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I’ve tested dozens of eyeshadows to select the best non toxic and lasting eyeshadows across a range of styles and price points. ✨

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I started wearing eyeshadow in 6th grade for dance competitions. (You’re in luck, I found a photo!) I remember the little palette I had from Avon that had a shimmery champagne, a matte brown, and an almost-black shadow. I had to wear stage makeup almost every other weekend for competitions, and making my eyes pop with eyeshadow, fake eyelashes, and rhinestones glued to the corners of my eyes was required. It seemed like my costume was just as important as my dance moves. My mom was more of a jock and had no idea how to apply makeup, so I learned on my own early and got kind of good at it (for a middle schooler). I danced all the way through college, so this skill paid off over time.

After my formal dance days ended, I began wearing eyeshadow a lot less often. Probably only twice a year for a fancy night out. So when I got the chance to test these clean and organic eyeshadow brands, I was excited to revisit the forgotten art of eyeshadow — and I even decided to get a little creative!

From smoky eyes to bright purple, shimmery and matte, I tested shadows across the board so we could see it all! There was no shortage of amazing options: From palettes to eyeshadow sticks and pencils to single shadow pots.

And what I remembered is that eyeshadow should be FUN! A form of self-expression, an opportunity to pick a new character for the day, and embody her. We should feel free to experiment: it doesn’t have to be reserved for special occasions and costumes. Nowadays, there are so many nontoxic options; you don’t have to worry about things like heavy metals in pigments so close to your eyes. The brands I reviewed make me feel good about wearing it more often.

Why consider organic eye shadow?

Our eye area is one of the most delicate regions of our body, and conventional eyeshadows can be harsher on our skin than their organic counterparts. Synthetic chemicals, dyes, and preservatives are common ingredients in eyeshadows, which can be an issue, especially if you’re prone to skin sensitivity or allergies.

Organic eyeshadows typically derive their color from natural dye pigments like fruits, minerals, and plant extracts while also being free from ingredients that contain pesticides, GMOs, and fertilizers.  

What should you look for when shopping organic eyeshadow?

When looking for clean eyeshadow, pay attention to third-party certifications and clean beauty standards. The brands I tested held themselves to rigorous ingredient restrictions: Many eliminate 2,000+ potentially harmful ingredients (more stringent than even EU regulations), with certifications like Leaping Bunny (cruelty-free), EWG Verified (the highest standard of clean in the beauty industry), Fair Trade Certified, and Vegan certifications. 

If you can’t find the ingredient list, start asking questions. The brands I tested are transparent about what they include, and exclude from their formulas — parabens, gluten, synthetic fragrances, GMOs, sulfates, phthalates, talc, petroleum, mineral oil, and chemical screens. Many organic brands are also vegan and cruelty-free and have respect for sustainable practices that reduce harm to animals and the planet. You can feel good that these eyeshadows are gentler on your eyes and the planet.

Our criteria & methodology:

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1. MERIT

I tried: Solo Shadow (Soft Plum, Bronze, Warm Silver)

Best For | Overall favorite with buildable shimmer
Natural Ingredients | Jojoba Extract, Microfine Pearls
Price | $26 for single eyeshadow

MERIT is a clean, vegan, and Leaping Bunny-certified minimalist makeup brand built around the idea that less is more. The brand creates skin-loving essentials with nourishing ingredients that support your skin long after you take off your makeup: Accessible luxury with high-end packaging, sustainability-focused formulas, and EU-compliant standards.

Grace’s Review: “When I wear eyeshadow, it’s usually at night, when I’m going to a party or dinner and want a bit of fun, so the shimmer level was just perfect. The solo shadows (I tried soft plum, bronze, and warm silver) are super sparkly, pigmented, and incredibly easy to apply with fingers (no tools needed, which is great for travel), plus they’re buildable and creamy without fading off. The solo shadows are a little expensive, given they are just one color – you can get a palette from another brand for the same price — but they truly feel luxe, and a pot has more product than a traditional palette. The formula is ophthalmologist-tested and safe for contact lens-wearers; it removes easily with makeup remover, and the beautiful pots are worth collecting. I want to try the matte shades next!”

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2. Well People

I tried: Power Palette Eyeshadow, Taupe, Brushes

Best For | Matte & shimmer palette
Natural Ingredients | Jojoba Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Rice Starch
Price | $23 for palete

Well People is an OG clean beauty brand offering award-winning, plant-powered makeup and skincare made from premium ingredients. With 100+ EWG Verified products, the brand is pregnancy-friendly, Fair Trade Certified, cruelty-free, vegan, and dermatologist-developed. They formulate without 2,500+ ingredients and are makeup artist-approved.

