Single Shadow Tag

Zeyn San recently created the Single Shadow Tag. I have been enjoying her YouTube videos for the past few weeks. It's refreshing to see more channels putting out content that isn't all able new releases and hauls, and Zeyn's channel doesn't disappoint.


1. Do you prefer buying single shadows or palettes?
Ideally I would prefer buying single shadows, but in practice this doesn't really happen. When I buy a single shadow, I want to be able to swatch it in person first. This is what has put me off from buying Sydney Grace shadows thus far, even though they often get stellar reviews. I can swatch Mac shadows locally, but I can't buy the refill pans I want there. For this reason I have found it easier to buy palettes sometimes. I don't see myself buying another palette anytime soon though. I have all the colors I want in my collection already, save for a handful, and I don't see a palette magically coming out with just those few non-cohesive colors.

2. When did you start buying single shadows/what got you into them? 
I bought two single shadows at different points in 2015, and I bought ten more to finish off a 12-pan palette at the beginning of 2017. All 12 of these were from Mac because I had heard for years on YouTube about how special creating a custom Mac palette was. I remember feeling so accomplished when I finally held the completed palette in my hands. (Of course, here I am two years later eager to change things around in it some more.)

3. What are your favorite brands/formulas of single shadows?
I have only tried Mac and Urban Decay. (I have purchased four Urban Decay shadows in the last six months to add to the twelve Mac ones). Urban Decay has some interesting colors that I couldn't find in the Mac selection, but I prefer the Mac formula.

4. If you could only pick 3 singles as the crown jewels of your collection, what would they be? 
Everyone's Darling, Brown Script, and Haux (all from Mac) are my workhorses. I can pull them into nearly any look and feel confident. Everyone's Darling was one of my first two singles, so I feel a special connection to it.

5. Which brands' singles do you want to try in the future?
Sydney Grace, easily. Geese a Laying has been on my wishlist for weeks now. I'm also curious about Anastasia shadows.

6. What, if any, are some of your single shadow color gaps?
I have been searching for the singles to replace my favorite colors in Subculture: Edge, New Wave, and Roxy. I also wouldn't say no to the right green, but I haven't figured out what exactly that is yet.

7. How many single shadows do you have?
16. From Mac: Shroom, Vanilla, Orb, Everyone's Darling, Haux, Corduroy, Brown Script, Antiqued, Red Brick, Naval, Indian Ink, Bottle Green (though I've half-decluttered the last three because they frustrated me). From Urban Decay: Bordello, Shellshock, Rockstar, Scratch.

8. Does your single shadow collection lean towards a certain color family/is one color family overrepresented? If so, what is it?
I created my Mac palette with the idea that it would be primarily a neutrals palette, and I think I accomplished that for the most part. I can get a rosy neutral look or a brown neutral look easily from it. This is also the type of look I go for the majority of the time, so it does not feel out of place in my collection at all.