Fall Palette Round-Up + My Favorites

When I look back on the past couple of months, I can't believe the amount of palettes I've tried and reviewed! It seems like these days, makeup brands are constantly launching new palettes, which makes it really hard to choose just one or two...especially when you're on a budget.

I've been getting a lot of questions from you guys, both here on the blog and also on Instagram wondering if one palette is worth buying over another, so I thought I'd do a round-up post so you can see everything in one place. Keep in mind, this doesn't include every palette that launched this fall, only the ones I've personally tried..

Let's get started!

Holiday Sets
This fall so far I've tried four different Holiday sets that included not only eyeshadows, but face products as well.

1. Pur Cosmetics Love Your Selfie 2 ($42 at Ulta)- This little palette has just about everything...8 super soft, pigmented eyeshadows, finishing powder, highlighter/blush, and bronzer. Plus a matte lip crayon that's not drying at all, a beautiful lip gloss, and their Fully Charged mascara which is one of my favorites for getting a soft, full lash look. This was my first time trying Pur's makeup and now I'm hooked...the formulas are beautiful, blendable and high quality. (Read my full review here)

2. Tarte Pretty Paintbox Collector's Makeup Case ($59 at Sephora)- I wasn't crazy about this one from the start...the face powders, mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss were nice but the eyeshadows (which make up most of the palette) had disappointing pigmentation. There were a few standouts but overall it was very hit or miss and not the usual formula we've seen in other Tarte eyeshadow palettes such as the Tartelette and Rainforest of the Sea. (See my full review here)

3. Too Faced Chocolate Shop ($58 at Sephora)- I initially tried this right after the Tarte Pretty Paintbox, so in comparison I felt that it had better pigmentation overall and I really liked the color selection. However, after using it a few more times, I feel like some of the shades are not up to the same level as Too Faced's permanent palette line (such as the Chocolate Bar). It's not terrible by any means, and there are quite a few shades that are stunning and highly pigmented. But you might be disappointed if you're expecting the usual buttery Too Faced formula across the board. (See my full review here)

4. Ciate London x Chloe Morello Beauty Haul ($49 at Sephora)- This was my first time trying Ciate's makeup line and I was so impressed! The eyeshadow palette is so beautiful...I love the shade selection and the formula is super soft and blendable (it reminds me of Lorac's eyeshadows). This set also comes with deluxe versions of their Wonderwand mascara and Liquid Velvet Lipstick. (See my full review here).

All-Matte Palettes
This fall I purchased two all-matte palettes...one that's a bit more high-end and a really affordable option.

1. Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics ($54 at Ulta, Sephora, & Macys)- I was dying to get my hands on this one since I'm a huge fan of Urban Decay's Naked line (and I love matte eyeshadows). I do have mixed feelings about it though...I found the top row to be kind of muted and it didn't show up that well on me, but the bottom row of warmer shades is really pretty. The formula is soft and smooth with not much fallout and pigmentation is good for the most part. I guess I'm just not excited by it most of the time...I feel like there are other palettes I would reach for more often. (See my full review here).

2. bh Cosmetics Modern Neutrals 28 Color Matte Eyeshadow Palette ($12 at bhCosmetics.com)- I was definitely impressed by this one...especially for the price! The eyeshadows are soft and highly pigmented and the color selection is crazy...you get tons of warm and cool shades that you can use to create so many looks. (See my full review here).

Face Palettes
I couldn't wait to purchase both of these face palettes after seeing sneak peeks of them over the summer!

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit in Surreal Light ($80 at Sephora)- This could easily be the most beautiful of all the palettes I bought, from the marble outside to the swirled powders inside. Before I purchased this, the only Hourglass powder I owned was Dim Light. So for me this was worth the price tag so that I could expand my Hourglass collection to include blushes, a bronzer, and a highlighter as well as another finishing powder. Buying the full sizes separately would have cost a lot more than $80 and even though the shades are not full size, it'll still take a long time to hit pan. (See my full review here)

2. Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Color Wheel ($44 at Sephora)- I'm a huge fan of Tarte's long-lasting blush formula so this was a no-brainer for me! It includes 8 blushes and 2 highlighters and even though the pans are not full sized, it'll still last forever because I have yet to hit pan on most of my Tarte blushes that I've had for more than a year. (See my review & swatches here)

Eyeshadow Palettes
The palettes in this category are regular eyeshadow palettes with a mix of both matte and shimmer shades.

