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Sep 14, 2023

These New Cream

Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Forget complicated palettes this fall. I've spent a spectacular amount of my time learning about

Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Forget complicated palettes this fall.

I've spent a spectacular amount of my time learning about and playing with makeup, yet I still find eyeshadows pretty daunting. These 20-plus-color palettes should make creating a fun eye look easy, but instead, I usually find myself stuck in a decision-paralysis loop. For that reason, I typically skip eyeshadow unless I'm going for a full glam look that I can take my time with. That is until I discovered Merit Beauty's new, incredibly easy-to-use Solo Shadows.

Considering that minimalist is the name of the game at Merit, the brand doesn't often launch new products, so I pay close attention when they do. Like the rest of Merit's collection, the Solo Shadows are meant to streamline your current routine in the form of a super buildable cream-to-powder formula that is unbelievably forgiving and blendable. The luxurious formula is also enhanced by a host of skin-loving ingredients like antioxidant-rich chamomile, calendula extracts, line-reducing peptides, smoothing magnolia bark extract, and nourishing sunflower seed oil.

Merit

$24

Buy Now

The Solo Shadow range includes four neutral and statement shades that leave a soft-matte finish behind. The brand sent me free samples of the shades "Social," "Viper," "Midnight," and "Studio," as well as its new dual-ended eyeshadow brush, "Brush No. 2" to try out before the official launch. At first glance, the shadows come in a generous pod, perfectly sized to dip into with a brush or finger, and stunning enough to want to display.

Related: Tower 28 Launched Its First Sensitive Skin-Friendly Concealer, and It Hides My Dark Circles in Just One Swipe

I took my time familiarizing myself with each hue, individually and playfully combining them, and was equally impressed by each. Whether I tapped on a soft wash of color with my finger, used the soft and fluffy Brush No. 2 to swipe them on, or used a liner brush to draw on a dramatic flick, I found them remarkably user-friendly. I don't have the steadiest of hands, so whenever I messed up, it was easy to fix before the formula set, and I didn't notice any creasing, even after four hours of wear under the sun.

Naturally, Brush No. 2 worked perfectly with the shadows, but I also tested the product with my own brushes, and they worked just fine. Within 10 minutes, the formula had set, making it virtually budge-proof, but for me, that was plenty of time to pull together a look I loved.

Drop the intimidating eyeshadow palettes of the past and try Merit's new Solo Shadows if you want to fall back in love with eye makeup. I've also included some more impressive eye shadow formulas below.

MAC Cosmetics

$23

Buy on maccosmetics.com

Credo Beauty

$24

Buy Now

Ulta

$12

Buy Now

Kjaer Weis

$20

Buy Now

NYX Cosmetics

$11

Buy on nyxcosmetics.com

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