My Collection: Taupe Shadows (part 1 of 2)

So taupe is sort of a nebulous color, it can be many things to many people. And there's the endless variations of plum taupe, pink taupe, gray taupe, brown taupe. Oh my! I'm going to split this up for shadows and liners/cream shadows so this post isn't 20 pages long. I have a fair amount of products that we might consider taupe so I thought I'd share them with you. I have a video showing a selection of shadows and liners and how they actually apply on skin - check that out here! I do have a few more that I forgot to include unfortunately. Nothing that was a favorite, obviously. But my Laura Mercier small palette has Topaz and theBalm Nude 'Tude shade in Selfish are both firmly in the taupe category. See part 2 of this collection with my taupe liners and cream shadows!

First off, here are my shadows. I have three really nice drugstore shadows and three high end that I actually like a little less than the budget options!


From left: Jane Cosmetics shadow in Passionflower (shimmer), Wet 'N Wild Silent Treatment, Wet 'N Wild single in Nutty


The Jane shadow in Passionflower is one of the best (if not the best) formulas I've used. It's easy to get on your brush, packs a bunch of pigment, buttery smooth, you name it. The color is very interesting, sort of a plum taupe with a warm undertone.

Wet 'N Wild's Silent Treatment trio has long been a beauty blogger favorite, but I had waffled over buying it for quite a while. Convinced myself it was too similar to things I had, that the crease color was darker than what I'd normally reach for, that kind of thing. But my friend Kristy coaxed me into it, what can I say! Definitely worth it, and I had a $1 off coupon! Love. The eyelid shade is a cooler, lighter purple gray taupe. Not quite as amazing of a formula, but still lovely to use.

Last up, another blogger favorite - Wet 'N Wild single in Nutty. I went on a bit of a spree depotting shadows for my MAC palette, so despite this having the smallest packaging ever, it's now living in that palette. The texture of this shadow is comparable to the Jane Cosmetics shadow in Passionflower. Applies beautifully! Not quite as dense when picked up with a brush, but that's if I'm being picky.


Left to right: Jane Cosmetics shadow in Passionflower (shimmer), Wet 'N Wild Silent Treatment (eyelid), Wet 'N Wild single in Nutty


Next up! High end options. Now, I think I originally pulled out theBalm's Nude Tude palette as well to be in this round-up, but the first batch of pictures didn't turn out due to flaky lighting. Forgot to grab it this time. The shade Selfish is what I was after, but it does go fairly warm on my skin. I have two mattes in this selection, but neither are a favorite (and not featured in my video).


Left to right: Tarina Tarantino Jewel palette in Magical, Urban Decay NAKED 2 palette, Urban Decay matte shadow in Shakedown (discontinued)


I'm a big fan of Tarina Tarantino's eye shadow formula, it's a shame they left Sephora. However, it did mean great prices on the remaining stock. They do show up on Hautelook occasionally as well. I believe this was the first palette I bought as I'm a big fan of purples. The shade on the right is the taupe in question. It's similar to the Jane Passionflower and Wet 'N Wild Silent Treatment. It's a little lighter and cooler. Lovely texture and pigmentation.

You could argue that the following two matte shades are more of cool browns, not taupes. But I think that's sort of a fine line, or frankly the same thing. It's kind of confusing. We'll go with taupe for the sake of this post. :)

In the NAKED 2 palette, the shade we're looking at is Tease. It looks cooler in the pan than it applies to my skin, but most colors will go warm on me. It can be tricky to find a cool brown that remains cool on my skin - but then again, a cool color in the crease for me can be a little dirty looking anyway! It's a decently textured matte, not powdery (a pet peeve of mine). Not as rich and buttery as the shimmer shades or other mattes from Urban Decay.

If you've followed me for any amount of time, the Urban Decay shadow in Shakedown will jump out. It's the color I've been using on my brows for ages, hence the large amount of pan showing. It also has a smooth non-powdery texture (as long as you're not stabbing in a brow brush in there, then it does get a little messy). It also goes a bit warm on my skin.


Left to right: Tarina Tarantino Magical palette, Urban Decay NAKED 2 Tease, Urban Decay matte shadow in Shakedown (discontinued)

Let me know what your favorite taupe shadow is and if you've tried any of mine! Thanks for stopping by.

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