How did these make second tier? I’ll attempt to explore that as I go.

7. Too Faced Sweet Peach palette. I have very much enjoyed this palette. It leans way more neutral than I expect, but I do love a peachy color especially in spring as well. This is one of those palettes that there’s no clear answer to why it is second tier except that I often choose other palettes over this one.
8. Colourpop It’s My Pleasure palette. I love the purples in this one, and I also love how it performs. It makes beautiful looks and I am glad I own it. It’s easy to use. But in all honesty, when I want purple, I pull the coloured raine power palette more than I pull this one.
9. Tarte pro to go palette. This is a really fantastic little palette. It’s deceiving. When I use this palette the looks come out great. I am regularly amazed at how good I look when I wear this palette. However, for some reason, I rarely like the look as I am applying it. With this palette, the look needs time to settle in, but once it does, it surprises. That’s why it is second tier. I rarely leave the house thinking “I look great!” when I put this palette on. It’s partway through the day before I start thinking that. Because of this lack of immediate gratification, this palette gets second tier status.
10. Things are going to get a bit weird from here on out, as I have made a point to kind of create my own palettes. This one is mostly Sydney Grace, the bundle was called Taylor deep and light. I’ve got a few other single shadows thrown in to make it a full palette. Sydney Grace mattes are beautiful and easy to work with. The overall look of this palette is cool toned, even with those warmer red shades mixed in. I like this palette a lot, but I don’t reach for it often. It’s really great and yet slightly forgettable. Second Tier.
11. Another Sydney Grace bundle which was the dupes for the melt gemini palette. Pretty sure I added a few other single shadows and removed some too in order to come up with this yellow/green combo that I liked best. Love this palette, but mostly wear it in the summer. There’s something about a slightly tanned skintone and my yellow summer clothes that make this one a one season palette, which is why it gets second tier status.
12. Violet Voss Sugar Crystals. I got this recently and it’s lovely. Very interesting with the colors, the textures, and the duochromes. It isn’t hard to work with, but it takes some thinking and planning and it sure doesn’t come across as everyday wear. It’s beautiful, but second tier.
13. Colourpop Bye Bye Birdie palette. Another great colorpop palette, mostly leans neutral and I can get a lot of good looks from it. But, I do not love the pressed glitters in it. And it has two shades that are more like a supershock shadow. They are not a powder. They have betrayed me. Numerous times. By creasing terribly on my eyes. The lowest of the second tier palettes for sure.

In looking over this second tier, I can think right off the cuff that I’d like to incorporate the violet voss palette into more looks. There are loads of great inner corner highlight colors in there and I need to just set this one out for regular use. I also want to get more use out of my Sydney Grace Taylor Bundle collection and my Sweet Peach palette.

I do rotate my palettes regularly. It doesn’t matter at all what “status” they hold, I regularly pull them all out of a drawer, set them aside, and work through them once by one. At the end of this little series, I might decide to declutter a thing or two, but I tend to get decent use out of all of them even though I’ve got some clear favorites.