Save or Splurge: Eyeshadow

I have a confession to make. I love to buy eyeshadow. The weird part is I don't wear makeup all that often, and when I do I tend to stick to my trusty Dior 5 color compact much like the one pictured here. However, I occasionally like to try out some crazy colors so I have a tendency to buy a lot of cheap, bright, trendy eyeshadow. Since I've recently moved, I purged most of the old stuff, but there is a surprising amount of new stuff crammed into my poor little makeup bag.

With that confession out of the way, I think eyeshadow is a splurge and a save. Yes, my Dior compact costs $54, but it lasts forever even with everyday use. The colors are lovely. The powders don't break and crumble quickly like cheaper shadows. The color really lasts all day. The five-color compacts are put together so you really don't need any other colors for your daily look, and the compact includes the lights and darks needed for night. This means you can travel light. The quality and amazing colors are worth the $54.

However, any just-for-fun shadows should be as cheap as you can find them, without buying something so cheap it's bad for your skin, of course. You aren't going to wear these colors enough to warrent an investment. If one of your crazy colors ends up being a daily staple and you want a better quality, it shouldn't be hard to find a nicer shadow in the same shade especially when most drug store brands tend to copy the designer lines.

Do you save or splurge on your eyeshadow?