This week is going to be eyeshadow week on the blog. For those that know me in real life, hardly a day goes by when I don't put on a shadow of sorts. What can I say? I like to play up the eyes as it's hard to maintain lip color when I'm either nibbling or drinking (water/tea/coffee, not the fun time drink reserved for after the sun goes down) all day. So remember to check back later this week for my favorite shadows for the days you're in a rush, and *gasp* a MAC 224 dupe? 

[Mystery | Cork | Shale | Satin Taupe]

First off, the shade that I use everyday. Well, every day I use makeup. Mystery is my go to shade for filling in my eyebrows. My hair although borderline black, is more of a deep deep brown with dark red tints, so this 'muted plum-brown' shade is my perfect brow shade. This is also great for the lower lash line shading to pull of that Olsen-esque look. Cork, the 'muted golden brown' is my transition color the days I only travel with this quad. It's also a great lower lash shadow color the days I want to be low-key on the eye makeup. More of a greyish purple than a 'mauve-plum with subtle shimmer', I didn't realize how neutral Shale was until I recently moved this shade from the 15-pan to The Quad. It reminds me of the slightly younger twin of Smoke Plum from the Laura Mercier Artist Palette For Eyes (review & swatches here). I've been loving this color as an all over lid color the past days as it adds that muted color while staying neutral and low key. The last and probably my favorite of the four, Satin Taupe has been much loved since I got it months back. I love a slightly more dramatic eye most days and this is perfect as it's one of those one-wash shadows that can create dimension and drama with one color and one brush. Dream product for those early mornings? Yes, please.

At £10 per filling pan, these eyeshadows aren't cheap. At all. (Americans, know how lucky you are to get them at $10/pan) But like I said, you can customize a quad with colors you'll actually use and not be limited by the palette already standardized. Plus, you don't have to urge to finish this quad in one go - now that's a splurge that would take a massive hit to the wallet. I always picked up one (or two) per trip and slowly built this quad up and am currently building up my 15-pan (which, in hindsight, buying that 15-pan palette was probably not the best move for the wallet).