11 Ways to Build Your Own Palette @ ColourPop

Temptalia’s Favorite Things

ColourPop 24-Pan Palette

La Playa

West Star, Heavy Glam, Meteorite, Come and Get It, Prowlin’, Mr. Sandman, Earthshine, Chauffeur, 143, Paradiso, Martian, Karat Cake, Quantum Sleep, Slay-farer, Feathered, Crackle, Up and Up, Conjure Up, Night Dream, Formation, Paper Tiger, Team Captain, Rose All Day, La Playa

Every time ColourPop has run a Build Your Own Palette promotion, I think about posting some options for those who look at the palettes but have trouble putting their own together, as it’s something I’ve done in the past, usually in quads; see: Anastasia (Part 2), Coloured Raine, ColourPop (Part Two), MAC, and Make Up For Ever). It’s actually quite a challenge to create a cohesive 24-pan palette! Part of that struggle comes from gaps in the permanent shade range (more colorful mattes are desperately needed, but there are actually holes in the neutral range, too). I’d try and be so dissatisfied with where my idea was going and scrap it entirely.

Last time (about a month or so ago), I decided to give it a go and really worked my way through it, and now, they’re running the deal again (I don’t know how long the promo will last), though the current pricing is reflective of some recent price increases that have happened to some products in ColourPop’s line-up, so a 24-pan palette is now $50 (used to be $44). You can also get a 12-pan palette for $30 (price is unchanged) or mix with cheek colors with single eyeshadows (prices vary based on your mix!).

Initially, my thinking was to create four, “six-pan” mini-palettes within the larger palette (I’ve shared that below as well) but ultimately started with all of my favorite ColourPop eyeshadows, then whittled those picks down to 24. I started to play around with arrangements to try and make sense out of what I had chosen. The end result was rather satisfying, because it felt like it embodied how I feel about makeup (give me all the color! shimmer! color combos!), included only quality shades (no putting one in that fit the scheme, even if it was so-so in performance), and should encourage creativity (it did so for me when I tried to use the two of the secondary octets that I felt were the “hardest” to use cohesively).

Many readers have enjoyed my makeup look inspiration posts, which showcase “quads” of color. If you’re familiar with those, you’ll know that my philosophy is to specifically exclude brow bone and transition shades as they tend to relate to skin tone. For me, I think about the “core” colors of a look, because it is easier to pair that core quad of colors with your personal go-to shades for your skin tone. I wanted to arrange and create a palette that spoke to this philosophy and how I personally see color combinations. In a way, if you come away from looking at the palette (even in just photos) and can see all of the core quad combos pop out at you, then that’s exactly what I wanted to achieve.

Some of the combinations are easier to try than others, and the ones that are more challenging are there on purpose because I love playing with makeup and color combinations. My favorite part about trying out an eyeshadow palette is coming up with different looks from it (if I can) to see how versatile and nuanced the palette is. If you feel like it’s hard to mix and cool and warm tones, one of my favorite tricks is to use a lighter, brighter shimmery shade between then, e.g. a copper eyeshadow on the inner lid, gold on the center of the lid, and navy blue on the outer lid. You can also visualize the colors coming together vertically, horizontally, sextets, octets, or even as duos.

If you’ve ever created your own palette (with any brand’s singles), I’d love to see what you put together and/or hear about your choices and how you selected your shades!