Here’s the motherlode. I’ve mentioned many times that I have a lot of eye shadows – over 600 – it is the most abundant makeup category that I own. I just love eye shadows and it’s the area of my face that I spend the most time applying makeup. I’ll keep this introduction brief and just let the pictures do the talking.
It took me over 2 hours just to sort and photograph the whole eye shadow collection and probably another 4 to edit everything. Usual disclaimer: this isn’t meant to show off. It was actually quite a beneficial exercise for me to display all my eye shadows visually. Warning: photo heavy post! (50 images)
First, I just want to show how I store the bulk of my eye shadows. Palettes are placed vertically inside these acrylic stands:
Single shadows are placed into narrow drawers:
And wider drawers accommodate larger pans:
Onto the eye shadow stash, in no particular order (although I did try to group brands together but failed and then gave up!):
Phew! Was that as good for you as it was for me? As you can see, I like a wide variety of eye shadows – some of my drugstore brands perform better than the higher end ones! This is just an overview – I’ll be featuring some of these eye shadows in future posts with detailed photos, information and swatches. I already have a few topic ideas (hint: taupes, taupes, taupes!)
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.
stash matters 
Oh my gosh! I aspire to have as many eyeshadows as you! 🙂
What is your favorite eyeshadow formulation? I’m always in the market to try some new products. Have you heard of MakeUp Geek? They’re supposed to be just like Mac, but like, half the price!
Great post, girl!
I really enjoyed reading it 🙂
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I’ve not yet tried MakeUp Geek but it is on my list to! My favourite formulation… So difficult to choose! For selection and variety, overall, would say that MAC is very good – there is something for everyone in their core line.
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Oh.My.God. I absolutely LOVE seeing people’s collections and this post certainly didn’t fail to impress. Can’t wait for your upcoming posts with more details! xx
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Thank you! I’m excited to delve into everything eye shadow! My favourite topic! 😁
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I have fallen for a brand coming right from your beautiful country! DermaV10! Have you heard of them? SO inexpensive and amazing quality x
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I thought DermaV10 is a UK brand? I’ve heard of it but not tried it!
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Well their latest product says it’s made in Canada! I’ll have a look.
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Oh. my. god. This is eyeshadow heaven! I am drooling over this. It must’ve taken you forever to organise all of this! Great post, lovely. Thanks for sharing. ❤
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Thank you! Yes, my dining room table was littered with all my eye shadows, the boy was like “wtf”. Lol
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As I scrolled down I thought, whoa this could go on for days! I’ve wanted to pick up one of the Nars eye shadow duos, the top left one you have pictured looks right up my alley! Which one is that?
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It’s funny, because when I scrolled through the pictures this morning, I was thinking, “that’s it? I thought there was more” I guess it just felt like a LOT having to photograph them and edit the photos, lol! I still have lot of eye shadow wish list items!
The Nars duos are fantastic! They’re better bang for your buck than the single shadows. The top duo is “Kalahari”, the bottom duo is “Brousse”. I have “Cordura” on my wish list! 😀
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WOW!! I have no words! Suddenly, your ‘no buy’ decision doesn’t sound so crazy! Hehe! I love it ALL! 😀 xx
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Haha, yes, I knew I had to schedule this post right after my No-Buy post so you can all see what I’m dealing with here. (But I still want MORE makeup, lol!)
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Don’t we all! 😉
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I looooooove looking at stash pics. Your collection is stunning, and I love the diversity, too! 😀
Also, was that Stila Puck I saw in there? That is one of my faves ever. I am hoarding my last one.
I also have a couple Yves Rocher e/s but haven’t tried them yet.
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Thank you!
I don’t have Stila Puck, now I think I want it, lol! I think you’re seeing either Stila Diamond Lil or Launey (although Launey isn’t verified since I received this e/s in a swap unlabeled, I did some online research and determined Launey was the best match)
Yves Rocher is a hidden gem! Most of their eye shadows are made in France and very reasonably priced. Def try them out!
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Ah, Diamond Lil is probably what I was looking at. I love Stila e/s.
I bought one of the YR singles in…some kind of rosy taupe color (right?!) but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I did try one of their cheaper lines’ e/s quads (Luminelle?) and it was disappointing. I think their pricier e/s are probably better. That’s how it works with their lipsticks, anyway!
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Yes, I have a couple of the Luminelle ones and I think they’re slated for purging in my next round. The duos are from their Intense Colour line and they have an almost squishy / pigment quality to them. Very high quality. I’m considering depotting them though… ugly packaging. Actually about 50% of my pans I want to depot.
