I was shocked to recently notice that Sigma’s 14-pan eyeshadow palettes are now clocking in at $65. Back in 2020, when I posted about the Sigma Cor-de-Rosa Palette, they were $49. When the Sigma Cool Neutrals Palette was released in April 2024, it was $52. I purchased mine in November of 2024 for 30% off ($36.40), and it was $52 at that time. Now, they are suddenly at $65. Everything is getting more expensive, but this price jump is worse than most I’ve seen. This is one of the 14-pan palettes that comes with a double-sided brush (E58 Diffused Crease and E54 medium Sweeper), which does add to its cost; however, that was already included in these palettes. There are a lot of reasons to continue to buy Sigma eyeshadows. They are cruelty-free, talc-free, and I’m pretty sure their cosmetics were clean beauty before people were calling it clean beauty. I also often enjoy their color selections for eyeshadows; they appeal to me, and more often than not work well for my olive undertone better than other brands. However, the formula has never been good enough for me to recommend it unless it was on sale for 40% off. And this was back when they were $49, meaning I only recommended others purchase them for about $29.40 before tax. Now that they are $65, they would have to be over 50% off to get close to that price.
Let’s say this price increase annoys you as much as it does me, but you still want to purchase Sigma eyeshadows. They do still have good sales. I don’t see them doing 40% sales as much as they used to. Now, 30% off seems to be the more standard discount. I have seen higher percentages when they are clearing out old inventory of limited edition collections or discontinued items. Right now, they are doing a BOGO 50% off of Eyeshadow palettes, but that is definitely not the best deal that they offer. They also go on sale at Macy’s, Nordstrom, and JCPenney, so if you are still interested in the brand, I’d keep an eye on those stores.
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**Sigma Cool Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette ($65) Swatches
Ok, I’m done ragging on the price. Now let’s look at the swatches of the Sigma Cool Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette.
 | $ 65.00 SalePrice $ 65.00 RegularPrice |
| Sigma Beauty Cool Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette | |
 | $ SalePrice $ 65.00 RegularPrice |
| Sigma Beauty Cool Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette | |
 | $ 65.00 SalePrice $ 65.00 RegularPrice |
| Sigma Beauty Cool Neutrals Eyeshadow Palette at Nordstrom | |
Sigma Cool Neutrals Formula Review
As mentioned in my previous Sigma Eyeshadow Palette posts (Cor-de-Rosa, Warm Neutrals, Ambiance), the formula is nicely pigmented, but buildable. If you are looking for intense pigment, these may not be for you. Although I have heard that the Limited Edition Little Mermaid palette has an upgraded formula with more pigment. The matte eyeshadows are loose and have some kick-up in the pan, but they are not very messy. I had the most success using this formula with the old formula of Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow primer. Since Too Faced reformulated that primer, I have not found a primer that I like with these eyeshadows. That is a big reason I no longer like working with the Sigma formula and will no longer be purchasing them.
In my experience, the Sigma formula is really great if you like applying shimmer shades with your fingers and prefer a buildable matte eyeshadow. The shimmers can be used with a brush, but the pigment goes on quite sheer and needs to be built up if you want opacity. This will also vary depending on how close your skin tone is to mine (NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4). I don’t use a white or lighter base to help with pigmentation, and I judge eyeshadow pigment based on using primers that dry clear. If you are willing to use a lighter base, you may get more pigment, and you may also find that they build enough for you when using a brush. For me, these shimmers just work better with finger application. When I try to build the shimmers with a brush, it often becomes patchy. As far as the mattes go, I prefer to apply mattes lightly and build if needed, so this formula really suits my preferences. It is possible to pack on the matte shades for an all-matte lid color or intensity in the outer-v, but I feel like they still work better when applied in light layers.
So there you have it. While I’m not the biggest fan of the Sigma Eyeshadow formula, I do still think that it will work well for a lot of people. I just don’t think the new price (but please only buy it on sale, if you do) is worth paying for this formula when there are better options available. The Smashbox Always On Mood Board Eyeshadow Palette in Earthy Vibes and the Tarte #trippinwithtarte Eyeshadow Palette come to mind, and both are cruelty-free and talc-free. I like the Smashbox formula better than Tarte if that matters to you. I will have a new post coming soon You can click this link for swatches of all 4 of the Smashbox Mood Board Palettes. I also still have swatches I want to share of the Tarte Tartelette Toasted Palette. So, if you are interested in either the Smashbox or the Tarte Palettes, stay tuned for those. Swatches are now posted for the Tarte Tartelette Toasted Eyeshadow Palette.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts on Sigma’s price increase in the comments section.
If you’d like to check out more of my content, here are some places to start.
- Blush Index
- Brands A-Z
- Bronzer & Highlighter Index
- Brush Index
- Concealer Ranking
- Eyeshadow Index
- Foundation Round-Up
- Lipstick Index
- Makeup Storage and Organization Ideas
- My Favorite Makeup
- Powder Round-Up
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Nikki From HR 
Very expensive, even for Sigma. The palette colors look nice but I’m not much of a palette user. I find I don’t use them enough to justify the spend. The price of their Eyeshadow Base Primer has also increased. They went from $20 to now $30 (!) and the color selection has been reduced from six to four shades. I love it, but am glad I bought several pencils before the first dramatic price increase when the deeper, now discontinued shades were on clearance for $8/each.
Have you tried, or plan to try any of the new Morphe eyeshadow palettes? I’ve heard they have stepped up the quality. I’d love to hear your thoughts, even if I don’t buy one. 🙂
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I’m starting to feel that way with palettes too. I only end up using a few shades, and the rest go to waste. I have always been willing to purchase single shades and smaller palettes, but I will try to stick to the smaller sizes in the future. I didn’t know Sigma cut the shade range of the primers. I’m shocked. I thought that was a popular product for them.
I swatched the new Morphe eyeshadow palettes in Ulta, and I thought the textures were inconsistent from palette to palette. But of course, things can be a lot different when you use them on the eyes rather than just swatching them. However, even in some of the videos I have watched of people using them, I didn’t find them particularly impressive. I thought the best one, with the smoothest mattes and shimmers (I don’t like glitter toppers or chunky shimmers) was the warm neutral 12-pan Flickering Sands. If I had to get one, it would have been that one. But, after I realized I would only be buying it to review on my website and not because I really wanted to use it long term, I decided to pass. I’m trying to be better about that.
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I found out the Sigma Eyeshadow Base Primers were $15 when they debuted, and have now doubled to $30. How can they justify a 2X price increase? It is a popular product but I think they are about to price themselves out of the market. Why buy theirs when you can use e.l.f or Milani for less than $11?
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I agree, their new pricing is way too high for the brand.
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Wow, that’s nearing Natasha Denona midi pricing. Could this be affected by tariffs? Or do you think it’s possible they’re raising the price in anticipation of a big Black Friday sale, Christmas sale, or their larger sales in general? You mentioned they have slowed down on the 40% off ones, but perhaps they will be increasing the frequency of them again? Still…that’s wild.
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I’m sure tariffs are playing a part, but they were likely losing money previously and were forced into a position where they needed to overcorrect. I think they’ll save the 40% and up sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If they follow the lead of other brands and launch fragrances, they can gain some traction by having higher discounts for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day holiday sales.
They may also be trying to raise prices to create the perception of being higher-end, in line with their recent expansion into more department stores. The customers for department stores like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and, to a lesser extent, JCPenney are going to be expecting things to be at least somewhat more expensive. I’ll be interested to see where the brand goes from here.
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Ah I see. The perception angle is interesting, and probably what’s happening.
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