My fave drugstore matte eyeshadows, $10 and under

Hi friends!

First off, I hope everyone in the U.S. had an amazing Thanksgiving yesterday!

In all honesty, I wanted to post a video today but unfortunately my skin decided to go crazy this week (something that doesn’t normally happen to me), and I just couldn’t face going in front of the camera. Sorry about that, but I do have some drugstore recommendations for you! I love a cheap (but great) beauty find, so today I thought I’d briefly tell you about some of my favorite drugstore matte eyeshadows that will only run you $10 at the most. I’ve been absolutely loving an all-matte eye look lately. It’s classic & very flattering for all ages. It’s also perfect during the daytime for work or school.

Great matte shadows can be a little elusive to find and tempermental to work with. Sometimes even high-end brands can’t do them well. Some require a sticky base like a primer to grab onto the eye properly, while others catch and skip unless blended over a smooth surface. They generally need more blending and finesse than shimmer or metallic shadows, so finding good mattes at the drugstore level is like finding a diamond in the rough!

So, my list of recommendations is no way meant to be an exhaustive list. There are tons of drugstore & other affordable brands out there that produce great quality shadows. This is just a small list for you guys. So let’s start!

ELF COSMETICS MAD FOR MATTE PALETTES 

You really can’t go wrong with these all-matte palettes from ELF. I’ve talked about them on the blog before in this post, and over on my Instagram stories back in the summer. These are absolutely stunning! They blend seamlessly with no skipping, have beautiful pigmentation and great longevity. I have two, in Nude Mood & Summer Breeze, but I believe ELF does a few more in other color varieties. At $10.00 for ten awesome–quality shadows, I think these are a steal and I truly recommend them if you’re looking for mattes at a low price point. I’d say these are my top picks.

Pictured, top left panel – Nude Mood – Shop from ELF or Ulta

Picture, bottom left panel – Summer Breeze – Shop from ELF or Ulta

PHYSICIAN’S FORMULA MATTE COLLECTION QUAD EYE SHADOW 

This is an unexpected one. While Physician’s Formula is not primarily known for eyeshadow, they do have some hidden gems. Canyon Classics, pictured above, has been around forever and for good reason: it’s absolutely beautiful on the eyes! It’s in small, dinky, unattractive packaging that you wouldn’t look at twice, but I tell you it’s very deceiving. It’s an all-matte quad of very cool-toned shadows that are absolutely perfect for subtle daytime looks. The matte grey, in particular, blends better than some greys I have from MAC! If you haven’t tried this guy already, or haven’t dug it out of your collection in forever, I suggest you do. The swatches above look terrible, but don’t get too hung up on that. On the eyes, the pigment & blendability are definitely there. This will run you about $8.00 or so depending on where you shop.

Shop from Rite Aid here or Walgreens

WET N’ WILD COLOR ICON PALETTES

If you’re in the market for more affordable mattes than either ELF or Physician’s Formula can provide, go straight to Wet n’ Wild then. Their Color Icon Palettes & Quads contain amazing quality mattes for a tiny price tag. Impressive color, easy blending and only minimal fading (over a primer). I’m not sure if Wet n’ Wild has made an all-matte palette or quad yet, but the quads usually contain at least one matte transition shade and the palettes can contain anywhere up to eight mattes (but that does vary). The Color Icon Quads are a mere $2.99, while the Palettes are $4.99 for ten shadows. Seriously, you can’t wrong! If you’re interested in an in-depth review of a Wet n’ Wild palette, see my post on the Comfort Zone Palette.

Pictured, left two panels – Rose in the Air – Shop from Wet n’ Wild here or Ulta

Pictured, right two panels – Comfort Zone – Shop from Wet n’ Wild here or Ulta

*HONORABLE MENTION: Maybelline City Mini Palette in Matte About Town. Unforunately mine has since gone missing from my collection, but I’d like to continue playing with this one before I can definitely recommend it. That being said, I was really impressed with this palette the last time I used it. Maybelline is notorious (in my mind) for horrible shadows, so I think this must be a new formulation for them. It was about time! The mattes applied very well and stayed on all day without much fading.

 

Have you tried any of the products mentioned in this list? Do you have any drugstore recommendations for me? I’d love to know!

xo, Erica

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