The Best Smokey Eye Palettes for Under £20

Hello hooligans,

There’s nothing more exciting to me than a smokey eye palette. Apart from maybe biscuits and a nice cup of tea. And potentially when there is a new Catfish episode on. But you know…smokey eyes are definitely up there.

I’ve collected quite a few palettes over the years, but these are the ones that I am regularly using at the moment. As regular readers of our blog will probably know, we’re quite the keen beans for cheap and cheerful makeup. Sometimes cheaper brands can be a bit more of a miss than hit, but when you find the gems – they’re definitely worth spending your pennies on (and I mean pennies in the literal sense).

Aaaaanywhoo, these are what I think are the best smokey eye palettes for under £20. If you accidentally have spent all of your money on mince pies and Chrizzy pressies for ungrateful rellies (shortening words, all the cool kids are doing it), then you may want to continue reading. And for under £20…you may as well just buy them all and treat your eyelids to a smokin’ good time.

The Bodyshop Smoky Eye Palette – £15.00

The Bodyshop makeup is genuinely really good quality and everything that I’ve owned has been top notch. This palette is my favourite of these four and it’s my go-to for when I go out and pardy. It comes in four shades, with one gold cream shadow. What I like most is that the darkest shade is matte – I’m not a big fan of looking like a disco ball on every occasion. Even the shimmer shades are quite subtle and the pigmentation is excellent and the staying power is fabulous. The palette also comes with brushes, but typically I have lost them both. Whoops.

Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio – £7.99

This little palette has loads of brilliant reviews and I actually received it as a part of the EXCELLENT free gift that I blogged about here. This one is in Gris Dandy and has three lovely gun metal silvery shades. I’m usually not a big fan of silver based smokey eye colours because browns tend to suit my complexion better, but this one is worth making a compromise for. The pigmentation is brilliant and it has amazing staying power. My only criticism of it is that it doesn’t include a highlighter shade, which I like to have in a palette.

Elf Natural Beauty Book – £6.00

If you can get over the sheer size of this palette, it’s actually very good. They did not lie when they said it was a book, I can tell you that chums. It’s not entirely necessary…they do have some fun information about how to apply the eyeshadow, but let’s all be honest. Anyone with fingers and/or hands can apply a smokey eye. It also comes with an eye primer, which I don’t have anything to say about really. It’s ok, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything too special. The brushes were a bit crap too, but palette brushes tend to be a bit pointless. The pigmentation is good and I particularly like the shade range. It’s a good one for daytime!

Collection Smokey Eye Palette – £4.19

I did a full review on this palette, which you can read all about here. This is a great little palette, particularly if you’re just foraying into smokey eye territory and don’t want to commit to a more expensive eyeshadow kit. There’s a good shade selection and the pigmentation is really good for what you pay.

SO CHUMS. If you are a poverty stricken human being or simply just want to add to your makeup collection without spending too many dollar bills, you may find these a bit exciting. I really like them and my fave would look WUBBISH without spreading these on my eyeballs (by that I mean eyelids. I’m not mad).

What’s your favourite smokey eye palette? Have you tried any of these?

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