette should have a mix of light, medium and dark shades that you can mix to create multiple eye makeup looks. Besides brownish or greyish tones, you can choose a few complementary tones that make your eyes pop, like peachy or pinkish.
- Finishes:
Texture and finishes are important to consider too when you’re choosing an eyeshadow palette. You can choose between satin and matte shades or metallic and shimmer finishes.
Matte eyeshadows should be in a few shades because they are used to contour the eye and create dimension. They can be in the same shade with your skin tone and a few shades darker.
Shimmer shades are generally used to add a glamour touch to the eye and highlight certain points like the inner corner of the eye. Satin finishes are less intense shimmers, perfect to be used all over the lid, while metallic eyeshadows are highly pigmented and intense, perfect for dramatic eye looks.
Depending on whether you’re looking for a day-to-day palette or a special occasion palette, you can choose the right mix of tones and shades.
How to Do a Neutral Eyeshadow Look
A neutral eyeshadow palette is a versatile makeup product and it’s important to play and experiment with it until you find what works for you. In case you’re a beginner, here’s a guide on how to create a neutral look.
You’ll need your palette of choice, a primer and an eyeshadow brush.
- Start with applying your primer of choice.
- Choose a nude eyeshadow or a shade close/slightly whiter than your skin tone and apply eyeshadow all over the lid to create a smooth base.
- With your fluffy brush, apply a medium-toned shade (a medium brown or taupe) into the crease and use wiper motions to blend it.
- On the outer corner of the eye, with the same brush, pick up a darker shade and apply it following a ‘V’ shape. It’s important to keep blending to achieve a smooth transition.
- With your finger, pick a medium-toned or rose/peachy shimmer shade and apply it all over the lid.
- Add a light shimmer on the inner corner of the eye.
- With a clean fluffy brush and a skin-toned shade, go over the eyelid and blend all the colours together to eliminate sharp transitions.
Wrap Up
A neutral eyeshadow palette is a must-have and a reliable product in your makeup bag. It helps create a variety of looks for different occasions. Whether you’re a makeup artist or just getting started in the makeup world, a neutral eyeshadow palette will be your best friend.
