YVES SAINT LAURENT Couture Variations 10-color Eye Palette in Tuxedo €70
*****
This is an almost unbelievable world of combinations here, in a wealth of textures — although they do err on the side of sparkly, a side I have been known to err on lo these many years. It’s suits its name as it does feel very formal, but don’t be put off by strength of the pigments: the key matte shades are there for day, and the deeply rich ones (love the navy) are there to transition you into the evening. The lightest touch has you covered, and the colours stay strong.

ISADORA Eye Color Bar in Nude Essentials €17.50
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These are not rich in pigment, but they are long-lasting, the perfect sort of non-dramatic hue and intensity for a day at the office. This is not damning with faint praise: most of us can’t rock up to the office like we’re ready to go clubbing at the drop of a mouse. If you want to enhance your peepers and still look professional, you won’t do any better than this — but when you are ready to drop that mouse and go out to play on a school night, you may find yourself caught short. The Surf & Sun Eye Color bar is like a Caribbean holiday in a palette, complete with yellow and green, so if you’re more adventurous, you’ll have a blast playing with it. I personally love that purple and teal…

NO 7 Mini Eye Palette €14.25
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Not just for mini eyes, ha ha. Actually, this palette isn’t at all mini, but it is slim. The ‘mini’ designation is, I think, due to the palette’s being comprised of the top shades from No7’s line of eyeshadows. These are surprisingly hefty in terms of pigment, and I’m starting to feel a little bit misled by the whole ‘mini’ designation. I like the container, it’s sleek and looks expensive, which it is so not. I’d pop this in the carry-on and go travelling with it.

CLARINS PARIS Garden Escape 6-Colour Eye Palette €41
**
Love these colours in theory, and as ever, the shades are long-lasting and rich, but that green. I don’t even know what to do with that. I played around with it, and it became apparent fairly quickly that I needed a professional to show me how to do this. If your skillz are up to it, then there’s lots to like here. If you have The Fear of mad colours, go with a classic Clarins palette.

FUSCHIA MAKE-UP The Pro Collection €45
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This is fun! You too can walk in the footsteps of many a make-up artist, thanks to Fuschia, by personally selecting each and every color you put in your palette. You can buy a Pro Palette Senoir {€18} or Junior {€18}, and fill it repsectively woth large pans {€7.50} or small ones {€5.50}. Nothing I love better than playing with colour, so once you’ve decided to go big or go small, you can start choosing your hues. Choosing colour online, however, has inherent drawbacks. If you’ve got a good eye and decisive mind, then you are laughing. If you can’t picture the colours on your face — which is totally understandable — this may be seem daunting. I received many compliments recently when I used this, and the look lasted the whole night long.
fuschia.ie

SLEEK MAKE-UP I-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Vintage Romance €10
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These mineral eye shadows have more pigment in one little pan than many palettes have in their entirety. These are very very smokey, and may be hard to manage — but practice, and you’ll get a long-lasting, dramatic look rather than a panda-bearish vibe. For a tenner, this is going to last an age and a half — perhaps even an aeon. There are 13 palettes to choose from, so for the price of many of the above, you can have the eyeshadow department of your beauty regime completely sorted for months to come. See http://www.sleekmakeup.com for the full line.

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