Party Palettes

By New Cid

Price: £16

Stockist: Exclusive to QVC

Pros: With two blushers, four eyeshadows and two lip colours in wearable shades of pinks, glittering charcoal and soft nude shimmers, this palette has all you need to create a variety of seasonal looks from day to night.  It has a large mirror and is pretty slimline which is practical.

Cons: A kohl liner would have been handy. It wouldn’t fit into a mini evening bag, but then oversize clutches are more on trend this Christmas.

Verdict: A great multi-tasking palette that will suit plenty of skintones too.

Tested by Amy Lawrenson, Beauty Writer

By Laura Mercier

Price: £65

Stockist: Soace NK

Pros: This luxurious combination of eye shadows, eyeliners and blushers was heavenly. Gold and bronze were mixed with deep burgundy and plum for a great party-appropriate colour-range. The palette also includes three high-end applicator brushes, making the shadows super easy to apply. Encased in an uber-luxe faux snakeskin and fabric box, it looks pretty impressive too.

Cons: The palette is simply too big and bulky to carry around every day and is the size of some clutches so wouldn’t be suitable for an evening out. I would have found a concealer or lip colour useful. 

Verdict: Super luxe, both outside and in where quality is paramount. The lack of some products and the sheer size of the palette could be an issue for some.

Tested by Alice Watt, Fashion Assistant

By WKW for Shu Uemura

Price: £39

Stockist: Shu Uemura

 Pros: This compact palette slips into my handbag with ease and offers both sparkly eye shadows for special occasions, a subtle crème pressed shadow for day and a cream blush. The two application brushes are great quality.

Cons: You must be careful not to dance around your handbag – one stamp on this palette and your products will turn into rainbow dust.

Verdict: If you like your eyes to take centre stage then this party palette is for you, sparkle shadow in gold and purple will make for a glittering festive look.

By Bobbi Brown

Price: £59

Stockist: Bobbi Brown

Pros: The packaging is gorgeous – sleek and chic. Housed within the compact is a selection of eyeshadows that are ideal for parties like shimmering coppers and glitzy silvers. I liked the way the compact worked on two levels with a pull-out drawer filled with lipglosses.

Cons: For an ‘ultimate party palette’ it would have been good to see a concealer and blusher instead of four lip colours. Also, the brushes could have been a better shape – I found the eye shadow brush was too wide.

Verdict: I would definitely buy this product again, and I’m looking forward to trying out all the eye shadow combinations for the party season. It would also make a perfect Christmas present.

By Topshop

Price: £8

Stockist: Topshop

Pros: This palette has a bit of everything - lip, cheek and eye and at £8 it’s affordable. The blusher was easy to apply, the shadows were long lasting and the lip colour was fabulously striking.

Cons: I’m not brave enough to channel this season’s eccentric trend so the colourways were slightly mismatched for me. I doubt I could pull off a red lip with a bright pink cheek and lilac eyeshadow so I would probably use some more than others and I definitely wouldn’t be using them at the same time. I would be carrying the palette plus other products around - defeating the point.

Verdict: Great selection of products, but the shades just weren’t right for me.

By Chantecaille

Price: £75

Stockist: Space NK

Pros: A satisfying square of shimmery hues, complete with a generously sized mirror and a square of velum paper specifying the purpose of each product. A pearly highlighter does double duty on cheekbones and eyelids, and a mink eye colour with gold undertones is a great essential with a glittery bonus. What really drew me in, though, was the deep aubergine eyeliner. I adore purple as a dark neutral.

Cons: The blusher was a little too coral so it wouldn’t suit every skin tone.

Verdict: This is just the thing to slip into tiny handbags during the holiday season.