Swatchfest of every purple dominated eyeshadow palette I own! (At least, the ones I thought of!) Featured are: Lime Crime Venus III Palette, Huda Beauty Amethyst Obsessions, Coloupop It’s My Pleasure, Ace Beaute Paradise Fallen, Morphe 35P Plum Pleasers, Pinky Rose Cosmetics Circle Transition in Luscious Plum, Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette, Kylie Cosmetics The Purple Palette, and Lime Crime Sugar Plum Pocket Candy.
This is a swatch extravaganza that took awhile to put together! After gathering them all to take pictures and re-sizing the photos, I’d remember I had more purple based palettes and would have to wait for the next sunlight to photograph them. Though I keep buying purple eyeshadow palettes, I realize since dying my hair purple, I hate matching. It’s too cutesy! I hate being cutesy! (I understand my Instagram is cute, but it’s not really who I am.) I even had to retire my orchid colored purse cause it would cause people to squeal in delight upon seeing me. “It’s matches your haaaaair!” Nope. Not having it. No one should be happy to see me.
So you’re probably seeing my assortment and saying, “Well, that’s not a purple palette.” And that’s right, having 2 purple eyeshadows doesn’t make it a purple palette. But first, we need to agree with what purple is:
There’s all kinds of purples of course from blue-based cool purples to warm reddish pink based berries. We have to be able to tell the difference between purple, violet, indigo, lavender, lilac, amethyst, orchid, plum, eggplant, berry and mauve. I’m always surprised at people who can’t describe color. Have you owned a box of crayons? I am using purple as a blanket name to cover all shades of well… purple.
Let’s look at the definition between Purple and Violet. I thought they were used interchangeably like Fall and Autumn. According to wikipedia, they’re different:
“In the traditional color wheel used by painters, violet and purple are both placed between red and blue. Purple occupies the space closer to red, between crimson and violet. Violet is closer to blue, and is usually less saturated than purple.”
An answer on Quora clarifies it differently:
“Violet is a “real” color that exists on the electromagnetic spectrum….sitting between blue and ultraviolet. When you split sunlight using a prism you will be able to see violet on one end. … Purple on the other hand is a perceived color that is a mixture of red and blue.”
As far as lavender vs lilac, one is more blueish and the other leaning towards pink. In addition, this graphic I found also clarifies color names of various shades of purple. If you follow the link, it shows other colors swatches and names. A handy guide for identifying the names of colors. I really need to make a guide explaining turquoise vs teal vs aqua vs mint. I constantly correct people referring to my aqua accessories as teal.
I am covering the eyeshadow palettes that dominate with the colors that are made up of a red and blue mixture. To be honest some of these eyeshadow palettes are barely even purple. And I mean purple, purple. Some of these palettes only have 2 or 3 purples and some are really just berries, plums and mauves. But it falls under the category of red and blue mixtures, therefore I am including them in the extravaganza!
Many of these palettes come with neutrals and warm toned colors to mix it up. I think variety is good, especially if you’re going on a trip. But for some of them I would have wanted them to add 2 or 3 more purple tones in the palette. My ideal purple palette would actually have various shades of purple: warm and cool, light to dark. Basically all of ’em. No purple goes unrepresented! Plus yellows, oranges and gold to provide contrast to compliment the look. I have actually been wanting Violet Voss Hashtag for a long time. I like pairing a cool rich purple with a warm bright sunny yellow and orange. You know, the complimentary and cross-complimentary colors!
People always ask which palette they should get and I always tell them I can never answer that. It’s all personal taste, what you already own, and more importantly… your budget. Perhaps my swatches can help you make a purchasing decision. I like a lot of options, so I want a wide range of color choices. Considering I bought of all these, clearly I wanted every purple in existence.
These are all swatched over Urban Decay Primer Potion. Most of them are 1 swipe, some of them had to be 2. If they look caked or ultra vibrant its because they are on not quite dried primer. Some of them are powdery or crumbly, you can see it in the arm swatches. Remember, colors may look different on various skin tones, also different lighting situations. I usually do indoor and outdoor swatches, but the outdoor swatches aren’t in direct sunlight so they don’t look much different. I guess I wasn’t able to photograph them in time. I always feel like photographing swatches is a race against the clock. At the very least they’re resized so the image is not overwhelmingly huge.
Lime Crime Venus III:
Lime Crime Venus III, $38
Okay so there’s only a purple and a lilac, and then one dusty mauve. An interesting color combination with Bliss, rusty color. I would have chosen a brighter orange but they definitely went with something different. The Venus palettes are supposed to be “grungy” so the colors they chose go with the theme. It’s good to be encouraged to switch it up!
I get approached a lot when I wear the sparkly lilac color! If they sold Beam by itself as a single pan, it would be well worth it! Heavenly is also a nice sparkly shade, with pink shift. I almost passed on this palette and I’m glad I didn’t because those two colors alone are worth my time and money.
If these sparkly colors speak to you, consider using my referral link. You get 20% off your first purchase on Limecrime.com.
Huda Beauty Amethyst Obsessions
Huda Beauty Amethyst Obsessions, $27
This palette is so me that I bought one and my friend bought me one for Christmas! It’s that perfect for me! My other friend who also loves purple makeup purchased the duplicate from me. We were going to Sephora anyway! I’m actually glad I didn’t have to exchange it at Sephora because it deserves a loving home!
This palette contains a good variety, a couple of cooler toned purples and then warmer berries, with various finishes. The deep plum actually looks like a plum on me and not a brown! These colors are so fun, it’s hard to pick a favorite!
This palette is so compact I will not feel guilty packing this as an additional palette when I am traveling!
