Decluttering My Eyeshadow Palettes… Again.

After doing a huge declutter of my makeup stash a couple of months ago which left me with six eyeshadow palettes, I found that each of those palettes only offered a limited amount of shades that I was using consistently and even then, I was barely ever reaching for anything other than my trusty Urban Decay Ultimate Basics palette due to pure laziness. So, the idea of depotting and gathering most of my favourite shades in one place seemed like the best way to go. More conducive to daily creativity and best for reducing the clutter in my makeup drawers. After all theres no point keeping full eyeshadow palettes that go unused around. The only two that have remained untouched are the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette (discontinued) and the Urban Decay Naked Cherry palette. The other four have been torn apart and today I’ll be sharing with you what shades I chose to keep around.

The magnetic palette I decided to go with due to quick shipping convenience is from Morphe. They offer the Empty Magnetic Palette in three sizes; small, medium and large. I decided to go with the medium size and it turned out to be perfect for what I needed. It also comes with a nice mirror, which isn’t the case for their eyeshadow palettes. The Morphe shadow pans are also not magnetic which I thought was quite ironic.

THE DEPOTTING

I got into the process with zero preparation. So it was a mess. After prying open the palettes, I went through a full sized lighter heating up the bottom of the plastic casing in order to loosen up the glue, after which I used a sewing needle on the side of the shadow pans to lift them off. Many plastic fumes and many broken shadows in the process. Especially with the Morphe palette. The others lifted reasonably easily, however Morphe seems to really love their glue. If you attempt this with as little preparation as me, I recommend doing it outdoors and making sure you heat up the pan sufficiently, as attempting to lift them prematurely will result in the thin metal shadow pan bending, which will result in a shattered shadow. Having some Isopropyl Alcohol on hand to re-press shadows is very useful. Some of the shadow pans are also not magnetic (Morphe), so you’ll need some magnetic adhesive sheets or stickers. These can be found online or more accessibly at your local dollar store.

BECCA VOLCANO GODDESS PALETTE

The Volcano Goddess palette has some of my favourite shimmer and glitter shadows, however it is quite cool toned, especially along the bottom row. I have chosen to keep my absolute favourites. From top left; Granite, Gilded, Haze, Red Rock, Hematite, Midnight Sapphire. These were super easy to depot without causing any damage to the shadows.

MORPHE 35O NATURE GLOW PALETTE

I find Morphe shadows to be quite average and with a palette as large as the Nature Glow, I find that the shades are far too similar to each other to warrant keeping them all around. I chose to keep two brown shades, one light and one dark, both warm toned. From the centre of the palette I decided to keep two red toned shades, very similar to each other, one matte and one shimmer. These were a real nightmare to depot. Not only are the shadow pans glued on WELL, but the plastic case is also glued on together. Even with carefully cutting through the plastic tray, there were many casualties.

ZOEVA CARAMEL MELANGE PALETTE

Zoeva shadows are, in my opinion, very similar in performance to Morphe. I have not been getting much use from the Caramel Melange, however I could not part with the beautiful shimmers, gorgeous purple shade and Start Soft which is a great transition, or all over shade for an easy eye look. Liquid Centre is a stunner and one of my favourite molten glitter look shadows.

REVOLUTION SOPH X PALETTE

The Revolution Soph X palette has been a true favourite of mine. It is so affordable, the shadows are so pigmented and apply so seamlessly that I think it is a truly special find. Shades Cuppa Tea and Danger, especially (on the very right) are such favourites of mine that they make this whole palette worthwhile. Festive Flame, at the very bottom is a perfect shimmer companion to Danger, while Pine Tree (just above) is a unique mossy green shade to my collection. Sparks Fly and Smokey Bronze just above are shade variations of the same concept, one with a more brown undertone and the other with more copper running through it. Overall, if you are looking for a fantastic eyeshadow palette from the drugstore, I HIGHLY recommend this one. I love every shade in here and the potential for creativity is endless! I just don’t really use them enough in my daily, boring neutral routine so I’ve kept what I tend to reach for on a regular basis.