I tested a dozen clean eyeshadow brands, and I’ve finally created my in-depth guide to eyeshadow palettes and sticks that are non-toxic and safe. The best natural eyeshadows are talc-free, long-wearing, pigmented and made in the USA with organic ingredients. Whether you’re looking for cool tones, warm tones, shimmer, or matte, there is a palette for you! Keep reading to learn what ingredients to avoid in eyeshadow and an in-depth comparison of the top-rated brands.

Ingredients to Avoid in Eyeshadow

Sadly, majority of the eyeshadow products you see in supermarkets and beauty stores contain harmful ingredients. It’s important to switch to a non toxic eyeshadow, especially any makeup that comes in the form of a loose powder, because it can release particles into the air that enter our eyes and lungs. When choosing the best talc free eyeshadow, here’s what to avoid:

• Parabens: Parabens can affect estrogen levels and have been linked to certain types of breast cancer.
• Fragrance: Eyeshadows with added fragrances may cause irritation, especially for those with sensitive skin or fragrance allergies. There’s no need for an eyeshadow to have fragrance.
• Talc: Talc is a common ingredient in powder eyeshadows because of its moisture-absorbing properties, but there are ongoing concerns about its potential to be contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos has been linked to cancer and other health risks.
• Phthalates: These are chemicals often used to improve the texture and staying power of cosmetics but raise many potential health concerns. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors, and exposure to phthalates has been linked to breast cancer, developmental issues, decreased fertility and asthma.
• Bismuth Oxychloride: This ingredient is sometimes found in shimmery eyeshadows. Some people may be sensitive to it, causing irritation or itching.
• Alcohol: High concentrations of alcohol can be drying and may cause irritation, especially for individuals with dry or sensitive skin.
• Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde-releasing Agents: These preservatives can cause irritation and may be allergenic to some individuals.
• Carmine: Carmine is derived from insects and used to add red or pink hues to eyeshadows. Vegan or cruelty-free consumers may choose to avoid products containing carmine.
• Propylene Glycol: This ingredient may cause irritation especially for those with sensitive skin.
• Mineral Oil: Mineral oil a heavily processed petroleum product that goes by many names including: paraffinum liquidum, petrolatum, paraffin, petrolatum jelly, ozokerite, ceresin, polyisobutilene, synthetic wax, cera microcristallina, hydrogenated polyisobutene, methylsilanol, isododecane, isohexadecane, silicone quaternium. Besides being a petroleum byproduct that does nothing to improve the delicate eye skin it can also clog pores.

Best Non-Toxic Eyeshadows Compared

I tried Inika Organic Eyeshadow Quad (Highest quality!)

If you’re looking for the cleanest eyeshadow palette with the highest quality ingredients, look no further than Inika Organic. They have three different types of 100% natural, vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palettes to choose from and my favorite is Wind! Each one comes with four shades, two matte and two shimmer. They have great color payoff, minimal fallout and the shimmer shades actually have shimmer power with a satin finish.

Ingredients: 6/5: Inika Organic has the HIGHEST ingredient standards out of any other clean makeup palette brand.
Application 5/5: Velvety application
Performance 5/5: Wears well and is long lasting
Pigmentation 5/5: Sooo pigmented
Price: $49

Shop Here

I tried Jane Iredale PurePressed Eyeshadow Palette

I love that Jane Iredale offers sooo many color combination options! Plus their powder has the most buttery texture ever. Jane Iredale has five eyeshadow palettes containing six shades and 11 eyeshadow palettes containing three shades. I find the eyeshadow triples are the most practical because there are all matte options and all shimmer options to ensure that no shade goes wasted. These have zero fallout and the shimmer shades have great shimmer without being sparkly. 

Ingredients: 4/5: Mostly clean ingredients and fully powered by minerals
Application 5/5:  Very buttery and goes on magnetic
Performance 5/5: Great lasting power
Pigmentation 5/5: A little goes a long way because they’re insanely pigmented!
Price: starts at $25 for Eyeshadow Triple and $52 for Eyeshadow Palette
Use OBL15 for 15% off

Shop Here

I tried Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette (Best for a Smokey Eye)

I found that Honest Beauty’s talc-free eyeshadow palette offers amazing value and performance if you love a smoky eye. It’s completely free of talc, mineral oil, parabens, paraffins, silicones and petrolatum.

Plus, this palette lasts FOREVER and has ten matte and shimmer shades, including browns, blacks, one pale shimmer shade, a mauve shade and an off white shade. Since most of the shades are very dark, I wouldn’t recommend this palette for someone looking for a subtle eye makeup look.

Their eyeshadows are very pigmented with great color payoff and stay put throughout the day. The fallout is minimal and the shades are relatively easy to blend though you definitely want to use a light hand with the darkest shades. As a smokey eye gal, I’ve purchased Honest Beauty’s palette twice already and found the quality to be consistent over the years.

Ingredients: 4/5: Honest Beauty uses both natural and safe synthetics in their makeup.
Application 4/5: This goes on well and blends easily, but be careful about using too much product with the darker shades.
Performance 4/5: The fallout is minimal and longevity is good.
Pigmentation 5/5: The color payoff is excellent.
Price: $26.99

Shop Here

I tried ILIA The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette 

ILIA’s eyeshadow palette is the most pigmented and high performance clean eyeshadow palette on the market. Out of all the non toxic eyeshadow palettes I’ve tried, ILIA’s is the closest clean beauty dupe to the Urban Decay Naked Palette and offers the best performance that’s on par with mainstream makeup brands. It goes on magnetic, blends so easily and feels velvety. The shades are richly pigmented so a little goes a long way, especially with the darker shades.

