Perfect winter eyeshadow shades

One of my unwritten promises to myself for 2015 was to wear more colorful make up. Especially eyeshadow, because eyeshadow was my first make up love and I was never afraid of a good deal of color. Over the years, my attention shifted to lipstick for a bit and so a more neutral eyelook was thrown into the mix. To try and keep my promise to myself, I decided to find my 5 favorite winter eyeshadow shades. I went, I found and I used all 5 shades in one colorful yet winter-fabulous make up look.

When I think winter, I think warm and dark shades. I also love those in fall, but for winter I tend to narrow it down a bit more. In fact, my winter make up look is not too different from my fall make up look. I still love me some golds, cranberries and purple-y mauves with a hint of dark blue thrown into the mix. I don’t know why, but winter = navy blue eyeshadow for me.

Rimmel Glam Eyes Mono eyeshadow in 130 Tribute

This mauve toned eyeshadow is one of my favorite drugstore shades. I picked it up a long time ago when there was a sale on all Rimmel products. Rimmel isn’t a brand I reach for often. I like their lip products best, but the rest of the line? Nope, not a fan. The fact that I like this eyeshadow this much is quite telling. It’s shimmery, it’s a neutral with pink and purple undertones and perfect as a base, or the way I used it in the look below: in the crease.

L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in 889 Midnight Blue

I bought this eyeshadow in the US of A, as L’Oreal is a lot cheaper there than it is here in Holland. I have several shades of the line, but this navy blue is always a winner. It has a deep true navy base with lots of brighter, midnight blue reflects. I used this in the outer V in the eyelook below, but I have worn this shade all over the lid, smoked out on the lower lashline and in the crease. It’s a very versatile color and combined with greys and a good cream highlight a great way to create an ‘icy’ look.

MAC Cranberry

MAC’s Cranberry is a cult favorite, but not one of the shades I reach for the most. I find that cranberry only looks good on me if I pair i with just the right colors. Hence the lack of use you can see on this shade. The red combined with my brown eyes can easily make for that ‘sick’ look and that’s not what we want. I have yet to find the perfect way of combining this, but below you can find this shade all over the center of my lid.

MAC Star Violet

A MAC shade that has seen much more use is Star Violet. I even nicked it with my nails and there is a bit of a visible dip. I wear this more because it has more of a purple/ brown undertone and thus suits my eyes a lot better than Cranberry. They are however, quite comparable in intensity and effect. Cranberry is mainly brighter, but I am wearing Star Violet on my lower lashline in the pictures below, but it might as well have been Cranberry if you didn’t know any better.

Urban Decay Sustainable Palette Half Baked

The final shade is an oldie but a goodie, yet presented in an unexpected way. Half Baked is a shade that has been around Urban Decay’s line for ages, but it is of course most famous for being featured in both the Naked 1 and Naked 2 eyeshadow palettes. However, one of my first Urban Decay palettes also featured this stunning warm toned gold. The sustainable palette is no longer available and features many super glittery shades. Half Baked definitely stands out and I thought it would be fun to show you a different palette to change things up. Half Baked is in the inner corner in the look below.

Swatchy time! When I shot this picture I knew I couldn’t write this post and NOT include an eyelook using all 5 shades. I thought the shades go together quite nicely and, come on, just look at that pigmentation for a minute. BOOM! Color! The stand out colors to me are Half Baked and Midnight Blue.

I created this look by starting off with some of Rimmel’s Tribute in my crease, then I moved to the inner corner and made my way to the outer corner of my eye applying the different shades. I finished off the look with a touch of mascara and a creamy matte highlight shade on the brow bone.

What are your favorite winter eyeshadow shades?