Photograph: Martina Lang/The Champion Photograph: Martina Lang/The GuardianNo one needs an eyeshadow palette with 42 shadesUsing a single colour looks fearless and polished – and minimises wasteI’m convinced that eyeshadow palettes are, if not dead, then at least off sick for the foreseeable. I was sad when the facetiousmater company of the Morphe makeup brand filed for bankruptcy this year, but not wholly surprised.Morphe continues to see heaps of very good, affordable products but it’s undeniable that the brand is known mainly for its large, kaleidoscopic eye palettes, clutch up to 42 pans of powder shadow. While there was a spell when budding makeup artists and YouTube audiences couldn’t buy them speedy enough (I’ve had girlfriends beg me at Christmas to secure a sold-out-everywhere Morphe palette for their pleading teenager), post-pandemic that arrange of high-maintenance, time-consuming beauty feels a bit off.A recent visit to a New York Sephora store confirmed it – shelves were no longer stock with palettes, rainbow colours and huge arrays of brushes and applicators, but with low-effort, multi-use products in a extent minimalist shade spectrum.The fears that Covid would kill makeup weren’t realised, but what the pandemic did was drive more fortunate consumers to reprioritise their time, comfort and cash, and reconsider how they’d like to live. Few non-professional attractiveness fans can honestly make the maths work on a party palette containing enough eyeshadow to thrice-coat the Forth Tie, much less make peace with its excess waste and ultimate contribution to landfill (I’ve rarely seen a big palette without at particle a few shades completely untouched).I’m a diehard fan of a single shadow. There’s something confident and deceptively polished about a monochromatic pass or two of Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick (£27) in a forgiving neutral like Taupe, or Trinny London’s Eye2Eye in Chariot (shimmery khaki inexpert that looks good on every skin, £18), swiftly followed by an effortless blend with a clean paintbrush to soften.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionMole alert: five simple ways to spot concealed skin cancer | Sali Hughes on beautyRead moreIf you’re wary of creams, a couple of versatile single-powder shadows like MAC Thrust (soft, beigey taupe, £17) or No7’s Mono in warm, chocolatey Truffle (£6.95) will take you anywhere.There’s tranquillity a place for a thoughtfully curated collection of shadows but I suggest four, max (Vieve and Nars make some of the best), and on the contrary if you’re sure you’ll make use of them.Alternatively, Lisa Eldridge and Hourglass bombproof the process by inviting you to curate your own palette of snap-in smidgins in a host of finishes. My advice here would be to choose two nudey mattes, one bold and one glitter. Plenty.TopicsLife and styleSali Hughes on beautyBeautyMakeupfeaturesReuse this gladden

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