1. City Color Spice Me Up Palette- 2016 Version ($15.99 at CityColorCosmetics.com)- When I saw that City Color revamped the Spice Me Up palette I was so excited because the warm rich shades just scream fall to me. Once I swatched it next to the original, I realized that most of the shades are the same with a few newer ones, so if you own the original, you may not need this one. It doesn't swatch that impressively on my arm but it applies beautifully on my eyes with a brush...it's a nice densely packed formula with no fallout. (See my review here)

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Master Palette by Mario ($45 at Sephora, Ulta, Macy's)- I didn't think I could love a palette more than the Anastasia Modern Renaissance but this one ended up edging it out a little bit. I love the soft, neutral shades and want to wear them every day, whether I'm just running errands or going out. And the formula is the best of the best...soft, silky, intensely pigmented and super blendable. (See my review here)

3. bareMinerals Be Beautiful Palette ($45 at Ulta)- Okay so this is technically a face palette because it has blushes, a bronzer and a setting powder inside but it didn't really go in the same category as the holiday gift sets. The shades are soft, pretty and easy to wear and the silky formula blends beautifully on the skin. (See my review here)

4. bareMinerals The Wish List Palette ($45 at Ulta)- Again, just like the Be Beautiful palette if you love easy to wear, neutral shades this one's for you. You won't find any bright, bold colors in here but you will find a really pretty selection of matte and shimmer shades with a soft, blendable formula. (See my review here)

5. The Balm Balm Appetit Palette ($39.50 at TheBalm.com)- I was dying to get this when I saw the sneak peeks online and ordered it as soon as it launched. I love The Balm's eyeshadow formulas both matte and shimmer...I literally have every single palette they've made so far. That being said, the formula in this one is good (except the 2 gray/blue shades are a little patchy) but I wasn't as crazy about the color selection once I started playing with it. It's more cool-toned overall (except for a bright pop of orange) and reminds me quite a bit of the Meet Matt(e) Nude palette, which I already own. (See my review here)

6. Lorac Mega Pro 3 ($59 at Ulta)- Lorac makes one of my favorite eyeshadow formulas next to Anastasia Beverly Hills so I had to have this. It's my first Mega Pro (I missed out on the previous two versions) and it's such a great deal for 32 shades! You get 16 matte and 16 shimmer shades, all buttery soft and ultra blendable and the color selection is great too...you get mostly wearable shades in both warm and cool tones with a few pops of color here and there. (See my review here)

7. City Color Boho Chic Palette ($15.99 at CityColorCosmetics.com)- If you've been following me for a while, you probably know how much I love City Color's Shimmer Shadow formula...it feels almost like a cream and rivals any high end brand (they feel pretty much exactly like Kat Von D's Metal Crush shadows). This palette is filled with that formula...it's amazing and super affordable. (See my review and swatches here)

Favorites
Although I love a lot of the palettes I talked about in this post for different reasons, I wanted to narrow them down to my top favorites/recommendations in each category. I based my decisions on quality, color selection, and value for the money.

Eyeshadow Palettes:
1. Anastasia Master Palette by Mario
2. Lorac Mega Pro 3
3. City Color Boho Chic Palette

Holiday Sets:
1. Ciate x Chloe Morello Beauty Haul
2. Pur Cosmetics Love Your Selfie 2

All-Matte Palette:
5. bh Cosmetics Modern Neutrals Palette

Face Palette:
1. Tarte Color Wheel

I hope this post helped you guys out! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if you have suggestions for other palettes you'd like me to review! :)