12 Genuinely Brilliant Eye Palettes For Under £20

If you’re obsessed with all things makeup, the temptation to splash your entire life savings on the next big, must-have product is TOO real.

Honestly here’s no love quite like the love for a new eyeshadow palette.

But don’t let all those fancy luxury bloggers and vloggers trick you into thinking that you need to get seriously spendy in order to achieve those perfect looks you see on YouTube and Instagram.

Some of the best launches out there are actually pretty affordable, and if you’ve got £20 burning a hole in your purse then it’s time to treat yourself.

Here’s 12 genuinely brilliant eyeshadow palettes that cover everything from essential basics to awesome bright shades - and best of all, they’re all under twenty quid. Slay, high street.

1. ZOEVA En Taupe Palette, £18.00

For less than you'd spend on a new top for a night out, arm yourself with ten delicate, flattering shades in a spectrum of elegant light-to-dark taupes.

Combining mattes and shimmers, this ZOEVA beauty means you can define your lids with beige, mauve, peach and ivory shadows.

2. BH Cosmetics Bronze Paradise Eyeshadow Bronzer & Highlighter Palette, £12.00

Okay, so this is a feature strictly dedicated to bargain eyeshadows, but why not add a kickass highlighter and bronzer combo to your palette while you're at it?

If you've had your eye on the Kylie Cosmetics Vacation palette, this rich mix of bronzes and a pop of turquoise is a beautiful, bargain alternative for everything from everyday to exotic looks.

3. NYX Professional Makeup Lingerie Shadow Palette, £8.00

Inspired by NYX's sell-out Lingerie liquid lipsticks, the co-ordinating eyeshadow palette is a stunning must-have for any nude addict. 

Six creamy matte neutrals perfect for any soft and seductive eye look, it'll blend like a dream and deliver killer colour pay off - all for under a tenner.

4. theBalm Smoke Balm Smokey Eye Palette, £15.50

It's basically written in the stars that you just can't go wrong with a smokey eye, and theBalm's essential smokey trio proves there's no need to overcomplicate a classic.

The triple milled pigments give a satiny texture with little fall out, high pay off and great blendability, and you really can't go wrong with the neutral base, warm contour shade and sulty shader colour.

5. Sleek MakeUp i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Oh So Special, £8.99

As well as all the basic looks, you can totally find more exciting colour mixes on a budget, too.

This dreamy 12-shade palette from Sleek is the perfect combo of soft, pale pinks, sultry plum purples and inky nighttime shades.

Sleek's i-Divine palettes are pretty legendary when it comes to high street makeup, and at least one of the huge colour range probably needs to be added to your collection tbh.

6. Tanya Burr Eyeshadow Palette in My Paradise, £6.00

Don't let the super cute packaging fool you - Tanya's cosmetics range is worth taking seriously if you're in the market for beautiful, highly pigmented, super wearable shades of eyeshadow.

One of the highlights (apart from y'know, the highlighter) is the My Paradise palette, with four soft matte and twinkling shimmer shades for sunset-inspired eyes. LOVE.

7. Soap And Glory Eyeshadow Palette in The Perfect Ten, £10.00

Soap and Glory don't just make stuff that leaves you smelling delish after a shower y'know.

They've also got a great cosmetics range, and their eyeshadow palettes are particularly brill.

With pretty much every essential eyeshadow you could need for day to night looks, wearable shades like Gold Coast, Taupe Cat, Sunset, Brownie are super pigmented and basically foolproof.

8. NYX Professional Makeup Ultimate Shadow Palette in Brights, £16.00

Arm yourself with every rainbow bright that you could ever need with this kalaeidoscope of pro-level colours, which even beauty guru Lou Teasdale is a #1 fan of.

26 vivid shades mean that you're sorted for vibrant pops of colour on the lash line, or an all-over brave and bold look if you're feeling particularly sassy.

9. Rimmel London Magnifeyes Eyeshadow Palette in London Nudes, £8.99

Genius for travelling, this everyday essentials palette is not only a bargain but is also jam-packed with beautiful colours that compliment every skin tone and eye colour.

For under a tenner, you've got all bases covered with a high-shimmer, ultra-smooth formula that can blend to endless soft and smokey combinations.

10. Kat Von D Shade And Light Contour Quad Eye Shadow Palette in Smoke, £17.00

If you're gonna take a lesson from anyone in the art of the smokey eye, take a lesson from the queen of dramatic alt makeup, Kat Von D.

Her killer cosmetics brand is pretty much flawless, and the mini quad eyeshadow palettes contain artistically curated, high pigment, silky eyeshadows to define, contour and highlight.

11. e.l.f. Studio Prism Eyeshadow, £12.50

Perfect for beginners all the way up to makeup pros, these six complimentary colours (and there's a load of different varieties, too) pretty much do all the work for you. 

Soft and richly pigmented, the prism eyeshadow palette instantly brightens up the eyes with creamy, pigmented metallics that make an impact.

12. Makeup Revolution Fortune Favours The Brave Palette, £9.99

Nope, we're not kidding, that is actually thirty gorgeous eyeshadow shades for under £10. Matte, glimmers, sheens - they're all in there, and they're all super wearable.

While Makeup Revolution is most well known for duping high end products for a bargain price, their original Fortune Favours The Brave palette is their most versatile, most heart eye emoji-worthy of all.

Words by Lucy Wood

Now that you've got your shopping list sorted, how about checking in behind the scenes on the movie adaptation of Everything, Everything?