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I appreciate an eye shadow palette as much as the next makeup lover, but — OK, no, that's a total lie. While I'm fond of palettes as a concept and dazzled by how they look, their plethora of pans beckoning to me with their array of shades, there's little I find more intimidating in the makeup realm. Even palettes that aren't all over the map color-wise — ones that have anywhere from four to a few dozen hues in the same family — kind of freak me out.
I can chalk up my dread to a few different things. First, I worry that my instincts will be all wrong about which colors to use together in more elaborate eye-shadow looks. Second, I have what the industry (and the world at large) calls "pretty small eyes," and with them come limited real estate on which to build any property. In other words, I don't have a whole lotta lid, and what I do have is hooded, so complicated shadow looks literally get lost on them.
This is why I absolutely adore the idea behind Glossier Monochromes. What may seem somewhat pointless to anyone who loves to play with a rainbow of shades is, to me, ingenious. These palettes feature three pans of the same color. I know that might sound completely stupid, but bear with me, because it's anything but. You get your chosen shade in three finishes: matte, satin, and metallic. And that's perfect for people like me who want to wear gorgeous shadow looks, lean toward a small handful of specific colors over and over again, and can't handle yet another disappointing attempt at trendy multicolor, hyperdimensional styles.
There's honestly so much you can do with one color in three finishes. I recently got my hands on the Prairie palette — an olive green with just enough brown to make it extremely wearable — and was genuinely thrilled with how each version of the shade looked in swatch form. Each one looks so stunning on its own. But I decided to try a look that incorporates all three.
I started with the matte shade to serve as a base; the rich pigment deposits a surprising amount of color, and I know I'll be wearing it alone quite a lot. I packed it on pretty opaquely right from the start, but despite the opacity, it blended out with ridiculous ease when I wanted to diffuse it up toward my brow bone. I also used it to define my lower lash line.
I fully covered the matte shadow with the satin shadow, which goes on sheerer. It added a silky sheen, which would look beautiful on bare skin but lends an ethereal feeling to the matte's intensity.
The metallic shadow, like the other two, doesn't need any help from other shades or finishes to look incredible, but I especially liked it as an inner-corner highlight.
In addition to Prairie, Glossier Monochromes are available in Clay (terracotta), Bluff (pale, peachy pink), Heather (mauve-y rose), Mist (dusty lavender), Jute (light taupe), Almond (rosy brown), Rosin (golden yellow), Mesa (coppery orange), and Teak (chocolate brown). Each $22 trio comes in a recyclable, white tin compact with a removable mirror, and it's refillable, so feel free to switch to a new color each time.
Next on my list is definitely Mesa — though if I'm feeling daring, I may even combine Prairie and Mesa in a single look. (Who even am I?)
More on eye shadow:
- Nicole Richie Wore The Coolest Blue Eye Shadow to Hang Out With Megan Thee Stallion
- Kacey Musgraves Matched Her Ombré Green Hair Extensions to Her Eye Shadow
- 15 Best Eye Shadow Sticks That Even Beginners Can Master
Now check out every method for creating a cat eye:
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