If you want one palette that does soft glam, a smoky eye, AND a daytime wash of colour without forcing you to buy three separate products, the Jade Thirlwall x BEAUTY BAY 42 Colour Palette is the best option under £30 right now. I spent a weekend testing every shade, building three complete looks, and comparing it directly against the Morphe 35V and Colourpop Stone Cold Fox. Here is exactly what I found.

What Makes This Palette Different from the 20 Other 42-Pan Palettes on the Market

Most massive palettes fail because they pack in 10 near-identical browns and five unusable brights. BEAUTY BAY and Jade Thirlwall took a different approach. The entire palette is built around cool-toned neutrals — think greyish taupes, dusty pinks, and muted plums — with a single row of deeper berry and charcoal shades for drama.

The formula uses a silicone-heavy binder that gives a creamy, almost bouncy texture. This means two things. First, the shimmers apply with a wet-look finish even without a setting spray. Second, the mattes blend without turning muddy because they don’t suck up all the oil from your brush. I pressed my finger into the shade “Little Mix Up” (a rose gold shimmer) and got full opacity in one swipe. No fallout.

The real win is the colour story. Instead of the usual warm orange-browns that dominate every drugstore palette, you get shades like “Midnight Chat” (a charcoal with silver micro-glitter) and “Gossip Girl” (a dusty lavender matte). These are shades you actually see on Instagram but rarely find in a single, affordable palette.

But the tradeoff is real. The palette leans heavily cool. If your skin has warm yellow undertones, half the shades will pull ashy on you. I have neutral skin and still found the matte “Backstage Pass” (a pale beige) looked chalky until I paired it with a warm bronzer in the crease. BEAUTY BAY does not sell a warm-toned version of this palette. You either commit to cool tones or you skip it.

The 3-Step Workflow: How to Build a Full Eye Look in Under 10 Minutes

This palette rewards a specific technique. Here is the workflow I settled on after four attempts.

Step 1: Set the Lid with a Base Shade

Use the matte shade “Front Row” (a pale biscuit) or “VIP Access” (a soft cream) all over the lid up to the brow bone. These are not pigmented enough to work as a standalone colour, but they smooth out the eyelid texture and give the next layers something to grip. Skip this step and the shimmers will crease within two hours, even with a primer underneath.

Step 2: Build the Crease with One or Two Transition Shades

Take a fluffy brush and tap into “Backstage Pass” or “Green Room” (both matte, neutral-cool taupes). Tap off the excess — this is critical because the formula is soft and a loaded brush will dump too much powder. Sweep it into the crease in windshield-wiper motions. If you want more depth, add “Dressing Room” (a matte mauve-brown) into the outer V.

I tested this with a Morphe M433 brush and a Sigma E40. The Sigma gave a softer blend. The Morphe packed more colour but needed extra blending time. The palette itself blended out in about 45 seconds with the Sigma brush. No patchiness.

Step 3: Apply the Shimmer with a Damp Brush

This is where the palette shines. Wet a flat shader brush with setting spray (I used the NYX Setting Spray in Matte Finish), dip into “Little Mix Up” or “Stage Door” (both metallic shimmers), and press it onto the centre of the lid. Do not swipe. Pressing gives you that foil-like reflect. I got 8 hours of wear without glitter fallout. By hour 10, the shimmer had faded by about 30% but the mattes stayed intact.

One mistake I made: I tried using the shimmers dry on the first attempt. They look pretty but lack the wet-look finish. Use a damp brush or a finger. It makes a £27 palette perform like a £50 one.

Swatch Comparison: Jade Thirlwall Palette vs. Morphe 35V vs. Colourpop Stone Cold Fox

I own the Morphe 35V (the “Vibes” palette, £32) and the Colourpop Stone Cold Fox (around £40 after shipping to the UK). I swatched all three on bare skin, no primer, under daylight.

Feature	Jade x BEAUTY BAY 42	Morphe 35V	Colourpop Stone Cold Fox
Price	£27	£32	~£40
Shade Count	42	35	30
Undertone	Cool-neutral	Warm-neutral	Cool-neutral
Shimmer Pigment (1 swipe)	9/10	7/10	8/10
Matte Blendability	8/10	9/10	7/10
Fallout on Shimmers	Low	Medium	Low
Wear Time (without primer)	6 hours	5 hours	7 hours

The Jade palette wins on price and shimmer quality. The Morphe 35V wins on matte blendability if you prefer warm tones. The Colourpop lasts longest but costs £13 more and has fewer shades. If you already own Stone Cold Fox, you do not need this palette — the colour stories overlap by about 60%. If you own the Morphe 35V and want to experiment with cool tones, the Jade palette is a worthwhile addition because it gives you shades the Morphe simply does not have, like the lavender mattes and silver-based shimmers.

Three Looks You Can Build with This Palette (and the Exact Shades to Use)

Here are three complete looks I built. Each uses only this palette.

Look 1: Everyday Office Glam (5 minutes)

• All over lid: “Front Row” (matte biscuit)
• Crease: “Backstage Pass” (matte taupe)
• Outer V: “Dressing Room” (matte mauve-brown)
• Lid centre: “Little Mix Up” (rose gold shimmer)
• Inner corner: “Spotlight” (champagne shimmer)

This look is foolproof. It takes 5 minutes. The shimmer on the lid catches light without looking like a night-out look. I wore this to a 9-hour workday and it faded gracefully — no patchiness, just a general softening by hour 7.

