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I love to body paint, but the way I do these looks, the body paint is just a base. The look doesn’t come to life without me using shadows. It just gives a look so much dimension. And while yes, I know many body painters can achieve a similar look using paints alone but I find it easier for myself to use shadows over the paint once it’s dried. For reference, I use water-activated body paints not cream or alcohol.
Note: cream body paints do require powder to set. I just don’t use this kind of paint.
So, I thought I would share the four main palettes I generally use, I have mentioned these time and time again on my blog. But that’s only because they are extremely well-loved, as you can tell from the photos. Some shades have gotten more love than others over the years, but that’s usually because they are more commonly used in looks. Unfortunately, not all of these palettes are still available as they have been discontinued.
So, what are these palettes?
NYX Cosmetics Swear By It Shadow Palette
The Swear By It palette has more of your grungy and fall tones. Which is perfect for adding shade to any look. Or bringing in those deeper tones. There is also a rich black in this palette though mine is unfortunately all out.
I don’t use the metallics in this palette as much as I do the mattes, but that’s many because I generally don’t use metallics in looks. And that goes for the rest of the palettes in this as well.
NYX Cosmetics Modern Dreamer Shadow Palette (No longer available)
The Modern Dreamer palette has a lot of bright colors which I love to use on my more vibrant looks or to layer over top of the white liner to help give highlights a more natural or subtle appearance. As straight white can be way too much at times.
NYX Cosmetics Ultimate Utopia Shadow Palette
The Ultimate Utopia palette has a lot more natural and hazy tones, which can be used for more of your mid-tones in a look. Or if you’re painting with white or skin tone, several of these shades are great to create a subtle depth from the paint to your skin without needing to dip into black. There is a dusty charcoal included in this palette, though mine has run out. So, this palette has got you covered on almost every front.
NYX Cosmetics Escape Artist Shadow Palette (No longer available)
The Escape Artist palette is more of a neutral palette, which makes it great to bring out more realistic looks. But there are still pops of colors that can be used for shading within looks. And the upper left shade is a great inner corner highlight.
Each of these palettes has 40 shadows and cost $35, but unlike a lot of other palettes that have a similar number of shades, these don’t have repeats in them. Or shades that are insanely similar. So, each one is a good deal. I’ve had these for ages and still have a lot of use left in them. Some shades however have bit the dust. Even if you don’t body paint, the two palettes that are still available are perfect to make a variety of looks.
For other products that I typically use when body painting, see this post, as it’s still accurate to this day.
I know I’m going to eventually have to switch to using other shadow palettes, but these four have gotten me through almost every bodypaint I’ve ever done. Though ColourPop does have several bigger palettes that I have used as well for the neutral shades. But they just haven’t quite matched these ones from NYX Cosmetics.
What are your favorite big eyeshadow palettes that have a lot of variety? I would love to hear about them in the comments.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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