Grace’s Review: “I tried Well People’s Power Palette in Taupe and their Expressionist Eye Brush Set, and this was the easiest classic eyeshadow experience out of everything I tested. I loved the combo of matte and shimmer in the palette (though I found myself gravitating toward shimmer), and the variety of brushes let me apply shadow all over my lids, in the creases, and even use the eyeliner brush to create a cat eye on the bottom lash line. There was some powder fallout that required cleanup with a Q-tip, but the final look was great for day and buildable for night. I wore this to a hard Pilates class where I sweat, and it stayed 100% intact without creasing or coming off at all. I think the palette is super reasonably priced for 5 great colors.”

Also available at:
Target

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3. ILIA Beauty

I tried: The Eye Stylus Trio

Best For | Quick application
Natural Ingredients | Grape Extract, Carnauba Wax
Price | $85 for set of three

ILIA is a longtime reader favorite! The brand believes in skin that looks like skin and radiance that comes naturally, creating formulas with active levels of skincare ingredients that protect skin from environmental stressors. With transparency as their guide and color as their vehicle, ILIA challenges clean beauty conventions through safe, potent formulas designed to shield and revive skin. All products are Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free and free from gluten, parabens, phthalates, petroleum, mineral oil, talc, and chemical screens, with sustainable packaging made from recycled aluminum, glass, and responsibly sourced paper.

Grace’s Review: “Absolutely loved the eyeshadow sticks in the Eye Stylus Trio. They’re super easy to apply, buildable, and can be used all over the eye or just as a liner. The dimensional shadow delivers a natural, elevated shimmery look that feels like an upgraded eyeshadow vibe without being a huge statement, which is exactly what I want. The staying power is incredible (I had to remove these with makeup remover), and I love that they roll up so you don’t have to get your hands dirty, though they blend beautifully with fingers. I already took these on a trip and wore them to an event, and loved that they gave me a little extra glam without being too much. The price is great for three sticks, given what single shadow products cost across the board, and they’re so easy to travel with.”

Also available at:
Credo

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4. Cheekbone Beauty

I tried: Fearless Eyeshadow Mini

Best For | Affordable pencils
Natural Ingredients | Coconut oil
Price Range | $12 for single eyeshadow

Cheekbone Beauty is an Indigenous-owned and founded cosmetics brand drawing from Indigenous teachings and the Seven Generations Principle: Making choices that honor the planet and its people for generations to come. The brand creates clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and sustainable color cosmetics that weave Western science with Indigenous ways of knowing. They are committed to representation and giving back, and the brand has donated over $200,000 to support Indigenous youth education.

Grace’s Review: “I have to say that I naturally gravitate toward neutrals and brown tones, but I tested Cheekbone Beauty’s Fearless Eyeshadow Mini in Lavender Rock to see how it looked and was pleasantly surprised. The pencil was ultra-creamy with organic coconut oil, easy to use, and the purple shimmer was really fun: I could see myself wearing this to a concert, festival, or with a costume. I also love that the mini pencil is inherently less wasteful and more sustainable because, let’s be real, who uses up an entire full-size eyeshadow pencil? Great price for the product.”

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5. Axiology

I tried: 3-in-1 Balmie Crayon Super Fan Pack

Best For | Most sustainable
Natural Ingredients | Organic Castor Oil, Kokum Butter, Organic Hemp Seed Oil
Price | $118 for eyeshadow set

Axiology is a 100% plastic-free, vegan, and cruelty-free beauty brand on a mission to fight the beauty industry’s 120 billion units of annual packaging waste. The brand creates clean, multi-use products with minimal ethically-sourced ingredients (as few as 9 per product) and packages everything in boxes made from recycled island trash through a women’s cooperative in Bali. All products are palm oil-free, and the recyclable packaging doubles as a carrying case for zero-waste beauty.

Grace’s Review: “I love these small multipurpose crayon “Balmies” that can be used for anything from eyeshadow to blush to highlighter to concealer to lipstick. There’s a mix of matte and shimmer, and they’re super buildable, blendable, and easy to remove with a wipe of a finger if you make a mistake. Made with organic castor oil, kokum butter, and vitamin E oil, they’re long-lasting and nourishing with a drier, more matte feel that’s great for oily skin. This is definitely the most sustainable of all the products I tested: Plastic-free, zero-waste packaging, and multi-use functionality all in one. They are truly all you need for makeup overall – just add mascara! The price feels a little steep – but given this could replace your entire makeup bag, and is made so mindfully (you always pay more for better ingredients), I think they are a good investment.”

