There is a decision to make before you look at any shade in the Faberlic eyeshadow range: are you buying a palette or building from singles? The answer changes what you spend and how much of it you use.

Palettes cost less per shade and take the guesswork out of combining colours. The trade-off is that two or three shades in almost any palette never get touched. Singles give total control at a higher cost per gram and require you to build a coherent set yourself.

For a first purchase, a neutral palette is the safer bet. Add singles later, once you know which shades you keep reaching for.

The finishes worth understanding

Matte is the structural shade. It shapes the crease and gives depth. Skip it and every eye look reads flat, no matter how pretty the shimmer is.

Satin gives a soft sheen without glitter — the most wearable option for the lid.

Shimmer and glitter work as an accent in the centre of the lid. On mature skin they emphasise creasing, so place them precisely rather than sweeping them across.

Cream shadows give a one-step look but need a primer underneath or they crease within hours.

Palettes and singles rotate with the catalogue, which refreshes roughly every three weeks. See the current catalogue on faberlic.com for what is currently offered.

Shades by eye colour

  • Blue and grey eyes — warm peaches, coppers and browns; the contrast intensifies the blue
  • Green eyes — plums, wine and burgundy tones
  • Brown eyes — almost anything; blues and emeralds look particularly good
  • Anyone — taupe, the grey-brown that works as a crease shade and as a full look

The thing that matters more than pigment

Primer. Affordable shadow over eye primer lasts a full day without creasing; the same shadow on bare skin loses half its colour by lunchtime. It is the most underrated purchase in the whole category.

Brushes come second: one flat brush to place colour and one fluffy brush to blend will change your results more than upgrading to pricier shadow.

An honest expectation

Budget shadows build in layers rather than delivering full colour in one pass. That is normal for the segment and a technique question, not a defect.

If your eyelids redden, itch or swell after eye makeup regularly, changing palettes will not help — see a doctor about it.

Other categories are covered in the makeup section.