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Well, DAYUMM! Great job organizing, taking and editing the photos. They look really good. Holy crap that’s a lot of eyeshadows. It must be so fun to pick a look out!
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It was fun to take out the WHOLE collection (and actually after the fact, I realized I missed a few eye shadows, but oh well). I probably use 10% of the collection on a regular basis because it’s too overwhelming to decide on a look based on 600 colours to choose from! I have my trusty MAC 4 pans that I use fairly regularly. But now that I’m on a No-Buy I have been making more of an effort to “shop my stash” more regularly. 😀
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Doesn’t it feel good to shop your stash, stashmatters!? It’s like rediscovering gems!
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Yes, it’s true! It literally IS like going shopping, but FREE. lol.
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OMG! Wow! This is an admirable and extensive collection!! How much fun is this?!
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Yes so much fun! I’d love to see your makeup stash! “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” 😉
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Hehe. O the fun we bloggers have :o)
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Wow you have such an awesome collection!! I thought I had a lot of shadows! lol. 🙂
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Thanks! I’ve been building my collection for more than 10 years. I try to purge to give to friends every once in a while to make room for newer things!
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You’re welcome! Yeah that’s a good idea! I need to do that too! 🙂
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Oh, my. Next time I have a question about eye shadows, you are the first person I’m going to! I’m also starting to see why you’re on a no-buy!
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See, that’s the thing, I do really like my current collection – last few years I’ve been doing a bit of purging and buying things I love. I’m not – AS MUCH – looking for the next greatest thing, but there are still a lot of brands I haven’t tried that I want to. My next stash collection post will be my blushes… I LOVE blushes, but I don’t nearly as many of those as eye shadows!
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I totally get where you’re coming from- I feel the same way. I’m happy with my collection, but there’s always new things I want to try. And next thing you know, I have 100 lipsticks!
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WOW! Your stash has me speechless! No wonder you’re on the no-buy gig! Very impressive. So much jealousy is radiating from my body from a fellow eyeshadow addict!😍
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Aw, yes, THIS is one of the reasons why I am on a No-Buy. Eye shadows are just SO much fun, aren’t they? I will never get sick of it, lol.
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*drop jaw* WOW! I only see this on make-up gurus, the wide selection, the quality.. I wonder what other beautiful stash lies in store, the excitement brews.
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Hah! I watched too many youtube videos and read too many makeup blogs – that’s how my collection came to be! 🙂 I like trying new brands and then if I find I like a particular brand, I will try the various colours within that range. I’ll probably be posting my blushes next – it’s my next favourite makeup category. I’m not much of a lipstick person but I do have quite a few lip products as well. To be continued…!
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It’s really nice to find how a certain collection came about. I still hope you could feature your lipsticks. Really thrilled to see the ones that you have since now I know you own an impeccable taste. Here’s waiting! 🙂
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Oh wow!!! That’s an awesome eyeshadow collection you have there..I’m staring at the Milani singles depotted and inspires to do some eyeshadow depotting myself. Thanks for sharing your beautiful collection. Another reason to justify myself to get more, ha!ha! xo
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Yes! One of my goals is to depot more of my pans – all of those Body Shop pans are to be depotted too – they’re the same size as the MAC pans so they fit in a lot of empty palettes. It’s time consuming to depot but the results are worth it. Plus, you are left with more space… for more makeup! 😀
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I agree with you on saving more makeup space. I’m can’t wait to try them. Thanks 🙂
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That is a lot of eye shadows!! To be honest, I probably only have one palette but none of these brands and I don’t even use eye shadows! But all these eyeshadows look very pretty 😀
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I completely understand! I only had a handful of eye shadows (the Revlon wet / dry ones) for ages and then I had my first taste of MAC… it all spiralled from there! Some people like lipsticks, some people like eye shadows… 🙂
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Well, would you look at that?! A girl after my own heart!? LOL it jut keeps going and going! What are your thoughts on TheBalm Voyage palette?
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To be honest, I’ve used that palette all of twice! I am terrible at remembering to use large scale palettes – that’s why I don’t own many. As you can see, I do not own a single UD Naked palette! The Voyage palette is really nice though – has a good mix of neutrals and pops of colour – I also like that the cheek / lip stains are separated (I have yet to test them out!). The quality of the shadows are fantastic – buttery and very easy to blend. 😀
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Ok I’m sighing with relief! I own the palette and have only used it MAYBE 2-3 times myself. It seems so fun and there really are a nice variety of good quality colors and neutrals… I just don’t feel inspired! I think you’re right it’s just too much (I don’t own any Naked palettes either lol). I’m glad I’m not alone 🙂
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It’s one of those things – so pretty to look at, but when you’re in a rush to do your makeup and get out the door, it’s not an item I would venture to play with! If only I had time to test out stuff at leisure…! Ok, I’m so glad I’m not the only non-UD-Naked palette owner. We’re definitely in the minority, esp in the makeup blogger community! We should start a club, lol!