Also available at:
Credo
The Detox Market

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6. Jones Road Beauty

I tried: The Best Eyeshadow (So Pretty, Patina, Dark Brown)

Best For | Glam
Natural Ingredients | Oryza Sativa Extract
Price | $26 for single eyeshadow

Jones Road Beauty was founded by legendary makeup artist Bobbi Brown in 2020 on the philosophy that the world doesn’t need more beauty products: it needs better beauty products. The brand creates clean, high-performance formulations that work on every skin type and tone and are simple to use and master. Jones Road follows guidelines more stringent than the E.U., eliminating over 2,200 potentially harmful ingredients including phthalates, sulfates, parabens, PEGs, and cyclic silicones.

Grace’s Review: “I couldn’t review eyeshadow without doing a classic smoky eye, and given iconic makeup artist Bobbi Brown is behind Jones Road, I opted for a smoky, shimmery, nighttime look with The Best Eyeshadow: it really is the best. It’s SO pigmented, feels really high quality, is blendable, and the glitter is truly beautiful. It would have been perfect for stage makeup back when I did dance competitions because it can make a serious statement. I had to wear my smoky eye to the vet to get my dog’s teeth cleaned (arrived in PJs and a smoky eye), and after a few hours out running errands, it was completely intact. The brush picks up a lot of pigment, so you need Q-tip cleanup, and it’s a little expensive for a single color, but there’s truly a ton of product in each pot, and it feels very luxe with a true velvety finish. Perfect for a true glam eyeshadow moment.”

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7. RMS Beauty

I tried: ReDimension Hydra Eyes Quartet

Best For | Unique shades
Natural Ingredients | Wildcrafted Buriti Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil
Price | $49 for palette

RMS Beauty was founded by master makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift in 2009 as a pioneer of the clean beauty movement. After decades working with top models and photographers, she got sick from chemical exposure and discovered her body had extremely high levels of toxins from cosmetics. The brand is free from parabens, gluten, synthetic fragrances, GMOs, sulfates, phthalates, talc, and over 2,700 banned ingredients, with complete ingredient transparency and eco-friendly packaging made from post-consumer recycled content.

Grace’s Review: “RMS Beauty’s ReDimension Hydra Eyes Quartet was packed with fun colors that pushed me to try new shades I wouldn’t normally reach for, like a blue-ish grey that felt surprisingly wearable. The shadows are shimmery and dimensional (just like the product name promises), and the palette came with a dual-ended applicator: A classic eyeshadow brush on one side and a sponge tip on the other. I love the built-in mirror on the palette, so you can use it on the go. The Gel2Powder Technology gives these a lightweight, bouncy gel feel with a silky powder finish that glides on smoothly, blends easily, and builds color without fallout or creasing. Ophthalmologist-tested and powered by skin-loving ingredients like Wildcrafted Buriti Oil and Organic Jojoba Oil, these feel as good as they look. The price feels fair given the high-end nature and feel of the product and packaging.”

Also available at:
Credo
The Detox Market

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8. 100% PURE

I tried: Fruit Pigmented® Better Naked Palette

Best For | Natural look
Natural Ingredients | Avocado Butter, Rosehip Oil
Price | $55 for palette

100% PURE pigments are made up of antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, tea, and plants rather than synthetic dyes, avoiding commonly used FD&C colorants and heavy metal dyes. All formulations are free from parabens, gluten, synthetic fragrances, GMOs, sulfates, phthalates, and talc, and the brand is certified cruelty-free with a strict policy against animal testing. 100% PURE goes through a painstaking process to ensure every ingredient is ethically sourced and never animal-derived.

Grace’s Review: “I tested the Better Naked Palette from 100% PURE, which is a complete palette with blush and highlighter: A great all-in-one solution. Two of the eyeshadow colors felt quite similar, so I would have liked a little more variety in the palette, but I loved the subtle look. These felt very wearable for daytime, and if you’re not into a dramatic look but want some dimension in your eyes, these would be perfect. One of the shadows did pop out but easily popped back in, and the compact size makes it great for travel since it’s an all-in-one palette that covers all your bases.”

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Featured image is by The Good Trade with eyeshadow from RMS Beauty

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Grace Abbott is a LA-based freelance Brand & Marketing Strategist and a Contributing Editor at The Good Trade. She has a degree in Graphic Design from Parsons School of Design and is the founder of How To Go Freelance — a brand dedicated to empowering creatives to monetize their skills and build personal brands. Beyond work, she’s always studying a new spiritual modality, painting her bedroom a new color, practicing Pilates, hosting friends, or going on a nature walk with her chihuahua, Donnie. Find her on Substack or Instagram.

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The Good Trade editors are a diverse team of writers, researchers, and sustainable product enthusiasts. Every recommendation is informed by hands-on testing, rigorous vetting, and years of reporting on the products and practices that shape our daily lives. We are not a marketplace, and we are not owned by a brand. Our editorial team maintains independent standards across every review and recommendation.

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