Colour Pop It’s My Pleasure
Colour Pop It’s My Pleasure, $12
Kittenfish is a really cool color! I haven’t seen any eyeshadow like it! I’m pretty excited to use it! It’s a super pigmented matte lilac.
The deep jewel purple, Chick Lit is one of the most pigmented deep purples. Most of them tend to be plum and look brownish on me, this is cooler and does not disappoint when I want a straight up purple.
It’s My Pleasure is similar, but not the same as Amethyst Obsessions. The dupes aren’t exactly the same either. I think both are affordable enough to purchase both if you’re really itching for purple eyeshadows! If you are on a super budget, I would recommend this one since it’s only $12 at full retail price!
Ace Beaute Paradise Fallen:
Ace Beaute Paradise Fallen, $35
If you have been searching for cool-tones, plus rich deep purples, this is it! I think the Ace Beaute really hit the mark on this. They have 4 purples and one indigo, plus your neutral browns, black, gray and a shimmery white. When you think purple, you probably think of these cooler toned rich purples instead of plums. Plus look at the pigmentation! Orion, the metallic bronze is super pretty and gets used as an all over lid color when I’m going for a quick neutral.
I bought two of these palettes, one for my friend who loves black and purple. She looks great in cool tones, and this entire palette was the perfect holiday gift for her! I really need to check out the rest of the palettes in this collection because I am really impressed with this one!
Pinky Rose Cosmetics Transition Circle Palette in Luscious Plum:
Pinky Rose Cosmetics Transition Circle Palette in Luscious Plum, $22
Red-violets, dusty roses, plus reddish browns and a yellow ochre. If the name of it didn’t clarify, this is a plum palette. Though they look more purple in photos online than worn on the skin, I really like this palette. It’s very flattering and the looks come easily. For my next palette purchase, I am looking to get 80’s Baby, it has a couple of purples, a hot pink, with some yellows and red-oranges. This Luscious Plum palette is my only one from Pinky Rose, but from this one palette I can tell that the quality is really good for an affordable price, so I want to try more!
Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette:
ABH Norvina, $42
The most purple thing about this palette is the packaging! Celestial being the next purple, a sparkly, metallic deep lilac. Soul is definitely more blue based, a deep periwinkle. Drama looks like a deep plum in the pan but comes off a little more brownish on my skin. But that’s on me, colors usually look different on other skin tones.
Even though I don’t find it to be purple enough to really be considered a purple palette, it’s still a well loved palette, as you can see! It has a great base color (Base), transition shades (Incense, Eccentric) and deep mattes (Volatile and Passion.) Plus fun metallic shades (the entire top row!) I have taken this on a trip with me and it did it’s duty because I can do a daytime neutral look and amp it up with the deep shades.
Morphe 35P:
Morphe 35P, $24
You can tell that I was tired of swatching at this point. And theres 35 of them! Don’t let the poor swatches fool you, it’s not a terribly pigmented palette as my photo suggests.
The order in which I swatches them is confusing because it’s not in the correct order. I actually started on the right side because I was only going to swatch the purples. Then I thought, that would be terribly unhelpful if I only swatched half the palette. So the purple side is from right to left (until I ran out of arm space) And then the more neutral side is from left to right.
Cooler purple tones as well as taupey browns, to grays and a redder black and a greener black. I love the metallic lavender swatched first. This palette has you covered if cool tones are your jam. And the value is amazing! My swatches are just bad.
Kylie Cosmetics The Purple Palette
Kylie Cosmetics The Purple Palette, $42
Kylie went all cool tones for The Purple Palette. She included five different purples from lavender to a deep plum. A shimmering pink, metallic antique gold, taupe and cool dark gray are also included. I like pairing purple with gold, and this one is super metallic!
Kylie has a video on her You Tube channel, with Ariel Tejada using The Purple Palette on her. Poor Ariel keeps getting jump scared by his clients. Shay Mitchell likes to get him too! Ariel, if you work on my face I promise I will not scare you! (Ariel is too busy for a lowbie like me, but I wouldn’t dare scare anyone that has a tool on my eyeball.)
Lime Crime Pocket Candy Sugar Plum:
Lime Crime Pocket Candy Sugar Plum, $34
As the name of the palette suggests, it’s plum palette. One with a shimmery lilac, topper shade. The plum is a reddish plum that looks brown on me. The shimmery white is really pigmented and works great as an inner corner highlight.
As of typing this, Lime Crime is having a sale on the Polly Pocket inspired Pocket Candy palettes…. except for this one. Typical! But two others are only $10!
To be extra helpful, I am showing side-by-side arm swatches on the palettes:
Check out my friend whom I mentioned twice in this post! I gave her the Ace Beaute and she bought the Huda Beauty palette off of me. I also gave her a purple Colourpop Blush pictured. She is an artist like me! Follow her at lunatechdesign!
This is a palette I do not have but was able to take a picture of the tester inside Sephora, the Natasha Denona Lila Palette.
Looking at this photo, I see one obvious purple and one plumish color beneath it. Then a magenta, a hot pink, and the rest neutrals. I think it’s funny that it’s considered a purple palette since there’s only two. I have a ton of purple palettes in that case, I have plenty with two purples! Okay I’m making fun. I’m sure it’s a fine palette, I do like and would use every color. But for $129, nooooope not in my budget.
Disclaimer: I bought all of these palettes myself. I am not being paid to write a review for any of these. I am including some referral links in this post because I do not get paid or gifted any products, I can use any form of income I can get!
I have posted the retail price, you should definitely try to get them on sale! I bought most of these on HauteLook so definitely check in every day to see if a brand you like is on sale! I am linking my referral link to HauteLook that gives me $20 if you make a purchase. The Lime Crime referral link saves you 20% and gives 20% of your purchase (using my link) to me.
