I realized recently that I've turned into a snob when it comes to ... well, most things, but especially makeup and skincare. Even if there was an affordable dupe, I would tend toward the most expensive version simply because of how it would look on my vanity or the assumption that cheaper = lower quality, always. Since that realization I've been making deliberate efforts to try a wide variety of brands.
I'm never going to be the girl with a minimalist makeup collection - I like too many different finishes and colors and I love having the option to wear bizarre colors if I so choose. That said, I don't need to spend $50+ on an eyeshadow palette full of yellows & oranges if I only wear those shades a few times a year, ya feel me? I've done that way too often this year, so when Coastal Scents was having a big sale over the 4th of July weekend, I decided to take advantage of some brights (and neutrals) in order to really give some budget shadows a chance.
Coastal Scents Shadow Pots are typically $1.95 a pop, but they often run half-off sales - I'd recommend waiting until one of these sales so you can load up on $0.99 shadows. Coastal Scents has over 350 shadow pots to choose from, so I tried to take my time and do my research. I chose these shades based on a variety of things: if they were recommended by name through makeup artists I trust, if they were highly reviewed on the Coastal Scents website, and if I could find swatches of them in a blog post. The latter factor is partially what's inspiring me to write this - I could find lots of blog posts with swatches, but not for every shade I wanted to try.
I put together a cool-toned palette and a warms & brights palette using Coastal Scent's 12-pan and 28-pan shadow palettes (which are $6 and $10, respectively). There is an option for a solid black palette, but I prefer clear tops, though they get smudged and dirty, so that I can easily see which shadows are where. The palettes are magnetized, too, so it's easy to pop pans in and out with minimal effort.
Click through for a look at swatches of all 40 shades!