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Haha that’s a great idea! We could make a facebook fan page and everything 😉 LOL. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some palettes, I just don’t get the hype of the Naked palettes is all. I am interested to see what they put out next… I’ve got $20 that says the Naked 4 will be an all matte palette!
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I think you might be right! UD knows what sells.
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This collection has me feeling very envious. I strive to have a collection of this size one day! 🙂
My lipstick collection is actually the largest right now. I can’t seem to stop buying new lip products. Every time I shop, I end up with at least one new lipstick.
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Haha, you’re like my friend – she is ALWAYS picking up new lippies. She always ends up buying similar shades she already owns though! lol
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Oh I do the same thing! I have so many variations of reds and berries. I can’t control myself. I think my problem is I want to try everything. My thought process is something like “Oh, here’s a nice shade. It kinda looks like a shade I already have, but what if I like the formula of this one better? Hmmm… One more red can’t hurt…” and then I end up with 200 red lipsticks that all look alike but are *somehow* different in my mind. Argh! Haha
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I don’t like buying too many lip products b/c they go bad much faster than other products… powder eye shadows basically don’t go bad!
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I don’t like buying super expensive lip products for that very reason. I have a few higher end lipsticks, but I like buying drugstore lippes more. I do love my eye shadows and I don’t actually own that many cream ones.
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I hope this post gave you more eye shadow lemmings, muahahaaa…
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I can’t believe your eyeshadown stash outnumbers your NP bottles!!!
Questions:
1. mark vs mary kay? which do you like better?
2. cream e/s in tubes..? do these apply different than in pots? how do you remember what colours they are when you can’t really see them?
3. Guerlain palettes… which one is your fave? I read the formulations b/w the ecrins aren’t consistent where some have less colour payoff & staying power compared to others.
4. Do you reco the Balm nudes?
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Oooh you ask the tough questions.
1. Mary Kay > Mark (only marginally though – and MK’s shimmers are better than their mattes. The Mark ones tend to be slightly chalkier overall)
2. cream e/s in tubes are slightly more emollient and sheer. I can see the colours on the tubes, the MAC ones have bands of colours to indicate. One things I will say though, the tube cream e/s NEVER dry out on me like the pot ones. Those MAC ones are close to 10 yrs old, no joke, and they’re still usable.
3. to be honest, I’m so-so on the overall quality of the Guerlain e/s – some of the mattes are hard to blend. The metallics / shimmers are nice, but even Wet n Wild can do shimmers well. What I do love are the subtle colour nuances of the palettes – very sophisticated. I find the longevity of them on the lids to be very good.
4. YES, theBalm Meet Matt(e) Nude is fantastic. Thumbs up. Get it.
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Wow! I am in awe. Now I am dying to know what your favourtie brand is, since you’ve tried so many.
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It’s difficult to just name one brand! Someone else asked me and I said MAC, simply for the overall variety and typically high quality. For a more high end brand, I really like those Estee Lauder ones – they are very long lasting on the lids. For drugstore, I Wet n Wild are pretty darn good. 🙂
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MAC & Wet & Wild are definitely good ones. I haven’t tried the Estee Lauder shadows, but really like the lipsticks. Thanks for the advice!
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Wow so much eyeshadows. Nice collection. LOVE IT!!
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What a collection! Amazing 🙂
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Thank you! Pulling them all out was a bit overwhelming but so much prettiness to look at! I have do a purging / re-homing of some of the ones I don’t use!
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You can host some really hard core make over parties at your place 😉 Your collection is totally overwhelming!!! and this is just the eye shadows… your blog name is SOOO appropriate
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I did end up purging a bunch of my eye shadow stash, just so you know!
https://stashmatters.com/2015/09/21/the-purge-makeup-edition/
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I just read it and feel a little speechless. Will be right back with the appropriate comment 😂
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Also, check out the bonus picture of my friends going through the loot at the re-homing event:
https://stashmatters.com/2015/10/01/trash-stash-september-2015/
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I thought I had a lot of eyeshadows, until I watched this. Love your stash and this blogpost – xo
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