Look 2: Smoky Evening Eye (15 minutes)

• All over lid: “Midnight Chat” (charcoal with silver glitter) — apply with a damp brush
• Crease: “Backstage Pass” blended into “Dressing Room”
• Outer V and lower lash line: “Encore” (matte black with subtle shimmer)
• Brow bone: “VIP Access” (matte cream)

The charcoal shade “Midnight Chat” is the star here. It applies almost black but sheers out to a dark grey when blended. The silver glitter does not migrate. I had zero glitter in my lashes after 4 hours. The black “Encore” is not as pigmented as a single-pan black like the Makeup by Mario Master Mattes, but it works well enough for a smoky eye that you can tone down for daytime.

Look 3: Soft Lavender Wash (8 minutes)

• All over lid: “Gossip Girl” (matte lavender)
• Crease: “Green Room” (matte grey-taupe) — just a tiny amount to add depth
• Lid centre: “Stage Door” (silver-lavender shimmer)
• Lower lash line: “Gossip Girl” smudged out

This is the most unique look in the palette. The lavender matte is not chalky. It blends into the grey-taupe crease without turning muddy. The shimmer “Stage Door” is a true silver-lavender — not a pinkish lavender. This look got the most compliments when I tested it on a night out. It is also the hardest to pull off if you have any redness in your eyelids, because the lavender will accentuate it. A green colour corrector (I used the LA Girl Pro Concealer in Green) under the eyeshadow solved that.

What Goes Wrong: The Most Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

I made these mistakes so you do not have to.

Mistake 1: Using the shimmers dry. I already covered this. Dry application gives a satin finish, not a metallic one. The palette is designed for wet application. Use a damp brush or your finger. The difference is night and day.

Mistake 2: Over-blending the mattes. The mattes are soft and pigmented. If you blend for more than 20 seconds in one spot, they lift off and leave a patch. Apply, blend for 10 seconds, step back, assess. If you need more, add a tiny amount and blend for another 5 seconds. Less is more.

Mistake 3: Skipping eye primer. The palette wears 6 hours without primer and 8-9 hours with one. I used the Urban Decay Primer Potion and the Milani Eyeshadow Primer. Both worked. Without primer, the mattes faded unevenly on my oily lids by hour 5. The shimmers held up better but still creased by hour 7. If you have oily lids, primer is non-negotiable.

Mistake 4: Buying this for warm-toned skin. If you have warm yellow or olive undertones, this palette will make you look washed out. The cool taupes and lavenders will pull grey. You are better off with the Morphe 35V or the NYX Ultimate Shadow Palette in Warm Neutrals (£14). The Jade palette is strictly for cool and neutral undertones.

Mistake 5: Expecting the black shade to be a true matte black. “Encore” has micro-shimmer. It is not a true matte black like the one in the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Pro Pigment Palette. If you need a pure matte black for liner or a deep outer corner, you will need a separate single shadow. The L’Oréal Infallible 24H Shadow in “Endless Pearl” (a black with no shimmer) costs £6 and fills that gap.

When You Should NOT Buy This Palette (and What to Buy Instead)

This is the most important section. Do not buy the Jade Thirlwall palette if any of these apply to you.

You already own Colourpop Stone Cold Fox. The colour stories overlap by roughly 60%. You will end up with 20 shades you already have. Save your £27.

You prefer warm tones. I have said this twice now. It is worth repeating. The palette is cool-neutral. If your go-to look involves bronze, copper, or terracotta, this palette will frustrate you. Buy the Morphe 35V or the Revolution Pro Eye Elements Palette in “Newtrals 2” (£12).

You need a travel palette. The palette is big. It is 25cm wide and 2cm thick. It will not fit in a standard makeup bag. If you travel often, buy a smaller palette like the Natasha Denona Mini Glam Palette (£27) or the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Quad (£46).

You are on a strict budget under £15. The palette is £27, which is great value for 42 shades, but if £27 is a stretch, the NYX Ultimate Shadow Palette in “Cool Neutrals” costs £14 and gives you 16 well-curated shades. It is smaller but the quality is comparable.

You hate shimmer. 22 of the 42 shades are shimmers or metallics. If you are a matte-only person, this palette is 52% wasted. The BH Cosmetics Take Me Back to Brazil palette (£15) has more mattes and a different colour story.

The Verdict: Who Should Buy This Palette in 2026

This palette is for one specific person: someone with cool or neutral undertones who wants a single palette that covers daytime neutrals, evening smoky eyes, and a fun lavender look — all without spending over £30. The shimmer quality punches above its price point. The mattes are good, not great, but good enough for the price.

It is not for everyone. The cool-toned colour story limits its audience. The palette is physically large. The black shade has shimmer. These are real tradeoffs.

But for its target audience — someone who loves the cool-toned Instagram aesthetic and wants one palette to do it all — it is the best value on the market right now. I have not found another 42-pan palette under £30 that delivers this level of shimmer payoff and this unique a colour story.

The eyeshadow palette category is shifting. Brands are realising that massive palettes filled with warm neutrals are oversaturated. BEAUTY BAY and Jade Thirlwall bet on cool tones and won. The question is whether the rest of the market will follow.