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The perfect neutral matches for every eye color.
Nude eyeshadow palettes are like the little black dress of makeup, a must in anyone's cosmetics wardrobe: timeless and guaranteed to flatter and make you look pulled-together. These neutral palettes allow you to experiment with a variety of neutral eyeshadow shades, from light creams to medium beiges and browns to dark charcoals, in different finishes like matte, satin, and shimmer — without the risk of super bold or bright shades that may go unused. Apply single shades individually, wear multiple hues at once to create a dimensional eye makeup look or mix them to create custom colors.
Here, Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab experts share the best nude and neutral eyeshadow palettes you can buy in 2021 for any eye color (brown, blue, green, hazel), preference (even pink!), and use, from everyday to nights out. These picks include options from Ulta, Sephora and more.
Urban Decay's collection of Naked neutral eyeshadow palettes has earned icon status as best-in-class, including among GH Beauty Lab experts. This kit of six matte finish shadows "are beautiful neutral shades that work well together or on their own," says GH Beauty Lab Chemist Danusia Wnek. GH Beauty Assistant Katie Berohn is also a longtime fan: "I would recommend this to anyone— it is the perfect matte palette for day to day use."
This Maybelline mini eyeshadow palette is almost unbeatable in price, at a little more than $1 per shadow. "The quality is amazing for the value, with silky formulas and rich colors," GH's beauty director says. "It also contains a great range of neutrals for different skin tones and looks." Plus, the small size fits perfectly in most bags.
If you prefer your nude shadow palettes with hint of rosy pink, this Charlotte Tilbury quad is for you. A favorite of GH's beauty director, the rose gold satin and shimmer shades "really do brighten your eyes, just as the name says," she reports.
You can't go wrong with this Revlon neutral eyeshadow quad for every day, a GH Beauty Award winner for long-lasting color. The mix of matte and satin cream, taupe and brown shades are foolproof, and GH Beauty Lab testing found that they stay in place even through workouts, plus didn't irritate eyes. "It stayed fresh-looking no matter how hard I tried to wreck it," a tester said.
Purple-mauve shades like those in this bargain CoverGirl eyeshadow palette make brown eyes pop. The eight satin and matte colors function as neutrals with a cool-toned twist. "My eyes look beautiful and I get a lot of compliments," an Amazon reviewer reported.
Choose from an array of beige tones in this luxe Dior palette, which contains eight matte and satin eyeshadows, plus an eyeshadow primer. "The colors look high-end and sophisticated," a Sephora reviewer notes. "You can create a day or night look."
Berohn is a fan of PYT Beauty's eight shade matte and shimmer eyeshadow palette for her blue eyes, thanks to hints of bronze. "The colors are wearable, buildable and stay all day long," she says. "I actually used the entire thing, which never happens with palettes."
This neutral eyeshadow palette in a range of six rich matte and shimmer brown-based shades from Juvia's Place was created for deeper skin tones. "The colors and pigmentation are amazing!" an Ulta reviewer exclaimed.
Bring out green eyes with a nude eyeshadow palette that has peachy-pink undertones, like this one from L’Oréal Paris. The compact comes with an impressive range of 12 shades, which comes out to less than $1 per eyeshadow. "They blend and layer like a dream," an Amazon reviewer says.
Formulated specifically to flatter hazel eyes, Almay's affordable eyeshadow palette comes with three neutral shades plus two pops of blue-green color. "These colors really made my eyes pop," an Amazon reviewer marveled.
LORAC's eyeshadow palette, from the makeup artist-created brand, delivers true pro quality, shade selection and quantity, with a wide range of 25 neutral matte and shimmer colors, from light cream to dark charcoal. "The sophisticated colors are good for day or night and there’s something for all skin tones," Berohn says.
Nudes don't have to be basic: Physicians Formula's eyeshadow palette is packed with six sparkling shades for eye-catching impact. "It gives my eyes so much glow!" an Ulta reviewer raved.