I do love anything made by Paula's Choice, and this includes her line of makeup called Paula's Select. I recently ordered her Eyeshadow Trio in the Next to Naked color range, and have rave reviews to share.
The Eyeshadow Trios come in one round black plastic compact with a see-through, twist off lid. As the name implies, three colors are included in the one container. The colors merge together in one powder form; the lightest shade, intended for sweeping over the whole lid up to the brow bones, occupies more than half of the product. In my case, the Nearly Nude color is the lightest shade.
The other two colors each share half of the remainder of the product. Pale Suede, the middle-dark brown hue, is for the crease. The darkest shade, called Hazelnut in my range, is for the lid and can be used as a liner.
I'm very happy with my Next to Naked trio, but found it was pretty hard choosing a color palette to buy. Many of the trios are lovely, especially if you prefer earthy and smokey shades. There are no blue or green colors (Paula states for the record that "blue eyeshadow should be illegal"), but her trios offer do purples, mauves, pinks, yellows, grays and blacks.
In addition to Next to Naked ("earthy, golden, nude tones"), I also thought about ordering Weekend Casual ("soft beige, taupe, deep brown") and Beautiful Basics ("foolproof neutrals"). The yummy palettes of Lavender Whisper, Flirty Amethyst, Simply Captivating and Moonlight Mist should appeal to those wanting more punch in their eye color.
The colors go on smoothly and build easily. I enjoy the soft talc feeling of this eyeshadow. I have sensitive eyelids and tend to get sties with many eyeshadows - Paula's Select eyeshadows are very non-reactive, and I have had no problems with them.
As with most of Paula's colors, the eye color shades are almost entirely matte (with a few extremely subtle hints of mica). These colors can easily be used wet for more dramatic looks.
There is very little waste if you use a good eyeshadow brush. I like to use two brushes with this small palette: an Eye Blending Brush and a Flat Crease Brush, both by Sephora. This way I can use the blending brush to sweep color over the whole lid and brow bone area, and then use the flat crease brush for greater control with the two darker colors.
Since I have the three colors in one little compact, this is easy to travel with and takes up little space. I do have to bring along my own brushes; the compact comes sans applicator. I don't see this as a detraction, however, as most freebie eyeshadow applicators - those little sponge things - are inadequate for precise makeup application in any case, and get grungy too quickly. I just toss the brushes and compact in my makeup bag and go.
Recommended for people who enjoy soft matte colors that build easily and stay put all day. Paula's Select Eyeshadow Trio palettes are most suitable for sophisticated daytime wear (or apply them wet for rich, smokey nighttime drama). People looking for outrageous colors or shimmer effects might want to look instead at Urban Decay or Too Faced for their eye color.
At press time, these are selling only at Paula's Choice website, for 1/2 price (under $6): Paula's Choice Website.
Amazon sells Sephora's nice microfiber brush kits that include a blending and crease brush for eyeshadow, in a small travel toolkit:
