There’s nothing worse than dropping your money on an eyeshadow that turns out to be chalky and streaky with lousy pigment. While poor formulations are still circulating out in the beautysphere, there are plenty of brands that have been on their A-game since the start (that’s you, MAC) and others that have brought out some eyeshadow smash-hits over the past few years (over to you, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Fenty, Huda, Morphe…).
Then there’s brands like Uoma, founded by Nigerian born and LA/London based #boss Sharon Chuter, which have been specifically designed with melanin in mind. What’s emerged is a legion of silky pigments that glide on like a dream and fully show up to the party.
Shades have become more considered and inclusive – there are fewer of those dusty-looking bone colours that simply don’t work – and “nudes” or “neutrals” have become more democratic. Take NYX’s Warm Neutral palette, for example. It’s fairly cheap (£16 for 16 shades), it’s cheerful and it caters to all skin tones. Yep, there are a few beigey shades scattered in there, but it’s also packed with chocolates, caramels, golds, bronzes and coppers that work beautifully on deeper skin tones.
Huda Beauty and Fenty release images of the shades applied across different skin tones to accompany their palettes online, which means you can see how well it’ll work with your skin tone before you whack it in your basket.
And while the classic smoky eye remains a hero, bolds are back. The ‘gram is awash with crazy colourful eye looks from purple cut creases, camo-coloured creations, carnival brights and blended-out jewel-tones.