Top eight for '08

With all the spring makeup hitting shelves this week, I wanted to showcase my favorite eyeshadow palettes of the season. Now some people love palettes, some don't, for a variety of reasons, namely that many include a color or two you may never touch. (Prime example: this one!) I think they are great because in a good compact, the family of hues compliment each other and offer a overall lid shade, a liner shade, a crease shade, a below-the-brow shade etc. to make a complete look that is effortless. So, without further ado, here are LookGirl's favorite palettes for spring 2008:

1. Laura Mercier Violet Eye Colour Quad in Shy Violet ($38) — The Wild Violet (center above) can be a tad too dark for everyday wear in the spring, but Shy offers a more all-around palette: deep eggplant for the liner, maroon shimmer for the crease, mauve for the lower lid and pale ivory pink for the highlight. Perfect.
2. Dior 5-Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow in Spring Bouquet ($52) — You get five incredible shades for your big bucks, making it worthwhile. The quartet (second from left, above) is soft and subtle, made just for spring eyes, and can be worn by any skintone. Not the best reason, but it's just pretty.
3. Guerlain 'Fleur de Feu' Eyeshadow Palette in No. 400 ($57) — I don't think I can describe it better than Guerlain did: "This elegant limited-edition black gold compact, designed by Hervé Van Der Straeten, opens to reveal a fabulous pop-art-like floral bouquet. The slightly psychedelic ash grey and pink floral design represents an extraordinary South African flower that was ravaged by fire: the symbol of nature's triumph and the ideal metaphor for casting off winter gloom." (That's the first image above, if you hadn't already guessed.)
4. Smashbox Green Room Eye Shadow Quad in Blossom ($32) — Similar to the colors in Laura Mercier's new compact, this offers an all-around eye grouping but has slightly lighter, peachier hues that add much more sparkle. Not the right colors for everyone, but the bonus of this set is that with each purchase, a Moringa tree will be planted in a developing country by Trees for the Future.
5. Givenchy Accessor'Eyes Powder & Cream Eyeshadow Quartet in Black Denim ($49.50) — The boldest of our choices (fourth from the left, above), the Givenchy compact is also the only one that combines different textures, three to be exact, to multiply the effects. This is definitely a nighttime look, but the great peach tin with flecks of purple could translate into a more universal daytime shade.
6. Trish McEvoy 'Power of Makeup' Page - Resort ($65) — So this is our little cheat since it is more than just an eyeshadow palette, containing lip color, blush and bronzer. But the four shadows on this "page" are a perfect example of highlight, lid, crease and liner combos — and they are four shades that can work year-round, with any color eyes, any outfit, day or night.
7. Sephora Colorful Story Palette ($35) — The best value here with 16 of Sephora's best-selling hues, but this could be both a fashion-disaster and money-waster if not used properly. With more than a dozen colors, it is not always inherent which shades compliment each other, and which ones compliment you and your skintone. The reason we do like this set, however, is that Sephora did a good job at clarifying which shades are matte, pearl etc. and also, the way the set is organized, if you just use a row at a time, you are relatively safe.
8. Stila Eye Shadow Quad in Marrakesh ($38) — These universally flattering shades of rose, gold and bronze have loads of shimmer for a night out or daytime party, but they are a little too orangy to move up on the list.