Ingredients: 4/5: ILIA uses both natural and safe synthetics in their makeup.
Application 5/5: They go on so magnetically and blend easily.
Performance 5/5: This palette performs as well as mainstream makeup brands.
Pigmentation 5/5: This palette has the best color payoff out of all clean eyeshadow palettes.
Price: $40

Shop Here

I tried Well People Power Palette Eyeshadow (Budget friendly!)

Well People’s talc-free eyeshadow palette is another one of my top picks and recommendations if you’re looking for an affordable option that offers high performance and color payoff.There’s two shimmer shades and 3 matte shades and the performance is very similar to Honest Beauty’s but Well People’s does feel a little more velvety. The darker shades aren’t as deep either so they’re more buildable. Its downsides for me are that it has fewer shades than other clean eyeshadow palettes (but still decent at five shades). I consider Well People $22 eyeshadow palette a budget-friendly dupe to ILIA’s $40 eyeshadow palette.

Ingredients: 4/5: Well People uses both natural and safe synthetics in their makeup.
Application 4/5: There is some fallout, especially with the lighter shades, but I find it to be minimal.
Performance 4/5: The texture is velvety and the shades are blendable and buildable.
Pigmentation 4/5: These are well pigmented but not as pigmented as ILIA.
Price: $22

Shop Here

I tried 100% Pure Pretty Naked Palette

This was the first clean eyeshadow palette I ever tried. 100% Pure’s makeup palettes are actually a face palette with three eyeshadow shades, one blush shade and one luminizer shade.The problem with these is they’re perpetually unavailable and marked as sold out on their site, so you can never get your hands on them anymore! Its downside is that there are only three eyeshadow shades so unless you’re also in the market for a blush and luminizer, this palette may not be the most economical choice for you. All the eyeshadows shades are neither a true matte nor a true shimmer and have more of a subtly metallic looking finish. I find the texture to be buttery and creamy with decent pigment power and longevity though not the best.

Ingredients 5/5: 100% natural and pure ingredients
Application 4/5: These are super buttery but have quite a bit of fallout.
Performance 4/5: Has decent longevity but not the best.
Pigmentation 4/5: Good pigment power but not the best
Price: $55

ORGANICBEAUTYLOVER saves 20%

Shop Here

I tried Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow Palette (Budget Friendly!)

Pacifica’s Cocoa Nude Eyeshadow Palette is a fantastic talc-free option for those looking for tons of shade options, affordability and high performance. They’re also the only clean beauty brand that offers a technicolor eyeshadow palette. Their eyeshadows are so versatile, super buttery and go on velvety, more so than Honest Beauty’s. But one thing to be aware of is all the shades are matte. It has 10 shades that are all super wearable and blendable, from soft pastels to warm nudes and cool browns to super deep browns. I experience very little fallout with Pacifica eyeshadows. The downside to having so many shades is that there’s less product for each, so your favorite shades are going to run out faster.

Ingredients 4/5: Pacifica uses both natural and synthetic ingredients.
Application 4/5: This offers magnetic velvety application with minimal fallout and blends so easily.
Performance 5/5: This has great staying power and lasts throughout the entire day.
Pigmentation 5/5: It’s very pigmented with excellent color payoff.
Price: $17.50

I tried Lily Lolo All Natural Pressed Eye Palette (best for sensitive eyes)

Lily Lolo is another affordable clean eyeshadow palette option that’s all natural and talc free. This palette is great for sensitive eyes because it’s oil free, gluten free and fragrance free and there’s no fillers, petroleum based chemicals, artificial dyes or bismuth oxychloride. Their palette has a wide variety of eight shades that can be combined to create different looks, but the downside is that they’re not nearly as pigmented or go on as magnetic as other clean eyeshadow palettes.

I would recommend this palette if you’re looking for a soft look that’s natural and subtle. Most of the shades are shimmery, so if you’re not into shimmery shadows, I would skip Lily Lolo. This is the most compact eyeshadow palette and takes up the least amount of space while packing in more shades.

Ingredients 5/5: The ingredients are 100% natural, gentle and sensitive eye friendly.
Application 3,5/5: These have a velvety texture but don’t blend as readily and there’s quite a bit of fallout.
Performance 3.5/5: They don’t offer the magnetic application that other eyeshadow palettes do and fade quicker due to less color payoff.
Pigmentation 3/5: These are very lightly pigmented compared to other eyeshadow palettes.
Price: $34 (OBL saves 10%)

I tried Mineral Fusion Eyeshadow Trio

If you’re looking for a super cheap mineral eyeshadow palette and don’t care for a ton of shade options, Mineral Fusion’s palette is my top pick! Their eyeshadows are free from gluten, parabens, talc, artificial colors, synthetic fragrance, SLS and phthalates and are hypoallergenic. These are super pigmented and blend easily, plus they have 10 different trio palettes to choose from. They don’t feel AS velvety as some other clean beauty eyeshadows but they do go on magnetic and have great longevity. They’re just a bit drier versus buttery.

Ingredients 4/5: The formula is great for sensitive eyes and even has pomegranate, sea kelp and aloe vera, but it includes phenoxyethanol.
Application 4/5: They’re somewhat velvety and blend easily.
Performance 4/5: Decent longevity and staying power
Pigmentation 4/5: Decently pigmented, especially the deeper shades
Price: $17

A note on nontoxic eyeshadow primer

There aren’t many brands making non toxic eyeshadow primers in clean beauty, save for one. I usually just use my regular face primer, but if you’re looking for an eyeshadow specific one then check out Lily Lolo’s Prime Focus Eyelid Primer.

Shop Here